Lesson 3

[Ruth Hosterman]

Photographs taken near dusk.

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[Ruth Hosterman]

Having difficulty uploading second photograph.

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[Ruth Hosterman]

Lesson 3 first photo.

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[Duncan Rawlinson]

Hi Ruth,

Can you tell me why you decided to shoot the shallow depth of field portion of this assignment at f18?

[Ruth Hosterman]

I wanted to capture the light colored lantern with the light colored background. It was taken under a covered deck which was also close to dusk. I choose the f18 because it was a large aperture opening, so it could bring out the light blue color and details of the flowers in the lantern. I tried many settings before getting the photo I submitted. Not sure if it was the correct setting to use. Still practicing.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Hi Ruth,

Thanks for submitting your assignment for lesson 3.

Here is the EXIF data for these images:

http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/shallow-DOF-lesson-3.jpg
Date Time Original: 2016:04:10 16:44:33
Exposure Time: 1/400
F Number: f / 18
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 640
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire
Focal Length: 80mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 1936
Pixel Y Dimension: 1296
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 1
Maker Note: 808
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2016:04:10 16:44:33
Subsec Time: 41
Subsec Time Original: 41
Subsec Time Digitized: 41
Max Aperture Value: 3
Light Source: Cloudy weather
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 27770
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 120mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: Low gain up
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: Unknown
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 27738
ExifIFDPointer: 222
GPSInfoIFDPointer: 27786
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 300
Y Resolution: 300
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2016:04:10 16:44:33
Software: Ver.1.00

http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Lesson-3-pic-1.jpg
Date Time Original: 2016:04:10 16:40:38
Exposure Time: 1/100
F Number: f / 22
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 125
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire
Focal Length: 80mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 1936
Pixel Y Dimension: 1296
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 1
Maker Note: 808
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2016:04:10 16:40:38
Subsec Time: 78
Subsec Time Original: 78
Subsec Time Digitized: 78
Exposure Bias: -0.33
Max Aperture Value: 3
Light Source: Cloudy weather
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 27672
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 120mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: None
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: Unknown
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 27640
ExifIFDPointer: 222
GPSInfoIFDPointer: 27690
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 300
Y Resolution: 300
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2016:04:10 16:40:38
Software: Ver.1.00

Generally speaking you will have an easier time trying to achieve shallow depth of field shooting wide open at like f1.4 or f1.8 or whatever your lens allows. Shooting with at something like f18 will increase depth of field all else equal.

Remember this portion of the assignment. When it comes to f-stop Small number = large opening / shallow depth of field Large number = small opening / deep depth of field.

All of that said you did manage to create the look of shallow depth of field here which is good but you’ll have an easier to with the lower f-stop number.

In terms of the motion portion you did well. I see that you had to a little trouble with too much light and you overcame it by shooting at f22 which gave you the option to shoot at a lower shutter speed.

With motion it’s interesting because a very fast shutter speed will freeze motion and a slow shutter speed will cause motion to blur all else equal.

So if you want to make a photo of a waterfall where all the water is blurred you will need a very slow shutter speed. This becomes a problem because there is often too much light! So you will learn to deal with this problem more effectively over time but for now just understand that sometimes you actually want to try to show motion as you did here.

Other times you want to freeze motion in sports.

The reason this is so powerful is because you can make the camera see things that the eye just can’t see. When you freeze a 1/1000th of a second and encapsulate it in a photograph you are doing something the eye really can’t. Or when you blur out water with a really long exposure you can’t do this with your eye either…

Just be aware that the slower the shutter speed the more likely it is that you will introduce camera shake. In fact the slower the shutter speed the more likely you’ll want to use a tripod. Ie the blurred out water concept…

One quick thing here.

When it comes to shooting children you really want to be careful. As a general rule you should always ask permission of the parents and even the kids.

You have to remember you are an ambassador for photography when you’re out there shooting so you always want to do the right thing.

This lesson is hard and if you feel you don’t have a good grasp of it yet that’s ok. If you want you can even re-shoot and submit new images.

The trick is that you just need to keep working on it.

Isolating just one variable at a time is a great way to practice. So go full manual and just try to change one thing and shoot the same thing. This really forces you to see what’s happening.

You are on the right track here and you’re doing well. Keep practicing and shooting all the time!

[Author]

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