Paper:
DSDN144 Digital Photographics
Exercise:
Experimenting with Shutter and Aperture Priority
In the following exercises you will experiment with exposure and depth of field by combining different shutter speeds and apertures. A. Set your camera’s image quality to small or low so that you can fit as many photographs as possible on your card. B. Start off with your ISO setting at 100 C. Set your white balance to daylight (or possibly cloudy). Aperture Priority Mode - experimenting with depth of field. 1. Choose a scene outside with points of interest in the foreground, midground and distant background. Keep in same position and take the following photographs. a. far distance sharply in focus and as much as possible before it b. mid-ground sharply in focus but as little else as possible c. immediate foreground is sharp and as much of the rest of scene as possible d. foreground is in focus but little else in the rest of the scene is As long as the lighting is reasonably even in your scene, with your camera set to aperture priority it will automatically select the shutter speed that will give you the best exposure. 2. Now choose a small subject and place it close to the lens, focusing directly on it. Take photographs for each of the aperture settings available to you. Shutter Speed Priority Mode - experimenting with movement Use a tripod and preferably the camera’s self timer to avoid camera shake. Choose a scene that is not too brightly lit i.e. in the shadows or inside Again stay in the same position and take photographs of a person or people moving at a reasonably fast but consistent pace past the camera to obtain the following: a. To freeze their movement b. Give a little blur to their movement c. Give a lot of blur to their movement
Experiment with as many different shutter speeds as you can. As long as the lighting is reasonably even in your scene, with your camera is set to shutter priority it will automatically select the aperture that will give you the best exposure. N.B. Keep an eye on your viewfinder. If either the aperture of the shutter speed readings begin to flash red, then the image is either under or overexposed and the correct exposure cannot be obtained. The corresponding function (i.e. shutter speed if in Shutter Priority Mode or the aperture if in Aperture Priority Mode) will have to be adjusted until the value no longer flashes red but turns white. Exploiting the techniques that you have experimented with in the above exercises, take some photographs that convey a dreamlike feeling. Photoshop Meta Data. 1. Back in the computer studio download your images to a folder and open Photoshop. Go and inspect your images in the Adobe Bridge (in Photoshop go File > Browse, to open it). Browse to locate your folder of images. Ensure that the preview window is as large as possible and click on the thumbnail of each image. As you do so take notice of the Meta Data that accompanies each image. Scroll down so you can view the Camera Data, in particularly the Exposure Time and the F:stop. In your group discuss the results. 2. Once you have viewed the Camera Data, open the Aperture Priority images in Photoshop. Double-click on the Zoom tool so that you can see them at 100% on the screen and scroll around the images in order to closely inspect their points of focus. Discuss your results within your group. 3. In your group select a few of your best images (no more than eight per group) and put them in your group’s folder on the T:drive so that we may view them in class. 4. Print out proofsheets of all your images and a few test prints of some of your interesting images. Place these in your workbook along with your comments and conclusions written alongside.