Good day everyone,
I wanted to try out a new kind of post, and give out some amateur photographer tips. Aka, I'm an amateur and these are some interesting things I've learned from my photography class this semester. I hope they can be of use to you as well!
Accommodate for the Camera
The camera can't see the same light as you. Even after taking a photography class in high school, I still thought even professional cameras could see the same light as me. Phone cameras are pretty good at this, but take a look at this snapshot from my Canon Rebel T7:
This is a phone inside my college. I can promise you that it is never this dark, even getting this close to an object. If I wanted to have the same kind of light my eyes saw, I'd have to adjust the shutter speed (how fast the camera lens opens) and aperture (how wide the camera lens opens).
Here's an example of the same subject in different light:
The first image is done with a large aperture, something like F5.6 or F4. This causes the background to blur as the aperture changes the depth of field. I also had the shutter speed quite slow, which is why the image is sort blurry. If I had it set to 1/8 of a second, then I would have to hold the camera for a while, which could lead to shake.
The second image had a smaller aperture, like F8 or F11. This made the background clearer but limited the light coming in. I may also have used a faster shutter speed, around 1/25 of a second. That lets less light in, but stabilizes the image.
Also, be aware of your ISO. A higher ISO will bring in more light, but the quality of the image will degrade when blown up on a bigger screen or printed.
Play with Motion
Art doesn't always have to be serious. Turn the shutter speed to something slow, like 1 second, 30 seconds, etc. Point it at the road and watch the headlights of cars become streaks on a cloudy canvas. Shoot from the window of a moving car AS THE PASSENGER (please be safe everyone), and watch the scenery blur. Grab a tripod and place your camera somewhere you can run in front of it. You'll end up with fun pictures like these:
This picture was taken at a shutter speed of 1/20 of a second, which isn't super long compared to the rest, but the motion of the cars is captured in a way that you can still see that it's a car. This was hand held, since I didn't think to bring a tripod to Watkins Glen.
These two images were shot at 30 seconds, and I held the camera on my Civic's dashboard as my mom drove on the highway. This gave the camera a shake, and created the odd patterns which are super fun. None of these pictures will ever be the same which is what makes them so fun.
This last image was from the same trip, where I aimed the camera towards a gas station to try and freeze it, but failed because I forgot to change my settings. The station has such an interesting echo to it.
Capture Imperfection and the Mundane
Now, my professor always encourages us to look in unexpected places, which results in some neat pictures. Sometimes they feel a bit artsy, which isn't always bad. Here a few of my favorites.
This is a picture of a light at my college, which just looks cool because I was able to isolate only the light.
This is a picture of a holiday light against a rock. The way the purple spreads out from the bulb onto the rock has such an interesting texture.
Sadly the depth of field on this one isn't perfect, but this is a cracked Christmas blub decoration on a giant tree I saw at an art show.
Another Christmas bulb, this one reflecting my image back at the camera. I like this one, but mostly because of the distortion.
Shoot What Inspires You
One thing this class has taught me is that while you should try and shoot something outside of your comfort zone quite often, you're allowed to shoot what you're interested in. That's the most important lesson; because while shooting for assignments, I've captured super cool images of stuff I personally like. Never be scared to take a picture of what makes you happy.
That's all from me. I know it was a shorter post this week, but I still hope you liked it!
-Rosetta 💖
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