Hold that Shutter-Release Button!

Before pressing the shutter-release button, there are questions that you might ask yourself:

1. What mode will I use? Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Program Mode?

2. Am I concerned more on the depth of field? Should it be shallow or deep? or Am I more concerned into the motion? Should I freeze or show the action?

3. What ISO should I use? Do I need to increase/ decrease my ISO to compensate my exposure?

4. What is my white balance settings? Is it a sunny day, cloudy or lights are affecting my images?

5. What's my autofocus mode? Should I use, AF-A, AF-C, AF-S or Manual Focus? What type of scenario am I shooting?

6. Should I use matrix/ evaluative, center-weighted or spot metering? Why would I use matrix/ evaluative, center-weighted or spot metering?

7. Am I shooting JPEG or RAW or both?

8. How will I frame my subject? Should it be portrait or landscape?

9. What lens should I use? 

10. If I'm gonna get exposure properly with certain settings, what are my exposure reciprocals?

11. Do I need a flash? Why and when do I need a flash?

12. Do I have a memory card installed? 

13. Is my subject in focus?

14. What's my meter reading? Is it overexposed or underexposed?

15. Will this image I'm going to capture can tell stories or is it going to be different from other photography enthusiasts, forum or groups?

With these questions running into your mind, it will help you decide what settings should you use and have a better understanding of your camera and scenes. It takes patience, practice and it's all worth it in the end.

Must-See Photography Websites

When it comes to photography websites, we all have our favorites. There are several sites which I visit regularly to read the latest reviews, tips, tutorials, articles and other stuffs related to photography. Here are some lists of sites which I highly recommend:

1. Digital Photography Philippines
2. Pinoy Photography
3. Digital Photography Review
4. Digital Photography School
5. DigitalRev
6. Naturfotograf
7. Fstoppers
8. Thom Hogan - Nikon Articles
9. Fred Miranda
10. Strobist - Learn to Light
11. Nikon Rumors
12.Canon Rumors
13. Cambridge in Colour
14. DIYPhotography

I know that there are more photography websites out there and I would appreciate if you'll share them by leaving a comment below. Thanks.

Metering Modes

The metering of the camera works by evaluating the amount of brightness in the scene. For every scene there's also a specific metering mode to be used. The metering modes include: 

1. Matrix Metering - is the default setting mode of the camera and used for all around shooting. The camera meters the wide area of the frame.

Matrix/ Evaluative Metering

2. Center-Weighted Metering - the camera meters the whole frame but assigns the greatest weight to the center area. Recommended for portraits.

Center-Weighted Metering

3. Spot Metering - the camera meters approximately less than 3% of the frame. Recommended when the background is much brighter or much darker from the subject.

Spot Metering

Autofocus Modes

The autofocus of the camera works by detecting the contrast in the image to be taken (passive autofocus) or send off a signal to estimate the subject distance (active autofocus). In some cases you'll find yourself struggling in taking photographs because the camera can't find a contrast or your subject is too close or too far (third party lenses) that your lens can't focus as well. The autofocus is also an essential part of photography, without it we are stuck with manual focusing and we can't capture the moment which only happens in matter of seconds thus leaving us also an out of focus images.

The number and types of autofocus may vary from entry, middle and high end DSLR models and lenses being used. There are two types of autofocus sensors; a cross type which has a higher accuracy due to the two dimensional contrast detection  and vertical line type which has a lower accuracy due to one dimensional contrast detection.

Another factor which can affect the autofocus performance is the selection of AutoFocus Mode. Depending on what you are capturing there's also a corresponding mode. AF-C (Continuous) is used for moving subjects, AF-S (Single) is used for stationary subjects and AF-A (Automatic) which detect automatically either Continuous and Single will be used for a certain scenario. Manual Focus can be used also but not recommended for moving subjects.

Another settings you might consider is focus locks when the shutter-release button is halfway pressed and assist beam to illuminate the subject to detect your subject. You can read your camera manual for more information.

Composition

Photography is not just about pressing the shutter release button and capturing images. An image should be compelling and attract an interest of the viewer. Composition is one of the most critical aspects in photography; it can create drama, uniqueness and tell a thousand words on your image. There are several composition techniques that most photographers use that can help you to get better results. 

1. Rule of Thirds - imagine dividing your frame into thirds, horizontally and vertically. The intersection of the vertical and horizontal lines will be the placement of your subject. It creates a more natural balance in the eyes of the viewers.

Fig.1 Rule of Thirds

Fig.2 Rule of Thirds

2. Shapes and Patterns - shapes and patterns are everywhere which can add contrast to the images. Emphasizing these can create compelling images.

Fig. 1 Shapes and Patterns

Fig. 2 Shapes and Patterns

3. Color, Details and Texture - the color, details  and texture of the subject separates the background creating a point of interest. Imagine if you have almost the same color with the subject and background or the background has more contrast than the subject. Which will be more striking and where will be the point of interest for that scenario?

Fig.1 Color, Details and Subject

4. Frame the Subject - instead of avoiding trees and other natural elements, it can be used as a frame which can isolate the subject and draw the viewer's point of interest.

Fig. 1 Frame

Fig. 2 Frame

The above techniques are only guides which can improve the perspective of the images and worth considering. Others would say that there are rules in composition to create such images but these can broken. Experiment and think out of the box to find the best possible composition that you might create. It takes a lot of time and practice.

Understanding Histogram

Understanding histogram plays a vital role in controlling the contrast and tone of the image. In most cases you'll be surprised that the images from the camera lcd are different when viewed in the computer. Most photographers rely on their histograms to tell whether their images are properly exposed, whether how much more they can increase/ decrease their exposure and even tell whether they are losing details of the subject. 

Fig. 1 Histogram Properties

Fig. 2 Image with tones most in the shadows area

Fig. 3 Image with tones most in the midtones and  highlights area

From the images above you can see how the histogram behaves from each image taken. We can easily see if our shadows or highlights are clipped or the graph escalates so much in the upper left or upper right most part of the histogram. There's also a setting in the camera which shows the clipping highlights of the image, refer to your camera manual for the settings. A dark scene or black surfaces will have clipping in the shadows area while shooting shooting under the sun or bright sources of light will produce clipping in the highlights area. For these kind of scenarios, the clipped shadows or highlights areas are acceptable. You only want to avoid underexposing or overexposing your images so much that you cannot see the details in the shadows or highlights area. Histogram is also useful tool for photographers shooting portraits, as they prefer not to have clipping in the red histogram because it will affect the skin tone of the subject. 

Understanding the histogram will make your adjustments a lot easier in your exposure in terms of: by how many stops of light should you increase/ decrease. A great exercise will be taking multiple images with different exposure and observing how the histogram will also adjust for every image taken. There's no such thing as an ideal histogram and it's only a guide for the photographers from what they want to achieve in their images. 

Exposure Reciprocals

Still remember the examples of aperture values of f1.4, f2, f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16 & f22? How about the shutter speed values of 1sec, 1/2sec, 1/4sec, 1/8sec, 1/15sec, 1/30sec, 1/60sec, 1/125sec, 1/250sec, 1/250sec, 1/500sec and so on.. And ISO values of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and so on.. Did you get the pattern for every stop of light as well? It should be yes because where moving on what we called the exposure reciprocals and make it easier to achieve the same exposure with the different values of aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

Let say that you've taken a properly exposed image with an aperture value of f8, shutter speed of  1/125sec and ISO 400. Using the reciprocals you may also use the values of:  

Aperture                  f1.4                   f2                   f2.8          f4          f5.6              f8           f11           f16

Shutter Speed     1/4000       1/2000      1/1000    1/500     1/250       1/125       1/60       1/30

ISO                            400                400                  400       400         400        400         400          400

Aperture, shutter speed and ISO are parameters in creating an exposure. Each parameter can be adjusted to compensate the increase/ decrease of stop/s of light. In the example above you can see that if you change each parameter the other parameters can be adjusted to produce the same exposure but with a different perspective effect to your images. ISO can be also adjusted in the example above, if you need a shutter speed of 1/500 sec with an aperture value of f8, your ISO will be 1600. The shutter speed was decreased by 2 stops therefore you need to increase the sensitivity of your sensor by adjusting your ISO by 2 stops so that the exposure will be the same. The rule of thumb is whatever you decrease/ increase to each parameter, you should also decrease/ increase to other parameters equally to obtain the same exposure. Below is a video from Bryan Peterson, a photographer and an author who explains that you can create different images with the same exposure.

Understanding Creatively Correct Exposure with Bryan Peterson