Aperture:
This is a picture of my cat, Becky. It was taken at the F4.0 setting on my camera which is the largest aperture. This creates a blurry background and detailed subject. Some of the foreground is also slightly blurred.
Aperture Summary —
Aperture is controlled by the opening of the lens diaphragm on a camera. It is commonly communicated through f stop numbers. The lower the f-stop the wider the opening in the lens. Aperture impacts depth of field. It makes the backgrounds of photos more or less blurry. A lower f stop means that the image backdrop will be more blurry and less focused. It also impacts how light is shown in the picture.
Link for aperture article —
Shutter Speed:
This picture shows low shutter speed. My shutter speed was set to 1/13, which created a lot of blur. My cat’s front paw is blurred with movement.
Shutter Speed Summary —
Shutter speed shows how long the shutter remains open. If the shutter speed is faster the image sensor is exposed to light for a shorter amount of time. Fast shutter speeds are used to capture motion. Increasing shutter speed can be useful if you are trying to capture a moving subject like a car or bicycle. Photographers may make the artistic choice to either blur or capture motion in a picture by using shutter speed.
Link for shutter speed article —
ISO:
This picture had the ISO manually set to 6400. This changed the blurriness of the background and also intensified the light in the picture. If ISO was set any higher the image would become grainy.
ISO Summary —
ISO deals with how the camera captures light. It determines what amount of light needs to fall on the image sensor for the picture to have good exposure. Raising ISO allows the camera to capture images with a higher shutter speed. If ISO is too high the images will appear grainy. ISO can also be used to reduce blur.
Link for ISO article —
Depth of Field:
This picture has short depth of field. This is because the spider-web in the foreground is very clear. The background is very blurry, with the ocean and trees beyond the spider-web blurred to grey. This image clearly captures one subject, and other potential subjects (the background/ocean/trees) blurred out.
Depth of field summary —
Depth of field relates to how much of the image is in focus and is used to place emphasis on different elements of the photograph. A picture with a long depth of field may feature more than one subject, with the background as well as the foreground in focus. An image with a short depth of field will likely only include one subject. The camera may also be closer to that subject and the background will likely be blurred. Depth of field is controlled using aperture, lens length and by changing the distance from the photographer to the subject.
Depth of field article —
Dynamic Range:
This picture benefits from dynamic range. There is a significant amount of contrast between the darkness of the sand and the sunset. Dynamic range has been used to ensure that both the sky and rocky beach are well lit. You can see the color in the sky as well as in the rocks. This creates a more vibrant image with both highlights and shadows visible.
Summary —
Dynamic range can be used to allow a camera to capture both the dark and light areas of an image. For instance, if you are trying to shoot an image of a space where one area is very well lit and another area is not well lit you may want to use dynamic range to be able to capture both areas. Dynamic range can be used to improve vibrancy and to maintain the highlights and shadows within a scene.
Dynamic range article —
Overall Image:
This is an image from national geographic. This image shows a high amount of motion. The motion of the birds wings may reflect a low shutter speed shown as the blurring of movement. The background in this image is very blurred. This is likely due to large aperture and changes to ISO. The depth of field is short and places emphasis on the birds, as the subject of the picture. The vibrancy of their feathers reflects good use of dynamic range.
