It's always about the story. But knowing how to use your camera can help you tell your story better. I talk about some of these techniques, but I've never really defined them or told you how to use them.
1. Depth of Field
Depth of field refers to what area in the frame is in focus. This is mostly changed with the aperture setting. This is commonly referred to as the "F stop" number and is written like "f__". The aperture is the hole in the lense that lets light in the camera. The higher the f stop, the smaller the aperture is. The lower the f stop, the wider the aperture is. Typically, a large aperture is anything below f4, and a small aperture is f11 and above. Ansel Adams is a famous photographer that was part of the f60 club and his photos were insanely detailed.
2. Focal Length
Focal Length refers to the distance of an object is in subject. Typically, the eye sees things at 50mm. Anything below 30mm is becoming wide angle, and anything above 70 is telephoto. You can easily change the focal length in a photo by using different lenses. Different focal lengths convey different things to the viewer. A wide angle can convey isolation or loneliness, whereas a telephoto compresses the image and looks flatter and more intimate. Wide angle lenses also reduce the depth of field and can create photos with more blurred backgrounds. Telephotos are great for traveling and can help you make far away objects look closer.
3. Frame Rate
Frame rate refers to the frequency that your camera captures images. This corresponds to a number followed by a "P". 24p or 24fps refers to 24 frames per second. 30p is 30 frames per second and 60p is 60 frames per second. 24 frames per second is standard with feature films because it creates a cinematic feel. Everything flows nicely. 60f and above is useful with slow-motion. If you use less, the resulting image will feel jittery. The higher the frame rate for slow-motion, the slower your image can be. Anything captured at 60f can be played back at 40% in a 24f sequence for a flawless result. So you may wonder, why not always use 60fps so you can always have the option with slow-motion? Well, like I said earlier, 24fps is smoother and more cinematic. But 60fps also makes your files huge. So if you're a hotshot and have a 2TB hard drive, then go for it money bags. If you're like me and use a memory card, it may not be the most feasible.
4. ISO and Noise
ISO is the Internal Standardization Organization, but for our purposes, it can either lighten or darken an image, and in return, creates noise. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive to light the camera is and the brighter your image. An ISO of 400 is 2x as sensitive to light than a 200 ISO. So if you have your shutter speed and aperture set to your desired settings and the image is still too dark, ISO can brighten your image. However, you will get more noise in your image. Noise is similar to the snowy effect on a broken TV. It can be distracting, but sometimes it can be a creative choice.
5. Shutter Speed
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time the camera's sensor is exposed to light. Not only does it affect the brightness of your image, it affects the motion rendering of your image. Lower shutter speeds create a smoother, brighter image, and higher shutter speeds create a darker and strobe-ish image. One of my favorite scenes (I've said it before and I'll say it again) is the church fight scene in in Kingsman: Secret Service. As a rule of thumb, you want to try to shoot with a shutter speed half of your frames per second. For example, if you're shooting in 24fps, you should use a 1/48 shutter speed.
Comments