Photo By Justin Cavadas-Cabelo Photo By Justin Cavadas-Cabelo
-- For each photo that you take be sure that you keep accurate records as you
work.
You should record: FRAME #, APERTURE, SHUTTER SPEED and SUBJECT on a photo log.
-- Note: For the purposes of this photography class assignment ..
STILL LIFE (definition) = A single object or a collection of inanimate (non-living) objects that has been either deliberately arranged or selected and framed within the camera viewfinder to form a pleasing composition.
- A tripod and cable release are very useful tools for this type of photography, but if you do not have access to these tools you can still produce reasonably sharp available light photographs if you use a handheld camera with a standard (50mm) lens, brace yourself against a solid support, and adjust your camera settings so that your actual shutter speed will be at least 1/60th second or faster.
- Adjust your camera so that it is level and at an appropriate height.
- Use your camera’s built-in metering system to determine your best starting point for bracketing. (For Minolta cameras, for example, begin by turning the shutter speed selector dial until the mode readout window says "AUTO")
- Arrange your subject beside a window and facing your camera (so that diffused sunlight is shining directly on one side of your subject & your camera is pointed toward your subject) .
CORRECT
5.
DO NOT place your subject between the camera
and the window and do not face your camera directly toward the window. This would create a
‘back-lighting’ effect (when the camera’s meter ‘reads’ the light
outside the window instead of the light that is reflected from your subject) and your
subject would be underexposed in your picture (it would appear as a silhouette)
6. Try to begin with an aperture opening of f/5.6, but be careful careful to maintain a shutter speed of at least 1/60th second. (If you can't get at least 1/60th second at f/5.6 try f/4 or try moving your subject closer to the window.)
7. With these settings you will have a relatively small depth of field, so be sure to focus very carefully on your main subject. When you have selected the composition that looks best and focused carefully, press the shutter release button gently.
8. Take a moment to write down your frame number, actual shutter speed and aperture setting on a photo log sheet.
9. Turn the shutter speed selector dial until it is at the same number as your actual shutter speed in step #8 above (the speed shown by your camera’s automatic metering system).
10. "Bracket" by taking four more photos of your subject as follows:
Use the same shutter speed setting
for all four photos...
but for the 2nd photo in this set --
change the aperture to the f/stop 2
stops smaller* than your first setting
for the 3rd photo in this set --
change the aperture to the next
f/stop smaller* than your first setting
for the 4th photo in this set --
change the aperture to the next
f/stop larger* than your first setting
for the 5th photo in this set --
change the aperture to the f/stop 2
stops larger* than your first setting
____________________
* Remember - what we refer to as f/stop numbers are not integers, but fractions:
f (focal length)
actual diameter of the lens opening
Examples of Student Eixting Light Photographstherefore, a large f/stop number, like f/16 or f/22 refers to a small lens opening
while a small f/stop number, like f/1.7 or f/2 refers to a large lens opening.
Photo by Kristen Zglinki
Photo By Justin Cavadas-Cabelo
Photo
by Adrienne Fields 
Photo by Lois Ann Rotondo
(To see a larger view of the student
photographs above, just click on the thumbnail image.
To return to this page again just click your browser's 'back' button.)
Part II - Water Photographs
Some of the world’s best water photographs have been taken using available light. Different choices of shutter speed create different visual effects in the final photograph. The method outlined below will enable you to record several different effects from a very sharp, ‘motion freezing’ effect to a soft, misty effect. This project will take time and careful attention to complete correctly. Results vary dependent upon several different factors, including but not limited to the amount of light available. Be patient. Good record-keeping will help you to produce repeatable results in the future.
For each photo that you take it is advisable that you record FRAME #, APERTURE, and ACTUAL SHUTTER SPEED on a photo log.
(A cable release is needed whenever the actual shutter speed is 1/15th second or slower
a -- Look through the viewfinder to determine the actual shutter speed.
b -- Write down your frame number, actual shutter speed, and aperture
setting (f / 22) on
a photo log sheet.
c -- Take two photographs as follows:
For your first photo:
-- Manually turn the shutter speed selector dial until the number that shows in the mode
readout window is the same number as your actual shutter speed in step #7a above.
For your second photo:
-- Keep the aperture set at f / 22 , but change the shutter speed one setting faster than your first setting.
a -- Look through the viewfinder to determine the
actual shutter speed.
b -- Write down your frame number, actual shutter speed, and aperture setting
(f / 16) on a photo log sheet.
c -- Take two photographs as follows:
For your first photo:
-- Manually turn the shutter speed selector dial until the number that shows in the mode
readout window is the same number as your actual shutter speed in step #7a above.
For your second photo:
-- Keep the aperture set at f / 16 , but change the shutter speed one setting faster than your first setting.
You should now have taken a set of 10 ‘bracketed’ photographs of the same scene
-- NOTE: The slower the ACTUAL SHUTTER SPEED the softer & more misty the water will
appear in the final photograph; the faster the shutter speed the more the water’s
motion will be ‘frozen.’
Go to MHSNorth Home Pg