Going manual - opening and shutter speed
So you are thinking of taking separate with "auto" on your digital camera paths and venture into uncharted territory shutter speeds and aperture size? Well, the good news is - despite many photographers preference for complexity, abbreviations and jargon - "go manual" does not affect the essential simplicity of taking pictures. Really - there is very little to learn.
What is the opening?
The opening is a small hole in the lens that admits light into your camera and the image sensor. More hole - the more light enters the camera and vice versa. What does that mean? Well, obviously, the more light hits the sensor the brighter your picture will picture.
What is measured by the opening?
So you shoot something in the dark - perhaps in a shady spot or indoors - and need a good wide open to let all the light possible so that the photo does not come open underexposed. How do you know that the size of the aperture is set to? F.Stops! Sometimes called f. numbers, these are a series of numbers which correspond to the size of the opening. Everything you need to know is: the more f - more openness and more f. number - the smaller the aperture. Thus, a low f-stop as F.2.8 allows plenty of light, while a large as F.29 allows a small amount.
And another thing ...
A wide open aperture reduces the depth of field of an image, while a narrow opening increases. The depth of field is the zone of sharpness on either side of where you put the emphasis on the camera. For example, if you take a picture and you want the background is blurred against the clear face of the subject, go for a low f-stop.
What is the shutter speed?
OK - if the opening was pretty simple, right? So that the shutter speed is, but the key thing to remember is that two things work vice versa. As the opening admits light into the camera, the shutter blades through at a given speed, determining how long the light is allowed into the camera.
Remember to open and close a valve over an empty bucket. More tap is left on / open, the water reaches the bottom of the bucket. The same is true with light and the image sensor. The slower the shutter speed, the longer it takes to close and more light ends up falling on the image sensor - simple!
So what else ...?
Well apart from affecting the exposure of a photo, the shutter speed determines how the movement is captured. If you have a tripod to stabilize the camera, a slow shutter speed will create a blur effect to smooth things along like water, taxiways or grass in the wind. Meanwhile, a fast shutter speed trap movement, freezing in a clear picture.
The shutter speed is simply measured by seconds and fractions of seconds - if it is really easy to work.
Enjoy using your camera controls to their full potential - I hope you have great photos!
