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exposure

Understanding exposure

Theory and Practice of Photography

Aperture:

Aperture is the setting of the iris of the camera lens. Just as your pupils in your eyes expand and contract to let in more or less light, you can do the same with your camera by setting the Aperture.

The Aperture measurement is called F-stop. The higher the F-stop number, the smaller the iris is set in your camera.

The trade-off: Each concept of photography seems to have a trade-off that prevents you from wanting to use it all the time.

Don’t miss iCaught on ABC

Last night I saw a program on Network TV that may go down as a landmark program in the evolution in the convergence of all things media. The program was called iCaught and based on what I have just heard today from clients and acquaintances, it opened the eyes of many casual web users to the wonders that can be found on the Internet.

Selling items on eBay is even easier!

Although I buy a few things per year on eBay, I haven't sold anything on eBay for a little more than two years. I had eight items that I needed to sell so I logged into my account today and found that posting an item for sale is much easier than it was two years ago. Creating the description (some items can be automatically built from a stock description) is easier, making your posting look professional and clean is easier, adding pictures is easier (first picture is free, then only fifteen cents per picture after that), and working through pricing your item (hint:  always start at $.01 to lower your listing cost AND generate interest in your item).

Turn your camera flash on in the daytime and off at night

All digital cameras have an auto mode that handles everything. The user doesn’t even need to think about shutter speeds, aperture, or any other settings on the camera and that is the way the photographer often wants it.

This can also lead to problems though as certain light conditions can cause the camera to misread the lighting conditions.

Two examples of this are your local Christmas parade of lights and anytime you are taking someone’s picture in front of a sunlit window.

In the parade of lights, your camera will assume that you want to use the flash because it is so darn dark and with backlit subjects your camera will read plenty of light to shoot without a flash.

Learn to Use Your Digital Camera’s EXIF Data

In the olden days of photography, a true student of the hobby would carry a note pad and write down the shutter and film speed as well as the lens setting and information such as whether or not a flash was used. The photographer would then use this information as a reference in becoming familiar with the camera.

Even with digital it is extremely important to learn how your camera reacts in various settings. Digital cameras often have very hot flashes that wash out a subject if it is too close. Other cameras may be picky about shooting strange lighting.

Whether a photo comes out perfect or awful, it is often useful to be able to go back and see how your camera was setup for the shot. Your digital camera automatically records such information but you have to know where to find it.