The Basics Of Photography - 3 Basic Things

Taking a great shot really rests on how well you know three things about photography.

1. Getting your subject correctly framed in the camera view screen (no point in your family portrait having no heads!)

2. Getting everything you want in focus

3. Getting the picture correctly exposed.

Let's start with the physical mechanics of how a photograph is produced.

You'll often hear about photographers using the proper exposure. Here's why........Exposure will make or break a photograph. There's no point in having the greatest shot in the world if your picture is either too dark to make anything out or so light that all the detail's been bleached out!

Exposure - how much light the camera needs to allow in to give a well illuminated final photograph with a full range of contrast (blacks, whites and mid tones). Exposure consists of two parts:-

Aperture - This is the diameter of the gap or hole in the actual camera lens through which light enters the camera. It works like the iris in the eye - it can be larger when the light level is low to allow more light in, or it can close up very small when it is very bright.

Shutter speed - This is the length of time that light is allowed to come through the aperture to fall onto the sensor that records your picture. It's just like the opening and closing of a curtain.

Compact cameras operate the same way as their larger contemporaries to take a shot.

When you press the shutter button, a lens made up of various components brings an image into focus on the recording sensor of the camera.

The camera than measures how much light is dropping onto the sensor. This determines how long the camera will allow light to enter through the aperture together with how large an aperture there will be. (The relationship between aperture and shutter speed, together with how each can be used to produce various effects, are discussed in another part of this series for camera users).

The sensor is then uncovered to allow light coming from the subject to reach it. When sufficient light has entered, the sensor is covered. The camera processes the information, and then records (writes) the final image onto the digital memory card in the camera. All in a fraction of a second!

This is what your camera has to do. But how can you use your camera settings to get the best out of your photos? Prior to using them to the max, you must understand what every setting controls in your photo.

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