So that you can make lots of great portraits with a digital camera, first understand the concept of exposure. With a good DSLR camera, you can indeed make photos that look decent. But once you understand exposure, you'll see that the photos you take will go far beyond standard shots and can become a memorable masterpiece.
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Step 1. Understand what “photo exposure” is and how exposure affects photos
Exposure is a term that refers to two aspects of photography, which refers to how to control the light and dark parts of a photo.
- Exposure is controlled by the camera's light meter. The light meter will determine the correct exposure and set the f-stop (diaphragm number) and shutter speed (shutter speed). The F-stop is a fractional number with the letter "f" representing the focal length. The F-stop is determined by dividing the focal length by the aperture. An f-stop of f/2.8 means 1/2.8 versus f/16, which would be 1/16. If you think of it as a slice of pie, you'll get more pies with 1/2.8 than 1/16.
- You need to be able to set the correct f-stop and shutter speed for each shot to get a photo with sufficient exposure to light. Or in other words: “photos with the right light and dark levels”; or “appropriately exposed photo”.
- An easy way to understand it is to “imagine a bucket of water with a hole in the bottom. If the hole is large (large diaphragm), then the water will flow quickly (the shutter speed must be fast). On the other hand, if the aperture is small (the diaphragm is small), the water will flow slowly (the shutter speed must be slow).”
- Exposure, or the lightness and darkness of a photo, is a combination of the f-stop (i.e. the size of the aperture on the lens) and shutter speed (i.e. the length of time the shutter is open). So, if the shutter is left open longer, more light will enter into the film or into the digital sensor, and the resulting photo will be brighter. If the exposure is shortened (less light enters the film/digital sensor), the photo will be darker. A long shutter speed means: more exposure, more light coming in. A short shutter speed means: less exposure, less light entering.
Step 2. Learn f-stops
The f-stop (also known as the f-number or diaphragm number) is a fractional number, which is a fraction of the actual lens aperture compared to the lens focal length. The diaphragm is the opening through which light enters.
Step 3. Try the following example
For example, say you have a lens with a focal length of 50 mm and an f-stop of f/1.8. The f-stop number is determined by the focal length: the diaphragm. So 50/x = 1.8 or x~ = 28. The actual diameter, where light enters through the lens, is 28 mm long. If the lens had an f-stop of 1, for example, the aperture would be 50 mm because 50/1 = 50. That's what f-stop really means.
Step 4. Learn the Manual exposure mode on your digital camera
In Manual mode, you can set the f-stop and shutter speed. If you really want to control the light, exposure, and how the photo turns out, learn how to use Manual exposure mode. This knowledge is very useful, not only for people who like photography or photographers who still shoot with film cameras! Manual mode is still relevant today, even for digital cameras, because with this mode you can control the look and feel you want to convey in the photo.
Step 5. Understand why you need to specify exposure
The diaphragm is really important for controlling photos because it controls how much light enters, and light is the most important factor for a photo. Without light, you will not be able to produce photos.
- Set the diaphragm to control the light and the amount of part that appears to be in focus in the photo, or what is known as the depth of field (depth of field).
- Set a wide aperture, such as f/2 or 2.8, to blur the background and make the subject of the photo look very sharp. You may also want to use the largest aperture when shooting in low light to avoid blurry photos.
- Shoot with a medium aperture such as a 5.6 or 8 so that the subject looks sharp and the background is slightly out of focus, but still recognizable.
- Shoot with a smaller aperture like f/11 or smaller for landscape photos, if you want everything to be in focus, from the flowers in the foreground to the river and mountains in the background. Depending on the format, small apertures such as f/16 and smaller will cause photos to lose sharpness due to diffraction effects.
- To get good photos, using the right aperture is considered much more important by many photographers than shutter speed, because choosing the right aperture will determine the sharpness of the photo, and this will make a significant difference. Meanwhile, the use of shutter speeds at 1/250 or 1/1000 will not look significant.
Step 6. Understand why you need to specify an ISO
ISO on a digital camera serves to control the level of sensitivity of the camera to light. In bright conditions, we set the camera to a less sensitive setting in order to produce photos that are not too noisy (a lot of grainy grain) because the shutter speed is quite fast, namely at ISO 100. In low light conditions with little natural light available, the camera should set to be more sensitive. So, increase the ISO from 100 to 1600 or even to 6400 if necessary, so that sufficient light enters the camera and the photo does not become blurry. Then, what is the compensation? When you increase the ISO, the photo will become more noisy (if in a film camera it is called grainy or grainy) and the colors in the photo will have less contrast. So, set the ISO to the lowest possible number, but don't let the photo become blurry.
Step 7. Determine how much ISO is required for the photo you are going to take
ISO on digital cameras is the same as ISO on film cameras. In the past, you bought film based on an ISO that matched the lighting of the subject to be photographed. Now, you can set the ISO on the camera based on the available lighting.
- How do I set it up? On some cameras, there is a button at the top of the camera that says ISO. Just press the button or turn the gear, and change the ISO.
- On some other cameras, you have to go to Menu and look for ISO setting. Click the ISO setting and change the number. That's how to set the ISO on a digital camera.
Step 8. Freeze the motion scene by changing the shutter speed on the camera
Change the shutter speed on the camera to freeze the movement of the photo subject. If you are shooting without a tripod, the shutter speed should be set as fast or faster than the inverse of the focal length. In other words, if you are shooting with a 100mm lens, then a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second is the optimal choice. At this speed, the level of photo blur can be reduced.
Step 9. If you are shooting a moving subject, change the shutter speed to a range of 1/500 to 1/1000 to freeze the subject movement
Step 10. If you are shooting in low light and need more light to enter the shutter, set the shutter speed to 30 or 15 seconds
When you do this, the movement of the subject of the photo will appear blurry. So, set the shutter speed to 30 or 15 seconds only when the light conditions are low or when you want the motion of the photo subject to appear blurry.
- Medium shutter speed: 125 or 250 for most photos.
- Fast shutter speed: 500 or 1000 to freeze a moving subject.
- Low shutter speed: 30 or 15 seconds to make subject movement appear blurry or when you are shooting in low-light conditions.
Step 11. Learn how to change the shutter speed on a digital camera
Maybe your camera has a gear or button option, or the settings could be in the Menu.
Step 12. It's better to underexposure (less light) than overexposure (more light)
Of course we want the perfect exposure, but if you can't get the right exposure, it's better to choose the underexposure option and leave the photo a little darker. If a photo is overexposure, all information and details in the photo will be lost and cannot be recovered. While underexposure photos still have a greater chance of being recovered in the editing process later. You can set the camera to underexpose using EV compensation (exposure value compensation).
Step 13. Learn Program Mode on the camera
With the exposure mode on the camera, you can control how the photo is adjusted. The default mode is “P” mode (Program Mode). With this mode you can set the shutter speed or diaphragm and adjust other values based on those settings, so that the photo is perfectly lit according to the light meter. The advantage of Program Mode is that you don't need to know anything. This mode is only one level higher than the green automatic mode, aka anti-fail mode.
Step 14. Learn Aperture Priority mode
On digital cameras, you have a choice of “A-mode” or Aperture Priority. In Aperture Priority mode (this is the mode for determining exposure), you choose the f-stop or aperture number. Then, the camera will select the shutter speed for you. Aperture Priority is considered the more useful mode. So, all you have to do is choose an f-stop, for example f/2.8 to blur the background, f/8 for moderately sharp spaces, or f/16 to bring everything in focus.
Step 15. Learn Shutter Priority mode
Be aware of the Shutter Priority mode on your camera. The advantage of Shutter Priority mode is that you can set the most precise or convenient number to use. Then, the camera will select the number of f-stops for you. On your camera, this Shutter Priority mode can be denoted by an S or TV icon, depending on the camera brand.
- In Shutter Priority mode, all you have to do is select the shutter speed and the camera will set its f-stop.
- With Shutter Priority mode, the camera will shoot at the shutter speed you have selected, regardless of whether the photo has the correct exposure or not.
