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Here at Canvas Prints Online we appreciate good photography. Over the coming weeks in weekly instalments we will be offering insights and tip’s to help you get the best from your photography. Please feel free to leave any comments and feedback, we love to hear from you.
It is possible to measure you progress in Photography by you attitude to camera controls. At first they may seem like a burden - an obstacle rather than an advantage - but as your command over them improves, they turn into invaluable tools, a power helping your creative processes. Of all the camera controls, the shutter speed setting is the most distinctivley photographic.
Shutter Settings - Exposure time
The shutters primary function is to set the exposure time. While it’s open, the photographic exposure is created by a summing up of all the light that falls on the sensor or put another way; Shutter speed is one of several methods used to control the amount of light recorded by the camera’s digital sensor or film. It is also used to manipulate the visual effects of the final image beyond its luminosity.The resulting record is not just of the light falling, but also the spatial realtionship with the sensor. This means that the sensor records all changes in position of the subject or of the camera itself, however minute they may be: in short the sensor records both light intensity and movement.
With a short exposure time, there is less chance for movement to travel a significant distance on the sensor. This means that there’s less chance for movement to travel a significant distance on the sensor, therefore blur from any moevement cannot easily be seen: the image looks sharp. If we hold the shutter open for longer, movement in both the subject and in the camera can draw a blur that’s large enough to be seen. Given that a blur only about a tenth of a millimeter long, from a distance of about 8 inches, the eye will assess the image as being unsharp.
Short Exposures
In order to obtain the sharpest picture you would therefore assume that it would be best to use the shortest exposure time, this can , in fact, have a negative effect on your image. A brief exposure may require a large aperture, or you may nee to use a high ISO setting or sometimes both.
These compensations may undermine your attempts to capture a sharp image: the large aperture reduces depth of field, calling for more precise focusing, and may also reduce image quality. A high ISO setting may increase noise (this lowers the shaprness of detail, not to mention lowering the quality of colours.)
Consequently, you may find that if you unhackle yourself from the tyranny of the brief exposure time and it’s adherence to sharpness, your pictures improve. Allow yourself a longer exposure to work with blur or allow slight movement of your image. Modern cameras which feature image stabilisation provide an excellent approach to movement. Using a tripod and keeping a steady hand will also help with your photos.
Next week: Depth of field.
