Photography Questions & Pointers

[LisaRKR]

:D GREAT BIG "THANK YOU" TO LYNNE FOR THE IDEA!!!:D

OK gals, Lynne, mood4amelody, came to me with what we believe to be a great new thread so here it is .........

As you may or may not know, I am a professional photographer. To give you some background: I have been in the industry for 20 years now. My specialties are in Portraiture, Wildlife, Landscape, and Action. I have been published and have works that toured world wide with the Art Institute of Dallas, done work for newspapers, Giant Records Label, radio stations, and many many individual clients. I have also done weddings, headshots, and product photography to name a few others. I hold an Associtate of Applied Arts Degree in Photography and Multimedia.

I do not know it all! :o Unfortunately! LOL However, I have a vast amount of knowledge that I would like to share with you if you have questions or are looking for pointers. I will tell you upfront, I don't know really anything about digital cameras. I am an old fashioned girl and shoot with film. However, the basics are still going to be the same.

I look forward to your questions and any comments. I truly hope that you will find benefits and rewards with this new "advice column", and that I can help to make your photos even better.

Happy shooting!

[mood4amelody]

Yay!! Thanks Lisa! I'm so happy you were great enough to share your knowledge and skills with us!! YOU ROCK!! :D

I have an great old Cannon A1. Totally love it, but am really shaky on what's what. I can adjust the lense to get a clear pic, but am sort of clueless about terminology and how it applies. Things like f-stop! (I know, how stupid can I be??lol) So, my question is just basically what does the f-stop settings determine. Like would one shot be an in focus shot and another shot be different in some way?

I hope that was actually understandable!

[MandMnmbr3]

We have an old Canon AE1 Program camera. I used it up until 2003 when I got my first digital Camera.

I too, like Lynne have NO IDEA what the f-stop is for...LOL! I just kept it on Auto all the time, and most of out photos came out great. I did use a high ASO film though, usually 400 unless I could find 800.

[mood4amelody]

I like to use the 200 film. From what I understand, at 200 you have to hold steadier but the pictures will enlarge better. With 400, you can have less light, but take better action shots. I think.:p

[LisaRKR]

Yay!! Thanks Lisa! I'm so happy you were great enough to share your knowledge and skills with us!! YOU ROCK!! :D

I have an great old Cannon A1. Totally love it, but am really shaky on what's what. I can adjust the lense to get a clear pic, but am sort of clueless about terminology and how it applies. Things like f-stop! (I know, how stupid can I be??lol) So, my question is just basically what does the f-stop settings determine. Like would one shot be an in focus shot and another shot be different in some way?

I hope that was actually understandable!

Thank you and you are welcome.:o

Down to the nitty gritty. First, there are NO stupid questions and you aren't stupid for not knowing or not being sure!

OK so you know that an f-stop is the same as aperture.
*f-stop is what determines the AMOUNT of light that is allowed through the lense onto the film.
*shutter speed (ie, 1/250) is what determines the TIME in which that light is allowed to expose the film.

So what does that mean?
Here is the scenario: You are looking at a field. In front of you is a wooden fence, then in the middle of the field is a deer, and the back of the field is lined with trees. You have a choice to make now. Do you want only the deer to be in focus and the fence and tree line is soft, or out of focus, or do you want everything to be in focus? This is called DEPTH OF FIELD.

This is where the aperture setting comes in, or f-stop. The average f-stop begins at 3.5 and goes to 22. The smaller the number, 3.5, the LARGER the opening. Therefore, you are going to allow a lot of light to expose your film. And vice versa for f22, a very SMALL opening allowing very little light through.

If you only want the deer in focus, you want the f-stop on your camera to be set at 3.5 and you will focus on the deer itself. If you want everything in focus, (the fence, deer, and tree line) then you will still focus on the deer and set your f-stop to 22.

The next lesson that must go with this is shutter speed and how to use it effectively. But before we go into that, let’s make sure that there aren’t any questions on this.

How am I doing so far, does it make sense and easy to understand? What questions to you guys have?

[LisaRKR]

I will get into ASA/ISO of film later today. I have to run right now, but will answer more later!

Thanks gals! I really am enjoying this and I really hope that you will too! Besides all, I just love to talk and love to teach people things!

[mood4amelody]

This is excellent, Lisa! Let me see that I've got it. I got out my camera and checked out things while going over your post. I'm really excited! lol

Okay, just to have the deer in focus @ 3.5 (mine has 1.4 - is that okay or am I looking at the wrong thing?) lets in more light to sort of "overexpose" the areas around the deer? Blurs them? And at 22 it's less light & film exposure so all details of the picture are clear? If that's right, then do the between settings gradually effect the results - like going from "a little blur at the edges" to "mostly blur except the subject/deer"?

You are fantastic!! Do you teach classes other than here? If you don't, I think you should!

[LisaRKR]

This is excellent, Lisa! Let me see that I've got it. I got out my camera and checked out things while going over your post. I'm really excited! lol

Okay, just to have the deer in focus @ 3.5 (mine has 1.4 - is that okay or am I looking at the wrong thing?) lets in more light to sort of "overexpose" the areas around the deer? Blurs them? And at 22 it's less light & film exposure so all details of the picture are clear? If that's right, then do the between settings gradually effect the results - like going from "a little blur at the edges" to "mostly blur except the subject/deer"?

You are fantastic!! Do you teach classes other than here? If you don't, I think you should!

Yes, you have it! And yes, f1.4 is an aperture setting. Just so everyone is clear, the aperture settings are located on the "aperture ring" at the base of the lense closest to the camera body.

The best way to experience depth of field and learn what the f-stops do for you is to actually go out and shoot. Find an area outside that appeals to you. Take a notebook with you and log every shot so that when you have the film developed, you actually can see what aperture gives you which desired result. Of course, whatever you choose should have no chance of movement. Like find a bed of flowers, a tree, etc.... If you have a tripod it is best to use it for this experiment since you will want the camera to remain in the exact same spot for each shot. You can do it handheld with no problem, just make sure when you stop to write, you don't move.

Take a piece of paper, and with each shot write down the specifics. For example: #1 - f22, #2 - f16, etc.

Lynne, I am so happy that you are enjoying this and I really hope that you are learning from it! You are so sweet and thank you for your support! I do not teach photo, nor have I. At least not in a class room environment. I have helped friends and family understand their cameras and what to do, and when I was the asst. mgr of a photo company, I trained the people I hired if necessary. We went to each client with that company and if they saw me there, usually before they got there themselves, they knew that I was going to "fix" their problems! LOL

[LisaRKR]

ASA/ISO = film speed.

Film speed is very important! 200 is my preference. Now, that is also provided that you have a flash! I prefer 200 for all of my shooting unless I am shooting sports or of course somewhere that I can't use my flash and it is a low lighting condition. Why? Because everytime I click the shutter, I have to anticipate that it is going to be the best shot and I will want to blow it up to a size above an 8X10. It has a finer grain to it, so it doesn't show up "grainy" when it is enlarged. You should also use 200 if you are taking pictures, say of the kids, outside on a sunny day. Anything higher and you risk your photos being overexposed.

400 is a good film for something like party photos or shooting outdoors on a gloomy day.

800 is what you want for shooting with speed. For instance, when I used to shoot for the Rodeo, I used 800. Don't use this because you are afraid that your everyday photos are going to be blurry. Instead use your flash!

There is also 1600, but honestly, unless you are shooting professionally, you really don't have a need for that much speed and it is VERY expensive.

[LisaRKR]

We have an old Canon AE1 Program camera. I used it up until 2003 when I got my first digital Camera.

I too, like Lynne have NO IDEA what the f-stop is for...LOL! I just kept it on Auto all the time, and most of out photos came out great. I did use a high ASO film though, usually 400 unless I could find 800.

Mae~

Auto program is the best to use for everday photos. Unless you are trying to be creative, and the photos are not very important to you, it is the way to go since you run the risk of overexposure or underexposure which could leave you without any photos that are actually worth looking at.

[mood4amelody]

Awesome! Since I've dusted off my camera bag for the first lesson, and got my 200 film, I'll get out this week with a note book and try out all my aperture/f-stops!

In the meantime... you mentioned the flash. I have 2 and am totally unfamiliar with all the numbers and such. Is this something I'll have to go look up the manuals for sense there are probably millions of different kinds, or is it more basic than I think? These are both Vivitar. One is a "Auto Thyristor 2800" and the other a "285 HV Thyristor". I used the 285 once at night to take pictures of guys cleaning a deer and pretty much overexposed everything. The pics looked pretty "washed out". :(

You should teach this - you're fantastic! If you ever need an apprentice or whatever - I'm your girl!!! :D

[MandMnmbr3]

Thank you Lisa for sharing your wealth of knowledge!! I truly appreciate it.

I haven't "dusted off my old camera bag" yet, but I am planning to. One of my sis-in-laws is getting married next month, so I might try to take some shots of her wedding using the old AE-1 Program camera. Poor baby has been retired for a few years. Our daughter Theresa used it in her photography class she took when in high school. her teacher was AMAZED at how well her photos came out. She asked her where she bought that OLD camera. Theresa told her it was her parents, and we bought it the day before she was born!! LOL Which we did!

I have a friend who lives in AK who is a professional photographer. I've know her since Jr. High School. She like you, LOVES to help others out with photography questions.

Thanks again Lisa!

[LisaRKR]

OMG! Lynne, hope you haven't gone out to shoot your test roll yet. (see this is why I am not a teacher! lol) I forgot to instruct on something VERY important! Your camera will have settings on it such as "P" for Automatic program, "A" for Aperture Priority, and "S" for Shutter Priority. You MUST set your camera to the APERTURE PRIORITY setting for this to work. That way your shutter is in sync with the aperture and the pictures will not be over or under exposed. Also, if you had it on the automatic program, this would just be a waste of money and time.

I am soooooooo sorry. I hope that I caught you in time!

[mood4amelody]

We're safe!! lol I haven't done the test roll yet! :D