f/stops, apertures, ISOs, & manual exposures

1. f/stops, apertures, ISOs, & manual exposures • - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR -

2. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR - | basics | • There are 3 settings you need to think about when photographing manually: • f/stop (aperture) • shutter speed • ISO

3. ISO ShutterSpeed f/stop (Aperture) - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR - | basics | • Think of these three settings like an equilateral triangle if you change one of the settings, you will need to change the other two, so they balance.

4. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR - | basics | • f/stop: controls the amount of light coming into the camera through the lens • shutter speed: controls how long the shutter remains open to allow light to the digital image sensor • ISO: controls how sensitive the digital image sensor is to the light that reaches it

5. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR - | basics | • f/stops, shutter speeds, and ISOs are measured in ‘stops’ • When moving between whole stops, there is a difference of either twice or half the amount of light • f/2.8 to f/4 is a whole stop • 1/125th to 1/250th is a whole stop • ISO 200 to ISO 400 is a whole stop

6. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR -| f/stops | • f/stops identify the size of the aperture • remember, it’s adjustable • the relationship between the number of the f/stop and the opening is inverse: • the smaller the number of the f/stop, the larger the opening in the lens or • the larger the number of the f/stop, the smaller the opening in the lens • common whole f/stops are: • f/2.0 f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 f/32 • notice that every other number doubles itself • f/2.0 is a larger opening than f/32 and allows more light into the camera

7. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR -| shutter speeds | • Shutter speeds identify the time the shutter is open during an exposure - remember, it’s adjustable and measured in seconds or fractions of seconds • common whole shutter speeds are: • 1 sec 1/2 sec 1/4 sec 1/8 sec 1/15th 1/30th 1/60th 1/125th 1/250th 1/500th 1/1000th 1/2000th 1/4000th • Notice that the numerators double each stop, but will be shorter in length moving from 1 second to 1/4000th of a second • When you are outside, you will generally want to use shorter shutter speeds to avoid overexposure

8. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR -| ISO | • ISO identifies the sensitivity of the digital image sensor to light - remember, it’s adjustable • the smaller the number of the ISO, the less sensitive the digital image sensor will be to light • common whole ISOs are: • ISO 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 • notice that every stop doubles itself, and also doubles the sensitivity to light of the digital image sensor • ISO 100 is much less sensitive to light than ISO 3200 • a lower ISO is better suited to outdoor lighting situations

9. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR -| BDE | • Basic Daylight Exposure (BDE) • a rule in manual photography that sets a starting point for you to figure out your f/stop, shutter speed, and ISO for normal exposure • BDE is also known as the Sunny 16 Rule

10. - introduction to photographing in manual mode with a dSLR -| BDE | • BDE states: Shooting outside, on a sunny day, you will get a normal exposure with ISO 100, f/16 @ 1/125th • If you don’t want to shoot at f/16 or 1/125th or ISO 100, you can choose to change any of those settings and still have a normal exposure, so long as you change the other settings to balance out the change. This is called an equivalent exposure. • For example • f/16 @ 1/125th ISO 100 = f/8 @ 1/500th ISO 100 • because you changed the f/stop by 2 stops MORE light, your shutter speed needs to be 2 stops LESS light to balance out the equation, and keep the amount of light the same for your normal exposure.