2.

Exposure Triangle
 How to Hold a DSLR
 Camera Shake!
 One of most common problems for new photographers
 Image become blurry, due to camera wasn’t held still enough
while the shuttle being depressed
 Even the smallest movement of camera can cause it (real way
to eliminate is using Tripod)

 Techniques to reduce camera shake

 Grip the camera properly with right hand
 Strong grip but not so tight till you end up shaking the camera
 Squeeze the shutter, don’t jab at it
 Left hand position
 Generally support camera weight
 Either underneath the camera or under/around a lens
 Get close to viewfinder
 Leaning against solid object
 Example: wall, tree, sitting, kneeling down
 If stand & nothing to lean, your feet should width to give steady
stance
 Before take shot, take a gentle but deep breath
 Take a gentle but deep breath, hold it, take the shot, exhale
 ISO, Aperture & Shutter Relationship
ISO

 Each of the 3 aspects the

triangle relate to light, how it
The
Exposure
enters & interacts with the
Triangle camera
Shutter Aperture
Speed

 A change in 1 of the elements will impact the others

 We can never really isolate just 1 of the elements alone, always
need to have the others in our mind
 Keep in mind that changing each element not only impacts
exposure, but also has impact upon other aspects (eg.
depth of field, graininess of image, how motion is captured)
 ISO
 ISO (or ASA) is sensitivity of the image sensor
 Low ISO – less sensitive to light, finer grain
 High ISO – more sensitive to light, noisier shots

ISO 100 vs ISO 3200

 Auto-mode, camera selects appropriate ISO settings depend

on conditions, will try to keep as low as possible
 Which ISO to use?
 Always ask these questions:
 Light – is the subject well lit?
 Grain – want grainy shot or one without noise?
 Tripod – using a tripod?
 Moving Subject – the subject moving or stationary?

 If plenty of light, desire little grain, using tripod, and/or

subject stationary
 Generally, use a low ISO

 If it’s dark, purposely want grain, don’t have a tripod and/or

my subject is moving
 Consider increasing the ISO, as it will enable to shoot with a
faster shutter speed & still expose the shot well

 Question: what real life examples we need to use high ISO?

 Aperture
 Master Aperture control, you’ll put your
gasp real creative control over your camera
 Aperture is where lots of magic happen in
photography. Changes in it can mean the
difference between one dimensional & multi-
dimensional shots

 What is Aperture?
 The size of the opening (hole) in the lens
when a photo is taken
 Aperture is measured in “f-stops”. (f/2.8,
f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, etc.)
 Moving from 1 f-stop to next, doubles/halves
the size of opening in lens (& the amount of
lights getting through)

 Questions: Why large aperture given

smaller f-stop value? & small aperture has
larger f-stop value?
 Shuttle Speed
 What is Shutter Speed?
 The amount of time that the shutter is open
 Hence, the length of time image sensor “sees” the scene
attempting to capture
 Shutter Speed measured in second (fractions of seconds)
 1/1000s is faster than 1/30s (bigger denominator the faster the
speed)
 Most case, shutter speeds of 1/60s or faster are used. Because,
anything slower, it’s very difficult to use without getting camera
shake (camera moving when shutter is open, results in blur
photo)
 If use slow shutter speed. Use a tripod or some type of image
stabilization
 Shutter Speed on camera usually double (1/500, 1/250,
1/125, 1/60, 1/30, …)
 Shutter Speed increase/decrease by 1 stop, doubles/halves the
amount of light that gets in
 How to choose Shuttle Speed?
 Check anything in the scene is moving & how u like to
capture that movement?
 Either freeze the movement or let the movement become blur
 Freeze the movement: high shutter speed
 Let the movement blur: slow shutter speed

 Note: Motion is not always bad

 Waterfall, light trail, race car, etc.
 Shuttle Speed & Focal Length
 Key thing to consider when choosing shutter speed, focal
length of the lens in use
 Longer focal length will accentuate the amount of camera
shake, hence need faster shutter speed (image stabilization
system will help some)

 Rule of thumb (for non image stabilization system)

 Choose a speed with denominator larger than focal length
 50mm, then 1/60s
 200mm, then 1/250s
 Most DSLR image sensor are reduced size (non Full Frame,
cropped, APS-C), with multiplier factors of 1.5x, 1.6x & 2.0x
 Hence, we need even faster speed for the focal length
 50mm, then 1/125s (60*1.5 = 90)
 200mm, then 1/500s (200*1.5 = 300)
 Digital Camera Modes
 3 modes
 Automatic, Semi-Auto &
Manual

 Question: Which icons

belong to the 3 modes?

 Automatic Modes ISO

 Camera use it’s best judgment to

select all settings (ISO, shutter
speed, aperture, white balance,
focus & flash) to take the best The
Exposure
shot it can Triangle
 Other than Full ‘Auto’, we give
some hints to camera
Shutter Aperture
Speed
 Digital Camera Modes (cont.)
 Semi-Auto
 Other controls manual: Flash, White Balance, Image size, etc.

ISO
ISO

P mode S/Tv Priority

The *What is Program Shift? The
Exposure
Exposure
Triangle
Triangle

Shutter Aperture Shutter Aperture

Speed
Speed

ISO

*Some newer DLSR

has Auto-ISO!!
The A/Av Priority
ISO will be auto
Exposure
adjust in camera
Triangle
from Lo -> Hi set

Shutter Aperture
Speed
 Digital Camera Modes (cont.)
 Manual
 Full control of all settings
 Gives us full flexibility to create or screw-up our shorts
ISO

The M mode
Exposure
Triangle

Shutter Aperture
Speed

 Practice: PSAM mode at the end of this section

 The Exposure Triangle
 ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed relation (Window
Metaphor)
 Imagine camera like a window & you’re inside the room, wearing
a sunglass!
 Aperture – size of window
 Shutter Speed – amount of time window open
 ISO – wearing sunglass, low ISO. Take off sunglass, high ISO

 Bring It All Together

 Mastering exposure takes lot of practice
 Mostly, it’s a juggling act, even the most experienced
photographers experiment & tweak their settings as they go
 Changing each element not only impacts the exposure, but each
one also has an impact upon other aspects of it
 Changing ISO changes the graininess of a shot
 Changing aperture changes depth of field
 Changing shutter speed impacts how motion is captured).
 EXIF Data
 EXIF – Exchangeable Image File
 A standard for storing camera information
with image file
 EXIF data are very useful because we
don’t have to remember the camera
settings when take the photo, we can later
analyze on computer which camera settings
create the best results
 Practice: ISO/Aperture/Shutter Speed
 Use Manual AF-point Selection, turn-off Auto-ISO for this exercise

 Try following using all 4 PSAM mode

 Take a photo, then follow by EV -1 and EV +1 on same
composition
 P mode
 How to change Aperture & Shutter Speed while get same
exposure?
 What you can do to get the correct exposure?
 S (Tv) mode
 Use various Shutter Speed to shoot on a moving subject
(people walking)
 How to maintain same exposure?
 A (Av) mode
 Different Aperture value make any different to your photos?
 M mode
 Manually set ISO, Aperture & Shutter Speed to get exposure
you want, try it on few different subjects

 When you need to use P/S/A/M mode?