5 exercises for aspiring photographers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You've decided to buy a good camera and learn how to take cool photos. You even read the manual and you know that somewhere in the camera there is an exposure and aperture. But so far these are only obscure terms. Complete a few exercises and you will understand why all these letters and icons are needed on the camera.

Do you already know what your camera is capable of? No? Then the article will come in handy for you. It contains five tasks to help you understand the camera and how it works. Transcripts of the results are given at the end of the article, but you will need to come to most of the conclusions on your own. Try to analyze the behavior of the camera yourself. Don't peep!

To complete all the steps, you will have to manually adjust the sensitivity range, aperture, shutter speed and white balance.

1. Play with depth of field using aperture

The first task is simple. Place three objects on the table in front of the lens. Choose subjects that are easy to focus on (with lots of lines and contrasts). For example, children's toys.

The camera will not move, so place it on the table. Place the first object directly in front of the camera, at a distance of about 60 cm. The second object should be 30 cm further, the third further 30 cm. The objects must be staggered so that they fall into the angular field of the lens. The result should look something like this.

Set the camera to aperture priority mode. Not sure how to do this? Take a look at the instructions. Typically, this mode is hidden behind the A or Av designation on the main command dial. Then set the sensitivity to Auto. The camera will focus on the center point. However, all cameras choose the focus point in different ways, and if yours is not focused in the center, you will again have to go into the instructions.

Point the camera at the first subject to bring it into focus. Set the minimum aperture that your camera allows (f / 1.8 or f / 3.5, for example). If you are using a zoom lens, set the focal length in the 40–60 mm range.

Take a picture. Without moving the camera, change the aperture value to f / 8. Take another photo. Then set the maximum value (with the minimum aperture), for example, f / 22 or even higher. Take a photo.

Then set the focus point on the second subject, it will become sharp. And repeat three shots with different apertures, from minimum to maximum.

Finally, focus on the third subject and take three photos again.

In total, you should have nine shots, three for each subject in focus, with different apertures.

Aperture controls the depth of field. What changes when you set a higher aperture value? Are more or fewer objects in focus? What happens when you focus on a near or far object at the same aperture values? What's in focus?

Bonus experiment: repeat the exercise, setting the focal length to the minimum value, around 18 mm. Check out the difference.

2. Exposure compensation

It's a shame to buy a brand new camera and find that the automatic settings are far from ideal. As a rule, you do not need to use automatic tuning at all. It's not too hard, and you should be fine with all that parsley.

Select two objects to assign. One is completely black, the other is completely white. Place them close to each other. The example in the photo uses an iPad case and a towel.

Set aperture priority mode and choose the lowest aperture value. Set the ISO value to 400 and enable autofocus. See how your camera's metering is set and choose spot or center-weighted.

Set the camera in a stable position, focus the center point on black, so that metering is carried out on this object. If you are using center-weighted mode, try to fill the entire metering field with black. Take a picture.

Now find the exposure compensation function. It can be denoted by symbols - / +.

Now you need to change the settings and underexpose the frame one step. If you succeed, it will be indicated on the display as -1. If your camera model uses a coordinate axis, the pointer will move 1 division to the left of zero. In general, determine how you indicate the change in exposure, and take another photo.

Return the exposure compensation value to zero and focus the camera on a white object. Take a picture. Then change the compensation value to +1.

You should have four photos. Look at the pictures of a black object. In which photo is the color of the object closer to reality? What about white?

3. Test the sensitivity range

Modern cameras have a wide range of sensitivity, but everything has its limits. Don't be fooled by the fact that when shooting in a dark room at ISO 6,400, everything will turn out fine by itself. The next task shows what changes with the ISO value and what individual limitations your camera has.

Place several objects on one end of the table and place the camera on the other. Zoom in so that the objects completely fill the lens. It is good if there are white, black and colored objects in the frame. For normal lighting levels, turn on the lamps if necessary. Disable flash.

Set the aperture priority mode and set the aperture value to f / 5.6. Set the ISO to 100 and take a picture. Trying not to move the camera, set the ISO to 200 and take another photo. Then take pictures at ISO 400, 800, and so on (double the sensitivity each time) as far as the camera can handle.

Check out your photos, best on a large monitor. When viewing images on the camera display, use the zoom when looking at dark objects. What changes does each change of settings give? Do you notice a difference in how white and black objects look?

4. Add a blur effect with a slow shutter speed

This task is simple and can be solved quickly. You may need an assistant, you can also go outside and take pictures of moving cars. You want an object that moves in the camera's field of view from one side to the other (not forward or backward) at an approximately constant speed.

Place the camera on a stable surface or tripod in front of moving objects. Set the shutter priority mode (indicated by the letters S or Tv), the ISO sensitivity is 100, the shutter speed is 1/500.

Take photos of objects passing in front of the camera. Then change the shutter speed to 1/60 and take another shot of moving objects.

Finally, set the shutter speed value to 1/10.

What differences do you see between the three photos?

5. Important white balance

White balance is important if you are saving a photo in JPEG format. Usually cameras themselves are good at setting the white balance, but it would be nice to know how to control this parameter manually if the camera misses.

You need a place with three different light sources. It's okay if these sources are not nearby, you can move with the camera. You also need a piece of white paper with the inscription (for focusing).

Set programmed mode. This will allow you to use the automatic settings for shutter speed, aperture and ISO, but control the white balance. Again, we are talking about the most common settings, but the implementation of this mode may differ for each manufacturer.

Find a place with natural light. Set the white balance mode to "Daylight". It is usually indicated by a sun icon. Take a photo of a white sheet with daylight falling on it (even if the day is overcast).

Trying not to move away from the shooting point, rearrange the white balance in the "Incandescent" mode, which, in fact, is indicated by the icon of the light bulb. Repeat the previous photo. Finally, set the mode to "Shadow" (house icon). And take the picture again.

Then go to the artificial light source: fluorescent lamp or incandescent lamp. Again, you need to take three photos of a white sheet with different white balance settings, as in the previous time. Make sure that the light from the source falls on the sheet, and does not pass through it.

What happened to the color of the white sheet in each of the shots? White can be different, right? Is the color yellowish or cyan when shooting in Shadow mode? Now it’s clear to you how it works. Use it.

Answers and tips

Played great, now it's time to understand what you needed to see during each exercise.

1. In the first exercise, you should see more objects in focus as the aperture increases. When you focus on subjects that are farther from the camera, the depth of field also increases with the aperture value.
2. Your camera automatically sets the exposure as if the world is 18% gray. This means that black and white objects take on a gray tint. If you are shooting something gray like asphalt, no further adjustments are required. But, to whiten white, you need to overexpose the frame, and to blacken black, underexpose.
3. As the sensitivity increases, digital noise (not like grain on film, but similar) increases. Noise is rarely needed, and as technology improves, camera manufacturers are learning to fix this problem. Therefore, even five years ago, photographers were not advised to set the sensitivity value above 800. Now you can shoot at ISO 2000 with an adequate result. But each camera has its own limits, which are found empirically.
4. The slower the shutter closes, the more blur the frame becomes. It can appear from the fact that you move the camera, or the fact that the subject is moving. This effect is not always bad, and you can take amazing pictures with it. But you need to be able to dose it. So experiment with shooting at different shutter speeds.
5. White balance is difficult to find when there are many different light sources around, but this option helps to adjust the colors in the photo. Artificial light produces yellow or green hues, shadows and cloudy weather make pictures bluish. If you want to change the colors in the photo, try working with the white balance settings.

A distinctive feature of photography is the ability to repeat. You take a photo, then take it again. By keeping an eye on the changes, experimentation can help you gain tremendous experience. Only one setting changes - and the result looks very different.

Go ahead and experiment. The more you shoot and the more often you look at the world through the lens, the more you will learn.