When I first started out in photography it was a real challenge to create a good photograph, after all the camera I had was a Fuji Finepix 2600Zoom, there wasn't any aperture settings or shutter speed settings, you simply pointed it at your subject and pressed the shutter release button and unleashed the whole 2 mega pixels. However, what that camera did was to help me learn what I think is the most important aspect in photography, composition. I even won a couple of in house competitions at my local camera club with that camera, which didn't go down too well with the traditionalist slr toting members...
I often get asked by clients on my Tripod & Wellies Landscape photography workshops, what makes a good landscape? Of course its very subjective, what one person likes, another may dislike, but for me it boils down to composition, of course light is vitally important but a badly composed image, no matter how great the light will not make a great photograph, but a well composed image in not so great light will still be a good photograph. Great light and a great composition will make a great photograph.
So what about aperture, shutter speed and ISO? Yes they play a crucial part. If you want good depth of field with everything in focus then an aperture setting of f16 to f22 will achieve this. if you want to show movement such as in a waterfall then you need to have your camera mounted on a tripod and use a shutter speed of around 2 seconds for example, if you want to freeze the action then use a shutter speed of around 1/125 second, this is assuming that your ISO is set to 100 (these are just starting points as it depends on the situation and the ambient light). Knowing the techniques will help you greatly in your photography, but for me the one that will help most of all is learning that art of composition.
I've often heard people say that they don't know a lot about art, but they know what they like. Its not very often that I hear anybody say they like one of my photographs because of the long shutter speed, or the use of the aperture (although it does happen now and again). Yet I have heard many people say how they love the composition, non photographers don't know a lot about photography, but they know what they like and it nearly always boils down to a well composed image. Nail that, the rest will follow.
I often get asked by clients on my Tripod & Wellies Landscape photography workshops, what makes a good landscape? Of course its very subjective, what one person likes, another may dislike, but for me it boils down to composition, of course light is vitally important but a badly composed image, no matter how great the light will not make a great photograph, but a well composed image in not so great light will still be a good photograph. Great light and a great composition will make a great photograph.
So what about aperture, shutter speed and ISO? Yes they play a crucial part. If you want good depth of field with everything in focus then an aperture setting of f16 to f22 will achieve this. if you want to show movement such as in a waterfall then you need to have your camera mounted on a tripod and use a shutter speed of around 2 seconds for example, if you want to freeze the action then use a shutter speed of around 1/125 second, this is assuming that your ISO is set to 100 (these are just starting points as it depends on the situation and the ambient light). Knowing the techniques will help you greatly in your photography, but for me the one that will help most of all is learning that art of composition.
I've often heard people say that they don't know a lot about art, but they know what they like. Its not very often that I hear anybody say they like one of my photographs because of the long shutter speed, or the use of the aperture (although it does happen now and again). Yet I have heard many people say how they love the composition, non photographers don't know a lot about photography, but they know what they like and it nearly always boils down to a well composed image. Nail that, the rest will follow.
Thanks for stopping by
Hanners
www.hanrahanphotography.co.uk
Please feel free to call in and "like" my facebook page
www.facebook.com/hannersphotography
Hanners
www.hanrahanphotography.co.uk
Please feel free to call in and "like" my facebook page
www.facebook.com/hannersphotography