So what are F-Stops?  How do shutter speeds impact the image?  Photography has two sides to it: the creative side dealing with vision (seeing the shots and composing art) and the technical side (being able to manipulate your gear to achieve the shot you envisaged). I will write about vision and composition in future.  Today we are beginning to tackle the technical side. I will deal with exposure in Park 2.

          You will remember when we spoke about taking pictures versus making pictures that photographers do not just snap pictures.  We think about what we want to achieve and then we takes steps to ensure that we achieve what we wanted to.  That means that before we shoot we ask ourselves: What do we want this image to look like?  We ask whether or not we want the background blurred.  We ask whether or not we want to show motion.  The main point is that we need to pre-visualize the image before we shoot it.

         As photographers we have a few choices to make when we shoot:

• Do we want the background to be blurred or sharp?
• If there is motion, do we want to show the motion or freeze the motion?

          We will want the background blurred to isolate the object and to make it stand out (like the image of the first lady in the previous post). Subjects that lend themselves to blurred backgrounds are portraits, flowers, bugs, birds, and so forth.  We will want the background sharp if we want to lead the viewer into the image (generally speaking).  Landscapes are good examples of needing everything sharp from the foreground through to the background.

          Flowing water often looks very good when we show the motion.  We show the motion by blurring the water.  When objects with wheels are moving we need to show motion by blurring the wheels.  To show action we often freeze motion so that you can see the water splashing in mid air, for example.  Let us analyze an image:

          This image is a landscape, so I wanted to draw the viewer into the image.  As a landscape I wanted everything to be in focus right from the first rock sticking out of the water in the foreground through to the trees in the distance.  At the same time we have flowing water. I wanted to use that flowing water to make the viewer flow into the image (draw them in).  So I wanted to blur the water to show motion going into the image.

          This is how to achieve the look you want:

• To blur backgrounds use a large F-Stop (aperture - lens opening, or hole in the lens)
• The keep everything from foreground to background sharp use a small F-Stop
• To blur motion use a slow shutter speed (the time the little curtain in front of the sensor is open allowing your sensor to "see" the image)
• To freeze motion use a fast shutter speed

          The image above was created using a small F-Stop (everything not moving is in focus) with a slow shutter speed (moving objects are blurred).  This is what I ask myself every time I shoot an image:

• Is there motion in this image (is anything moving)?
• If yes, then, do I want to show the motion or freeze the motion?
• If no, then I do not care what shutter speed I use because it does not matter (as long as the camera is not moving - tripod)
• What do I want to do with the background (blur or sharp)?

          Depending on the answers to these questions I just set my gear to achieve what I want. Choose how you want the image to look and then get that look by simply adjusting your F-Stops and shutter speeds accordingly.  Keep it simple to begin with.  If the F-Stop (what is in focus) is more important to you set your camera on AV (Canon) or A (Nikon) and select the F-stop you want and let the camera worry about everything else.  If shutter speed (showing or freezing motion) is more important to you set your camera on TV (Canon) or S (Nikon) and select the desired shutter speed and let the camera worry about everything else.

          Enjoy experimenting.