365 Days, 365 Photos

For days 1 and 2, I am going to cheat and use photos I snapped while on medical leave:

I will be back with fresh stuff for days 4-365!

Tips

Some folks over at The Bump recommended these references to help me on my journey to becoming a better photographer:

http://sites.google.com/site/bumpphotographylessons/home/a-little-background

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=2780772

Depth of Field

I have a point-and-shoot camera; as a result, I can't adjust the aperture setting as I please, independently of other settings. In order to create a shallow depth-of-field effect, I have to use the "soft snap" or "twilight portrait" modes.

Another trick is to set the focal point apart from the background; that alone helps achieve the desired effect.

Today I did a mock photo shoot with my VS puppy, and here's what I came up with:



I took this one in the "soft snap" mode w/flash. As you can see, the background is much less defined than the focal point.



I took this one in the "twilight portrait" mode w/low flash. The colors are less saturated and the background is even blurrier than in the previous shot.



I took this one in the special "ISO" (high-sensitivity) mode...this mode is designed to be used in low light and reduces blur. The dog is still the focal point, but the background is not as blurred as it is in the previous shot.



This shot was taken in the "landscape" mode w/flash. Notice how the background isn't that blurry and the dog doesn't stand out as well as it does in the other modes. I just took this to show how "landscape" mode is not appropriate for this type of shot.



I took this final shot in "landscape" mode w/o flash. Notice how the dog is blurry but the background is clear. This is definitely NOT a good example of shallow depth- of-field!

I'd like your feedback. Which of the above shots do you think best illustrates the shallow depth-of-field effect: #1, 2, or 3? Thanks!

Best in Show

Here is my favorite photo from today's session:

In Other Words...

Sustenance

After hours of research, I have concluded that the following is the least one needs to know in order to take good photographs:

First, "photo" means "light." Photographs are shaped by how much (or how little) light is present. Three things - ISO, shutter speed, and aperture - determine how much light is used in capturing an image.

ISO = the measure of a digital camera sensor's sensitivity to light

aperture = the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken

shutter speed = the amount of time that the shutter is open

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography#ixzz0f6rbU1vm

The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive the sensor is to light; thus, higher numbers are for darker lighting conditions. Warning: "Noise" (or grain) can occur at ISO 400 or higher. Higher ISO causes an increase in shutter speed in regular lighting conditions, which is helpful for action shots.

Lower numbers are better when more light is present and will give better detail.

Sticking to ISO of 100 or 200 is recommended; otherwise, little flecks may appear in the images, especially in the darker portions.

Use a lower ISO on a sunny day and/or when optimum quality is desired. Almost all photography done on a sunny day can be done at ISO 100 - even sports. A low ISO produces almost no (if any) digital noise. This is the ISO we'd use for sweeping landscapes.

ISO 200 or even 400 can be used on a cloudy day.

When shooting in low light and a flash can't be used, ISO 800 and higher is recommended.

While ISO relates to how saturated with light a photo will be, aperture relates to how open the lens is when a picture is taken and affects depth-of-field.

Large aperture (small f-stop value, i.e. F/2) --> shallow DOF

Small aperture (large f-stop value, i.e. F/8) --> great DOF

Finally, there's shutter speed. If it's dark, a slower speed is needed to let more light in. For instance, at dusk, a speech of 1/30 (of a second) would be more appropriate than 1/300.

Here's a simulation to help hands-on learners understand the concepts covered:

http://www.kamerasimulator.se/eng/?page_id=2