• Burning the midnight oil •
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Burning the midnight oil • By Netkonnexion on Flickr 
Bokeh is an essential component of some images.
Bokeh is the wonderful quality of blur you can create by not having part of your image in the depth of field. Blur is an essential compositional feature and something that every photographer should know a little about.
The latest entry into our Photography Glossary is: Bokeh.
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Posted in Information posting
Tagged Aperture, Bokeh, Depth of Field, Emphasis, exposure, Image Editor
The aperture - a fundamental concept if you want to 'Go Manual
Previously, we discussed the sensitivity to light of the Digital Image Sensor. By changing the ISO we can adjust the camera’s ability to cope with bright or dark situations.
In this article we look at the aperture, the second point of camera control. In the photographic lens unit of most DSLR cameras is the iris diaphragm. It is a circular fan of blades that slide across each other. As they slide, they open or shut the aperture in the middle of the blades. The aperture is the gap that the light comes through. It is the size of the aperture that determines how much light gets through the photographic lens unit to the image sensor.
The size of the aperture does not only control the amount of light through to the sensor. It also controls the ‘depth of field’ in the shot. The depth of field is the part of the picture which is in sharp focus.
The size of the aperture controls the amount of light that is allowed through the lens. As the aperture gets bigger the amount of light coming through the lens increases. However, a bigger aperture creates a shallower depth of field. Taking a photo at F4, a wide aperture, means you will be able to focus on an object like a face and have a high light input. But you may not be able to discern any detail behind the head. The depth of field has been made shallow by the wide aperture. You lose the focus in the back of the shot when the depth of field is shallow. You also lose some of the foreground ability to focus too.
If you set the aperture to f11, a narrow aperture, you will get sharpness right through the shot. The depth of field is deeper. A narrow aperture extends the depth of field. Of course the narrow aperture also reduces the light coming through to the digital image sensor.
If you set the aperture to, say, f3.5, a wide aperture, the shallow depth of field becomes apparent. The zone of sharpness will be well defined. Out of the sharp zone you can see highly frosted out-of-focus objects. The out-of-focus area is called bokeh. Shooting with a shallow depth of field creates bokeh in the background. The effect can be very pleasing. The aesthetics of bokeh is a lifetime of experiences for a photographer – it is an important aspect of many facets of photography.
Aperture sets the amount of light allowed to pass through the lens. It is one of the main controls used to create an exposure. When the aperture is wide open the depth of field is very shallow. When the aperture is narrow the depth field gives sharpness through the image.
Posted in Background Info., Camera control, How to..., Starters School
Tagged Aperture, Bokeh, Depth of Field, exposure, F-Stop, ISO, Manual Control, Sharpness, Shutter Speed
This year candles are the theme of my personal project
No one seems to have enough time to do all they want these days. Life is certainly busy! Often this means the things we are passionate about get left out of our lives. As photographers we forget to take photos until the ‘right time’ – which never seems to come. I find it helps to have a personal project to keep my mind focused on the year ahead and to ensure I put time into my own personal photography.
Here are a few reasons to start a personal project…
There are many more reasons to do a project, these are just some of the ones that have motivated me in the past. If you take a few minutes and write out a few ideas why you want to do a project it will help you commit to the subject.
Your project is your own, and only you can determine what direction it takes you. So it helps to plan it out a bit. Maybe set yourself some goals. Here are a few examples…
Of course you don’t need to follow my examples. You might think 100 exhibition quality images is too much for the time you have. Great, set the project up to suit you. You may not want to improve your use of bokeh (that lovely blur of bright objects in an out-of-focus background). Why not concentrate on another technique, say, greater use of deep shadows as a compositional feature. Anything, especially things you want to improve.
A personal project is a great way to help integrate your photography into your life. If you choose a subject that can be found in everyday life then you can do some shots in your lunch break or whilst commuting. In short it gives you a reason to keep taking photographs. That’s a good thing right? More of what you like and enjoy will help reduce stress and increase the fun in your life.
Having an exhibition or promising a presentation for someone is a good way to tie up the end of your project. It gives you something to aim for. However, it can be fun to just produce a web gallery, or publish a sequence of the shots on YouTube. You never know it might go viral!
In the first part of this year I am going to make ‘Candles’ a personal project. You can start a personal project any time and for any duration. So get going on it as soon as you can!
Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)
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Posted in Opinion, Projects, Tips Tutorials & Techniques
Tagged Bokeh, Creativity, Depth of Field, Planning, Presentation, Project