Basic Photographic Principles

The word photography comes from the Greek term drawing with light. Without light,
there is no photograph. Photography is about seeing, balancing, and interpreting light.
The image to the right illustrates the path that light takes from reflecting off an object to
the cameras sensor.

First, the light passes through the lens, which is a group of shaped pieces of glass.

Next, it reaches the aperture, which is an opening that controls how much light passes through.

Then, it goes through the shutter, which controls how long the sensor is exposed to the light.

Finally, the light reaches the sensor, where it is absorbed and converted to pixels.

The Exposure Triangle

A correct Exposure Value (EV) is a simple combination of three important factors: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO Speed.

APERTURE
controls the amount of light
which can enter the camera

EV
SHUTTER SPEED
controls the duration which
light can enter the camera

ISO SPEED
controls the sensitivity of the
cameras sensor to light

Aperture
The aperture is the opening which controls the amount of
light which passes through the lens and onto the sensor. A
large aperture lets through a large amount of light and a
small aperture, accordingly, lets through a small amount of
light.
Aperture is measured in f/stop numbers, which represent
the diametre of the aperture. The rule to remember is that
the smaller the f/stop, the larger the aperture; the larger the
f/stop, the smaller the aperture.

Cameras nowadays differ in the amount of f-stops available, as well as the scale in which the f/stops increase in. The standard f/stop
scale is as follows:

/# 1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22 32

As the f/stop number increases by 1-stop (e.g. from f/4 to f/5.6), the amount of light passing through is halved. As the f/stop number
decreases by 1-stop (e.g. from f/11 to f/8), the amount of light passing through is doubled.

low f-stop number = LARGE aperture = more light

high f-stop number = SMALL aperture = less light

Understanding how the aperture works is fundamental to photography, as the aperture has a great affect on the overall look of an
image. Aperture affects the amount of light, shutter speed, sharpness, and depth of field among other things.
An important visual concern is the affect of the aperture on
the depth of field of an image. Depth of field refers to how
much of an image is in focus. A deep depth of field refers
to most of the image being in focus, whereas a shallow
depth of field refers to a small proportion of the image in
focus.

The top image shows a large aperture. This means that a

large volume of light passed through to the lens, however,
the lens was open for a shorter amount of time for a correct
exposure. This has resulted in a shallow depth of field, and
a blurring of the background features.

The bottom image shows a small aperture, which has

resulted in a deep (or large) depth of field. Notice that the
background is much more in focus in this image than in the
ones above.

Shutter Speed
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time the
shutter is open for light to reach the sensor. Shutter
speed is measured in seconds, ranging from
thousandths of a second to minutes, which in turn
determine the clarity of your image.

The longer the shutter is open for, the more light the
sensor is exposed to. For example, a shutter speed
of 1 second allows 8 times more light than a shutter
speed of 1/8 second.

In terms of clarity, a long shutter speed will blur the action

in a shot and capture the movement, whereas a short
shutter speed will freeze any action and create
sharpness in the image.
There is no correct shutter speed to use in any given
situation, it all depends on the desired effect.
The image on the left is a perfect example of this. There is
no correct windflower, they are all taken at different
shutter speeds, which has produced varying
interpretations of the same subject.
Short shutter speed

Long shutter speed

ISO Speed
In film photography, ISO refers to sensitivity of film to light. The sensitivity value is measured in numbers, with a low value indicating
low sensitivity, and a finer grain in the image. A high ISO value indicates high sensitivity to light, and therefore, a high grain image.

The same principles apply to digital photography, but

instead of sensitivity of the film to light, the ISO
measures the sensitivity of the cameras sensor to light.
In digital photography, the equivalent of film grain is
digital noise, which appears as random speckles on
a digital image.
Digital noise is any light signal that is not derived from
the subject, and results in the creation of a random
colour in an image. Noise can significantly degrade the
quality of an image, so it is important to understand the
appropriate ways and situations in which to use a
particular ISO setting.

ISO values can range from 25 to 3200 (or more,

depending on the camera). The lower the ISO speed,
the less sensitive the sensor is to light, and therefore,
the less noisy the image. The higher the ISO speed, the
more sensitive the sensor is to light, hence the result in
digital noise.

Typical ISO values: 50 100 200 400 800 1600 3200

LOW

HIGH

ISO also directly correlates to the exposure value (EV) at a ratio of 1:1. If you double the ISO value, you double the sensitivity of the
sensor. For example, a double in ISO value is the same as halving the shutter speed to obtain a correct exposure.

In most cases, a lower ISO speed is

favourable because it decreases the
likelihood of unwanted image noise.
Consequently, ISO speeds are
usually only increased when the
desired shutter speed and aperture
cannot be achieved.

Higher ISO values are generally

used during low lighting situations to
achieve faster shutter speeds.
However, this means that the quality
of the image is compromised due to
the increase in digital noise.

The example on the right illustrates

the relationship between shutter
speed and ISO.
Fast shutter speed & High ISO
Under low lighting conditions, in order to freeze the motion
although the object is moving, a fast shutter speed is utilised,
which has also resulted in the use of a high ISO to achieve an
acceptable exposure. To create this frozen effect, the
compromise is that the image has high levels of digital noise.

Slow shutter speed & Low ISO

In order to create the sense of motion,
a slow shutter speed has been used.
Combined with a low ISO, the result is
a higher quality image with less
noise.

Conclusion

When Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO are

combined, they result in an Exposure Value (EV).
A change in any one of these three factors will
have a specific and measurable impact on the
other two factors in relation to the exposure and
look of the image.

Now that we have covered these basic photographic principles, when capturing an image, we must consider these following variables:

Light - how much is there available?

Depth of Field - how much of the image do we want in focus?

Motion - do we want to capture it or freeze it?

Noise - how much is acceptable for what we are capturing?

It is not possible to create independent change in any of these factors, without effecting the other factors and the overall look
of the image. Therefore, it is important to know how to prioritise and compromise to achieve the most desired effect.

Please study these following examples. They illustrate how the

elements of the Exposure Triangle can be manipulated to achieve
the most desired result.

With landscape photography, using a smaller aperture to

create a large depth of field can result in a sense of depth in
an image, and the feeling that the viewer is there. Daylight
scenes can be captured with a low ISO, which results in a
less noisy image. And because there is no movement to be
captured, the shutter speed is not a priority and can be set to
whatever value gives the best exposure.

Night time photography can prove a tricky challenge as the lack of

light can limit the options available for a decent exposure. In this
image, the main focus is the female in the foreground. The
increase in aperture, shutter speed, and ISO is to compensate for
the dim lighting. This has resulted in the background being blurred
and the possibility of high levels of digital noise. The shutter speed
would have been the top priority in order to have the female
subject be in focus and not blurred by natural movement.

Sources:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm
http://www.tutorial9.net/tutorials/photography-tutorials/photography-basics/
http://photo.net/learn/basic-photo-tips/aperture-shutterspeed-iso/
http://www.exposureguide.com/exposure.htm