Aperture Value

Carl posted a comment yesterday about Ken Terry's beautiful wildlife pictures.

Ken said that he used ISO 1000 and an aperture of f5.0 in AV mode as the light was changing so quickly. Sometimes the shutter speed was 1/500 and sometimes 1/4000.

Carl commented:
...really enjoyed this. But trying to work out what AV is, in relation to rapidly changing light?

'AV' - Aperture Value - is an automatic exposure mode in which you set the aperture you want and the camera decides on the correct shutter speed to match it. This can be very useful in rapidly changing light conditions like those Ken experienced when he was photographing the red kites and the red squirrels. In these conditions it can be difficult, if not impossible, to constantly adjust the exposure manually. In other words, you just cannot keep up with the fast changing light levels by correcting the exposure yourself in the Manual ('M') mode. When shooting a fast-moving subject like a bird in flight, operating the camera quickly is vitally important, so setting the exposure mode to an automatic setting can be a boon and one less thing to bother about.

So in Ken's case, he set f5.0 in 'AV' mode. When the sun went behind cloud and the light level dropped, the camera chose a shutter speed 1/500sec. When the sun came out and light level went up, the camera chose a shutter speed of 1/4000sec.

Some time ago I posted a photograph of Freddie Mercury. Click the link below. I used 'AV' exposure mode for this because the stage lights in the studio where the photograph was taken were constantly going on and off, with light levels going up and down. It would have been impossible to keep up with the exposure manually in 'M' mode, so I set something like f2.8 in 'AV' mode and let the camera sort out the shutter speed.

Just one tip here... Aperture Value (AV) used to me known as Aperture Priority (AP), far more sensible and descriptive. Until some fool decided to change it.
http://philipdunn.blogspot.com/search?q=mercury

Photography Weekend place available

Due to a late cancellation I now have one place available for the Photography Weekend on 7th - 9th March. The theme is portraiture with both available light and flash.

Full details on my website

http://www.photoactive.co.uk

You'll really enjoy this one, but do let me know asap.

How to take flash photographs - part 3

When I said that sidelight was the ‘star of the show’ I meant it. It is not always ideal for making attractive women look more glamorous, but when you want to bring out the character in your subject, it can work extremely well. For portraits, it is really very easy to create with a flash attached to the hot shoe of your camera. The soft sidelight in the picture of the girl in period costume was done simply by pointing the flash at a large reflector positioned out of shot on the left. I have used a fairly fast shutter speed 1/160sec to cut out most of the ambient light in the background, which has gone quite dark - just the effect I was looking for. What could be easier?

Remember, flash is an instant burst of light. If you are shooting in a room that is also brightly lit by daylight coming in through the windows or strong artificial light, and the shutter remains open after the flash has fired (slow shutter speed), you will ‘gather’ more light in the camera. This can be a very effective technique for certain subjects. It can ruin others.

Now take another look at the portrait posted in part 2 of the chap kippering his lungs with the roll-up cigarette. This time I have bounced the flash off a light-coloured wall off to the left and used a slow shutter speed, 1/15sec. This has ADDED some ambient light which has helped fill the shadows on the right side of his face. The slight blurring of the smoke is evidence of that slow shutter speed. The flash has gone off and lit his face on the left of the picture, but the shutter has remained open long enough to gather some available light on the right. A very different effect from that picture of the girl in costume, but it has worked in this situation.

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I have bounced the flash off a light-coloured surface to my right. This creates good sidelight which has lit the model’s hair nicely and given shape and form to her face. The nearer the flash is to the reflective wall, the stronger the shadows will be. The effect was done by using the set-up in 2

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If you want to soften those shadows, simply put another reflector opposite the flash. This lovely, soft, flattering light is created by pointing a flash at a wall to the right of the model while placing another white reflector to the left. This reflector helps fill any shadows created by the sidelight

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Some flash guns do not articulate to the sides – they will only point dead ahead and upwards. Don’t forget you can reflect these flash guns off a wall to create sidelight if you turn the camera on its side and shoot in portrait format. The most versatile flash guns have a light head that can be swivelled both upwards 90 degrees, and also to either side and directly backwards – away from the subject. Almost any angle of light reflection can be achieved with this type of flash gun.

Flash is the most portable, convenient and versatile light source you can use, but a moveable flash head that can be aimed in all directions is essential if you are to achieve the most from a flash unit when it is attached to your camera

How to photograph people - a simple portrait

The inside of the synagogue was a blaze of coloured wall tiles and, understandably, most of the visitors waned to take photographs of these. When I set eyes on the faces of the rabbis and scholars, I’m afraid the colourful surroundings faded into the background – such wonderful faces! While the others looked around the synagogues inner sanctum. I made a beeline for the man handing out the obligatory skull caps. There was no time to spend on chat and I don’t think the poor chap knew what hit him, but I wasn’t prepared to give him the chance to refuse to have his picture taken. I took him gently by the arm and sat him down by a small window – the best light available.

Setting up a tripod was out of the question, it was a case of making the most of the conditions as they were.

Fortunately, there was a table between us and I was able to rest my elbows on this to hold the camera still for the 1/15sec exposure. The result – a simple, but powerful portrait, whose impact is due to the sidelighting, which brings out the quality of the man’s features and the unblinking expression on his face.

The penetration and gravity of this simple portrait centres on the man’s doleful, knowing eyes. A frown or a smile is so often merely a transient, fleeting expression, and a more reliable giveaway to a someone’s personality is to be seen in the eyes. When we photograph someone looking straight at the camera like this, an intimate and hypnotic link is forged between the subject and the person looking at the picture.

The lower picture shows the simple set-up where I took the portrait. Just one small window and a table. It’s sometimes all you need.

First published in my book 'A Practical Guide to Travel Photography'.

Keep photography simple

I watch with growing astonishment the amount of sophisticated gear my students manage to stuff into their camera bags. There are times when they can hardly lift their bags – rucksacs mostly – onto their backs. I sometimes wonder why all this sophisticated hi-tech kit has to weigh so much. Strangely, I seem to have spent most of my working life trying to reduce the amount of kit I carry about. It is heavy, and is responsible for my bad back. Bear in mind I started at the age of 15 carrying a large wood and leather camera box full of glass plates and a 5x4 plate camera, and I have lugged some sort of camera bag over my shoulder ever since. Have things really progressed?

I am totally converted to digital and could not imagine going back to the old days of film, but I do think there are countless methods and techniques for producing good photographs that are being lost to those photographers who are completely obsessed with kit. All that equipment just gets in the way.

Lots of expensive kit DOES NOT produce great pictures – photographers DO. The camera is merely a tool, and it is right that you should buy the best you can afford if you are keen. But keep it sensible.

The picture here was taken using just a camera on a tripod – no fancy tripod head full of gizmos and knobs to twiddle, just a simple ball and socket job. The lens was an 85mm and the light was from a window reflected with a sheet of newspaper. The quality of the subject, the quality of the light, and the timing made it a worthwhile image that sold. Simple – I like simple a lot!