Basic Photography: semi-manual and manual modes
By Ryanita
In the previous post we saw some general and basic ideas of SLR photography, and today continue with some concepts that form the basis of photography. With today’s article I want to achieve is that all entendáis SLR photography and the factors that help produce a picture. You will see that basically the idea is very simple, you only have to pay some attention.
Knowing these rules will help you lose the fear of manual and semi-manual mode of your camera.
How does a photo?
Simplifying the very idea, we say that a picture is produced by the play of light and darkness. Normally when the camera is at rest its sensor (or film) is dark. Nothing happens. As a photo shoot a very small and brief glimpse of light enters the camera and film or sensor reaches. That amount of light entering the camera is projected within its sensor or film reflecting the photographed scene.
To produce a photo need, therefore:
* (A) Something which is recorded on the photo (old film reel cameras or sensor in digital cameras);
* (B) A small opening in the camera body where the light will come when you shoot the photo.
* (C) External lighting.
The key to the manual mode of the camera:
These 3 above are all important elements in equal degrees, but from the point of view of the camera at hand manual mode is actually based mostly on the element (B), the small opening in the camera ( specifically in the target), where it enters the picture (light). It is what is called open or aperture in the jargon of the photographers.
What control with an opening / aperture?
Basically the lens aperture (the hole called the diaphragm) can control 2 things: The amount of light entering and shutter speed.
Amount of light entering:
When we control the amount of light entering the camera put the mode dial on your camera in A mode (some cameras like the Canon is called Av.) This is a semi-manual mode with which the camera allows us to control the diameter of the opening. In other words, how to we can tell the camera when your shot is the opening (aperture) must be broad or narrow. See the following illustration, there are several objectives / lenses with different apertures, some broad and more narrow,
How do we tell the camera if you want a more or less open? For in that place ourselves in the “A”, we see that the camera allows us to control a value that appears as f /. The value f / is the aperture or opening. If f is a value / low, the opening is large and therefore more light enters.
For example, with an aperture of f / 2.6 camera will capture more light with an aperture of f/11, and even less light with the opening f/32.
Check it out right now in your digital SLR camera before continuing.
Shutter speed:
The diaphragm is also responsible for the shutter speed, that is, when shooting the picture, while the diaphragm remains open allowing light to enter. This time, even thousandths of a second, can make much difference.
I usually control the “S” of the camera. As you select the “S” we see that the camera allows us to control a numeric value that reflects the time in seconds that the diaphragm will remain open when you shoot the photo. This value can be for example 1 / 2000, meaning: the photo shoot the diaphragm will remain open for 1 / 2000 of a second, what comes to be a very very very soon. In contrast, the value 1 / 5 want to say, the photo shoot the diaphragm will remain open for 1 / 5 fraction of a second, which is relatively slower than the last. We could also put a value of 3, “which simply means: the photo shoot the diaphragm will remain open for 3 seconds.
And what helps me control the time during which the diaphragm is open to a photo shoot? Well for example if I’m doing a photo comes out very very dark, I can put the camera in the semi-manual mode “S” that allows me to control the shutter speed (the time during when the diaphragm / aperture is open) and put the camera a relatively slow shutter speed (1 second for example, and if I need more I put 3 seconds, and so I).
Another use of “S” is when we freeze a scene. For example, in entertainment or sports usually the subject is moving very quickly and that can sometimes cause it leaves little moved or crisp. To fix we put in the “S” and tell the camera that we want a fast shutter speed so as quickly to freeze the image in a split second, so we put a value 1 / 1000 for example.
What about 100% manual mode?:
These two modes have just seen are semi-manual, A and S which are priority Opening (how wide is the opening) and shutter priority (how fast or slow the shutter, or the action of opening and closing diaphragm), respectively. Each of these modes allows us to control one or a control (aperture / speed) while the camera takes over the other. If I for example choose the S mode and select the shutter speed 1 / 500, the camera itself will adjust the opening (aperture diameter) so that between the amount of light sufficient for the shutter speed I will, and vice versa.
Manual mode is simply a mixture of both semi-manual modes. The automatic mode allows full control of both the aperture diameter (mode A) as the shutter speed (mode S).
It’s all for today. In the next article I will give small examples of the use of these semi-manual modes and their implementation through real photos. We will see each example with a real picture as a result of the implementation of these controls.
May be you wanna read about My Other Guide at: Panasonic Camera And Casio Camera
