Aperture priority – which is usually denoted by A or Av – is one of the most useful shooting modes on any camera, analogue or digital, because it’s the best tool for controlling depth of field. In this mode, the photographer sets the lens aperture, leaving the camera’s auto exposure (AE) system to set the shutter speed. By selecting an appropriate aperture setting you can change the appearance of a picture from having everything in it sharp, no matter how far it is from the lens, to having a narrow plane of sharpness that isolates your subject from background details.
Photo Review tips section
The Indecisive Moment
From the Archive: Don’s Editorial, Photo Review Issue 2 Dec/Jan 2002.
Ten Tips for Better Landscape Photography
By definition, a landscape photograph is one in which natural scenery dominates the image. People and/or animals may be included, although they make up a relatively small part of the image and have been included in the composition to show scale. The same applies to buildings and other man-made structures.
Take Great Holiday Photos
Simple tips to improve your holiday photos.
Ten Bad Habits to Avoid
Taking digital photographs can make even experienced photographers let some aspects of their practice slip occasionally. Being able to shoot and review on the spot, and the enormous scope for post-capture tweaking of images can make digital photographers careless. Standards slip and before long you find the shots on those memory cards don’t meet your expectations. Or maybe, there aren’t any shots at all!
Street Photography Guidelines
Summer weather brings people out onto the streets, parks, sports fields, beaches and other public places. Given the proliferation of digital cameras and camera phones, it’s inevitable that lots of pictures will be taken. But few photographers understand what they can and cannot photograph and how they are entitled to use their pictures. In this feature we will provide some easily-understood guidelines.
Spot Metering with a Digital Camera
All but the most basic of digital cameras offer a selection of metering modes, usually multi-pattern evaluative, centre-weighted and spot metering. Unfortunately, many photographers don’t know how to take advantage of these ‘advanced’ settings and leave their cameras set on the default multi-pattern mode. While this mode works well for a wide range of subjects, there are times when spot metering can deliver much better exposures because of the greater precision it provides for controlling which parts of a subject are captured with full detail.
Shooting in Inclement Weather
Cloudy days can provide great opportunities for picture-taking with a digital camera because the cloud cover diffuses the light, turning the world into a gigantic softbox. This softer light is not only more flattering for portraiture, it also allows you to record more detail in both highlights and shadows -even with a compact digicam. The cloud structures can also provide some dramatic pictures – especially when storms threaten.
Shooting Close-ups
We’ll start by clarifying the definition of ‘macro’. True macro refers only to ‘life-size’ reproduction – which means a 1:1 reproduction (magnification) ratio. In other words, an object that is 20mm high (or wide) will be reproduced at the same size (20mm) on the image sensor.