Exposure

We have seen that the aperture controls the amount of light coming in the lense & shutter controls the duration of the light i.e. the duration for which the light (focussed image) strikes the film or image sensor. Lets see how do these 2 variables affect the picture. A film or image sensor is designed to register an image of the object onto it. For this the image projected by the lens has to have certain intensity. Any degree of intensity higher than reqd has to be reduced & any degree lower has to be boosted to the reqd level. An aperture can control the light coming in the lens & reduce it to the reqd level by simply closing down the blades & reducing the size of the diaphrm. On the contrary if the light coming in is lower than reqd, then simply opening the diaphrm will not help. Here the shutter speed comes in the picture. The shutter is kept open for longer so that the image (whatever dim) gets enough time to register it onto the film by the phenomenon of intensity build up. This is how these two devices work simultaneously to alter the intensity by exposing the film to appropriate level & result in image formation of proper density. This is termed as exposure. These two devices are calibrated in increments to establish a combination of the two called as exposure value. This exposure value indirectly indicates the intensity of the light or that of the image. In this manner these two variables contribute to get an accurate exposure. Exposure=Aperture X Shutter speed. This means, Exposure remaining constant Aperture is inversly proportional to shutter speed. i.e. Aperture

Shutter speed

Means, if the aperture is opened ( towards smaller numbers) the shutter speed has to be increased (towards bigger numbers) for the same exposure & vice versa. The numeral readouts on the aperture ring are called F numbers or f stops & usually are in the following manner: 1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22 32

The numeral readouts on the shutter speed dial are as follows & they represent the portion of the second. i.e. with the shutter speed of 15 the shutter will remail open for 1/15th of a second: B 1 2 4 8 15 30 60 125 500 1000 2000

In the above every next increment (numeral) represents half the intensity than the previous one. i.e. the aperture 2 (F=2) will allow half the light (intensity) than f=1.4. or f=11 will allow half the light than that of f=8. Similarly a shutter speed of 4 (1/4) will allow light to strike for half the duration than shutter speed of 2 (1/2) or shutter speed of 60 (1/60) will allow half the time than 30 (1/30) for the light to have impression on the film.

From the above we can easily guess that for a perticular amount of light there can be more than one combinations of the aperture & shutter. If a combo of f=5.6 & shutter 1/30 gives correct exposure then a combo of f=4 & speed of 1/60 will give same exposure. In this case there can be several combinations for one perticular exposure. E.g. F 5.6 & 1/30; F 4 & 1/60; F 2.8 & 1/125; F 2 & 1/250; F 1.4 & 1/500 as well as f 8 & 1/15; F 11 & 1/8; F16 & 1/4 so on. Now how to decide which is the best combo & will give best possible exposure. Lets see. Apart from controlling the amount of light coming in & controlling the duration, these devices have other properties too which contribute creatively in photography. In fact every good photograph that appeals to us has a clever use of an appropriate combo to utilize these properties to their fullest. An aperture has a control over depht of field, while a shutter speed has a control over subject motion.

Depth of field:

When we focus a lens on a subject we are actually adjusting the distance between the lens & the film. We have seen earlier that the distant objects are focussed nearer to the lens while the closer objects are focussed farther from the lens. According to this phenomenon when the focussing ring is turned the spiral threading in the barrel of the lens moves the movable cyllinder towards & away from the film. Due to this the lens can focus an object only at one perticular object distance at a time. The plane in which this object lies is called object plane or subject plane. Any object lying in this subject plane will render sharp on the film. This subject plane is also called field of focus. Some of the foreground as well as some of the background also will be acceptably sharp as the sharpness gradually falls as we go away from the field of focus. This zone between the acceptable sharp foreground & acceptably sharp background is called the zone of focus or Depth of Field. This depth of field depends on the 3 factors: 1. Aperture 2. Focal length 3. Subject Distance

1. Smaller the aperture deeper the depth of field. 2. Shorter the focal length deeper the depth of field. 3. Farther the subject (longer the subject distance) deeper the depth of field.

Application of the properties of aperture.

In practice, many subjects will demand the foreground & the background to come out sharp as well. The aperture or the size of the opening of the diaphram has a direct impact on this zone of focus or the depth of field. Wider the aperture, shallower the depth of field & narrower the aperture deeper the depth of field. i.e. On the contrary some subjects demand the wider apertures for a deliberate shallow depth of field to enhance the subject against the background or to emphasise a perticular portion of the subject over the rest. Depth of field will be shallower with aperture of f-2.8 or f-2 than that of f-8 or f-11. Wider aperture gives: More light, Brighter image, Faster shutter to get sharper (shake free)image. More selectivity, Ease of focussing, Better vision to judge the moment. Shallower depth of field, Eliminates distracting background, Emphasis on subject. Lenses with wider maximum apertures (ranging from f-1.4 or f-2) are called faster lenses while lenses with narrower maximum aperture (f-4 or f-5.6) are called slower lenses. Usually normal lenses are faster than Telephoto & wide angle lenses. The construction of Telephoto lenses practically limit their maximum apertures & hence usually all Telephoto lenses are a bit slower with the apertures of the order of f-4 or f-5.6. Faster lenses are prefered for portraits & indoor photography because of the above properties. While slower lenses are prefered for outdoor photography because of their compact size & low weight as well as low cost. Also at outdoors light level or brightness is of less concern over its handyness. F number: F number has practically nothing to do with focal length of the lens & indicates just the size of the aperture. But F number is derived from the focal length & the diameter of the lens. The relation betn the two is established as: F number= focal length/ diameter. Where diameter is the actual diameter of the lens barrel holding the lens. Going by this formula we can understand that it is not practical to have a lens wider beyond a certain limit. This is why the long focal length lenses (Telephoto lenses) are little slower (i.e. with smaller max apertures) than normal lens. e.g. for a 50mm (normal lens) with a barrel diameter of 35mm for a 135mm (Telephoto) with a barrel diameter of 60mm 50/35=1.4 approx 135/50=2.7 approx

From the above example we can see that though the barrel size is increased the lens is still much slower than the normal 50 mm lens.

Narrower aperture gives: Deeper depth of field, Better for landscapes, Extreme close-ups. Better for predictive photography where exact location of would be action is uncertain. Press photography, Quick action using Hyperfocal distance focussing. Controlling light for creative use of shutter in bright light (deliberate blurr.) Also, closing down the aperture helps to overcome certain lens defects; such as: Spherical aberrations Chromatic aberrations Internal Reflections Edge sharpness Contrast distribution Curvature of field

From the above, one can assume that the camera performs best at smallest aperture & Fastest shutter speed by giving everything sharp pictures with virtually nil lens defects. But this is not so. Many best pictures of the world are created without this so called ideal condition by clever use of the above to suit the subject in best possible manner. To understand this further we will see the illustrations below

In adjuscent diagram we see that when the aperture is wider (small no; f-2.8 or f-2) only couple of figures are in focus & the others before & behind are out of focus. (Here out of focus is rendered as dotted line for the illustration purpose.) Also notice that how gradually the sharpness drops away from. With the aperture stopped down to midway (f-5.6 orf- 8) more of the foreground & that of the background has come in focus & figures within this range are now seen sharper. With the aperture stopped down further to f- 16 or f-22 almost every body in the queue is seen sharp. Here it is interesting to note that from the focal point the field of focus on

either side of it is not equal in size or expance; instead less of the foreground & more of the background (almost twice) is within the depth of focus. If we mark these points as A for plane of focas B for foreground point & C for background point then on line ABC BC=2xAB. i.e. the background field is twice as much as that of the foreground field. The other factors which affect depth of field are Subject Distance Focal Length

In the above figures (Left) we see that the aperture has been kept constant but the plane of focus has been changed. When the lens was focussed on the first figure i.e. closest to the camera the depth of field is the shallowest & only figure in focus is the kid himself. As the focussing distance is increased i.e. plane of focus is shifted to farther figure then the depth of field is expanded & more number of figures come into sharpness range. In figure to right the aperture & plane of focus is kept same & the lense is changed from wide angle to Telephoto. The topmost picture taken with wide (28mm/24mm) has the deepest depth of field & the lowermost picture taken with Telephoto (100mm/135mm) has shallowest depth of field. From the above we can conclude that a picture of a closest object taken with Telephoto & at widest aperture will give shallowest depth of field; whereas a picture of andistant object taken with a wide angle lense at smallest aperture will give deepest depth of field. All other options will lie between to employ creativity of almost any kind.
In the above figures The focussing distance is shown by the length of the arrow. The aperture indicated by the aperture symbol & size of the black opening & the focal length is shown by the length of the dark stud beside the aperture symbol. Sharp & unsharp areas are differentiated by dark & dotted figures respectively.

Effect of Shutter speed & its creative approach

We have seen that the shutter controls the duration of light i.e. the duration for which the light strikes the film to control exposure. Since it involves a certain time duration there is every chance to have the subject movement within the frame during that interval for which the shutter is open. This will result in the subject registering as a trailing impression of undefined edges which we call as blur. The blurred picture is obviously not acceptable as long as it was not intended or expected. The result is disappointing. To avoid this it is essential to have a judgement of the subject movement i.e. its rate of change of location & the duration for which the shutter is kept open. If the shutter is faster enough to leave no chance for the subject to make a noticable movement then the subject is rendered sharp with clearly defined edges & all the details including its texture. This we call as a sharp image. In photographic terminology it is called freezed frame. This freezing of the subject helps when we intend to show the object as stand still. E.g. a high jump caught dead stop near the marking bar or the sprinkler as motionless with the water droplets hanging in air. But it will fail to show a ceiling/table fan running. Thi high shutter speed will stop the blades of the fan & it will be dificult to judge whether the fan is on or off. In the adjucsent picture the boy jumping from the plinth is snaped at high shutter speed & is seen as if walking in the air. A lot of miracles are possible with high shutter speed that an eye cant see or imagine. The picture below is the most creative use of slow shutter speed. Infact the shutter was kept open for a few seconds to register the movement of the helicopter fan blades most effictively to convey the flight of the craft at every stage of its take off. Here the

night shot demanded longer exposure i.e. lower shutter speed due to low light & the photographer exploited this opportunity cleverly to register the shining reflection of moonlight on the blades while they are in motion. Before the flight the craft was stationary for a while & stayed still in the frame for longer to register its body; but when in motion it constantly changed its position hence only the bright highlight on the blades is registered & not the craft itself when it had moved. The moon is also placed at an appropriate position. The best example of predictive composition which needs a detailed study of the probable movement of the subject within the frame. This beauty is not possible with a naked eye. A great specimen of unseen world.

This is another specimen which shows the ability of the high shutter speed to stop the splash of the milk as well as the drop (the cause to splash) dead in the air in the frozen state. The flow of milk was adjusted to release it drop by drop at such a speed that the movement the earlier drop induces a splash the next drop is released. This resulted both the interrelated subjects to capture in one fram at their best. This is called decisive moment & to capture a decisive moment is the life in photography. Another picture below shows a creative use of slow

shutter speed. The spring has a contineous flow while the bank & the stone is still in the water. An appropriate shutter speed (lower)with a use of tripod has captured bank & stone stationary & the constantly moving water as a elegant blur to suggest motion keeping the identity of water intact. Any speed much slower than this would have resulted in loosing the identity of water. This adjuscent picture shows two different movements at different speed in one frame. The relatively slower movement (centre one) has come out almost still & unblured while the supportive dancers in much faster movement has registered blur to the extent that they lost their identity but afterall they suggest the direction of the movement. One more way of deliberate blurring to suggest motion is panning. Here the photographer has moved his camera in the direction of the subject motion while the picture was being exposed. Inthis case a circular movement of the camera around lens axis in

tandem with that of the subject has retained the identity of the subject while blurring only the background. The relative displacement of the camera with the subject is very less compared to that of the background. This resulted in the suggestion of a circular movement of the subject without noticebly blurring the subject. Again a good specimen of the judgement of the rate of motion. The degree of blur at a perticular rate of motion depends on following factors: Subject distance Focal length Direction

The adjuscent figur shows a cyclist in motion. The six camera positions show the subject distances angle i.e. direction at a certain focal length. It is seen that: The subject will blur most when: 1. it is moving across the frame horizontally. 2. When it is shot from a closer viewpoint. 3. When it is shot with a longer focal length lens. The subject will blur lesser when: 1. It is moving diagonally across the frame. 2. It is shot from a farther distance. 3. It is shot with a medium focal length lens The subject will blur least when: 1. It is moving towards or away from the lens along the lens axis. 2. It is shot from more distance. 3. It is shot with a shorter focal length lens (wide angle.) With shorter focal length whatever movement of the subject may be has a relatively smaller angular deviation & thus smaller displacement in the frame. This results un-noticable blur or nil blur & the picture appears sharp. The figure also shows that at the same subject distance the direction of the subject movement matter the most. Coming back to the exposure we can see that, once we get a correct exposure value depending on the available light, the appropriate combination of the aperture & shutter speed depends on the subject & the way it is to be presented. This again confirms that there is a lot of thought process before tripping the shutter. It is rightly said that: Photography is all about Making a picture & not Taking a picture!