on bungling, creative vision, and aiming to do it yourself: how to overcome the fear of manual settings
With a shadowy foreground and a sun-drenched background, a shot like this requires overexposure. Which requires either technical proficiency or unworried playing around, depending on how you look at it. Hint: you don't need the former. Just the latter.
I've been resisting learning the technical stuff for fear that it will get in the way of my "natural" way of seeing through the lens - and the joy I get from that. It paralyzes me to the point of putting down the camera for long periods of time. (Like now.) How can I get beyond the fear of the technical aspects of photography? ~ jag
I took a photography class at our local university this last fall and left every class feeling overwhelmed and well, kinda stupid, as I couldn't speak Cameranese. I need some basic language instead of F-stops and aperture. Once I understand the connection of those words to things that make sense to me, I will be good to go… ~ Jenn
Getting beyond the fear of the technical has everything to do with translation. When the technical feels like a jumble, you evade it. But once you understand the cause-and-effect of exposure, it becomes incredibly liberating. Nothing is more addictive than having a vision in your head -- say, a backlit shot washed through with that ethereal light -- and taking the steps to successfully create it.
All you need to do is translate cause-and-effect. Here's how I'd recommend doing this.
Play.
Enter this exercise in translation in a way that prevents you from getting overwhelmed. Start by shooting on shutter speed priority, the semi-manual setting that lets you adjust shutter speed while the camera compensates, taking care of everything else. Put the camera on a tripod, if you have one, or some still surface. Ask someone to repeatedly run or walk in front of the camera, or twirl, or dance. Shoot a few frames at a thirty second exposure. Then try 1/2000, and a few in between. See? As long as the camera is still, you'll have a crisp background and a blurred subject. Or a jump, frozen in mid-air.
Now do the same in aperture priority mode, which lets you concentrate on the cause-and-effect of depth-of-field. Shoot a head-and-shoulders portrait at f11. Then take another frame at f5.6, and another at f2.8 (f-stops are the measurement of aperture, which dictates depth-of-field). In each shot you'll see a graduated scale of background effects, from that lovely abstract fuzziness that's so good for portraits (f2.8) to the foreground-to-horizon clarity necessary for architectural or scenic shots (f16).
Once you begin to understand each variable, start over- and under-exposing shots using those modes. Check your manual if you need to. It's easy. Brighten a shot by a couple of stops. Then try darkening. You don't need to shoot in full manual mode to overexpose that dreamy, backlit shot.
Also, don't forget to adjust your film speed, or ISO, whenever you shoot - this will help your camera to give you the creative results you want given the shooting conditions. If you're indoors, set your camera to a higher and faster ISO to make the most of limited light (ISO 800). If you're outside on a bright day and want saturated colours for nature shots, switch to the slower ISO 100. If it's a cloudy day and your subjects are running around, help your camera to soak up more light for frozen action with ISO 400. Again, play.
Once you've played enough to understand shutter speed and aperture -- and how ISO enables both depending on the conditions -- you'll feel less anxious. The only thing left to do is improve your reaction time. That just takes practice, and a dogged abandonment of 'auto'. You'll feel clumsy sometimes, and it won't always cooperate. But in semi-manual modes, even unsuccessful attempts help you to understand cause-and-effect.
And Jenn, there aren't really any other substitutes to replace the cameraese. Except, of course, for 'aperture', otherwise known to me as HOT SEXXXY BOKEH-LAND. And 'f-stop', otherwise known as HOT SEXXY BOKEH-LAND TICKET (watch for more on bokeh and how to create it next Monday). Ansel Adams, king of vast landscapes, would call 'aperture' SUPER-DISTANT HORIZONLAND. It kind of depends on who you ask and what gets them off, photographically speaking.
Do you shoot full manual on your canon? I tend to stay with aperture priority and wondered what you prefer and why. ~ Mamie
I shoot in aperture priority quite a bit, although I'm constantly adjusting exposure. When you start shooting with creative intention -- knowing, for instance, that you want bokeh or motion blur or silhouette -- you need just as much control over the background as you have over the subject.
The shapes and abstractions of a mindfully-made background help a composition to pop. Similarly, an uninspired background that hasn't been considered carefully enough by the photographer can have a deadening or distracting effect. For all those reasons, and because I tend to gravitate towards portraits and nature shots, aperture is my thing.
I'd like some advice on how to break away from the fear I have about the manual settings modes. I want to gain the confidence to move away from always using auto settings without being worried that I'm going to miss a great shot. ~ Rebecca
Let's rip the band-aid off quickly instead of slowly: you're going to miss all kinds of great shots. Say it with me. I'm going to miss all kinds of great shots. Now breathe deeply. See? Now, you've given yourself permission to miss all kinds of great shots. Now you can get to work.
You're going to bungle it. Given the perfect expression and the perfect light, you're going to turn juicy, catchlighty eyes into an unfocused mess. You're going to swear at yourself. The delete key on your laptop is going to be all shiny and worn. But you'll never again forget that f1.8, for a close portrait, is a dangerously shallow depth-of-field that makes it almost impossible to get a complete face in focus. And the next time you're given the perfect expression and the perfect light, a voice inside your head will go Hey dumbass! Don't blow this! and you'll back off a touch to f4, and you'll nail it. A sparkly, focused face, precise eyes, and an abstracted, blurred background.
And that's worth a hundred snapshots taken in automatic mode. Really. It is.
I've just done a photography course which I loved but the maths still confounds me. You're a self-confessed maths dunce (sorry - you said it!) - how have you got by? Or is it instinct? ~ Alison, Brighton
It's about ten thousand bungled shots, and a willingness to continue bungling shots. Eventually, your ratio of good frames and fulfilled visions improves. You're throwing out only four of every ten shots instead of nine. And that's when you can get all pleased with your natural eye and call it instinct, at least to all of the people who haven't witnessed your ten thousand bungles. And you can start wearing those khaki vests with all the pockets. Or maybe not.
I'm thinking of starting to play around with editing and/or getting a camera that at least has manual options. Any suggestions as to programs, actions, cameras for relative newbies? Or should I just dive right in? ~ Emily in NYC
There's plenty to be done with a point-and-shoot but if you have the means, get a camera with manual options. It'll change your world, your whole way of seeing. Then dive right in. Get yourself some kind of editor -- you don't need Photoshop, though it's nice to have. Try Lightroom or Elements. Hang out at Shutter Sisters and on Flickr, and mine Pioneer Woman's photography blog for processing tutorials and free actions.
Most important, when you get that SLR, make yourself a pot of tea. With the camera fully charged and in front of you, read the manual from front to back. It won't take long. Pause every now and then to go into 'menu' and set things, and try things. You might need to do this a few times. But that's cool. People who don't read manuals have blind spots. They walk around bumping into stuff and banging their elbows and funny bones and wondering why the world is always in their way. Spare yourself. Read your manual.
How about you? Do you remember what prompted you to get beyond auto? How's it going?
Monday, July 26, 2010
Reader Comments (12)
We were at a lake last week and I had the hardest time shooting people in the water in the blaring sun. I know it's not ideal for pretty shots, but I want to know how to do them--that's when the fun is! Any thoughts?
And I have to say, having a big DSLR in my hand makes me *feel* like a better photographer and so much more less self-conscious taking a gazillion photos/experimenting than with my point and shoot.
As for dealing with blaring sun - it kind of depends. Bright sun often makes for relatively unattractive light for portraits. It's harsh, and creates so many shadows on the face. But situations like that, especially when action is involved, are great for playing with exposure. I'd do this in aperture priority mode (AV) because that's just what I like best. So first, switch to AV mode.
Then, on the back of your camera you'll see a button that says AV +/-. While holding it down, move the clicker wheel right above the shutter. Watch what happens on the screen, as you do this - since you're in aperture priority mode, the camera holds your aperture setting steady (say, f3.2), while changing the shutter speed to overexpose or underexpose a shot. And that's it. That's all you have to do to completely change how the camera captures the light.
I do this to tweak the exposure in AV mode for almost every frame. Thumb on the AV +/- button, and index finger on the clicker wheel. Then you'll see the exposure scale moving on the screen, telling you how much you're brightening or darkening a shot (-2...-1...0...+1...+2, referring to how many f-stops above or below the 'correct' exposure that you want to push your settings).
So in a situation like yours at the lake, first try facing into the sun (although not so it's directly in your lens) and over-exposing for a really dreamy shot, like what I did for the shot here. In order to brighten the foreground, you may need to overexpose by two whole stops - don't be shy. Keep washing it out more and more and see how it feels. You'll see when it's too much. That can be really fun - especially when you get those lovely streams of light falling across the lens. That's flare - when you shoot into the sun and overexpose, you can get a really dreamy, washed-out look. And in post-processing, you can increase the blacks/contrast a little to make sure you've got enough detail in your subject(s), while still keeping that overexposed look.
For another experiment, try vastly underexposing while shooting into the sun so that your subjects are in silhouette. Exactly the same as described above except you'll be darkening instead of brightening. You'll need a brilliant background for this - get low, and make sure your background is totally uncluttered, and a very bright sky. An example of this is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetsalty/2727305884/in/set-72157594199059052/
Another thing you can do when the light's not particularly interesting is back away from your subjects and take scenes rather than straight-up portraits. Practice different stances and unusual compositions, kind of like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetsalty/4411412427/in/set-72157594199059052/
Does this help? I don't want to overwhelm you, and it's so much easier so just chat with our cameras in-hand rather than write it out. I promise that once you start playing around, it'll make sense. :)
Reading your advice (which I had wish I had *before* the trip!), I think my main problem was that I wanted to photograph what I saw--the bright colours, beautiful sun, etc.--and not realizing that the camera isn't a photocopier, it's an instrument. It captures, but not how we see it. I was frustrated by the washed out backgrounds or the silhouettes instead of seeing the beauty and opportunities in them. By trying to force the camera to catch what I saw, I ended up with some very bland photos, example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dachselkerrfamily/4825031950/in/set-72157624456669179/lightbox/ A nice moment, but not spectacular.
Oh well. Learning, learning, learning. Next time!
So now, I think I get it: Stop thinking and start playing! And I can actually understand it the way you 'splain it. Well, it makes sense to me anyway. I guess my playtimes will tell the tale.
Bye for now!!
P.s. If ever you give a photography course, online or otherwise, I'm there!! xox
i tend to think of my husband as the real photographer as he is the one who went to school for the subject...he was excellent at sharing information and for a very long time we shot in black and white film with a 74 pentax manual...light meter and all. those were pre children days when we were obsessed with shooting in zone 3. now, i feel a little bit lazy due to the convenience of the SLR in aperture mode...you have given me a great reminder to keep playing with the settings to create more of what my eye loves to see.
i love what you said about ansel...he was quite into the f64....i cannot even imagine how he got that camera to the places he did. you should come and visit us someday and we will do a photo excursion of yosemite....that place still blows my mind (uh oh, now i am jonesing to go with camera in hand and play...the last time we went we forget our SLR in the cabin two hours away and did not realize it until we hit the canyon floor. that was a painful moment.)
keep these coming, woman...they make me want to shoot more, better and often. :)
I am babbling (again), but I hope you see what I am getting at. Basically, playing with it is the key even when it is just a POS, right??
This came at such a good time for me as I'm really starting to branch out.
do you ever do private lessons....lol
amy