The Exposure Triangle: Explained.

There are three factors you need to assess when shooting in manual mode (if you’re a professional photographer or you want to be a professional, it’s important to know what these things mean). You have to learn how to balance the three of these properly, because if you change one setting, it will affect the exposure of the photo, which means you will have to change another setting.

Aperture

Aperture is my favorite setting to use because it can change so much about the photo. I’ll explain. Aperture works kind of like the pupil of your eye. The wider the aperture (the smaller the number), the more light is let into the camera. The narrower the aperture (the larger the number), the less light is let into the camera. There’s another thing to note about aperture, though. If you set a wide aperture, say f/2.0, fewer things in the image will be in focus; the focal point will be a lot more specific. But if you have a narrower aperture, say f/10, more things in the frame will be in focus.

The photos above show a difference in aperture. The background in the photo to the left is more blown out, or more blurry. This means that the aperture is wider. The photo to the right has a slightly narrower aperture which allows you to see the background a little more clearly.

If you want to take a portrait of somebody, you’ll want to use a wider aperture. This will blow out the background and any foreground, and bring attention to the person.

If you want to take a picture of a beautiful landscape, a narrow aperture will be a better choice.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is basically just the speed at which the photo is taken. The shutter speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second. So a shutter speed of 1/80 means one-eightieth of a second. 1/500 means one five-hundredth of a second. The slowest shutter speed that most cameras offer is up to 30 seconds, but it’s not often that you would need that kind of exposure.

The photo above shows the same situation at different shutter speeds. The pinwheel to the very left has a fast shutter speed because it froze it in time. The pinwheels to the right were taken using slower shutter speeds which shows the motion of them. Motion blur can be a good thing. Many photographers use slower shutter speeds to make moving water more smooth or to show propeller movement at an air show.

Let’s say you’re taking a photo of a landscape. You will want a narrow aperture. In using the narrow aperture, less light is getting into the camera, so you will want to keep the shutter open for longer. But like I said, the longer you keep the shutter open, though, the more likely you are to get a blurry photo. That is why landscape photographers use tripods and shutter remotes, to reduce the amount of camera shake.

Portrait photography usually doesn’t require such a narrow aperture, which means you can have a faster shutter speed.

ISO

ISO stands for International Organization of Standardization. I don’t know why it’s called ISO instead of IOS, but that’s just how it is. ISO is the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor (the photo above shows what a camera sensor looks like). So a low ISO means that your camera will be less sensitive to light. You want to use a low ISO of 100 in bright situations. An ISO of 800 would be used in a very dark situation.

Warning!! You lose photo quality when you use a higher ISO. That is why you need to use the lowest ISO required for the situation. The two photos below show how you can lose quality when using higher ISO’s. The photo on the top was taken using a lower ISO. It is not as exposed as the photo below it, but you can see the photo below has more noise or grain. A little grain isn’t a bad thing. You just need to decide what works best for you as a photographer.

Higher end cameras can achieve higher ISO’s, but it is still important to use the lowest ISO possible for the situation.

Don’t be scared of using a high ISO. Push your camera to it’s limit to see what it is capable of.

Balancing All Three

Now that we understand all three of the settings, we need to learn how to use all of them together.

Let’s say the sun has set, but there’s still a bit of sunlight left. We want to take a picture of a meadow with some trees. The settings I would use would be as follows: Narrow aperture of f/10, slower shutter speed of 1/30 or even slower, and a medium ISO of 400.

Now let’s say we’re taking a portrait of somebody outside on a sunny day, but the ground is covered in snow. The snow acts as a giant reflector which will allow a lot of light into the camera. My settings would be approximately a wider aperture of f/3, a fast shutter speed 1/500 or faster, and a low ISO of 100.

Of course, these are just approximations. You won’t know the exact settings you need until you’re in the situation.

If you look at these photos here, you can see that the one to the left is under-exposed, the one in the middle is exposed properly and the one to the right is over-exposed. Each setting is unique on its own, but they all play a part in exposing your photo.

If you haven’t starting shooting in manual mode, it’s time you start! Shooting in manual gives you control over the situation. Auto mode in cameras are pretty decent these days, but if you want to take your photography to the next level, practice using your own settings. It’ll be difficult at first, but once you learn, it’ll be second nature!

Δ Abbi

Why Competition is a Good Thing.

You might be a photographer like me, or you might be something completely different. Whatever your profession or hobby, competition exists.

The illusion is that the competition is a bad thing. My message is: don’t be fooled by that!

Competition keeps professionals on the edge. The downside to this, of course, is that somebody is going to fall short, but the beauty is that everybody has a chance to shine! If others are doing better than you, evaluate why that may be the case.

In the case of photography, you have to look not only at the quality of the photos, but also at customer service strategies and activity on social media. There are so many reasons why others might be more successful than you. It’s okay to imitate how others gain success. They’re successful for a reason (don’t plagiarize though, that can get you in trouble)!

In photography, there was film, and then things changed to digital. The photographers who refused to learn digital became irrelevant because they couldn’t offer what the market was demanding. That’s not to say that there is no longer a market for film photography. Sometimes it’s good to be able to offer a variety of services. So if you were someone who preferred film, keep it as a hobby and offer it to clients who may want that option, but don’t forget to evolve with the market!

What I’m trying to say is, if you find that you aren’t gaining success, look to those who are and get inspired by them! Instead of getting discouraged, try celebrating your competitors because there is so much you can learn from them.

If we didn’t have competition in the world, things would never improve and there’d be no reason to innovate the industry. You know the saying: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” That doesn’t apply to everything, but I think it applies here!

Let competition be fun! I’d definitely like to hear what you guys have to say about your experiences dealing with competition! Share them in the comments!

I hope your year is going well so far!

Δ Abbi

Photographers who inspire me - Part II

I get caught up looking at the success of other photographers and I sometimes think to myself, how could I ever be successful like that?

It sometimes makes me feel anxious and threatened, but I know it’s not the right way to look at it. The success of others doesn’t keep you from achieving your own success. Don’t fall victim to the illusion that others’ success somehow brings you down. Learn from the success of others!

I work hard every day to remind myself of that.

The success of these following Youtubers/Instagrammers inspire me to think outside of the box and I’ll explain why!

Sorelle Amore

Sorelle is known for her “Advanced Selfies.” Essentially, she does these beautiful, interesting self portraits. She makes videos not only about her photography but about her lifestyle as well. She’s a minimalist, which means she has very few possessions. Having few possessions allows her to move around a lot and explore the world without being tied to anything. I can’t say that I would want to live exactly like her, but her minimalism inspires me to appreciate everything I have and to remind myself that there are very few things that I actually NEED. She also encourages other people to take “Advanced Selfies” as a way to learn to appreciate, accept and respect yourself. If you don’t first value yourself, how can you expect anybody else to value you?

Chris Hau and Lizzie Peirce

These two actually have different Youtube channels and Instagram accounts, but they have very similar content (and they are a pretty darn cute couple if you ask me). Chris mostly does travel photography, but he’s also done photos and footage for Mercedes-Benz! How cool is that? Lizzie does travel photography too, and she provides a lot of photography business advice! They do such a great job of inspiring me (and many others) to keep moving forward even when I am not yet where I want to be. Success is a process. It’s a series of steps. You can’t be successful if you don’t put in the work.

Peter McKinnon

Coffee, coffee and more coffee! If you watch Peter McKinnon’s videos, coffee is a common character. Peter McKinnon has found unique ways to personalize his channel and set himself apart from everybody else. He is also a master of “B-Roll” footage. To briefly explain, B-Roll is side-footage or supplemental footage that adds to the atmosphere of the video. For example, if you’re shooting a video of yourself walking through a forest, some good B-Roll would be close up footage of the bark or leaves of the trees, a panning shot of the sky or shots of wildlife. It’s not the main point of the video, but it adds to the adventure. Peter McKinnon’s work is inspiring because his videos aren’t always about big adventures. Some of his videos include him cleaning his garage, drinking coffee out in the snow with his dogs or raking leaves with his dad. He shows me and others that you don’t have to live in a big city or have a lot of money to make an interesting video, or live an interesting life. It’s not about what you have or what you do, it’s all about the attitude!

Success does not happen overnight. If you want to be successful in anything, you have to work every day for it and you can’t let the bad attitude of others get in your way. You are always in control!

Δ Abbi