Exposure

Exposure is a very important thing when it comes to quality of a picture in photography. Metering patterns are very unique in that they are very useful in determining what areas of light the camera will focus on. I somewhat understand the metering and histogram, but with the camera I have, still need a lot of practice with it because in the light there are still dark spots that I don’t want focused on. When winter time comes around and snow falls, I find the information on increasing or decreasing exposure to be of good use. Pictures had never come out clear for me in the snow and now I understand why, which is going to help me better some of my future shots.
One of the best tips from the book that I never really put into consideration before was the fact that you should avoid the midday sun on a clear day if you’re looking for a good shot. There is too much contrast for a digital sensor to record during this time of high lighting by the sun. The types of lighting were of interest to me due to the fact that I was actually playing with a camera this weekend during the dawn hours as I went home. I found the information on backlighting the most useful in getting a clear picture of my brother’s fiancé in the hanging leaves of a tree which was all backlit by the descending sun. I had to focus more on her with the leaves in front, and leave some of the back leaves in blur in order for her not to show up as a silhouette.
Also, I agree with the author in the fact that using a flash during an outdoor shot completely ruins the natural setting and look. However, it is still very handy after nightfall even though you usually end up with mostly the subject and none of the other background unless you have a nice flash set up with your camera. To add on to the quality of the picture that I shot of my brothers fiancé, I think one of the most important features used on the camera and brought up in the book, was the depth of field. The depth of field was used in the sense that the camera focused mainly on her face and then the rest of the background got a little blurry as it moved away from the subject. A useful tip that I sort of figured out on my own, but was better iterated in the book for increasing depth of field, is to first focus on your closest object and then the next just beyond it in a distant depth of field.
The book describes some interesting things about shutter speed, which will turn out to be very useful for future shooting as well. I never understood shutter speed all that well, but now I get it in the fact that the faster the subject/the faster the shutter speed needs to be. In reality, this turns out to be common sense after becoming a little more familiar with the camera I’m using. Panning (leading the subject with the lens) is also very useful and similar to trap shooting in a sense, which can also help reduce blur in an action shot. One of the features that I find to be one of the neatest is Blurring for effect where you set aperture and shutter speed to give a picture a unique abstract blur effect.
Knowing what colors and backgrounds dominate the others is important for knowing what settings and adjustments need to be made to your camera for a better quality shot. For instance if you were to shoot a field of yellow and orange flowers, there is a possibility of blending issues due to the similar coloration of them. There are two important concepts that are mentioned in the book that I have also previously learned in a video production class. The first center of interest that basically means you have one main subject or area that is being focused on and needs to be iterated the most while still coexisting with the background elements. The second is the rule of thirds, which sets your center of interest one third of the way up or down and to either side of the cameras lens. This is used to better the details and beauty of your subject.