Exposure Experiments

I've always wanted to learn how to be a photographer.

So I began learning this year and started experimenting with exposure.

What is exposure, you might ask? Wellllll, its the amount of light per unit area; Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminescence in a specific region.

By understanding how to expose an image properly, you will be able to capture photographs of the ideal brightness, including high levels of detail in both the shadows and highlight areas. 

DEFINE: of "exposure" (in photography) - a unit of measurement for the total amount of light permitted to reach the electronic sensor during the process of photography. Every time you click the shutter button, your camera is working some magic inside, doing its best to properly expose your photo. Exposure is the result of three different variables that determine if your photo is under-exposed (too dark), over-exposed (too bright), or evenly exposed. The three variables that make up exposure are Sensitivity (ISO), Shutter Speed, and Aperture.

In a nutshell, define: Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO.
Aperture: the "pupil" of your lens; you could shrink  or enlarge the size to allow more or less light to your camera sensor.
Shutter Speed: unit of measurement which determines how long the shutter remains open as the picture is taken.
ISO: measures the sensitivity of the images sensor


I'm going to experiment with each of these settings....

Post 1: Experimenting with Aperture (experimenting with depth of field)

Post 2: Experimenting with Shutter Speed (experimenting with motion)

Post 3: Experimenting with ISO (experimenting with grain)

I will be blogging about photography this year. I will be sharing what I am learning and giving you tips along the way. I will be practicing and keeping you guys updated with every photo I take and every little information I learn.

Check back for more how-to photography posts and leave your comments below.

Shutter Speed

What led up to this experiment? What supplies did you use?
the supplies I used were balloons, a camera, and a bucket with a pin. We also used lighting.

What settings did we try on the camera at first?

We used shutter speed first because we need that so it would take the pictures faster.


How did we change the shutter speed as we experimented?

Every time we changed the shutter speed we made it higher.
The higher the shutter speed, the picture is captured faster, and the darker it will be. So we would eventually have to fix the exposure in Lightroom software to lighten the image.

What lesson did you learn by doing this experiment?

I learned that you need to increase the shutter speed to capture a quick action shot. Additionally, I learned that you have to speed the camera time to take the picture so that it would last like 30 seconds - 2 seconds per shot so I could capture the picture.

What was your favorite part?

My favorite part was to see how the balloons came out when we used a different technique.


Describe exactly how you felt when you accomplished taking the photo you were aiming for?

I felt so happy and excited because I really wanted to capture this kind of picture and when it came out the way I liked it I was so satisfied. Showing everyone in the class afterward was exciting because they were all happy that I accomplished something that I thought I couldn't do.

Check back for more how-to photography posts and leave your comments below.