Technique PHOTO SCHOOL
29
Camera class
Everyone has to start somewhere, even top pros, and in our regular Photo School feature we’ll be taking a close look at core techniques that every beginner needs to know. This month, in Camera class, we find out how to use f/number and aperture to express yourself, while Software skills (below) looks at keywording images in Adobe Lightroom
n How does aperture affect depth-of-field? Increase the size of the aperture by selecting a lower f/number, and the depth-of-field becomes shallower. For example, if everything else is kept the same, switching from f/11 to f/5.6 creates a shallower depth- of-field. By setting your camera to aperture-priority mode (A or Av), you can change the aperture to control the depth-of-field and the camera adjusts the shutter speed for a good exposure.
n What else affects depth-of-field? It’s not just the aperture that determines the depth- of-field. Getting closer to your subject without changing the aperture or focal length reduces the depth-of-field, as does increasing the focal length without changing the aperture or distance from your subject. In the next issue, we’ll be taking a look at how your camera’s shutter speed affects exposure.
Words by Ian Fyfe
Last month, we looked at the f/number, how it controls the aperture and how this affects exposure. But changing the f/number also affects the depth-of- field – understanding what this is and how to control it lets you get more creative. n What is depth-of-field? The depth-of-field is the amount of front-to-back sharpness in an image. With a shallow depth-of-field, sharpness falls off quickly on either side of your focal point so that only a small amount of the scene is in sharp focus. A large depth-of-field keeps everything from front to back sharp. n How can I use depth-of-field creatively? Using a shallow depth-of-field lets you direct attention by picking out your subject from its surroundings. For example, blurring the background with a shallow depth-of-field makes a portrait subject stand out, or in macro photography it highlights specific details. But keeping everything sharp with a large depth-of-field is what you want in landscapes or when capturing a scene as a whole. Software skills Take control of Adobe Lightroom. Part 3: Keywording ADOBE LIGHTROOM Last month, we looked at using Lightroom 5 to rate your images. This month we consider keywording and using collections. Keywording your images means you can find pictures of a specific subject, location or topic more easily, so if you shoot lots and want to market your images, it’s a helpful function. It is time-consuming, but it can save you time later on. If you just want to identify your recent portrait shoot as people pictures, that’s easy, but you can go into more detail. You can keyword images as People, and then add the subject’s name, and the fact that they were taken in Manchester with flash in a studio using two heads and a reflector. Words by Will Cheung RIGHT See the difference an f/number makes: a small f/number, f/1.8, means a small amount of sharpness; a big f/number, f/11, and it’s all sharp.
SHOT AT F/11
SHOT AT F/1.8
Learn how shutter speed affects exposure and find out how to enhance your images using Lightroom 5. NEXTMONTH: SHUTTER SPEED& BASIC EDITING
Keyword your shots Under Keywording in the Library module, type in the tag you want. The latest keyword appears in the Keyword set – here you make your own most- used sets of keywords, nine in each set. Then select the image or images and click on the keyword – a tag appears bottom right of the thumbnail. Or use the Keyword List where all your keywords sit in alphabetical order. Tick the keywords you want linked to the pictures you are keywording. Make a collection Go to Library and in the drop-down menu you’ll see collection options; pick New Smart Collection and call it People. This will be your master collection of people pictures. Here we went for Any Searchable Text and Contains Words. You can now tap in the keywords you want the software to use to add pictures to this collection; we used people in the studio, using flash, shot in Manchester. You can add extra parameters too – star rating, even camera type – so your Smart Collection can be as wide ranging or as specific as you want. The software will add into the collection all images tagged with the appropriate keywords. Once you have a Smart Collection going, the software automatically adds new images to that collection as you keyword, rate or label them. To find an image, go to the appropriate Smart Collection and search using keywords, star rating or label.
IMAGES You can add as many parameters to your Smart Collections as you want, making them as wide ranging or as specific as you need them to be.
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Issue 3 | Photography News
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