NPN has moved to naturephotographers.networkYou’re viewing the read-only archive of the original site (2000–2018). The community is active today, with new critiques and discussions every day.
OK guys, it seems we are having some difficulty with this lesson so I really would like you to go back and re-read Chapter 2 once again, especially the part of f-stops and shutter speeds. read it slowly and try to absorb as much as you can. Both f-stops and shutter speeds affect exposure by regulation how much light reaches the sensor. This should be easy to understand.
But remember that each also affects how the image looks. F-stops change the depth of field and shutter speeds affect how blurred or frozen any moving objects are. Here are some examples which is what I wanted you all to do for your assignment. Here goes:
This first image is an arctic tern from Iceland. This is an example of a fast shutter speed. See how every thing on the fast-moving bird is tack-sharp and there is no movement? This was taken with a shutter speed of 1/800 second.
Here is an example of a slow shutter speed. This is actually 20 seconds and as each passing car goes by, the headlights and taillights become blurred streaks. Obviously, a tripod was necessary for this.
Now, here is an example of a large aperture (small f-stop number). The result is what's called shallow depth of field, meaning the primary subject - the bear - is in sharp focus but the background is blurred out. This, again, is because of the very shallow depth of field of - in this example, f/4.
And here is an example of a small aperture (large f-stop number). This gives us a lot of depth of field. See how both teh foreground rocks and the mountains way in the distance are both is sharp focus? This was taken at f/20.
Now study these examples and then please go back and re-read the chapter. If you have any questions, please post them here. Try to do exactly what i did here - post 2 examples of different shutter speeds (slow and fast) and two different examples of f-stops - one with shallow depth of field and one with a lot of depth of field. Good luck!
Thanks Richard for going to such great length to explain this!
Sorry for being a pain, but how did you figure out (afer the fact, while looking through your pictures) that these pictures were taken at the different shutter speeds/f-stop that you mention here?
Discussion
7 repliesBut remember that each also affects how the image looks. F-stops change the depth of field and shutter speeds affect how blurred or frozen any moving objects are. Here are some examples which is what I wanted you all to do for your assignment. Here goes:
This first image is an arctic tern from Iceland. This is an example of a fast shutter speed. See how every thing on the fast-moving bird is tack-sharp and there is no movement? This was taken with a shutter speed of 1/800 second.
Sorry for being a pain, but how did you figure out (afer the fact, while looking through your pictures) that these pictures were taken at the different shutter speeds/f-stop that you mention here?