Photography 101 | Depth of Field

Just joining in? Here's what you've missed:
Photography 101 | Coming Soon!
Photography 101 | Aperture
Photography 101 | Shutter Speed
Photography 101 | ISO
Photography 101 | Exposure Meter

Welcome back to my Photography 101 series! I'm so glad that you have decided to join me. Today the fun begins, as we learn about depth of field (DOF).

If all you wanted was to have properly exposed photos, you could just set your camera on automatic and most of the time your camera would do just fine. If you are taking the time to learn how to use your camera in manual mode, I’m guessing you want to have more creative control over your photos, and a large part of this control comes from understanding depth of field and how to use it in your images.

Depth of field is essentially the portion of your photograph that is in focus. You can use depth of field to isolate your subject from the background by keeping it in focus and making the background out of focus, like I’ve done in this photo…

Or you can use depth of field to keep your entire scene in focus, like I’ve done in this photo…

By learning how to control depth of field, you can choose what to focus on and decide how much of each photo will be in focus. To demonstrate this idea, the next series of photographs are photos I took during my Intro to Photography class, when I was first learning about depth of field. The instructions were to take four photographs of the same scene. In the first photo we were supposed to focus on the foreground, and blur the rest of the image. In the second photo we were supposed to focus on the middle ground, and blur the rest of the image. In the third photo we were supposed to focus on the background, and blur the rest of the image. In the fourth photo we were supposed to keep the entire scene in focus. I wasn't using a tripod, so my scene isn't exactly the same from one image to the next, but it still demonstrates the point...

So, let's talk about how how you can control the depth of field in your photos. There are 3 things that affect depth of field: lens aperture size, lens to subject distance, and lens focal length.

Lens Aperture Size

• larger aperture size = smaller depth of field
• smaller aperture size = larger depth of field

As you increase the size of the lens aperture, the depth of field gets smaller resulting in a smaller portion of your photo being in focus.  The flower photo above was taken with an aperture of f/2.8, and the first three photos in the DOF series were taken with an aperture of f/4.

As you decrease the size of the lens aperture, the depth of field gets larger resulting in a larger portion of your photo being in focus.  The mountain photo above was taken with an aperture of f/18, and the final photo in the DOF series was taken with an aperture of f/22.

Changing the size of the lens aperture is the only way to change the depth of field without changing the composition of your photo.  For this reason, lens aperture size is the first thing that I use to control the depth of field when I shoot.

As you can plainly see, the composition of the following two photos is roughly the same, even though what is in focus varies greatly between them.  The first image was taken at an aperture size of f/2.8 and the second at f/11.  As I decreased the size of the aperture I caused the depth of field to increase resulting in an increase in the the amount of the scene that is in focus.

You will notice in the first photo above that the yellow flower is in focus as well as the edge of the leaf down near the left corner of the image.  The reason these two things are in focus as the same time is because they are both in the same plane (or in other words they are both the same distance from the camera lens).  This becomes important when you are shooting portraits and trying to get multiple people in focus at once.

For example, take at a look at the image below, where I was trying to take a photograph of Lexi and Zoe.  I couldn't quite convince them to lay right next to each other, so Zoe was slightly farther away from my camera lens than Lexi was.  My lens aperture was set at f/2.8 which resulted in a depth of field too small for both of them to be in focus at the same time.  I was focusing on Lexi, and Zoe ended up out of focus.

While I prefer to adjust my depth of field using my aperture size, there are times when lighting conditions will not allow me to use my first choice for lens aperture size.  In those instances, one or both of the next two things will help me to achieve the depth of field results that I want for my photo.

Lens to Subject Distance

• shorter lens to subject distance = smaller depth of field
• longer lens to subject distance = larger depth of field

(As a side note, this also changes perspective, which I will talk about in a future post.)

Lens to subject distance is easy to change unless you are shooting in a confined space.  If you want to decrease the depth of field in your photo, move closer to your subject.  If you want to increase the depth of field in your photo, move farther away from your subject.  But keep in mind that as you move closer to or farther away from your subject you are going to be changing the composition of your photo.

I took this first photo, and then backed up about 5 ft and took the second one. You can plainly see the difference in how out of focus the back branch is between the two photos. By lengthening the distance between my camera lens and my subject, I made the depth of field get larger. I also changed the composition of my photo rather drastically.

Lens Focal Length

• longer focal length = smaller depth of field
• shorter focal length = larger depth of field

Lens focal length is usually the last thing I use to control the depth of field in my photos.  I don't always carry all of my lenses with me when I am out shooting, plus changing lenses can be difficult and time consuming depending on the circumstances.  So, I usually try to get the shot with the lens that is already attached to my camera body.  However, this can come in handy when I am using a zoom lens and have a range of focal lengths readily available. Again, changing the depth of field by changing the lens focal length will also change the composition of your photo.

The following three photos were taken using my 70-200 zoom lens.  The first photo was taken at a lens focal length of 170 mm, the second photo was taken using a lens focal length of 115 mm, and the third photo was taken using a lens focal length of 70 mm.  As I shortened the focal length, the depth of field increased for each photo resulting in more of the scene being in focus for each subsequent image.  Of course, the composition for each photo was changed, as well.

(Depth of field is also affected by the size of your camera's sensor.  However, you do not have control over this, with the exception of purchasing a new camera with a different sensor size, so I am opting not to discuss it in detail.)

One other thing to keep in mind is that the farther away something is from the subject you are focusing on, the more out of focus it will be. So, if you want to decrease the focus of the background behind your subject, you can simply move your subject farther away from whatever is behind it.

I would recommend spending some time with each of your lenses and practice changing the lens aperture size, the lens focal length, and the distance between your lens and your subject to get a feel for how all of these work to create depth of field in your photos.  Then join me back next week to learn about photographing motion.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

All Dressed Up with Somewhere to Go!

Please indulge me, as I share with you a personal post, and a few photos.

Recently, my husband's law school held a ball, where we got to get all fancy and pretend to have some class. I didn't want to end up taking photos all evening, so I didn't take my camera to the ball, but we attended a pre-party before hand and I did take a few photos there.

Isn't my hubby a cutie? :)...

Kevin took this photo of me. Not bad, huh?  I'm going to turn him into a photographer yet...

And a (very out of focus) photo of both of us, but I like that you can see all of my dress in it...

I did take photos of the other people at the party, but I decided not to post photos of anyone else without their permission.  However, I did post them in a password protected gallery on my website.  So if you were at the pre-party and want to see the photos, you can email me for the password.

Every time I take personal event photos, I swear I am going to invest in a decent flash, yet I never do.  Once again, as I was editing these images I was cursing the funky lighting and crazy shadows, and promising myself that I will buy a flash soon!  Since I don't shoot events for clients, and prefer to shoot all of my portraits in natural lighting, it's just never been a big priority. I think that is about to change!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Photography 101 | Exposure Meter

Just joining in? Here's what you've missed:
Photography 101 | Coming Soon!
Photography 101 | Aperture
Photography 101 | Shutter Speed
Photography 101 | ISO

Welcome back to my Photography 101 series! I'm so glad that you have decided to join me. Today I will be talking about how to use your camera's exposure meter.

If you want to learn how to take properly exposed photos while shooting is manual mode, you are going to want to make your camera's exposure meter your new BFF. This handy little instrument is going to help you determine which settings to choose for each and every one of your photos. (Please keep in mind that I'm using the word "proper" to mean that the photograph shouldn't be too light or too dark in exposure.  A lot of photography is personal preference, and I don't believe that there is only one right way to create images.  Each photographer develops their own style as they master the craft.)

Every camera's exposure meter display is going to be different, so you are going to have to dig out your instruction manual and read up on yours.  I shoot with a Canon, so the exposure meter on my camera looks very similar to the one in the photo below.  I have outlined the exposure meter in red. Underneath the 0, there is a small black bar, indicating that the current settings for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO combine to create a properly exposed photo.  If the settings weren’t set for a properly exposed photo, that small black bar would be on one side or the other of the 0.  The farther the bar moves from the center point, the more the settings need to be altered to create a proper exposure.  As the bar moves into the minus, it is indicating that there isn't enough light and the photo will probably be too dark (underexposed).  As the bar moves into the plus, it is indicating that there is too much light, and the photo will probably be too light (overexposed).

One important thing to keep in mind is that there isn't ONE combination of settings that will lead to a proper exposure.  Instead, there are several different options you can pick from, all of which will result in a good quality photo.  To demonstrate this, I laid my iPhone on my desk and snapped a few quick shots of it using different combinations of settings, which I included with each image (with a typo - the bottom right photo was shot using a shutter speed of 1/80, not 1/20).  I picked the different settings at random, and simply dialed in different combinations of Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO settings until the exposure meter showed a reading at the 0 mark. As you can clearly see, the exposure is the same in each image; therefore, they are called equivalent exposures.

This must mean that there are reasons other than exposure for selecting different settings, right?  That's the fun part of photography (which will we start exploring in coming weeks)!  The important thing to realize right now is that you can use your exposure meter to help you pick different combinations of settings to properly expose your photos.  See, it's not as hard as you thought!

OK, now hang in there with me as I get a bit more technical and talk about the different types of light metering options.

First, there are two different ways to take a reading of the available light for your photo: using reflected light and using incident light. A meter reading using reflected light measures the light coming off of your subject back towards your camera. Most built in camera meters measure reflected light. A meter reading using incident light measures the light falling on your subject from the light source. Most meters that measure incident light are hand-held meters that are separate from your camera.

Second, there are different ways that your camera can measure the amount of light reflecting off of your subject by changing which part of the scene it uses to take the light reading. The options available on my camera are Evaluative Metering, Partial Metering, Spot Metering, and Center Weighted Metering. Again I shoot using a Canon, so my options may be different than yours.  Your instruction manual should explain your options and detail how each one of them works.

Third, the light meter in your camera is designed to measure the amount of light reflecting off of your subject and to calculate the exposure that will result in an overall level of light in the resulting image that is equivalent to 18% grey. This assumes that each scene is made up of a combination of very bright, very dark, and everything in between, which can all be averaged out to 18% grey. Most of the time this will work out just fine, but there are circumstances where this assumption will result in your photos not being properly exposed. As you gain experience with manual mode, you will slowly start to realize the circumstances where this happens, and learn to compensate to get a proper exposure.

This week, start practicing using your camera's exposure meter to help you select different combinations of settings that will result in properly exposed photos. The more you get used to doing this, the easier it will be for you to shoot in manual mode all the time.

You have now learned the 4 most important things you need to know to shoot in manual mode.  Now the fun begins.  Next week we will talk about how to control the Depth of Field in your photos, which is the absolute best thing about shooting in manual mode, in my opinion!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

And I'm Back in the Game {MWP is Open for Business!!}

I am so excited to announce that MWP is officially open for business in Phoenix!  This announcement is long over due, and I can't wait to start booking new clients.  If you are interested in scheduling a session, options and pricing can be found here.

I have decided that there are going to be a few changes for MWP as I once again begin shooting:

• First and foremost, Michele Whitacre Photography is getting a new look!  I am still in the process of working with the designer to put the finishing touches on many of the branding materials, but I just couldn't resist sharing a peek at my new logo along with my big announcement.
• In celebration of my grand re-opening, I will be hosting some fun contests, giveaways, and specials for the next few months.  I will be announcing many of these only on facebook, so if you aren't already a fan, swing on by and "like" my page to stay up to date on all the happenings.

I cannot wait to get back into shooting again, and I am so thrilled and excited to once again starting taking portraits.  I love being able to capture special moments for clients! :)

As always, thank you for stopping by, reading my blog, and viewing my photos.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Photography 101 | ISO

Just joining in? Here's what you've missed:
Photography 101 | Coming Soon!
Photography 101 | Aperture
Photography 101 | Shutter Speed

Welcome back to my Photography 101 series! Are you ready to learn all about ISO (International Standards Organization)?

Depending on how old you are, you may remember the days of pre-digital photography when you had to purchase rolls of film. You may even remember that the film came in different speeds (100, 200, 400, 800, etc). Basically, film speed is a measure of how sensitive the film is to light. The lower the number the less sensitive to light the film; therefore, you have to have a lot more light or the photos will be too dark. The higher the number the more sensitive to light the film; therefore, you don't need as much light to expose your photos.

The ISO setting on your digital camera controls the camera's sensitivity to light, and it works exactly the same way as film speeds do.  The lower the ISO setting, the less sensitive your camera will be and the more light you will need to take photos.  The higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive your camera will be and the less light you will need to take your photos.

To demonstrate this, I took a few photos of Zoe laying on the couch in our living room. For each image, I had my aperture set at f/1.2 and my shutter speed set at 1/640.  I picked these setting simply because they would allow me to demonstrate the change to the exposure as I changed the ISO settings. The ISO settings from top to bottom are 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, and 6400, which are options available on my camera.  Yours may be different.

By now, I'm guessing that you've probably realized that the series of photos I took while changing the aperture, while changing the shutter speed, and while changing the ISO, all look about the same. As I went through the range of options available, the resulting images went through a range from light to dark. This means that there are multiple combinations of settings that will allow enough light to enter the camera to properly expose each photograph, and it's going to be your job as the photographer to decide which combination you are going to use. We will be talking about this in depth in future posts, but first we need to learn how to know if our photo is going to be properly exposed or not.

This week, I encourage you to experiment with your camera's ISO settings and become familiar with the effect of changing ISO on your photos.  Now that you know a little bit about aperture and shutter speed, you can experiment with different combinations and see what happens to the photos.

Then join me back next week, to learn about using your camera's exposure meter!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Elle's Sneak Peek {Part 2}

Before we get started... if you missed Part 1 of Elle's Sneak Peek, you can find it here.

I wanted to do something different for the second half of Elle's session, so I contacted the manager of a mansion here in Phoenix to find out if they allowed photos to be taken there.  I was expecting him to tell me no, but was stunned to learn that they do allow photos as long as it doesn't interrupt their business.  So we scheduled the session on a day they are closed to the public, and the manager opened the mansion for two hours and allowed us to wander through it and take photos!

If you've been a reader for a while, then I'm sure you've realized by now that I always take my photos outside.  I do this because I prefer natural light photography, meaning I do not use a flash.  So, the light in my photos comes from the environment I am shooting in.  Outside the light is "predictable" meaning, I know what to expect.  However, shooting inside is an entirely different story!  So, I was excited but nervous to try my hand at some inside shots, using my new lens.  I really wanted to give it a good test to see how it did, and overall I was pleasantly surprised.

Since this session was full of firsts for me, starting with the fact that I've never photographed a two part session, and cruising right on through to the inside photos that I rarely take.  I decided to keep with the theme, and post Elle's entire Sneak Peek in black and white.  So many of these images were just crying out to be in black and white, and I couldn't resist.  Normally I would never do this since I know clients want to see color photos, too! But since Elle already saw lots of color photos from the first half, and since she already got a peek at a few of these in color on facebook, I decided to indulge myself a little.

So, I once again give to you the stunning, Elle...

I am seriously IN LOVE with these first two photos!...

Elle bought this hat with our session in mind and I couldn't be more thrilled with how much it added to the photos. Such a great idea!...

Adorable...

I heart Elle's expression here.  She looks like she's got a really good secret, doesn't she?...

This is another of my favs...

So many of these photos of her in the grass turned out amazing, and I couldn't pick just one to post...

Again, I couldn't pick a favorite and had to post both of these, too...

Elle was an absolute dream to work with! Not only did she agree to model for me, she agreed to everything I wanted to do for both parts of our session.

Elle, I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to take your photos. It's a good thing you're moving soon or I'd have you in front of my camera every other week. :) Good luck with your new job, and I hope the future brings you a lifetime of wonderful things!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | March 2012

I live in one of the top ten largest cities in the country, yet I only have to travel a few short miles and it feels like I am in the middle of nowhere.  This came in quite handy, as March's self-portrait was taken with me standing in the middle of an intersection.  I wanted to find a time where there would be as little traffic as possible to take this photo, so I got up at 5:45 AM on a Sunday morning to do it, which either makes me dedicated or nuts!

Remember back in January, when I talked about the rough road I have been on?  And how I'd finally realized that the time had come to make some major life changes?  Well, it took a while to set the wheels in motion, but the time has finally come for those changes to happen.  I couldn't be more ready to embrace the new things that life has in store for me and start traveling down a new path.  So, here I am standing at the crossroads of my life, with my arms up in victory for everything I have struggled through and in excitement for where I am headed.

I started taking my self-portraits because I felt like it was something that I should do.  I thought it would be good for me, and that I could learn a lot from it.  You know - one of those tough love kinda things, where I was going to force myself to do something I really didn't want to do for my own good. However, as the months go by I find myself enjoying taking them more and more.  If you are a photographer, I would encourage you to consider doing a self-portrait project for yourself!  I think you might be surprised at how much you can learn and grow from it.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Photography 101 | Shutter Speed

Just joining in? Here is what you've missed:
Photography 101 | Coming Soon!
Photography 101 | Aperture

Welcome back to my Photography 101 series! I'm so happy that you've decided to join me.

I would once again like to begin by asking you to do a little experiment. For this one you will need two large containers that are the same size, a stop watch, and a sink. Place one of your containers under the faucet, turn it on all the way, and allow the water to run for 5 seconds. Set the container aside, and repeat with the second container, allowing the water to run for 10 seconds.  Now compare the amount of water in the two containers. If you were accurate with your timing, you should have approximately double the amount of water in the second container as you do in the first container. Why? Because the longer you leave the faucet running, the more water you allow to pass through it into your containers.

Applying this same idea to photography, we need a certain amount of light to enter the camera to create a photograph.  One way that we can control the amount of light that enters the camera is by altering the shutter speed of the camera. The shutter speed is the setting that regulates the amount of time that the aperture is left open. The longer it is open, the more light you allow to enter the camera, and the shorter it is open, the less light you allow to enter the camera.

To demonstrate this, I once again took a series of photographs of a single subject. All of these images were taken with my EF-S 18-55mm IS Zoom Lens, with my aperture set to to f/8 and my ISO set to 200. (I chose this lens because it is the stock lens that came with my camera, and is probably similar to the lens that most of you are using. Don't worry too much about the aperture and ISO settings for now.  We will cover how to choose these settings in future posts.) For each consecutive photo, I then changed my shutter speed by one step to show the effect on the image. The first shot was taken with a shutter speed of 1/50 and the last image was taken with an aperture of 1/2500. (I picked this range of settings because I felt like it was a good range to demonstrate the effect of changing shutter speed on an image.)

Just like with aperture settings, shutter speed is measured in FRACTIONS of a second.  So, again, you have to keep in mind how fractions work when you are making adjustments to the shutter speed setting on your camera.  A shutter speed setting of 1/50 of a second is a much slower setting (resulting in the aperture being left open for a much longer time period which will allow more light to enter the camera) than 1/2500 of a second (resulting in the aperture being left open for a much shorter time period which will allow less light to enter the camera).

If you look at the above series of photos, you can see that the first photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/50 and allows too much light to enter the camera, resulting in a photo that looks a bit "washed out." The last photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/2500 and doesn't allow enough light to enter, resulting in a photo that is much too dark.

I encourage you to experiment with your camera's shutter speed settings this week and become familiar with how changing it affects your images. To do this, set your camera on manual mode, pick an aperture setting, and set your ISO setting to 200. (Again, there is no particular reason for this setting. It is basically just a "middle of the road" settings that should work for this experiment.) Then take a series of images like the ones I took above, changing the shutter speed setting one step between each exposure. I suggest experimenting with different aperture settings, and taking a series of photos for each one to begin to get a feel for how the two work together to create an exposure. I also suggest taking a series of photos for several different subjects in different environments to see what results you get.

Then join me back here next Friday and get ready to learn all about ISO!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Elle's Sneak Peek {Part 1}

I first met Elle last fall at the birthday party of a mutual friend. From the moment I saw her, I wanted to photograph her. I knew she would be amazing in front of the camera! But I figured she'd think I was a crazy person if I just walked up to her 5 minutes after meeting her and asked her if she would model for me some time.

I ran into Elle again a few weeks ago at another party hosted by our mutual friend. We got to talking, and I asked her how she felt about having her photo taken. She told me that she loved modeling and that she recently competed to be Miss Kansas! At that point, how could I resist? I asked her if she would be interested in modeling for me and she agreed!

We decided on a two part shoot, and the first part was last night. The second half is scheduled for next week, but I just couldn't wait until then to post photos of the stunning Elle.

We started our shoot by meeting at Elle's apartment, where she gave me free rein to ransack her closet and help her pick out her outfits.  That was the first opportunity I've ever had to dress someone for photos, and I have to admit that I LOVED it!  The second I saw the vest and boots in the first half of these photos, I knew we had to use them!

Once we had picked out her clothes, we headed out and spent our shoot just wandering around taking photos near her apartment.

I told you the smile would be worth the wait, didn't I?!...

Elle was so amazing to photograph because she was up for anything. This shot was taken with her laying on a picnic table in front of a restaurant with diners all around her. When I asked her if she'd be up for climbing up there, she didn't even bat an eye!...

We came upon this building, and I loved the white background and fun windows in these next two photos...

I keep trying to find the right words to describe why I love this photo, but it's just not happening.  I just really like the feel of it....

This next set of photos was taken in front of a store, and the white metal thing you can see is actually a bed frame.  While we were shooting, a guy rode by on his bike and said something like, "Now that's how you sell a bed frame."  It was great!  And I'm sure he's right - a few photos of Elle modeling with the bed frame, and I'm sure the store would have it sold in no time!...

One of the best things about Elle is that she can very easily pull off different looks. She can go from cute girl next door...

to serious and sexy, and completely pull off both looks.  Take it from me, not a lot of people can do that very easily!...

I am IN LOVE with this photo of Elle.  It's definitely one of my favs!...

Seriously. Could she be any more stunning?...

Elle was a-maz-ing during the session from start to finish! It is insanely exhausting posing for the camera, and she did everything I asked her to do without hesitation. And I know that some of the positions I had her pose in were tough to keep for as long as she did.

Elle, thank you, thank you, thank you, for agreeing to model for me and for being so accommodating to all of my requests! I can't wait for the second half of our session!

Stay tuned for more photos of Elle coming up soon.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Photography 101 | Aperture

Just joining in? Here is what you've missed:
Photography 101 | Coming Soon!

Welcome to my Photography 101 series!  I am so happy that you have decided to join me to learn how to use your DSLR camera in manual mode.

Before we get started I want to mention a few things.  These posts are intended to help you learn how to use your camera in manual mode, using natural light in the environment you are shooting in, meaning that you are not using the flash on your camera.  I will be writing these posts assuming that you have a basic knowledge of how your camera works, how to properly hold it, focus it, etc.  However, if you aren't sure about something, ASK!  I'm happy to answer questions, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you need help.

My intent for this series is to help beginning photographers learn to use their cameras in manual mode.  In order to do that, I think it is important to understand the function of each of the settings, and how they interact together to create a photograph.  So, I will do my best to provide simple explanations and examples along the way to help you understand the concepts.  In an attempt to prevent your eyes from glazing over, I'm going to try to avoid getting too technical or using too much complicated terminology.  However, if you desire a more in depth explanation of something, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to provide more information.

Let's get started, shall we?

I would like to begin by asking you to do a little experiment. Please take a flashlight and a mirror with you into a dimly lit room. Look into the mirror, aim the flashlight at your face, and watch what happens to your pupils as you turn the flashlight on and off. You should notice that when you turn the light on, your pupil gets smaller, and when you turn the light off, your pupil gets larger. Why? Because in order to see properly, we need a certain amount of light inside of our eyes. Too much or too little makes it hard for us to see.  So, we have a built in regulator to adjust the amount of light that gets into our eyes.

Applying this same idea to photography, we need a certain amount of light to enter the camera to create a photograph.  One of the ways that we can regulate the amount of light entering the camera is by adjusting the aperture of the camera.  The aperture of a camera is simply an opening that allows light to pass through it.  If the aperture is made larger, more light will enter the camera.  If the aperture is made smaller, less light will enter the camera.

To demonstrate this, I took a series of photographs of a single subject.  All of these images were taken with my EF-S 18-55mm IS Zoom Lens, with my shutter speed set to 200 and my ISO set to 200.  (I chose this lens because it is the stock lens that came with my camera, and is probably similar to the lens that most of you are using. There are no particular reasons why I picked these shutter speed and ISO settings other than they would work well for this demonstration.  For now, don't worry about these settings.  I will cover each of them in coming posts.)  For each consecutive photo, I then changed my aperture setting by one stop to show the effect on the image.  The first shot was taken with an aperture of f/5.6 and the last image was taken with an aperture of f/29 (The reason I picked this range of aperture openings is because it is the range that this particular lens will allow.  Each lens is different, so your largest and smallest openings will probably be different than mine.)

OK, now for the complicated part, so please hang in there with me!  The hardest thing to understand about aperture is how the setting adjustments are named, and how to move properly between them.

Aperture is measured in "f-stops" and the common f-stops are f/1, f/1.2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, and f/32.  By adjusting between two consecutive settings you either double, or cut in half, the amount of light that you allow to enter your camera, depending on if you make the aperture larger or smaller. (Many lenses offer a wider range of options than the list of standard ones that I give here. In those instances, the amount of light difference between settings varies by a different amount.)

You may hear someone mention "stepping up or stepping down" the aperture, or they might say "stopping up or stopping down" the aperture.  Stepping (or stopping) up is referring to raising the f-stop by one step (i.e. f/8 to f/11), which decreases the aperture opening by half and decreases the amount of light entering the camera by half.  Stepping (or stopping) down is referring to lowering the f-stop by one step (i.e. f/8 to f/5.6), which doubles the aperture opening and doubles the amount of light entering the camera.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that these measurements are FRACTIONS.  Yep, we're digging deep here to remember elementary school math, my friends!   So, if you think back you may remember that 1/2 of something is a much larger portion of it than 1/32 of it. The same thing is true for your camera's aperture setting. A setting of f/2 is much larger (resulting in much more light entering the camera) than f/32 (resulting in much less light entering the camera). So, as you adjust the settings, you must remember this little fact to make sure you are making adjustments in the proper direction!

If you look at the above series of photos, you can see that the first photo was taken with the aperture set at the largest setting of f/5.6 and allows enough light to enter the camera to show the image. The last photo was taken with the aperture set at the smallest setting of f/29 and doesn't allow much light to enter, resulting in a photo that is much too dark.

I encourage you to experiment with your camera's aperture setting this week and become familiar with the available settings for your lens(es), and how changing it affects your images. To do this, set your camera on manual mode, and set your shutter speed to 200 and your ISO setting to 200. (Again, there is no particular reason for these numbers. They are basically just "middle of the road" settings that should work for this experiment.) Then take a series of images like the ones I took above, changing the aperture setting by one stop between each exposure. I suggest taking a series of photos for several different subjects in different environments to see what results you get.

Then join me back here next Friday and get ready to learn all about shutter speed!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.