Category: Today’s Photo Minute

Distance, focal length and depth of field

Post author By Brian Osborne
Post date April 10, 2020

The Concept:

Staying along the theme of Macro, in Today’s Photo Minute, I wanted to discuss depth of field a little more because it is a critical factor when doing close-up photography of any kind. We know that Aperture controls depth of field primarily. The higher the aperture, the more depth of field, the lower the aperture the less depth of field. However, when we start doing close-up photography, two other factors come into play.

Distance to the Subject and depth of field – The distance to the subject also has a major effect on the amount of depth of field (or more accurately, the lack of). In essence the closer the camera get to the subject, the less depth of field you will get even at the same aperture. In the illustration below, you can see how much more out of focus the 2nd flower is as I moved from 4 feet away (the photo was cropped in to match the tighter image) to 1 foot away. Based on this, sometimes the way to get more depth of field is to stay further away from the subject and crop in later (if you have enough resolution to do so).

Picture of flowers showing different depths of field

Focal length and depth of field – The other variable when it comes to depth of field beyond aperture and distance to subject is the focal length. While often you will want to use whatever focal length (wide angle, telephoto, etc.) that fits your situation, it is good to remember that the lower the focal length, the more depth of field and the higher the focal length the less depth of field. You can see this illustrated in the example below where the back flower is much sharper at 50mm (image cropped in to match the tighter shot) than it is at 300mm. If you have been following some of my wildlife images, you might have noticed that even on a songbird at F6.3, because I am using a 600mm focal length, the back of the bird may even be outside of the depth of field zone and therefore, a little out of focus.

The Assignment:

The assignment for today is to see these principles at work for yourself. Choose a subject with some depth to it and in aperture priority mode, land on the same aperture for all of the shots. You might try F8 or F11 as a starting place. Photograph the subject from a few feet away and then if you are doing macro, photograph the same subject from much closer (maybe even as close as you can get). See how the depth of field shifts.

Then with the same or a different subject, stay in aperture priority mode and at the same aperture and take a photo with your zoom lens at a lower focal length (18mm maybe on an 18-55 lens) and then at a higher focal length both at the same distance from the subject and note the differences. This does not have to be a macro exercise necessarily if you want to do a scenic photo but getting very close to the foreground (let’s say a fence and then your back yard in the distance, etc.). You could even get two people to stand a distance apart (at least 6 feet!) one being closer to the camera and one being further way and then do shots at different distances to them as well as different focal lengths. Whatever you do, this is a great time to really gain understanding about depth of field and the factors that control it.

Tags Distance, focal length and depth of field

Today's Photo Minute

Four camera modes explained

Post author By Brian Osborne
Post date April 9, 2020

The Concept:

While Today’s Photo Minute is a litte longer than some of our other sessions, Brian Osborne takes the time to explain the four main modes on the camera and how each one works. There are some very important concepts in this session having to do with how the same photographic results (brightness) can be obtained in all four modes. Some modes allow the camera to do much of the work (P, A and S) while other modes demand the user to be very involved in the final result (M). The good news is, our cameras have a lot of technology that we can use to help us in the process and not have to do everything ourselves.

The Assignment:

For today there are actually two exercises I would suggest to become familiar with all four modes on your camera and how they can create the same results

The first exercise we mentioned in the video is to set your ISO at 400 (for outside) and then try taking photos of the same subject in A or AV mode (while varying in the aperture from shot to shot) and then in S or TV mode (while varying the shutter speed from shot to shot). This just confirms that changing the aperture or shutter speed in a semi-program mode (A priority or S priority) does not change the brightness of the photo but simply the resulting combinations of shutter speeds and apertures.

The second exercise is to start in P (Program Mode) and take a photo. Then repeat the process with the same subject in A mode (maybe using the same aperture as P mode did) and then S mode (using the same shutter speed as P mode did) and finally in M (Manual mode). While there are different ways to operate in M mode, if it is your first time I would suggest you use the same aperture and shutter speed as P mode did in M mode. This proves that the same results can be gotten in all four letter modes on your camera. Some are easier (the camera helps control the process) and some are harder (you have to control all parts of the exposure triangle) but the results are the same.

Today's Photo Minute

Camera equipment to get close

Post author By Brian Osborne
Post date April 8, 2020

The Concept:

In Today’s Photo Minute, Brian Osborne talks about the easy ways to start exploring close-up (Macro) photography with your existing lenses and what to consider in that process. Learn about the minimum focusing distance ability of your lenses and how this can be improved with some economical accessories.

The Assignment:

In order not to miss fleeting close-up opportunities, we suggest you look up the minimum focusing distance of your lens or lenses you hope to do some macro work with. The other option is to try it out for yourself to determine the ability of each lens. Simply get closer and closer to a subject with one lens on your camera and see at what point the camera can no longer focus.

If you have one of the accessories mentioned in the video like close-up filters or extension tubes, put those on the same lens and see how much closer you can get when this is in operation. Being familiar with the minimum focusing distance of any lens can be extremely useful in the field shooting (i.e. flowers outside, aquariums, butterflies or insects, museum displays behind glass, etc.)

Nikon D7200 with Sigma 150mm Macro lens. Aperture Priority mode at F20, 1/100th shutter speed, ISO 360. AFS focusing and single point area mode. No exposure compensation and 4760K white balance.

Today's Photo Minute

Behind the camera photographing the moon

Post author By Brian Osborne
Post date April 6, 2020

The Concept:

Today’s Photo Minute becomes Tonight’s Photo Minute as Brian Osborne shows us his setup and process of actually photographing the moon. Starting with the camera settings we shared online, we discuss how you can adjust the exposure and white balance of your shots if you need too.

While working in manual mode might be a little different for many of us, it is important when photographing the moon. The camera’s light meter sees everything as middle brightness often called, 18% gray. If you use Aperture priority or another semi-program mode, the camera will way overexpose the moon because the meter only really sees the dark sky and wants to make the whole photo brighter. Often, there is not enough minus exposure compensation on the camera to correct this. Therefore, we shoot in manual mode in this situation so we can get the camera to give us the correct results without the light meter being fooled by the dark sky.

The Assignment:

In manual mode, exposure compensation does not work because you are in charge of all the parts of the exposure triangle (shutter speed, aperture and ISO). Therefore, if you need to lighten or darken the brightness of the shot, you need to be clear on which one of these to adjust and which way to go. In the samples below, the first image was done at the settings we suggested: 1/250th at F11 at ISO 400. I think it was a little underexposed. So if I decide to increase the exposure, I need to adjust the shutter speed, aperture or ISO. I feel like since I am on a tripod and not moving, the shutter speed is the right choice. To make the photo brighter, you would go slower on your shutter speed and if for a darker shot, you would go faster. So, I went down to 1/160th and got a brighter shot. Now be careful to not overexpose the detail in the moon. Because of this, I checked the flashing highlights warning on my screen and to make sure that either there is nothing blinking or just a tiny little bit at the most. This tells me that I have a good exposure of the moon but am not losing any detail.

Finally, you can adjust any color cast in the moon with your white balance (WB for short). You might have started at Daylight or 5200 Kelvin. When I did this, I thought there was a little yellow in the moon so I reduced the Kelvin value to about 5000 K. In the example below I show you 5500 K and 5000 K so you can see the color difference between the two. This might be personal preference and is easily adjustable later in editing but may be helpful. Even Auto WB should work for this situation if it is easier.

While we had lights on for the recording of the video, you ideally do not want much light around the back of the camera when doing astrophotography. Therefore, knowing your camera controls well before you start trying to make adjustments, makes it easier and more efficient to work in the dark to get the results you are going for. Give it a try.

Photos of the moon to demonstrate changing the exposure — I lightened up the exposure in Manual mode of the second image by lowering my shutter speed from 1/250th to 1/160th

Photos of the moon with slightly different color — To shift the moon’s color from the slightly yellow to more neutral, I took my Kelvin WB setting from 5500 to 5000

Photo of moon with leaves in front of it — While at first I thought it was not ideal that the moon was blocked by the trees in my backyard, it made for an interesting image which I like

Today's Photo Minute

Photographing the Moon

Post author By Brian Osborne
Post date April 6, 2020

The Concept:

In this segment of Today’s Photo Minute, Brian Osborne gives some general information concerning equipment and setup to get followers ready to photograph the Supermoon in the coming days. In general, you need a camera with a telephoto lens (200-300mm and more is better), a tripod is ideal as well as a remote release (or you can use the self-timer) to minimize and shake of the camera while depressing the shutter.

The Assignment:

Photograph the Supermoon that will be taking place in the Charlotte area (skies permitting) from about 7pm and onward on April 7th. However, the moon on April 6th and the 8th is still about 98% full so you can practice on this or shoot it in case it is cloudy on the 7th. The camera settings are below as a great starting place and it will be fun to see everyone’s shots if you can share them on our Facebook page or email your favorite one to me to post.