捕捉光的技术

自己总结的所有摄影相关笔记!

🍗 → Tip

💡 → Key term

⚠️ → Warning

Photography Foundations:

Shooting is about light

Light control

💡 One stop = half/double difference of light

🍗 Light can create contrast and reveal texture

Shutter speed

  1. Can blur moving object if longer than 1/60s
  2. Longer → brighter
  3. One stop = double/half shutter speed

Aperture

  1. Bigger number means smaller size(f/11 is smaller than f/4)
  2. Larger → brighter
  3. Common sizes with one stop difference
    • 1.4
    • 2
    • 2.8
    • 4
    • 5.6
    • 8
    • 11
    • 16

ISO

  1. Affects noise
  2. Larger → brighter & more noise
  3. One stop = double/half shutter speed

Depth of fields

⚠️ Fast lens may cause very low DoF when shooting close-up portraits

  • Increase with smaller aperture
  • Increase with smaller sensor
  • Decrease when aperture is very small due to diffraction
  • Very low DoF creates bokeh

SLR operation

🍗 Shoot in RAW

⚠️ Don’t put lenses cap in pocket

⚠️ LCD screen may not reflect actual image

Modes

  • Auto

    Little control

  • P

    A little more control

  • S

    Shutter speed Priority

  • A

    Aperture Priority

  • M

    Manual(Light meter indicates whether under/over exposure)

Focal lengths(mm)

🍗 Optical stabilization > Digital stabilization

  • 16-24 → Ultra wide
  • 28-35 → Wide
  • 50 → Normal
  • 300 → Telephoto
  • 600+ → Very telephoto

Exposure Bracketing

  • Creates HDR(High dynamic range) picture
  • Use larger gap when bracketing at night

Flash

  • Fill the shadow obscuring details
  • Fill the uneven exposure (e.g. wearing a hat)

Heuristics

  • Sunny 16 rule(With ample light)

$$Aperture = F/16 \rightarrow Shutter\_speed = \frac{1}{ISO}$$

  • Actual focal length

$$F_{Actual} = F_{Lenses} \times Crop\_Factor$$

  • Actual F number

$$F_{Actual} = F_{Lenses} \times Crop\_Factor$$

  • Handheld rule

$$Shutter\_speed > \frac 1 F$$

  • Minutes before sunset(Fingers between the sun and horizon)

$$Fingers \times 7$$

Focus

🍗 Switch to MF to lock focus

  • AF
  • MF

Common filters

  • UV
  • Circular polarizer
  • Infrared
  • Starburst effect

Maintenance

  • Don’t use bottled air, use air blower
  • Pay attention to the connecting part
  • Sensor cleaning

Techniques

⚠️ Never fear at acting like a lame photographer

Backlit

  • Adjust metering mode when light is distributed unevenly
  • Exposure compensation
  • Fill flash

Black and white

⚠️ Black is always blacker when printed

💡 High-key = The tonal range consists mostly of lighter tones

💡 Low-key = The tonal range consists mostly of darker tones

  • Geometry

    Whether subject is defined

  • Tone

    Light and shadow

  • Contrast

    Black needs to be true black

Composition

⚠️ What cannot fit in a scene is usually a subject-less background

🍗 Rule of three to create the feeling of repetition

🍗 Focus on the light that suits the subject instead of the subject

  • Clearly defined subject and background
  • Show Point of view
  • Reveal hidden scene, patterns, etc.
  • Sense of balance
  • About seeing the details brain has omitted
  • Degree of simplicity

Practice seeing

  • Use peripheral vision to see subjects
  • Misname things to force yourself to see

Portrait

🍗 Use building to cover light when in unbalanced light

🍗 Shoot in back light when in open space and low sunlight angle

  • Less extra space above person
  • More space towards the person’s attention
  • Cut between joints
  • Find interesting texture and bring subject in
  • Use a little telephoto lens

Color

  • Weight
  • Simplicity
  • Emotional quality

Guiding

  • Lines
  • Narrative
  • Framing
    • Tonal
    • Physical

Noises

💡 Luminance noise = change of brightness from px to px

💡 Chromatic noise = change of color from px to px

💡 Stuck pixel noise = super bright points because of stuck pixel

  • Balance noise and blur
  • Keeps a min shutter speed even with high ISO