Basic Concepts of Photography: Exposure, Aperture, and Shutter Speed
No matter what your interests, goals, or equipment are, you need to know the main ideas of photography to take better pictures and improve your photography. But things aren’t easy when you first start out. What are the basics of photography? What are the most important ideas behind digital photography? How should I go about learning the basics? We’ll go into more detail about each photography idea below, but in a nutshell, here are the most important things you should know:
Exposure
Exposure is the most important fundamental of photography and the first thing you need to know about photography. You’ve probably heard the saying “photography is painting with light” before, and it’s true. Photography is all about catching light, and exposure is very important because it controls how much light your camera gathers. Exposure basics also affect the depth of field, motion, and digital noise, which are all parts of how an image looks in the end. We’ll talk about this as well as we go through this tutorial on photography basics.
Aperture
Aperture is a basic idea in photography. The first of the exposure basics for photography is the idea of aperture. In short, the aperture works like our eyes’ pupils. It’s the opening in the camera lens that controls how much light gets to the camera sensor. This basic idea of photography has a direct effect on the exposure: the wider the aperture, the brighter the image; the narrower the aperture, the darker the image. The best aperture settings for your camera will depend on the light, the subject you’re shooting, and the look you want your picture to have when it’s done.
Shutter Speed
The second fundamental of photography that has to do with exposure is the shutter speed. Shutter speed, in short, has to do with how long the shutter is open and letting light in. This has a big effect on exposure. With a shorter shutter speed, the picture will be darker, while with a longer shutter speed, the picture will be brighter.
The shutter speed is also important for capturing motion, which is important in some types of photography, like long exposures. It also affects how shaky the camera is and whether you can shoot without a tripod or need to use one.