P3: Manipulate Camera Settings to Control Exposure and Focus

 P3: Manipulate Camera Settings to Control Exposure and Focus

 

In this blog post, I will be explaining how I have used different camera settings and equipment to take my photos in my own artistic style. I have decided to create cinematic photography for my project.  This means that I wanted to create photos that look like real movie scenes. I chose different genres (horror, romance, action) so I could experiment with different camera settings and environments.



 

This is a Cannon DSLR 250D camera, this is what I used to take my photos. Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras have an in built digital sensor that can be used to focus on a specific subject while taking your photos. This camera does have a mirror inside. These cameras allow you to take photographs and videos that then save to an SD card. DSLR cameras also allow you to change the lenses of the camera to whatever you would like. For my photography work, I decided to stick with an 18-55mm lens. This camera lens allows me to zoom onto subjects if I desire or take full camera shots. This is ideal for my cinematic photography since some photos are based on the scenery and other photos have people subjects in them. This lens is great for both options. I used the manual setting on my camera so I could manually change my camera settings and focus the camera myself.

 

 


 

I also used a tripod for all of my photos to ensure that my images have no camera shakes. Using a tripod also makes sure that my photos are level. The tripod allowed me to adjust it to whatever camera angle/shot I wanted without having to worry about the camera. 




                     This is the Ambiful FL80RGB light. I have used this light for my horror photos.




 

Setting up my equipment

For all of my photoshoots, I had to set up my tripod and camera. To set up my tripod, I used the clips to extend the legs to the required height. I then got the slider/mount and attatched this to the bottom of my camera. This then allows the camera to slide into the tripod and tighten to ensure that the camera is still and stable. On my tripod, there is a little bubble that I can use to make sure that the tripod is stable and the camera is level so I used this to make sure.




All cameras have multiple settings that all effect each other. These settings are called: aperture, shutter speed and ISO. White balance is also another setting that can be used, but this does not effect the other settings. 

 White balance is used to ensure that the colours you see on the camera are correct. For example, if you have changed the environment you are taking your photos in, the colours can be slightly warm (orange) or cold (blue). This is not what we want, so we use the white balance tool to correct this. To use this tool, you will have to either take a photo of something white in the environment, use a sheet of white paper or a white balance card. Uusally you will take a photo of the white object, select the white balance option in the settings of your camera, then choose the photo you have just taken of the white object. The camera will then adjust its colours to the white you can see in that photo.
 
 
 
 


 
Aperture refers to how much light is let into the the lens of the camera. This tool is used to control the foreground and background of a photo. I used aperture while taking photos for my cross gravestone horror genre photos and my older couple romance photos. You can see these photos above. As you can see, aperture allows you to create blur in the background of a subject that is in focus. This tool is used often in movies so I decided to try it myself for a cinematic effect. Aperture is measured in F-stops. The lower the F-stops, the lower the aperture. The background will become blury. The higher the F-stops, the higher the aperture. This then means that the foreground and background will be in focus with no blur. In addition, aperture effects how light your photos are, so you have to balance all of your settings to get the right photo for you.The lower number F-stops make your images lighter since more light is let into your camera.
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 ISO refers to your camera's sensitivity to light. A lower ISO number means that your camera is less sensitive to light, therefore the photos will be darker and vice versa. I had to be careful with this when taking the photos in the dark, I had to be very careful with my ISO. This is because if my ISO is too high, the photo can become pixellated/grainy which you can see in the first photo above. However, if your ISO is too low, your image will be very dark.

In the first photo above, I only relied on the streetlight above the subject for lighting. This ment I have to use a very high ISO because the subject was too dark. However, in the second photo I used the Ambiful FL80RGB light. To set this light up, I used a lighting tripod and attached the light to it by using a screw. I then used bluetooth to connect the light to the SS LED app on my phone. This app allowed me to change the colours of the light and the intensity. I decided to use white lighting to make the photo more realistic. This did create a chiaroscuro effect on my subject. By using this light, I could use a lower ISO which ment that my photo was less grainy if grainy at all.



 
Shutter speed refers to how quickly the shutter takes the photo, how quick the shutter closes. A lower shutter speed allows more light into the camera. Because the shutter is open for so long, motion blur is going to happen on a moving object. You can see that I have used a lower shutter speed to achieve the motion blur when the subject kicks the target in the photo above. 

ISO, aperture and shutter speed all effect light in a photo. This is why it is important to balance these settings to get the desired photo.
 
 

Contact Sheets

Here you can see all the photos I have taken for this cinematic photography project. I will not be using most of these photos for many different reasons. The photos might be too blurry, too boring, the right camera settings are not used, the subjcts blinked in the photo etc.


 












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