Film and digital photography share the same underlying concepts.
When you press the button, a shutter opens, photons hit a surface (sensor/film), shutter closes. Different wavelengths of light get captured.
Exposure
Exposure triangle:
- aperture e.g. f/1.8 (wide)
- shutter speed e.g. 1/10th of a second
- ISO (light sensitivity)
- Histogram — shows the distribution of tones in an image
Aperture
- Controls the amount of light that enters the camera
- Measured in f-stops
- A wide or fast aperture of f/1.4 is great for portraits, because of the shallow depth of field and bokeh
- Whilst something like f/22 is great for landscapes as everything can be in focus
Shutter Speed
- Allows you to capture motion (slow shutter)
- Or freeze time (fast shutter)
ISO
- The higher the ISO the easier it is to see in the dark, however more noise becomes a problem
- ISO 100 is usually the best for low noise, but most cameras these days can go a lot higher whilst minimising noise
White Balance
- Controls the colour temperature of the image
- Can be adjusted in post if shooting RAW
RAW vs JPEG
- RAW files are significantly bigger because they hold all the sensor data and haven’t been processed
- RAW files contain a wider dynamic range and far greater colour spectrum
- JPEGs are already processed, so easier to share and faster to view
- Flexibility vs file size. e.g. white balance can be changed later with RAWs
Composition
- Photography Composition Definitive Guide
- Dynamic range — HDR