This is a photo from our courtyard near the front door. The morning light made the cactus look like it was lit from inside.
I think my photography is improving thanks to an online photography class I’m taking through the local community college. I struggle with the concepts at the beginning of each week. Every Monday there is a new module online. I have to print it out, highlight and reread the material several times. I’m looking for clues for the weekly assignment which is due over the weekend. There’s also assigned reading from our textbook.
Instead of telling us what the assignment is, the professor says the instructions for photos can be found throughout the module.
This week’s topic is aperture, which are the “f stops.”
By putting the camera in Aperture priority, I can adjust the aperture (which is the hole in the lens) to let in more or less light. But the camera decides the shutter speed so the photo has the correct exposure. The module said to use this mode. Whew! I found one clue for my assignment. The instructions also said to use creativity with the depth of field. Plus I need to submit four photos.
What is depth of field?
Depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a photo that appear acceptably sharp. It is influenced by factors such as aperture, distance to the subject, and focal length of the lens.
In the photo above, I focused on my Bird Buddy feeder and the house finch. The bird is staring into one camera while being photographed by me. The background is blurred because the depth of field is shallow. The lower the f stop, the larger the aperture opens, letting more light into the camera. (Nothing confusing about that, right?) It makes the depth of field more narrow.
I’m not sure if I’m supposed to submit the same photo using different aperture settings or not. I’ve decided since this is technically an art class, I’m going for four different subjects using different f stops. I’ve got three so far. I will once again remind myself, “I’m doing this to learn, not for grades!”
I knew my pink flamingos would make it into a photo assignment. I used an f stop of 4.5 which is a low stop, which means the aperture opening is big. The shutter speed adjusted to 1/4000 of a second, which is really fast. That fast shutter speed made for crisp and clear flamingos and barrel cacti. The low f stop kept the foreground and background fuzzy.
Now to find one more photo! I took a ton of photos of my buddy Red. He hung out with me while I was photographing in our yard. Unfortunately, I didn’t think his photos turned out well enough to use for this week’s assignment.
The other day, I spotted Red with a girlfriend or wife. But she was only here for one day. Maybe she’s in their nest?
My buddy Red. He’s a little out of focus. I don’t think it was because of f stops or shutter speeds. He’s a flighty little thing. I think it was movement blur.
What’s your opinion on a shallow depth of field with a blurry background and crisp focused subject? Or do you prefer photos where everything is in focus?
Have you used the different settings on a camera in manual mode? Aperture priority or shutter priority?
Wow, you’ve learned a lot about camera angles, speed and aperture settings.
Thank you. I have to spend a lot of time on it, but I’m definitely learning.
That’s so cool my friend
Thank you!
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
EA, I am so impressed with what you are learning! I literally have no clue what any of it all means but I love the cacti and flamingoes especially 🙂
Thanks! You can understand how hard it is for me to understand and try to make sense of the concepts.
I like shallow depth of field as an occasional photo but overall like all objects in a photo to be in full focus. Of course I think all your photos here are lovely. You’re doing great with this class.
Thank you. One of my goals of the class was to get sharp focus in my photos. Before I took this class, most of my photos were completely out of focus!
I love your observation about ‘lit from within’. And I smiled when I read this: “I’m doing this to learn, not for grades!” Love it. 🥰
Thanks! I have to keep reminding myself what my goal is. It’s so hard to get out of my former student mindset who cared about grades.
I bet! But I love what you’re sharing! A+ all the way. 🥰
Thanks! That will help when I look at my actual grades 😊
There are times I think the blurry background is great, and other times I want sharp focus. But your shots are always great
Thank you. My last photo for the assignment, I’m working on a sharp focus near and far.
Great photography! It kinda looks professional, i’d love to do a photography course sometime. Good job.
Thanks! My photos were fuzzy and blurry before. I was mainly using my iphone and this camera was in its case for 10 years until I began this class.
well they’re good photos, u’ve framed them well i think
Thanks. That’s something I learned last week. My professor pointed out that I had distracting things on the edges of my photos. We aren’t allowed to crop or change anything digitally at this point.
Well it worked hehe! 😀
Things I never knew!
This is so fascinating! It’s a whole other level than just pulling out our phones. Thank you for sharing these lessons, Elizabeth. The pictures are beautiful!
Thank you! I am learning so much, even though it’s a struggle at times.
Pink Flamingos. A perfect image to focus on for your assignment. Ha, ha.
Thanks! I did my final photo for this week of a desert landscape and it’s all in focus, but not as exciting as pink flamingos!
I like the narrow depth of field that really makes the focal point stand out.
Thanks. It’s so enlightening to find out how to make those changes in a photo. Auto mode just doesn’t do it.
Love your amazing photos, Elizabeth, and I’m impressed with all you’re learning! My husband used to be into photography years ago. He organized all of our photo albums that weigh a hundred pounds! 🙂 But I wouldn’t have the patience! A simple click on my cell is fine with me!
Thank you! I was using my iphone all the time for photos and was discouraged with photos of the hawks and bobcat. They weren’t that great. I’ve been staring at my camera case in my closet with a camera and lenses I got 10 years ago and only used a few times. I decided to take the class. I had signed up with a friend at our community college in Palm Springs before we moved. Then COVID hit and the class was cancelled. So, it’s something I have wanted to do for awhile.
I think it’s great that you’re taking the class!
I’m glad I signed up for it, too!