Exposures

One of the most important elements in photography is how a film is exposed. And depending on the amount of light striking the film will give you a picture or not. With automatic cameras the guess work is done for you, with fairly impressive results. Although to get pictures with character, mood and atmosphere, you need to do it manually.

The aim is get the right amount of light onto your film. In order to achieve this you need the correct film speed. Next you will have two values to get right:

(i) Lens aperture.

(ii) Shutter speed.

These values determine how long the light is allowed to strike the film.

Fast shutter speeds capture fast moving subjects - Slow speed allow more light on the film.

Small aperture lets little light to focus in on the film, Large apertures allow more detailed light to contact to film.

As a photographer you need a balance these values when taking in the light conditions and speed of subject being shot.

Here is a guide you can follow:

SHUTTER SPEED ...1/1000.....1/500.....1/250.....1/125.....1/60.....1/30

APERTURE................F/2.8........F/4.......F/5.6........F/8.......F/11.....f/16

For photos of action you would maybe choose a shutter speed of 1/1000sec at F2.8 aperture size. This will allow the subject to be in sharp focus from it background.

For photos of landscape you might choose a speed of 1/30sec at F/16. This would allow maximum depth of field, and give you a photograph in full focused detail.