Confused by all those numbers? Not sure which lens best fits your needs? Here’s a breakdown of what all those numbers attached to an SLR lens mean. If you’re thinking of adding a new lens to your camera this year, this quick cheat sheet will help you pick the right lens for your needs.

18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Here’s a standard lens we can use as an example. This is the kit lens that comes with the Canon Rebel T3i. If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, this might as well be written in a foreign language! First of all, here’s how you say it: 18 to 55 millimeter F 3.5 to 5.6. Now let’s break it down.

18-55mm

This is your Focal Length. Focal Length is how far your camera will zoom in and out. The lower the number, the more you can fit in the photo. In other words, this is how much you can zoom out. The higher the number, the more it zooms in. The lens above will zoom from 18-55mm. 18-55 is a great focal length for an all purpose lens. My all purpose lens that hardly ever leaves my camera is 24-70mm. To give you a point of reference for what 18-55mm means, here are some examples of a few other focal lengths.

10-22mm

This is considered a Wide Angle lens. This lens will zoom out more than the 18-55mm lens. I use this lens when I want to fit a lot in the picture, but don’t have a lot of room to “back up” and fit everything in. A wide angle lens is great for traveling. I use mine to photograph hotel rooms, scenery, and city skylines. I can fit a whole lot in the photo without having to be too far away from my subject.

Lens 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Focal Length 10mm
Aperture f/3.5
Shutter Speed 1/15 sec

Lens 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Focal Length 10mm
Aperture f/8
Shutter Speed 1/15 sec

Lens 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Focal Length 10mm
Aperture f/5.6
Shutter Speed 15 seconds

However, due to distortion and lack of background blur, I would not recommend a wide angle lens for portrait or food photography.

70-200mm (and above)

This is considered a Telephoto lens. This lens zooms in more than the 18-55mm. I use this lens for outdoor action photography. Because it zooms so far in, I don’t know that I’ve ever used this lens indoors. With a 70-200mm lens, you would have to be pretty far away from your subject to fit it in the photo, which is why this lens is best for outdoors or indoor arenas with lots of room where you would want to zoom in. I use this lens for outdoor action shots of Miley and Howie.

Lens 70-200mm f/4L
Focal Length 104mm
Aperture f/4.5
Shutter Speed 1/1000 sec

A telephoto lens is great for outdoors, action, and candid portraits — any subject which you can be pretty far away from and still photograph. I do not recommend a telephoto lens for everyday indoor photography.

50mm

If a lens only has one number it’s called a Prime or Fixed lens. This means the lens does not zoom in and out at all. I could not comprehend this until I got my first fixed lens! I did not know how it could not zoom at all. But it doesn’t. Imagine a cellphone camera without a zoom. If you want to get further away from or closer to your subject, you’ll have to move with your feet.

Lens 50mm f/1.4
Focal Length 50mm
Aperture f/1.6
Shutter Speed 1/500 sec

Prime lenses are great for indoor, outdoor, portrait and food photography. Their only limitation is in their lack of zoom.

So that basically covers your focal length. If you already have a lens, look to see what the focal length is, and take note. Do you like the focal length? Do you wish you could zoom in more? Zoom out more? If you want to zoom in more, look for a lens with higher numbers than what you have. If you want to zoom out more, look for a lens with lower numbers. If you’re pretty happy with the focal length, look for a lens with similar numbers. If you don’t already have a lens and you’re not sure what focal length you need, I would consider a lens within the range of 17-100 to be a great focal length for an all purpose lens.

Now on to aperture.

f/3.5-5.6

Let’s go back to our example lens, the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. The aperture on this lens is f/3.5-5.6. Aperture controls the background blur, or bokeh, in your photos. The lower the number, the more background blur you can achieve. You’ll notice that this lens has two numbers, 3.5-5.6. That means that when the lens is zoomed all the way out (18mm), you can set your aperture as low as 3.5. But when you are zoomed all the way in (55mm), the lowest you can set your aperture is 5.6. If you have a lens with just one number here, for example, the 24-70mm f/2.8, that means you can set your aperture as low as 2.8 no matter how much you are zoomed in or out. Keep in mind that the aperture numbers on the lens are simply the lowest the aperture can be set. On both lenses your aperture can always be set higher, no matter what your focal length is.

To make things even more confusing, the amount of background blur created by the aperture is directly proportional to the focal length. The higher your focal length (the more zoomed in your are), the more background blur you will have. For example, a photo with an aperture of f/4 and a focal length of 18mm will not have much background blur. However a photo with the same aperture of f/4 and a focal length of 200mm will have a substantial amount of background blur. Notice the two photos below have the same aperture of f/4.

Tons of background blur here.

Lens 70-200mm f/4L
Focal Length 200mm
Aperture f/4
Shutter Speed 1/640 sec

No background blur.

Lens 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Focal Length 17mm
Aperture f/4
Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec

If you want deep, soft background blur at an all purpose focal length, I would not recommend getting a lens with anything higher than 2.8. One other important thing to note: If you want any type of background blur, I would not, under any circumstances, recommend a lens with more than one number in the aperture value. Take our example lens above, with an aperture value of 3.5-5.6. At 18mm, f/3.5 just isn’t a low enough aperture to give you background blur. Likewise, at 55mm, f/5.6 isn’t low enough to produce a soft background either. However, if you could set your aperture as low as f/2.8, you could generate plenty of background blur at a focal length of 18 or 55.

Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L
Focal Length 24mm
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter Speed 1/30 sec

Lens 50mm f/1.8
Focal Length 50mm
Aperture f/1.8
Shutter Speed 1/2500 sec

Look for a lens with a versatile focal length with only one number in the Aperture area.

Macro

One other lens to note is a macro lens. If you find yourself constantly wanting to get up close and personal with your subjects, wishing you could zoom in closer for details, or cropping your photos closely once you get them on the computer, you may want to consider a macro lens. A macro lens lets you zoom in close to your subject and focus on the details so you don’t have to crop your photos or zoom in on the computer. Cropping on the computer only degrades the quality of the photo. Macro lenses are also great for portraits, and depending on the focal length you chose, a general all purpose lens.

Lens 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Focal Length 100mm
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter Speed 1/160 sec

What I’m Using

Here’s a breakdown of the lenses in my arsenal, along with how I use each one.

24-70 f/2.8 L

You’ll notice this falls in the all purpose focal length, with a nice, low, and singular aperture number. This is my default lens. I use it for travel, portraits, and food photography. A great alternative to this lens to consider is the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8. That’s the lens I used for years before upgrading to the Canon 24-70 lens. The photo below was taken in 2006 with a Canon XTi with the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 and is SOOC — no editing. At just over $400, this lens is a great deal.

Lens Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8
Focal Length 50mm
Aperture f/2.8

10-22 f/3.5-4.5

This is a wide angle focal length, and since background blur is pretty much nonexistent at such a wide angle, I don’t care about the aperture number here. I use this lens for travel, scenery, city skylines, and hotel rooms.

50mm f/1.4

This is a fixed lens with a very low aperture. This lens produces excellent bokeh! I use this when I want a ton of bokeh, or in low light when I need to use a lower aperture in order to steadily hand hold the camera. I talk about this more in depth in my Quick Guide to Understanding Your DSLR post. Another lens to consider is the 50mm f/1.8. Super cheap and super fun. You’ll get great bokeh with either of these lenses. They’re perfect for portraits, food photography, and because of the middle-of-the-road focal length, even travel.

100mm f/2.8 Macro

This is another fixed lens with a great low aperture. It’s a macro lens, and the background blur is excellent. This lens is fun for portraits and food photography. I use it when I want to zoom in super close on the details or get tons of background blur.

70-200 f/4 L

This is my telephoto lens, and I mostly use it outdoors to get action photos of Miley and Howie. The aperture is not super low, but since the focal length is higher, I’m still able to get great background blur.

Final Notes

The full name of our lens above is actually EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. The focal length and aperture numbers described above are the most important factors when choosing a lens, but just in case, here’s what those other numbers and letters mean.

EF or EF-S. This refers to the lens mount. EF is the standard lens mount on Canon EOS DSLR cameras. This is indicated by a red dot on the lens that corresponds to the red dot on the camera where you attach the lens. If your camera also as a white square, you can also accept lenses with an EF-S lens mount.

L. This indicates the lens is a top-of-the-line lens from Canon, also known as a “Luxury” lens.

IS. IS stands for Image Stabilization. Many of the available lenses will come both with and without an IS option. I always opt for the cheaper, non-IS version because I have a pretty steady hand. However, if you have a shaky hand, this might be an option to consider.

With this information you are now armed with the knowledge to confidently purchase a new lens for your camera! If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer as best I can. Just leave me a comment below. Happy shopping!

© kevinandamanda.com, 2011. | Leave a comment! | Stumble | Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook

Earlier this year I added a new feature to my blog — you can click on any photo to see the camera, settings, and lens I used to shoot that photo. I love being able to easily share this info with you guys. In February, shortly after I added this feature, I wrote a post explaining not only what settings I use when taking photos, but why I choose them. I also let you guys in on two very important disclaimers.

1. I don’t always use the right settings.

I make mistakes. I forget to change settings from photo to photo. I quickly point and shoot. Or sometimes I just get lucky. My settings are by no means always perfect, and sometimes I cringe at the thought that someone might attempt to take a similar photo using those settings!

2. Your mileage may vary.

Even if my settings were perfect and you were to go back to the exact same spot, at the exact same time, in the exact same light, and use the exact same settings… the photo might not turn out exactly the same. Maybe not even close.

BUT, by knowing why I chose those settings, you can look at a photo and get similar results in your own photography. Below are nine photos I’ve taken this year along with the reasons why I chose the settings I did, and some tips and tricks for replicating these tricky situation shots — such as low light, nighttime, action, and using the flash.

Action

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter Speed 1/500 sec
ISO 200
Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L

For this photo, I…

• Put my camera in TV (shutter priority) mode
• Set my shutter speed to 1/500
• Changed my focus mode to AI-SERVO
• Made sure my shooting mode was set to High Speed Continuous
• Set my focus point to right in the middle.

This is how I like to take outdoor action photos. The 1/500 sec shutter speed is just right for stopping and capturing action. Any lower and the action tends to get blurry. AI-SERVO mode is especially helpful if the subject is moving towards you and you are quickly snapping several photos in succession (AKA high speed continuous mode). In AI-SERVO the camera quickly refocuses on the subject as it moves before taking each picture. In other modes, the camera focuses once, but if you’re using high-speed continuous mode, (you know, where you press the shutter button down and it takes several photos in a row without you lifting your finger) it doesn’t refocus until you stop taking pictures and start again. And finally, I set my focus point to right in the middle. With action photos, it’s always hard to know where the action is going to go, but I figure keeping the subject right in the middle is always a safe bet.

Action in the Kitchen

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter Speed 1/500 sec
ISO 800
Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L

I love capturing action photos in the kitchen. Pouring batter, sprinkling sugar, or drizzling hot fudge is a lot of fun. I like the stop-action look that a fast shutter speed gives photos, especially in the kitchen. For these types of photos, I put my subject as close to a window as I can — somewhere with lots of light — put my camera in TV mode, set my shutter speed to 1/500, and make sure my camera is in high speed continuous mode again. Since these photos are taken indoors, I usually need a higher ISO to make sure the photo is bright enough. Be sure to set up your photo and take a few test shots before actually pouring!

Nighttime Skyline

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/5
Shutter Speed 10 seconds
ISO 100
Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L

I love nighttime skylines. For this photo, I…

• Put my camera in TV mode
• Set my shutter speed to 10 seconds (that means I pushed the button, and 10 seconds later it’s done taking the photo!)
• Set my ISO to 100
• Used the 2-second self timer

You definitely need a very steady surface or a tripod for a photo like this. I didn’t have my tripod with me for this photo, but I was able to set my camera on a wide ledge of the building. I also used the 2-second self timer. That way I was able to press the button, then get my hand away from the camera before it actually started taking the photo, so the camera could steady itself while my hand was getting out of the way. My hand is not touching the camera at all as it’s taking the photo. I’m not using any type of starburst filter here. I think the starburst effect on the lights happens naturally with slow shutter nighttime photos, as it happened in all the NYC skyline photos from this set, and also appeared in my San Diego Skyline photo.

Nighttime Skyline with Water

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/10
Shutter Speed 15 seconds
ISO 100
Lens 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5

For nighttime skylines with water, I do everything exactly as the photo above for nighttime skylines, but I set my shutter speed a little slower to 15 seconds. I love the smooth, glassy effect a super slow shutter speed gives the water.

Low Light

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter Speed 1/6 sec
ISO 3200
Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L

This photo almost looks as if I’m sitting right by a big window with tons of natural light. You’d never know it was taken in a very dark, dimly lit restaurant. For this photo I put my camera in AV mode (aperture priority) and set my aperture as low as it would go. But even with a high ISO, and a 1/6 sec shutter speed, which is really slow to hand-hold by the way, (I had to steady my elbows on the table) it was too dark to take the photo. I had my friend, who’s sitting just to my right, use the flashlight app on her phone to give me a little extra light to work with. If the top of the bowl is 12 o’clock, and the table is 6 o’clock, she’s probably holding the phone at 2 o’clock.

Low Light

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/1.4
Shutter Speed 1/80 sec
ISO 3200
Lens 50mm f/1.4

Here’s another photo taken with a flashlight app for extra lighting. I love this trick for dark restaurants. If you don’t have a flashlight app, just use the screen of your phone. Every little bit of extra lighting helps!

Indoor Flash

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter Speed 1/200 sec
ISO 160
Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L

For this photo I…

• Put my camera in AV mode
• Set my aperture to 2.8
• Used the pop-up flash on my camera

This photo was taken inside, right up against a big window with a snowy scene of NYC outside. I really wanted to capture both the cupcakes and the snowy NYC street in my photo, but I had a dilemma. If I exposed for the cupcakes, the street was blown out. If I exposed for the street, the cupcakes were too dark. Since I didn’t have my external flash with me, I just used the pop-up flash on my camera and snapped this photo. I got down low so the flash was absorbed by the cupcakes and not reflected off the window. The 2.8 aperture gives the snowy street scene a soft, blurred background effect.

Outdoor Flash

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/8
Shutter Speed 1/250 sec
ISO 100
Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L

Here’s another photo taken with the pop-up flash on the camera, for the same reasons as the photo above. I wanted to get both my friend and the sunset equally exposed. I put my camera in AV mode, set my aperture to 8, popped up the flash, and snapped the photo.

Indoor Flash

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/8
Shutter Speed 1/200 sec
ISO 160
Lens 24-70mm f/2.8L

For this photo, I…

• Put my camera in AV mode
• Set my aperture to 8
• Exposed for the window
• Used an external flash

I really love taking photos indoors where you can see the view out the window, like the photo above. But again, usually you can either expose for the inside or expose for the outside. Using a flash lets you get both. I had my external flash for this photo, and I pointed it straight up at the ceiling. You can see it in the reflection of the window! I also exposed for the window here — I pointed the camera at the window and pressed the shutter button halfway down to focus, then pressed the exposure lock button on my camera (it looks like an asterisk on my Canon). I then re-framed the photo focusing on my feet and snapped the photo. Using the exposure lock button allowed me to expose correctly for the window, while focusing on my feet and letting the light from the flash expose them. The exposure lock button is a neat tool to correctly expose for one element in the photo while focusing on another.

If you see a photo on Kevin & Amanda you’d like to know more about, let me know! I’ll save it for a “What Settings Should I Use?” Part 3 post. :)

© kevinandamanda.com, 2011. | Leave a comment! | Stumble | Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook

Last fall, at the BlogHer Food conference in San Francisco, I was able to take a photography class from extremely lovely and talented White on Rice Couple, Todd and Diane. If you ever get the opportunity to take a class from this incredibly precious couple, go! You’ll love every minute. One of the most important things I learned in the class was this:

“You’re not shooting the subject, you’re shooting the way the light falls on the subject.”

Loved this. With that in mind, they taught us what I’ve nick-named in my head “Photography Around the Clock.” Basically, it’s taking note of where your light source is coming from, and either moving the subject or moving yourself (or both!), trying out different lights, until you find the best one for your subject.

Here’s my usual setup – the kitchen table. This is where I take most of my kitchen and food related photos. I also have windows just like this in the living room, in case I need to take photos that are, uh, not in the kitchen.

So! Here are a few examples of “Photography Around the Clock.”

12 o’clock Light

This is 12 o’clock light, when the light is directly behind the subject. Also called “backlighting.” I would’ve never thought it before, but this is one of my favorite lights to shoot!

For example, here’s a photo taken in 12 o’clock light. These biscuit beignets were so photogenic, I just couldn’t stop snapping photos of them. Love the way the light is cascading over the beignets here.

3 o’clock Light

Here the light is coming from the right of the subject.

And here’s the same photo taken in 3 o’clock light.

9 o’clock Light

Same thing with 9 o’clock light, only the light is coming from the left of the subject.

And here’s the photo again taken in 9 o’clock light. I kept rotating myself around the table, changing the direction of the light with each move to take these photos.

6 o’clock Light

The light is pointing directly at the subject here. If the subject was looking at the sun, or if the camera flash went off, that would be an example of 6 o’clock light.

Here’s a photo taken in 6 o’clock light.

Which one’s your favorite?

For me is a toss up between the first three, but my least favorite is  6 o’clock light. There’s no depth or shadow play, just like when using a flash.

Some of my other favorite lights to shoot in are 10 o’clock, 2 o’clock, and 4 o’clock. I would’ve taken more examples, but… I ate my subject.

Think of the clock next time you’re taking photos, and give some of these unconventional lights a try!

© kevinandamanda.com, 2011. | Leave a comment! | Stumble | Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook

I recently added a feature to this blog where you can click on a photo and see the settings I used to shoot that photo. I’m thrilled to be able to easily share this information, but I also wanted to let you guys in on two very important secrets.

1. I don’t always use the right settings.

I make mistakes. Often! Or I get lucky. Sometimes I forget to change settings from photo to photo. Sometimes I quickly point and shoot. Either way, my settings are by no means perfect, and sometimes I cringe at the thought that someone might attempt to take a similar photo using those settings. Ack!

2. Your mileage may vary.

Even if my settings were perfect and you were to go back to the exact same spot, at the exact same time, in the exact same light, and use the exact same settings… the photo would most likely not turn out exactly the same. Maybe not even close.

With that in mind, I wanted to share with you guys how you can look at a photo and replicate it. Not by knowing which exact settings were used, but which setting was the most important for that photo. Once you’ve got that one setting in place, you simply adjust the other settings to make sure the photo looks good. It doesn’t really matter what the exact numbers are. Just that they made the photo bright enough. Or sharp enough.

So how can you look at a photo and know which setting was the most important, without knowing any of the settings? In most photos you take, either the aperture or the shutter speed will be the most important setting. That’s why most cameras have Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority shooting modes. But here’s the thing. It all depends what you, the viewer and the photographer, want to get out of the photo. Is it a portrait? Do you want a beautifully blurred background? Is it a scenery shot? Do you want everything sharp and in focus? Is it an action shot? Do you need to be able to “freeze” action in the photo?

I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite types of photos to shoot, the ones you’re most likely to see around here. Below I’ll show you which setting was the most important for each one and walk you through my thought process for taking the photo. (Careful! My mind’s a scary place.) So that next time, even though you might not use the exact same settings, you’ll still be able to take a photo and get exactly what you want out of it.

Canon 85mm 1.8
f/1.8
1/40 sec
1600 ISO

Aperture.

What did I want out of this photo? Bokeh. I wanted the lights on the Christmas tree blurred in the background. So for this photo, the most important setting was aperture. I put the camera in Manual and set the aperture as low as it would go, 1.8. To replicate this photo, start by setting your aperture as low as it will go, then bump down the shutter speed – this will allow your camera to let in more light – until the photo is bright enough for your liking.

Tip: Make sure your shutter speed doesn’t get too much below 50 (it’s 40 here). If it does, your photo might suffer from blurriness caused by camera shake. If you’ve bumped it down to 50 and your photo isn’t bright enough, tried bumping up your ISO to allow in more light.

For a quick review of aperture, shutter speed, exposure, and ISO, check out part one of this tutorial: A Quick Guide to Understanding Your DSLR Camera.

Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro
f/4
1/125 sec
ISO 2000

Aperture.

What did I want out of this photo? Bokeh, again. But this time, bumping the aperture all the way down to 2.8 (as low as this lens will go) was too much bokeh. Try bumping up your aperture to 3.2, 4.0 or even 5.6 to see how it changes the look of your photo. Here’s a good example of the difference it can make: A Quick Comparison of Aperture & Bokeh.

For this photo, I had plenty of light, so I just put my camera in Aperture Priority mode and shot. I didn’t need to manually fiddle with the shutter speed and and ISO to allow in more light. I did, however, bump my exposure control up to +2/3 to make it nice and bright. Again, check the DSLR Quick Guide for a review on that.

Tip: If your camera has Auto ISO mode, use it!

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/8
1/32 sec (I used a tripod)
ISO 125

Aperture.

Again, aperture is the most important setting in this photo. What I wanted out of this photo was for everything to be in focus. If you want everything in focus for a scenery shot, try setting your aperture between 8 and 11. This will cause your camera to allow in less light, making your photo darker, so you may need to lower your shutter speed to compensate. In this case, I had to lower it to 32 and use a tripod so my hands wouldn’t shake and cause the photo to be blurry.

Tip: A low ISO is always preferred for scenery photos, as a higher ISO can cause them to be grainy. In this case, I could’ve bumped up my ISO which would have allowed me to set my shutter speed fast enough to to hand hold the camera, but I preferred to keep my ISO low at 125 and use a tripod.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/8
1/1600 sec
ISO 100

Aperture.

Believe it or not, for this photo, aperture was the most important setting. I wanted to make sure to get the beach and the horizon in focus. I put my camera in Aperture Priority and set my aperture to 8. From there, you can play with the exposure control to adjust the lighting. At 0, you’ll get a darker sunset, like the photo above. If you bump it up a few stops, you’ll get a brighter sunset, like this:

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/8
1/125 sec
ISO 100

As you can see, all it did was lower my shutter speed to allow in more light.

Which one do you prefer?

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/22
6.0 sec
ISO 3200

Aperture.

One more aperture photo here. For this nighttime photo that has a ton of detail, I set my aperture as high as it will go, 22. I wanted to make sure I could get every last detail in focus. Because it was so dark, and my aperture was so high (allowing in the least amount of light as possible) I had to set my shutter speed extremely low, 6 seconds. That means you press the button, and six seconds later it’s done taking the photo. I definitely used a tripod for this shot. I also used the self-timer, so my hand wouldn’t shake the camera as I was pushing the button.

Remember what I said about not always having perfect settings? Can you see which setting I messed up on here? ISO. I should’ve lowered my ISO. My photo turned out a little grainy because I left it all the way up at 3200. However, if I’d remembered to lower it I would’ve had to set my shutter speed even slower. Who knows how long it wouldn’t taken to take the photo!

Fortunately, noise is pretty easily cleaned up in Photoshop using a plugin like DeNoise.

Canon 70-200mm f/4L
f/5
1/500 sec
ISO 100

Shutter Speed.

When you want to stop action in mid-air, shutter speed is your most important setting. For crisp action shots, I like to set my shutter speed no lower than 500. Any lower than that and you’re going to get blurriness. For this photo, I put my camera in Shutter Priority, set my shutter speed to 1/500, and since it was cloudy, I bumped my exposure control up to +1. This is my favorite setup for action shots. If it were sunny and the photos were turning out too bright, I would’ve put the exposure control back down at 0.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/22
1/4 sec
ISO 100

Shutter Speed.

This is my go-to setup for dreamy waterfall photos. The shutter speed is the most important setting here. It needs to be at least 1/4 sec or slower to blur the flow of the water. I usually shoot waterfalls in manual mode, and here’s why. Setting the shutter speed that slow allows in a lot of light. And since I’m usually taking photos of waterfalls during the day, when there’s sun, I have to bump up the aperture as high as it will go to compensate. My aperture is not up that high because I want everything in focus, although it is a nice bonus. It’s up that high because if it were any lower, like 2.8 or even 8 or 11, the photo would be completely white and blown out from too much light. My ISO is at 100 because while I do always prefer a low ISO for scenery, if it were any higher, again, it would allow in too much light and cause the photo to be too bright.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/2.8
1/100 sec
ISO 200

Exposure.

Sometimes it’s not what your settings are, but simply where you point the camera. For silhouette photos, point your camera at the brightest part of the sky. Press the shutter button halfway down to “get a light reading”. This will tell your camera that you’re taking a picture of the bright sky, and to adjust the settings accordingly. With the shutter button still pressed halfway down, reframe the photo so that the subject you want to silhouette is in the viewfinder and take the picture. If you can still see too much detail in your subject, bump down your exposure control to get a darker image and try again.

Check out my settings here. Ideally, I would’ve used a higher aperture, in the 8-11 range, to ensure that both the palm tree and the horizon were in focus. I forgot. However, doing that would’ve allowed in less light. I would’ve had to bump up my ISO to compensate, and that might have caused graininess in the photo. Something to think about.

Fortunately, everything’s in focus here. Tip: If your subject is out of focus, check your aperture and consider using a higher one. Bokeh, when you didn’t mean for it to be there, is just plain blurriness.

© kevinandamanda.com, 2011. | Leave a comment! | Stumble | Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook

Here’s a super quick experimentation with aperture & bokeh.

When Jenny and I were taking pictures of cupcakes at Disney, we grabbed a table by the giant Christmas tree and positioned the cupcakes so the beautiful tree lights & decorations were the background for our photos.

Below is a quick comparison of the different apertures we used and the different types of bokeh it produced.

Photo via Jenny

First, here’s the Christmas tree we used as our background.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
f/2.8
1/160 sec
ISO 100

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
f/4.5
1/125 sec
ISO 200

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
f/5.6
1/125 sec
ISO 200

Which one do you prefer? I normally prefer shooting at 2.8 or below, but I really like how the tree turned out in the third picture, at 5.6.

Give this a try with your Christmas tree! :) Experiment with your aperture and see how the bokeh changes. Here are a couple of photography tutorials to get you started.

A Quick Guide to Understanding Your DSLR Camera
Get Beautiful Background Bokeh with your Christmas Tree

© kevinandamanda.com, 2010. | Leave a comment! | Stumble | Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook

Hi guys! With Labor Day weekend coming up, I know a lot of us are going to be out there taking pictures! :) Since we have a long weekend to practice, I wanted to share with you this basic intro to SLR photography. If you have an SLR camera and are nervous to take it out of auto mode, this is the tutorial for you. You may have heard words like aperture, exposure, and shutter speed and wondered just how on earth they come together to give you a better photo. I’ll give you a brief introduction on what they do and how they affect your photos turning out too bright, too dark, too blurry or JUST RIGHT. :) This guide will show you how to get the most out of your SLR camera and give you confidence to take it out of auto mode in no time!

Left: Canon T2i. Right: Nikon D40.

To start, let’s put your camera in Aperture Priority mode or Shutter Priority mode. On a Canon, this is AV or TV. On a Nikon, this may be represented as A or S.

1. Aperture Priority

Let’s talk a little bit about Aperture. On both cameras above, the aperture is set to 5.6.

Photos taken with a low aperture let in more light, allowing you to take pictures in situations where there is not much light (like indoors and at night).

A low aperture will also give you a shallow depth of field. You know, the photos where one thing is in focus and the background is blurred?

Canon 50mm f/1.8
f/1.8
1/200 sec
ISO 800

In the photo above, the aperture was set to 1.8, a low aperture. One earring is in focus, the rest is blurred.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/16
1/60 sec
ISO 100

In this picture, the aperture was set to 16, a high aperture, allowing everything to be in focus. However, when you take pictures with a high aperture, you need to have a lot of light, like outside during the day.

Note: Depending on what lens you have, you may not be able to set your aperture much lower than 3.5. And at 3.5, you may not be able to achieve much of a blurred background. If you like the blurred background look, you might consider purchasing a lens with a low aperture.

Now you try!

Turn the dial on your camera so that you are shooting in Aperture Priority mode. That means that you will be setting the Aperture, and the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed. The camera will attempt to give you a correct shutter speed so that your photo turns out just right- not too bright, not too dark.

Set your aperture. In most cases, you can change the aperture by turning that little black dial on top of the camera, but double-check your manual if you can’t find it.

Set it to a low aperture if you want a blurred background, or a high aperture if you want everything to be in focus.

Left: Canon XSi. Right: Nikon D40.

Look on the LCD screen of your camera for a grid that looks like the image above. That’s your exposure. The exposure determines if the picture is too bright or too dark. Usually when it’s set to 0, that’s just right. In Aperture Priority mode, it will always stay at 0 unless you specifically tell it to move. (Check your manual for setting the exposure compensation.) If you tell it to move higher (to the right of the 0) the picture will be brighter. If you tell it to move lower (to the left of the 0), the picture will be darker.

Try taking a few pictures in Aperture Priority mode with the exposure set to 0. If the pictures need to be brighter, move your exposure to the right a few notches, until it looks right to you. I like bright pictures, so my exposure is usually set above 0! :)

Note: Be sure to keep an eye on your shutter speed as you do this. See the number 125 in the picture above? That number represents the shutter speed. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t really want to let the shutter speed get below 50, unless you have an extremely steady hand. If the shutter speed gets below 50, the camera cannot take the picture fast enough to compensate for the shakiness in your hands, so the picture will be blurry. If the shutter speed is getting low, try using a tripod or table to steady the camera, or lean against a wall, door frame, or tree to steady yourself.

If you find it difficult to get a high enough shutter speed when trying to take pictures inside, you can try setting your ISO higher…

2. Let’s talk about ISO real quick

The lower your ISO (100-200), the smaller amount of light your camera will use. So if it’s a really bright sunny day and you’re taking pictures outside, set your ISO to 100. The higher you set your ISO, the more light your camera will use. So if you’re trying to take a picture inside without a flash, and need more light, you can try setting your ISO to 800 or higher to see if you can get a high enough shutter speed to hand hold your camera. The catch with using a high ISO is that it makes your pictures pretty grainy, and it shows up REALLY bad in reds and oranges, so I always try to use the lowest ISO possible.

3. Shutter Priority

Now turn the dial on your camera so that you are shooting in Shutter Priority mode. That means you will be setting the shutter speed, and the camera will be adjusting the aperture. Shutter speed is how fast the camera records the picture.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/8
1/4 sec
ISO 100

In the photo above, the shutter speed was set to 4. That’s a slow shutter speed, allowing me to capture the movement of the water. A tripod was used to take this photo.

Canon 70-200mm f/4L
f/8
1/640 sec
ISO 200

In this photo, the shutter speed was set to 640. That’s a fast shutter speed, allowing me to stop my boston terrier (and the water!) in his tracks!

To change your shutter speed, you will probably use the same little black dial you used to change your aperture. When set in Shutter Priority mode, the dial will control your shutter speed. Turn it to the left for a slower shutter speed and to the right for a faster one. I generally keep my shutter speed around 125 when taking portraits of something that’s going to be relatively still. If there’s movement, you might want to go higher.

Note: Be sure to keep an eye on your aperture as your change your shutter speed. If your aperture number starts flashing, that means that the shutter speed you selected is too high to or too low to correctly expose the picture.

If it’s too high, that means you don’t have enough light, and the aperture can’t go any lower to allow in more light and your image will be too dark. You need to lower your shutter speed until the aperture number stops flashing. That means the picture will be correctly exposed again. (You can also try increasing your ISO to compensate.)

In rare cases, your shutter speed may be too low (say you’re trying to take a picture of a waterfall in bright sunlight). That means you have too much light, and your image will be too bright. You need to set your shutter speed higher until the aperture number stops flashing for the picture to be correctly exposed. (You can also try decreasing your ISO to compensate.)

4. Focusing

Canon 85mm f/1.8
f/1.8
1/250 sec
ISO 400

If you’re having trouble getting your camera to focus on exactly what you want it to focus on, you might want to take a look at the AF Selection. If you’re shooting with a low aperture, this can sometimes be a real problem. Have you ever taken a picture and the camera focused on the background, and not the subject?

Check your manual on how to set the AF Area or Auto-Focus Area. If your camera is set to “auto selection“, your camera will attempt to “guess” what you’re trying to focus on, and automatically choose what it thinks you want. I get a lot of out-of-focus shots that way! Sometimes I like to change my camera to “Manual Point Selection“. That means the camera will always focus on one spot. I set mine to focus right in the middle, but you can change it to any point, whichever one you feel most comfortable with.

When set to Manual Point Selection, your camera will always focus in that one spot. If you press the shutter button halfway down and look through the viewfinder, the focus point you selected should highlight, and you will probably hear your lens focusing. That means your lens is focused on that one spot. Now sometimes, just because it’s focused in that one spot, doesn’t mean the picture is framed exactly how you want it. Just keep the shutter button pressed halfway down and move your camera until the picture is framed the way you want it. (Just don’t move any closer or further away from the subject! :)) Then press the shutter the rest of the way to take the pic. With practice you will be able to do this very quickly, and you’ll always know exactly what you’re focused on.

5. Manual Mode!

You’re almost there! Get a lot of practice shooting in Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority. Some people will say that Aperture Priority mode is better than Shutter Priority mode and you should never use Shutter Priority. I disagree- they are both there for a reason and can be very useful in their own ways in different situations. With practice, you’ll learn which situations call for which shooting modes. Is a nice background blur or having everything in focus more important? Use Aperture Priority. Is capturing speed more important? Use Shutter Priority.

After mastering Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, it’s not that much of a leap to go to fully Manual Mode! To shoot in Manual mode, turn the dial on the top of your camera to M. Check your manual to see which buttons now control you shutter speed and aperture.

Left: Canon XSi. Right: Nikon D40.

After all your practice in Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, you are probably familiar with what shutter speeds and apertures you prefer. Now you can put them together! When changing the shutter speed and aperture, be sure to keep an eye on your exposure. You normally want to keep your exposure right around 0. Again, most of the time, I keep mine between 0 and 1 because I like brighter pictures. :)

6. Recommendations

Any number of shutter speeds and apertures will get you a “correct” exposure of 0. Which one should you use? The book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is a great resource. After you’ve mastered Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes, get this book and read it cover to cover. It gave me a deeper understanding of my camera and SLR photography, and explained everything in small words that I could understand! It also gives real life analogies that just made things I had previously heard, but not yet grasped, *click*. I noticed an overall improvement in my photography from day one.

One of my all-time favorite lenses is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens. It’s a prime lens, which means it does not zoom in and out at all. This was hard for me to understand until I got my first prime lens. But it doesn’t move at all! :) If you want to zoom in or zoom out on your subject you have to move closer or further with your feet! :) It’s a great lens for taking pictures indoors, because the low aperture (1.8) will let in a lot of light. The low aperture will also give you a beautiful blurred background.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
f/8
1/500 sec
ISO 100

7. What’s in my camera bag?

Photos taken on kevinandamanda.com use the following equipment.

Canon 7D. My camera. I upgraded from the XTi and I couldn’t be happier. The white balance is excellent! And the auto-ISO feature is so convenient. It can also take 8 pictures per second, which is fun when taking pics of our two boston terriers.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. This is what I call my “go-to” lens. It’s the lens I take with me when traveling. When I can only have one lens, and I’m not sure what kind lighting or space situation I’ll be up against, this is the lens I want in my arsenal.

Canon 50mm f/1.8 and Canon 85mm f/1.8. I normally use these two lenses for portraits and food photos. The low aperture gives me that super-blurred background, and allows me to take pictures in low-light situations (like my kitchen!). The 85mm zooms in a little closer than the 50mm, which means I have to be farther away from the subject than I do when shooting with the 50. So if space is an issue, I use the 50. If space is not an issue, I use the 85, because it gives a slightly blurrier background than the 50.

Got it? 50. 85. Okay.

So, those are my favs, but I do have a few more. :) See our Amazon Store for my complete Camera Lenses & Equipment Info. The most updated equipment info can always be found there!

______________________________

Have a great Labor Day Weekend! :) We’re going white water rafting with some friends… it’s my first time. Wish me luck!! I’ll be back on Monday with a follow-up to our Chicago pics.. where we ATE! :) Including my favorite place we ate all weekend.

Give this tutorial a try over the long holiday weekend, and show me your pictures when you get back! :) Talk soon!

© kevinandamanda.com, 2010. | Leave a comment! | Stumble | Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook

The Christmas tree can provide an excellent background for some really unique photos- here’s a tutorial on how to get some great shots before that tree comes down.

1. The Christmas Tree Classic Bokeh

Canon 85mm 1.8
f/1.8
1/40 sec
1600 ISO

To get those big, beautiful, blurry lights, use your lens with the lowest aperture- For this picture, I used the 85mm 1.8, but the 50mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.4 would also work nicely.

Place your subject as far away from the tree as possible- we moved some furniture around so Howie could be about 8 ft away from the tree. The farther away the subject is, the bigger, and better, the lights will look.

To take the picture, get as close to the subject as possible. You know how you can be so close to the subject that the lens won’t focus? I found that if I got that close, then scooted back just enough so that the lens would focus, the lights looked better. I have no idea why that is- I just preferred the ones that I took like that! :)

2. The Christmas Tree *Custom* Bokeh

Canon 50mm 1.8
f/1.8
1/15 sec
1600 ISO

Meep!! Little Howie surrounded by Christmas Hearts! :) Custom Bokeh is my favorite new technique. No, I don’t have little heart-shaped Christmas lights on my tree… and I didn’t have to buy any special lenses or filters to get this look, either! All I had to do was use a little tape, scissors and paper- all the stuff I already have in my scrapbook room. And the best part is, you can have custom bokeh in any shape you can cut out. Hearts, stars, mini Christmas trees.. I even tried a snowflake. You want to see something cool? Try this out. The original photo doesn’t change shapes.. Only the lights are affected! Come on, I’ll show you.

Supplies You’ll Need

1. SLR Camera
2. 50mm 1.8 lens
3. Black cardstock
4. Removable adhesive
5. Scissors / decorative shape punches
6. Pencil
7. Tape

1. To begin, take a strip of paper and form a ring around your 50mm lens- tape the paper together so that it fits snugly around the lens.

2. Take the ring off the lens, place it on a piece of black cardstock and trace a circle around the ring.

3. Cut out the circle

4. Cut a square in the middle of the circle. I used an Xacto knife, but you could just use scissors. It doesn’t have to look pretty!

5. So, now you have a ring and a circle with a square cut out of the middle. Tape them together like pictured above to form a “hood”. For the benefit of the picture, I put the tape on the inside so you can’t see it, but you could tape it on the outside instead. It’s easier and it works just as well.

6. Now it’s time to cut out your shapes! You can use scissors or an Xacto knife (or even a die cutting machine) to cut out any shape you can imagine. I had these little punches that made it really easy.

7. Cut out your shape, being sure to leave enough room on the edges so you can attach it to the “hood”. I used removable adhesive so I could easily switch between shapes on the hood.

8. Attach the shape to the hood and put the hood on your lens- when you’re all done, it should look like this.

Of course, I used a heart punch for the picture of Howie. I did have to use a tripod to take the custom bokeh pictures. Using the hood lets in less light, so you have to set your shutter speed slower to compensate- in my case, too slow to hand hold. But you don’t have to have a tripod. You could set your camera on a coffee table, tv tray, chair, bench, ottoman, whatever! Anything steady you can get your hands on.

Canon 85mm 1.8
f/1.8
1/8 sec
800 ISO

I loved how the snowflake punched turned out! Unfortunately by this time my models were thoroughly uncooperative, so I just had to take pictures of the tree. :P

To get this look, focus on something close to the lens, like your hand, with the tree blurry in the background. Then move it out of the way and take the picture.

The size of your cut-out will affect size of your custom bokeh- so play around with different shapes and sizes for all kinds of neat looks.

I even tried punching out the letter “B”. The possibilities are endless! :)

I would LOVE to see your Christmas Tree Bokeh pics!! :) Leave me a link to your pics in the comments- or share with me on Facebook. I would love to leave a comment for ya!

Thanks for looking! :)

© kevinandamanda.com, 2009. | Leave a comment! | Stumble | Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook