This exercise was designed to help you understand how to use your aperture settings on your camera.
Project focus: When you focus on something, its image is made sharp; if you focus beyond it or in front of the image, it will look soft. When your photographs are processed, compare them.Notice first how the sharp focus draws attention and also how a sharp subject stands out clear against an out-of-focus background.
You were asked to take at least 2-3 photographs showing the difference in apertures. Your scene had to have sort of depth such as trees or a row of cars.
I wanted something which was colourful and had writing on it; therefore I chose nail polish bottles. The writing on the labels would allow me to focus on something and the different colours would stand out.
I am currently using my Fujifilm Finepix S2950 camera.
I kept the aperture setting at F/3.1 but let the camera change the Iso and Shutter speed.
First Photograph:
This first photograph was taken only focusing on the front nail polish bottle. I used the green rectangular viewfinder which appears on the screen, in order to focus only on the front bottle.
Using the set F/3.1 aperture, the bottle and the writing were mainly in focus. The bottles behind were gradually softening and blurring.
The settings for this photograph are:
Aperture: F/3.1
Shutter Speed: 1/52 sec
ISO: 200
Second Photograph:
This second photograph was taken whilst only focusing on the middle green bottle. Again I used the green rectangular viewfinder which appears on the screen, in order to focus only on the middle green bottle.
Using the set F/3.1 aperture, the bottle and the writing were mainly in focus. The bottles in front were gradually softening and blurring. However, the bottles behind the middle one, were gradually becoming more clearer.
The settings for this photograph are:
Aperture: F/3.1
Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec
ISO: 400
Third Photograph:
This third photograph was taken whilst only focusing on the two end bottles. Again I used the green rectangular viewfinder which appears on the screen, in order to focus only on the end bottles.
Using the set F/3.1 aperture, the bottle and the writing on the lid were mainly in focus. The bottles in front were completely out of focus and soft in tone.
I did have to move my camera for this one photograph as I was unable to focus with the green viewfinder on the last two bottles until I was positioned differently.However, I did keep the aperture setting the same.
The settings for this photograph are:
Aperture: F/3.1
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 400
Project focus: When your photographs are processed, compare them. Which version do you prefer? Notice first how the sharp focus draws attention and also how a sharp subject stands out clear against an out-of-focus background.
After looking at the three photographs, the one I prefer the most is the Third photograph. I prefer this one the most as it draws your eye to the end bottle. You feel as though you are part of the photograph. It’s almost a continuation of your vision and what you see through your eye.
Overall Opinion:
I did have some trouble with this exercise at the beginning. It took me a while to get the correct aperture settings along with the ISO and Shutter speeds. In the end, I understood that I needed to use my Aperture priority setting. This way I was able to keep my aperture at F/3.1 whilst letting the camera change the ISO and Shutter speed.
Another problem I encountered was that my small green viewfinder would not show up on the screen, and I was unable to focus on either the front or middle bottles. I realised that a few of my bottles were out of line and off-centre. Once I had changed the positions, the rectangular box came up, enabling me to focus on the needed bottle.
Once I understood how to change or keep the settings the same in order to create the photograph I needed, I began enjoying this exercise. It has taught me how to use my camera’s settings. In the future I will be more confident in taking photographs of items which may be at an acute angle, as I will now be able to figure out what settings I will need in order to focus in on an item or perhaps keep some of the items blurred.
Chantelle Grace Photography 