Let's Talk About Aperture

The word aperture refers to how large the opening of your lens is. It can be a tricky concept to understand. Aperture is defined by f/stops. The smaller the f/stop number, the larger the opening. The larger the opening, the more light can get in, and the more blurry the background.

Try setting your camera to Aperture priority mode (it's usually indicated by a capital "A" or an "Av." Now, set the f/stop to the lowest number that your lens can go. (Some lenses can go all the way to f/1.2, but most kit lenses only go to about f/3.5.)

You'll want to avoid using your flash for this, so unless you have fantastic window light, try this experiment outside. Once you have your aperture set to the lowest number, try moving in fairly close to a subject, and take the picture. The background should be very blurry. Now, change your aperture to the highest number that your lens will go (most often f/22.) From the same position and angle, take the picture. Notice how much more of the background is in focus - it should be virtually everything.

One more thing to remember about Aperture: If your aperture is set at f/22, the opening is very small, and very little light can get in to hit the image sensor (or film). To allow for a properly exposed photo, the shutter has to stay open for a much longer period. Likewise, if your aperture is set to f/1.8, the opening is very large, and the shutter has to stay open for a much shorter period of time to get a proper exposure.

This photo was taken at f/1.8 at 1/80th of a second. (The shutter was open for 1/80th of a second.) I generally don't like to have my shutter speed at less than 1/60th of a second without a tripod - the photos turn out blurry.

This photo was taken at f/22 at 1.5 seconds. (The shutter was open for 1.5 seconds.) I used a tripod and the camera's self timer (a remote works great too, but I don't have one) to avoid touching and moving the camera at all while I was taking the picture.

Watch the Light - and the Time!

The time of day plays an important role in the look and feel of an image. The above photos were taken only one hour apart. The first one was taken at 1:00 p.m. and the second was taken at 2:00 p.m. It's interesting to note how siginificantly different the images are, simply because the sunlight changes throughout the day. Also remember that although the light does change throughout the day, it typically changes in predictable ways - making it easy to plan ahead for your photo sessions!

Circles Marketing Set

This simple marketing set is designed to be fast and easy to use, and will give your photography business a professional look. There are 8 templates, and each is a layered .TIF file that is easily customizable. You can change the colors and insert your own logo, as well as edit the included text to fit your photography business. The templates are for use in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

This downloadable set includes:

• Letterhead
• Business Card Front & Back
• Horizontal Referral Card
• Vertical Referral Card
• Blog Header
• 5x5 Trifold Brochure

Sale Price: $36.00
(You will be redirected to my shop.)

Use Line Intentionally

One of the most powerful, but often underestimated elements of all art, (including photography) is the line. Line is all around us, and we see it and use it every day. It can create strong perspective and direct attention, and it can simply create visual interest.

This image of the log fence has several different uses of line. There are the vertical lines of the fenceposts, as well as the converging diagonal lines of the other logs in the fence. The lines "lead" the eye to other parts of the image, and maintains visual interest.

Line doesn't always have to be straight and well-defined. I took this photo on the Oregon coast during a family vacation in the fall of 2007. To me, the curved lines in the sand, coupled with the diagonal angle of the image, almost creates a feeling of motion. I wanted to try to take a photo that would help me really remember the way that the ocean moved up along the shore, and back again.

In this image, the candle itself obviously creates a line that directs the viewer's attention not only to the flame at the top, but also to the dish at the bottom. Perhaps not as obvious as the candle itself are the spiral lines in the candle. The smaller spiral lines also help to direct the viewer's attention and maintain visual interest.

This image was taken in Washington (part of the same family vacation as the Oregon coast photo), and I love the way that the horizontal curved line "works" with the variety of vertical lines that lead up to it. Watch for converging lines - they are also everywhere, and can create strong images.

Finally, railroad tracks are a wonderful place to find lines with great variety and character. The spaces between the railroad ties create vertical lines, the metal beam beneath the ties creates a strong diagonal line, and the metal beams beneath that create a horizontal line.

So, next time you are out shooting, and you want to find something interesting to photograph, look for lines. Remember these few things:

• Watch for all sorts of lines - they can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or they can be curved.
• Lines that intersect or converge can create powerful images. Try placing a main subject at a point of intersection of converging lines.
• Be aware of lines within lines, as with the photo of the candle. Using a combination of lines in the same photo can make it a stronger composition.

Digital Photo Album Contest - Winner!

Tiffany
"I love photography because I love to look back and remember the moments. I am amazed how much can be remembered from one single photo."

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Congrats, Tiffany! Please email me your address ASAP and I will send you your digital photo frame! • phototips@alexismiller.com

ETA: Thank you so much to everyone that participated! I loved reading your comments!

Contest! - Digital Photo Album

It is no secret that I *love* random, fun photography related gadgets. Digital photo frames, keychains, and albums are some of my favorites.

I was shopping a week or so ago, and I saw these really cool little digital photo albums. I bought one for myself :-) and one to give away to one of you! It is made by enVue by Burnes, and has internal memory, as well as an SD card slot. It is about 3.5" wide by about 4.5" tall and about 1/2" thick. The image screen is similar in size to a wallet photo. It comes with a little faux leather sleeve and a USB cable.
Oh, and in case you are wondering -- yes, I did paste a photo onto the screen in Photoshop. I could only get reflections of my patio to show up on the screen when I took the photo.

To enter the contest, you must be a follower of this blog, and leave me a comment on this post. Tell me why you love photography. :-) Comments must be posted before 12:00 midnight MST on Tuesday, April 14th. I will randomly choose a winner, and post it Wednesday morning.

The winner must contact me via email at: phototips@alexismiller.com within 48 hours of being announced.

Get Out of a Slump - Find Joy in Photography

As many of you know, my father passed away in December 2008. This has probably been the longest winter of my life, and I have been anxiously waiting for Spring, sunshine, and for something better than gray skies to photograph.

So, I have been in a photography slump. For like six months. I have only taken pictures when it was needed, and only had in mind that those pictures needed to be great shots - all of them. I haven't really cared to get out my camera for "fun" for a long time.

On Monday the weather was absolutely perfect, so I decided to take a field trip with my little boy. He loves trucks, tractors, and of course the buses that pass our house every day. So, we rode the bus. And I took my camera. For fun. :-)

As we were waiting for our bus to arrive, I took lots of pictures. None of them were necessarily great, but it felt good to do what I love for fun again.

If you are in a "slump," I strongly suggest that you take a field trip. We had such a wonderful time. When you go, give yourself permission to take pictures just for fun, and don't stress about getting a perfect shot.

As we were watching the buses leave, I noticed that I had taken 200 pictures of our journey - for fun! I don't necessarily think that I am totally out of this "slump," but I do feel much more inspired.

So, the "Photography Tip" in this post is simply to enjoy your photography. Enjoy taking pictures. And enjoy documenting everyday events. It is easy to get into a mindset that every shot has to be great, and letting go of that will give you the freedom to find joy in it again.

And I believe that when you find joy in photography, your work will reflect it.