Photo1Q1.2: Camera Control & Exposure Tasks

ISO- Label with settings from 100-?? Have you used ISO prior to this task? When or what shooting situation do you think this would be the most helpful for you to use? Did you see the digital noise at the higher ISO settings or did you see a exposure change or did you see both?

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    Each situation in photography calls for a different change in what exactly one should manipulate in exposure. If I'm shooting street photography (which is what I enjoy most), I will most likely utilize ISO as it is a simple quick fix to fix varying exposure without sacrificing the shallow depth of field that isolates the subject. I will generally switch between ISO and shutter speed, though, if I'm shooting at night for street photography, shutter speed is generally what I will stay away from as my hands are not the most stable things in the world. This is great for street photography because grain/digital noise is actually beneficial to most photos, as it makes the whole picture feel raw, genuine, and "in the moment".

    In personal experience, I prefer to change ISO second or last in most situations. Shooting handheld, I will make exceptions as I do somewhat rely too much on shutter speed and end up with very slight motion blur in the past. Different cameras have different sensitivity levels, and can handle grain differently. In all photos displayed for the ISO portion of this assignment, it's clear that as ISO increases (digital noise is a negative side effect at higher levels). My Rebel T5 is "alright" for ISO under 800 as there isn't any noticeable degradation of quality. It starts at 1600 and gets pretty bad, so I try my best to stay under that. However, other cameras are incredible at handling night. The Sony A7S line is famous for this. Thus, as with any of the other exposure properties (aperture, shutter speed), it's really a game of balancing and choosing what you need and what you have to sacrifice.

Exposure Compensation
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FLASHFILL- Label which is before (with evident shadows) and after (with forced flash/flashfill). How can you tell that the flash worked to diminish shadows?

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    In the pictures above, did help to reduce shadows, but my exposure was likely still to dark that the shadows are still there in either photo. For example, many of the keys in the left photo near the bottom aren't very illuminated and viewers can barely see the type. On the right, it's much clearer to see and they only seem to disappear once it intersects with the primary source of light, which is the sun. Speaking of the sun itself was very clear on the day this photo was taken, thus, the really hard shadows are still there. Shadows aren't absolutely cleared, but rather brightened so it's not as "distracting" in the overall image. The colors also seem to pop more, as the red staircase on the left seems more desaturated in contrast with the staircase on the right.

JUMPING w/o flash and w/ flash- Label which demonstrates with and without flash. Did you see any visible differences between the two photos?

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    There is a very clear difference between the photo that demonstrates jumping with and without flash. Due to the lighting condition being poor, I ended up with a silhouette on the left because I did not want to sacrifice having motion blur. On the right, Kaz is illuminated clearly, but due to flash sync, my shutter speed was set by the camera automatically to 1/200 to line up with the speed of the internal flash. Motion blur is sacrificed as a result, which is one of the major difficulties with using an internal flash, as it limits one's shutter speed and doesn't allow one to change it.

WHITE BALANCE Collage

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CLOSING:
Now that you’ve practiced making some adjustments with these features, which feature had you used before? Which TWO features do you think you’d utilize the most? Explain how these control features could help you in your photo work situations? What was the most valuable thing you learned about your camera or how to use it?

    Of all these features, I really only used the ISO function. I never experimented with flash because I felt that the shadows that it can create are too "sharp" for my taste. I enjoy photos that are raw and without much underlying pre-production editing to it (I say this because post-production work can actually do wonders to a photo). It's one of the reasons why I love candid photos (street photography). 

    After experimenting with these features, besides ISO, I would likely use flash fill for daylight situations only and white balance. Mainly, I'd use these for experimental purposes because I really do shy away from shooting an image that has such permanent settings. I like to take things in their most neutral color and lighting so that I can manipulate it in post the way I want it. This year, I'd like to try and change that and force myself to use lighting gels and different temperature settings on white balance. They can work in different photo situations to my advantage. For example, flash fill can fill in unwanted shadows and generally saturate a scene naturally without compromising shutter speed that much. Experimenting in other white balance modes can offer easy ways to see what a scene would look like under different moods (tungsten for cool, dark, sinister photos and daylight for somewhat warm, outdoor, fun photos).

    The reason why I do not prefer to use exposure compensation is because the same effects can basically be done by manipulating the exposure triangle. Unless I cannot get the right exposure to save my life, I will use it, but otherwise, it just takes too much freedom and time away to shoot in program and allow the camera to choose the right lighting and crossing my fingers, hoping for the best.

    The most valuable thing I learned about my camera was that it wasn't the main part to shooting. When I created the above photos, I had to work under specific parameters. It helped me realize that despite having perfect, balanced, and neutral lighting, photos can look even better with great and occasionally creative shot composition. Posing objects was somewhat easier, but even then I had to think about what I wanted the shot to look like.

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thank you to Kaz Danbara for helping with the jumping shots
Original Photos (only DOE accounts can view)