Shooting Techniques

Now that you’ve learned and have a better understanding about the exposure triangle and the three basic settings used to take a photo, let’s look at some more tools and techniques that will help you capture stunning images. If you aren’t familiar with these three basic settings and what they do, check out my previous blog titled “Camera Basics” to get a better understanding as to what each of these primary settings do.

Exposure Meter

One of the tools that every DSLR and mirrorless camera has is an electronic exposure meter. This helps you determine if your photo is going to be evenly exposed or not. It is very important to pay attention to this while shooting. If you don’t then you could come home with underexposed or overexposed photos that could be unusable. This is where knowing the exposure triangle, (shutter speed, aperture, and ISO) and what each one of these settings does comes into play. You will be able to adjust your settings accordingly to ensure a properly exposed photo is always captured.

This is what your exposure meter looks like inside of your camera, with the black tick mark indicating what your exposure is.

White Balance

This is another setting that is very helpful in creating the mood of your image. White balance can either make your image warmer or cooler depending on what it is set at. It’s good to change this in the field while shooting, but personally I have mine set to AWB, which stands for automatic white balance. This setting gives the camera control over the temperature color of your image. This can easily be changed in post processing, which is why I leave mine in AWB.

Below is an example of how white balance can affect the RAW images in the field.

This image was shot with a set, colder white balance.

This image was shot using AWB, which naturally gave the image a warmer tone.

Focus

There are two different ways to focus, and those are manual and automatic focus. I prefer to manually focus my images unless I’m shooting wildlife or in a situation where I need to focus quickly. Manual focus allows you to determine what is in focus and what to focus on. I also prefer shooting manual focus because it allows me to be more present and focused on the scene in front of me, which is what photography is all about. Being present and living in the moment. Autofocus is better to use when shooting an event, such as a wedding, concert, or sports. I also use autofocus when shooting portraits in order to make the session move faster so that the client gets the most out of their session. You don’t want to be struggling to focus and wasting time when there are still plenty of shots to be taken.

Now that we’ve covered a few more tools and settings that you can use to shoot great photos, let’s look at a few different shooting techniques.

Depth of Field

Depth of field is when you create separation by choosing what is and isn’t in focus. Depth of field is a great way to isolate a subject from either the foreground or background. Creating this separation is mostly used in portraits to isolate the person in the photo. We want to make them stand out in the photo, and by making the background blurry and out of focus we are able to make them pop from the rest of the image. To achieve this separation we need to use a faster aperture, such as f/1.8 through f/5.6. You want to make sure that your whole subject is still in focus. Using an aperture of f/1.8 might not be the best for large groups since everyone will be at different distances. I like to use depth of field in my landscape photography by creating a shallow depth of field in the foreground in order to make my subject and background stand out more.

I wanted to create a shallow depth of field for this particular image in order to make the bird and the tree stand out from the background.

Rule of Thirds

You may have noticed a grid similar to a “tic-tac-toe” board when looking through your viewfinder. This grid helps you set up great compositions when out in the field. The first technique that most photographers learn is called the “Rule of Thirds”. This is when you place your subject off the left or right of the frame, usually on one of the intersecting points of the grid. Depending on your scene this allows for a unique and interesting composition. To use this rule to the best of its ability you want to pinpoint key areas of your composition and place them on the intersections of the grid.

For this image, the elk is placed on the left side of the grid.

Breaking Rule of Thirds

This one goes back to the phrase, “the rules are meant to be broken”. Breaking the rule of thirds is when you place your subject in the center of your frame. This is commonly used with headshots since you want your subject center, but it also allows for some unique and dramatic shots when shooting landscapes. It still helps if you have other key aspects of your image located on the intersections of the grid, similar to “Rule of Thirds”.

The bison in this image is placed in the center of the grid, breaking the rule of thirds.

Framing

Framing is a technique that can be used very creatively. As it sounds, framing is when you use your surroundings in order to “frame” your subject. I use a lot of tree branches to frame my subject when shooting landscapes, but you can also use this technique for some interesting and unique looking portraits. Framing helps the viewer know what the key focus of the photo is. Plus it helps compliment your subject using the natural world around you. 

I used the opening in the branches to frame the mountain peak. Using the natural window creates a more powerful and interesting image than just shooting the subject.

Leading Lines

Probably my favorite technique to use in my work is leading lines. Leading lines allow the viewer to follow something throughout your image. They can also be used to lead the viewer's eye from one part of the photo to the next. Instead of having an image that has a lot going on and isn’t very pleasing to the eye, leading lines allow the viewer to feel more comfortable looking through your image since there is something to lead them through it. 

The stripes on the street act as a guide for the viewer’s eye to help lead them through the image.

By using these extra tools and techniques you will be able to create beautiful and unique photos. Photography takes practice to master just like any other profession or hobby. Creating a unique and diverse portfolio will help you learn and grow faster than just shooting what you're comfortable with. I still struggle to come out of my comfort zone, but when I do I usually learn something new. Of course the best way to improve your skills and develop your style is to get out and shoot. After a while you will start to see your progress through your images. That’s one of the aspects of photography that I love the most. Not only are you capturing a moment in time, but you are also able to visually see improvements in your work. So now that you have the basics on settings and shooting techniques, get out there and start sharing your creativity.

Camera Basics

There are 3 main settings that are very important to learn when starting out in photography; shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. These 3 settings are known as the “exposure triangle”, and each one has its own role in capturing a perfect photo. 

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is the easiest one to understand. This determines how fast your shutter moves and can determine how much light hits your sensor. That’s pretty much it. When shooting handheld a good rule of thumb is to never shoot at a lower shutter speed than your focal length. For example, if your focal length is 125mm, you should never shoot at a shutter speed slower than 1/125. This will help reduce camera shake that naturally comes with handheld photos. If you're shooting at a wide focal length, such as 15mm, 24mm, 35mm, etc., you should never shoot with a shutter speed slower than 1/60. Anything slower than 1/60 will usually result in camera shake and an out of focus image. But there are many different ways to use slower shutter speeds to capture an interesting and creative image.

A common subject for longer shutter speeds is water. Many photographers like capturing the “smooth” effect that comes with longer shutter speeds and water like this image here.

I used a 10 second shutter speed to achieve this effect.

In order to get this “smooth” effect you need to use a sturdy tripod. Creating this effect requires shutter speeds of 1 second to even minutes depending on how you want your image to turn out. Personally, I shoot my water images between 1-30 seconds depending on my surroundings and how fast the water is flowing. But water isn’t the only subject that you can use slower shutter speeds for. You can use a slower shutter speed to capture the movement of a car, a person, or even a fast moving animal.

You can also use faster shutter speeds to freeze the action happening. Examples include sports photography or freezing a fast moving animal.

I used a shutter speed of 1/800 of a second to “freeze” these birds flying over some small crashing waves.

There are so many different ways to use shutter speed to your advantage, it just requires a lot of experimenting and trial and error. Now shutter speed may be the easiest of these 3 settings to grasp, but there’s another one that really helps set the mood of the photo.

Aperture

These are a few popular f/stops that photographers use. Not every lens will have as low apertures like others. Every lens has a different aperture range. For example, my Canon RF 24-105mm can range from f/4-f/32, and my Canon RF 15-35 can range from f/2.8-f/32.

Aperture, or also referred to as “f/ stop”, is what determines what is going to be in focus and how much light is being let into your camera. This setting takes a little more time to understand and fully grasp than shutter speed, but it can make all the difference in your images. The hard thing to remember with aperture is the smaller the number, the bigger the opening and vice versa. The smaller your f/stop number is the more light you’re letting into your camera, which also gives you a shallower depth of field. A smaller f/stop number is best for low light situations such as night photography, or when you want to isolate your subject, such as portraits.

This image was shot at f/4, which isn’t very large when considering astrophotography. But due to the lens I was using this was the most light I could let in. I prefer to shoot my Milky Way images around f/2.8.

Now the larger your f/stop number is the more in focus your image will be, but you are also letting in less light. For example, I prefer to shoot my landscape images between f/11 and f/16 in order to make everything in my image sharp. Since I am letting in less light I either need to slow my shutter speed down, or if I’m shooting handheld I’ll raise my ISO (the final setting to learn and master).

For this photo I used an aperture of f/11 in order to make sure everything in the image is sharp.

In my opinion, aperture is the hardest to learn since it seems reversed. The smaller the number, the bigger the aperture, the less in focus everything is, and vice versa. But once you have a good understanding of what this setting does it becomes the most crucial part to any photograph. Just like shutter speed, experimenting with your aperture will help you get a better grasp as to what this setting does and how you apply it to your own niche and style.

ISO

I like to describe ISO as “fake light”. This isn’t actually what it is, but it makes it easier to understand. ISO determines how sensitive your sensor is to natural light. If you have a low ISO such as 100, then your image will be darker if your other settings are not set properly, and with a high ISO such as 3200, your image could be too bright and blown out if your settings are not properly set. The lower the ISO the better because as you increase your ISO the more digital “noise” is introduced into your image, causing a green and purple tint in your shadows, and making your overall image extra grainy and not as sharp or in focus. I like to stay between ISO 100 to 800 in my day to day photography. Night photography is a little different though. When I’m shooting my Milky Way images I usually shoot at an ISO 3200 with a wide aperture and slower shutter speed. 

All of these shots were taken using a shutter speed of 1/60 of a second at f/4. The ISO changes in this order. 100,200,400,800,1600,2500,3200,6400,10,000

Once you learn each of these settings and how they work independently, you’ll be able to create stunning photos and improve your photography skills. These are the basic settings that need to be mastered and understood in order to take stunning photographs. How you use these settings is up to your style and niche as a photographer. Every form of photography has a set of “rules” that every photographer follows. I use the term “rules” lightly because the best part about photography is that the rules are meant to be broken. Landscape photographers prefer to shoot at lower shutter speeds with smaller apertures like f/11 and f/16, while portrait photographers prefer to shoot at higher shutter speeds and larger apertures such as f/5.6 or larger. However, these are just the foundation for their category. The rules can be broken depending on your style. Photography is a form of art, and it is up to you as the photographer to capture the mood of your subject creatively.

I will be writing another blog soon that goes more in depth on shooting techniques, and more ways to make sure you’re capturing the best photos you can.