Tutorial – Photography Basics, Every technical thing you need to know: APERTURE

APERTURE

First Photography Basics tutorial from the series! (intro and index here).

Aperture indicates how much light enters your camera. If you already know aperture you might want to skip to the animation showing everything #INaGIF, if you want to know what we’re talking about, go on reading

There’s a diaphragm inside your camera lens that can be wide or narrow:

MatericLook Photography Basics 1 Aperture max

f min

f mid

f max

Here’s an animation showing the diaphragm opening and closing:

Of course the math giving the f number has the diameter as denominator in a fraction, so basically:

High f -> Closed

and

Low f -> Open

f is usually indicated as f/value (for now let’s ignore the why), where “value” is a number, usually from around 3 to around 15 (limits can be higher and lower, depending on lens).

here you can see the effects of different f values in a series. Left part of the images is exactly as shot, the right part is corrected for measurement (top scale is cm, bottom is inches):

MatericLook Photography Basics 1 Aperture f/1,4

f/1.4

MatericLook Photography Basics 1 Aperture f/3,2

f/3.2

MatericLook Photography Basics 1 Aperture f/5

f/5

MatericLook Photography Basics 1 Aperture f/10

f/10

MatericLook Photography Basics 1 Aperture f/16

f/16

What can you easily see from the pics above?

–LIGHT: the amount of light for low value of f is higher, so the image is lighter (the diaphragm is “more open”, so more light enters the lens and reach the film/sensor):

F/1.4

F/16

–DOF: (Depth Of Field) is greatly reduced for low value of f. The area (defined by the distance, or DEPTH from the camera) in focus, is smaller and smaller for lower f values.

In the last pictures some elements are out-of-focus because they’re near the lens. Too much for it to be able to keep them in focus, at ANY f setting.

The amount of light and DOF can change for different lenses, depending on size and lot of other parameters, but all of them show this same general behaviour.

One f-stop corresponds to a single step, up or down, in your camera’s settings (so, for example from 5.6 to 8, or from 2 to 1.4). Each step will double or halve the pupil area and, consequently, the amount of light passing through the diaphragm.

So, to summarize this part, here’s an animated recap:

Aperture #INaGIF

More Light Caught <-> Less Depth Of Field <-> Lower f Value

or, if you prefer

Less Light Caught <-> More Depth of Field <-> Higher f Value

One last thing: most lenses have the maximum sharpness for subjects in focus at around f/10 or f/11, but it really depends on each lens and it’s better to experiment and find it.

More info on Aperture on Wikipedia.

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Photography, tutorial

Tutorial – Photography Basics, Every technical thing you need to know: INTRO

INTRO

Hi, this is a quick tutorial explaining the FEW things you need to know to take good pictures consistently. Not saying that you can’t get a nice shot when catching the phone while it’s falling…. it’s just that you cannot be sure you’ll get a nice photo each time

I’ll keep the technical explanations to a minimum or I’ll oversimplify, to have you on track as quick as possible. So you can go experimenting by yourself (that’s always the most important thing).

All the things I know are self-taught or I’ve learned when shooting (I used to have a video production studio years ago). Probably some things will not be perfectly accurate, I will go in depth with a more rigorous method and specific subjects in the future, maybe.

Even the most complex reflex camera has just a few controls you have to know before using it. Those are the basics for all Photography. Knowing those makes you also understand the basic working parameters of video cameras.

So here’s the two main parameters you need to control (or at least know about):

–Aperture (F, F-stops, Diaphragm,….)

–Exposure time (Shutter speed)

These are other very important things you should be able to change, if needed, and know about:

-ISO Sensitivity (ISO, film sensitivity,….)

-White Balance (Color balance, neutral balance,…)

-Focal Length

So you see, there’s not much… these are the parameters you have to experiment with in your camera. They’re usually available in non-reflex cameras also, while smartphones are more limited. Of course you have to put everything in manual mode.

I use manual mode almost always, switching to semi-auto (aperture- or shutter-piority) only if I don’t have the time to set everything by hand. That’s usually because something is moving or if, for some other reason, there’s little time to shoot.

I’ll publish the above parts during the next few days and link them above!

Please consider supporting my Patreon campaign for more tutorials and costom art!

Mtskheta 00

Georgia images: A beautiful place called Mtskheta, the old capital of Georgia.

Main subject is Svetitskhoveli cathedral, on the hill in the background it’s possible to see Jvari Monastery.

The cathedral is strongly illuminated during the night, that makes the shot a bit “strange”, I had to actually turn the main building darker (pretty odd, in a nightshot), while keeping details on the facade to make it interesting.

The town is small and very nice with a lot of historical sites, the surroundings are interesting and beautiful, hidden monasteries in the mountains and woods.

If you want to help my art and get some exclusive works in return, here’s my Patreon.

Also you can find my shop here and some digital editions on Sedition Art.

Let me know if you like the image!

Digital Art, Photography

Georgia Images: Mtskheta Photography and Art

Matericlook TheKitchen Urbex Art Photography Digital Painting

A new Urbex Art work!

I started from the elaborated set you can find here, then I proceeded by making it a digital painting, destroying all the detail I deemed unnecessary:

Matericlook Urbex Art: TheKitchen (Almost Done)

-Digital painting it’s controversial, mainly because of some cheap works done with automatic processes. Automatized painting is plain horrible, uniform and lifeless, seems more a filter than a true elaboration.

I do the whole process by hand on a graphic tablet, in this way it’s possible to control pressure, width, inclination, rotation, practically all the aspects of a real brush or tool. There’s also a bit more freedom in certain areas: it’s possible to have an infinte number of “tools” and configure each one.

The process is made faster by the possibility of having, with certain brushes, the starting color areas the same as the starting image, or to use that image as a quick reference.

That makes it easier to concentrate on brushstrokes shapes and direction and/or color control, giving a pretty wide range of possible looks to the final work. It’s also common to add (or remove) objects or details here and there, to recall the attention of the viewer to the “right” spots. –

As a next step I added back some textures and contrast in the highlighted areas, were the colors are stronger and the patterns beautiful.

I also removed a lot of light from the left door to give amore “dramatic” light to the whole…

The digital painting process has been longer than expected because I wanted to reach some strong details impressions with few brushstrokes (digital), like the white speckle on the left-low quadrant and the window….

I really like the final look of that window, here’s a zoom-in (at half resolution, more or less):

Matericlook TheKitchen Window Detail Urbex Art Photography Digital Painting

I hope you liked it too!

If you enjoy my works, please consider supporting me Patreon – there are some crazy rewards! 😉

Digital Art, Photography, urbex

Urbex Art: TheKitchen

3D Graphics, animation, Digital Art, Photography, Uncategorized, urbex

My Thunderclap campaign!

Please participate if you still haven’t, we’ll reach more like-minded friends! (it takes 5 seconds and of course it’s FREE):

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Thanks to all the supporters!

The campaign has been a success!

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Photography

MatericLook: Fountain00, photo equipment talk

MatericLook: Fountain00 by Francesco Perratone, photo equipment, photography and art

Oropa Sanctuary, Italy, view

A nice place near the sanctuary, one of the chapels from the “Sacro Monte” at the top. The typical stone fountain is wrapped by curvy paths and on the left it’s possible to see a glimpse of the monumental cemetery.

Photo equipment:

Someone asked about my photo equipment, camera and in general about the stuff I use, while I was wandering around with my tripod…

Let’s say I focus on the functional, I started my digital photography journey with a Nikon D80 I still use sometimes, the lenses I use are mainly three: a general-purpose zoom (18-70mm), a wide angle (10-20mm) and my personal favourite: a fixed 50mm F1.4 FX format lens.

The last one is a terrific value for your money, even for a small-format DX camera, has extreme DOF capabilities and allows for shooting in condition otherwise impossible without a tripod or flash. The sensor will also get a lot more light than with DX lenses, with obvious advantages.

Just keep in mind that if you’re using it in a smaller sensor camera (DX) it will have the field of a 80mm lens, more or less. If you have some dubts or don’t really grasp the whole sensors/lens relation, a hands-on approach it’s here: http://bit.ly/24wTvIB

It will give you direct control on experimenting cameras and bodies characteristics…. The whole theory is a bit more complex that that, but we’ll keep that for a specific talk about lenses, where I’ll give some more specific suggestions

Regarding the camera body I’m using now… we can say I’m still trying to make art my primary source of income, so I couldn’t spend a lot, I opted for a D3200, cheap and somewhat crippled compared to the D80, but the sensor is waaay better in terms of sensitivity and resolution.

The choice comes from reading a lot of photography blogs and asking around, every photographer will tell you that it’s better to spend on lenses than on bodies… lenses last longer and let you use the camera in more ways and wider conditions, generally they have a much larger impact on your creations.

Other equipment I use are some few fast SD cards (if you’re shooting also videos or fast sequences), a remote trigger (IR or cord) for long exposures and multiple shots without vibrations, and some tripods… I have a few but lately I settled for a small low-end Manfrotto that is cheap, light, and small enough to fit in a backpack or hand luggage when flying.

Depending on your needs there are also very small but sturdy tripods that can easily fit in a medium-sized camera bag. Just choose one that is solid enough to not tip over when supporting your camera and lens – this seems banal, but it’s difficult to find such a thing if you really want the freedom to orient your camera as with a “real” tripod (always talking of not-too-long lenses).

Another useful option I have in all my lenses is a neutral filter for protection. In this way you can clean the filter, less sensitive and cheaper than the lens itself, it also offers a barrier against accidental impacts.

I also have a flash and a few other lens addons, we’ll talk about those in the future, when I’ll write about set-photography or taking pictures inside… I’m currently building an automatic turntable for product photography and the results are promising!

I hope to have given some useful infos, if you want some more details just ask in the comments.

If you’ve find this useful or you want to build some good karma and spread happiness, you can help me through my Patreon page (also by sharing it!)

Thank you!

-Francesco

Digital Art, Photography, urbex

MatericLook: Old Heater, A short story & Remains00

Remains00

Old Heater:

“The only entry could be through a broken and very small horizontal window panel… the lowest one has some dangerous shards that it’s better to remove before crawling inside. It’s also good practice to take a look inside before just falling in…. and that’s a good idea, the floor is near and it’s a lot better to push myself in facing upwards, to not get stuck or hit with my legs the other glass panels.

There’s barely the space to push my torso in…. …holding my breath!…

In a few seconds I pass through, the room is huge, should have been a workshop or something similar. near the other end the darkness is almost complete, let’s go check it out…

The floor is almost empty, almost nothing has been left behind when the building was abandoned, only dust, dirt and the occasional rubble pile. The dark zone hides the remains of a demolished brick wall, behind that an innatural blackness surrounds everything, the light from my torch doesn’t penetrate… what?

Approaching the darkness I understand what’s going on: the whole area is covered in a thick layer of black dust, coal, probably… There are a pair of giant holes in the walls, it seems were furnaces. However the floor isn’t really visible, there are broken bricks covered by the black powder and I can clearly see at least a large hole that could be dangerous. In any case it doesn’t seem an area particularly interesting, I think it was carefully emptied years ago.

I go back near the entry point and explore the area there. There’s a wooden panel separating this from another section, it’s possible to push a kind of door, some nailed boards mounted on hinges, and pass through.

The other side is more “lively”, also abandoned, but probably less years have passed since someone was there. Other panels divide smaller sections, workbenches here and there, nothing else left behind except for a zone near a corner.

An old heater’s there, probably left after the plant was closed, and some kind of filter and regulator for an air compressor or some other type of gas tank.
Looking around is possible to see various other tubes and filters, near the abandoned sideboards lay some old hand tools.

Maybe the heater has been used by the person that lived in this space not so many years ago. It’s not electric, so he/she could have used it to protect himself from the freezing winters, common in this region. Under one of the workbenches thare’s a large shelf for tools, large enough to sleep on it… there are some shredded clothes stuffed inside… a sort of nest.”

If you like my works you can help me create more and get something in return through my Patreon page!

MatericLook

Art, Photography, Urbex and Visuals by Francesco Perratone and DoPe

Category Archives: Photography