The photographer's school: what is a diaphragm and an excerpt?

To get really high-quality and beautiful from an artistic point of view, it's not enough to get an expensive SLR camera. Ask any photographer-pros, and he will confirm that it took him months to learn all the intricacies of handling equipment. To highlight in one article all the nuances of using a camera is unreal. For start, it will be enough to deal with two terms - aperture and shutter speed.

What is a diaphragm? How to use it?

In Greek, the word "diaphragma" means "septum". You probably heard - different lenses can have different aperture. This means that through themselves they miss a different amount of light. In fact, the diaphragm is a device that regulates the diameter of the hole through which light penetrates the matrix (light-sensitive element of the chamber). The light intensity is defined as the ratio of the diameter of the hole of the lens itself to the distance of the focus. To denote a diaphragm number, use the Latin letter F.

Changing the value of F by one position, we change the amount of light penetrating the matrix by 2 times and change the value of the indicator by 1.4. The standard values of F are in the interval between 1.0 and 32.

Lenses with significant light can be used for photographing moving objects, people and animals, and also for creating beautiful and spectacular pictures in dimly lit rooms and during the dark period of the day. In various camera models, the size of the aperture opening is adjusted through the device menu, or by using the rings on the camera body and the lens itself.

In addition to all of the above, a properly adjusted aperture and shutter speed make it possible to obtain the desired depth of field (GRIP). The DFG shows how clearly the area around the focus object looks. At f / 1.8, the space around will be more blurred than, for example, at f / 22.

Open aperture with small values allows you to obtain excellent examples of macro photography. In turn, with a large diaphragm number, the hole becomes narrow and allows you to get a picture with good clarity on all plans, including. on the background. Therefore, the clamped diaphragm is recommended for shooting landscape photos.

What is an excerpt and how to properly configure it?

Aperture and shutter speed form the so-called exposure, as it is due to them that the exposure of the image is determined. By itself, exposure means a period of time during which the light rays penetrate the prescribed diameter of the diaphragm onto the matrix. The shutter speed is calculated in seconds and fractions of a second - 1/30, 1/125, 2 "5 (2.5 seconds), 10" (10 seconds), etc.

There are such concepts as short exposure and long. Short exposure is ideal in terms of shooting moving objects. There is also a "golden rule" for choosing the optimal shutter speed - it should be directly proportional to the focal length. If the distance is, say, 80 mm, do not set the shutter speed longer than 1/80 of a second. Longer exposures will cause noise and image defects as a result of camera movements.

Long exposure in photography is most often used for shooting landscapes (including night scenes). True, in the second case it is better to use a tripod and a high-aperture lens. To further reduce vibration, you can use the remote control instead of the usual button on the camera body.

Diaphragm and exposure is the basis of any composition. Correctly having built them, even with the simple camera it is possible to do the present masterpieces.