I spent some time this week learning about what some different terms meant. So much to learn.  There are 3 Basic Terms Every Photographer Should Know.  Aperture, Shutter speed, The ISO Value. The Aperture is like the pupil, the wider it gets, the more light it lets in.  Inside the lens is a round curtain called a shutter, which is normally closed unless the photographer presses the button.  The opening of the shutter is the aperture. A wider aperture allows more light into the camera sensor and vice versa.  The main effect though is on the depth of field.  Narrow aperture creating a deeper background and a wider aperture creates a shallow field.  It’s measured on a funny scale called f stops.  Ex. f/1.4, f/2.8, f/4.  The smaller the number, the wider the aperture.

The Shutter speed is when taking a photo, the shutter opens for a certain amount of time, which can vary, it may last less than a second or a few seconds.  The higher the shutter speed, the shorter the shutter is opened and the less exposure.  Slow shutter means more light comes in but this also creates risk for a blurry photo.  Higher shutter speed allows for a crisper photo although with less light. Night time photos and moving target photos are very dependent on these settings for a successful photo.

The ISO Value is the value regarding  the camera’s light sensor.  A higher ISO means a bigger sensitivity to light.  ISO values are usually 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 5200 and 6400. This makes the photo look grainy and more obvious in low light conditions.  Interior or night photographs requires using a high ISO sensitivity setting or in good lighting, a low ISO value is ideal to prevent graininess.