Photography Definitions

In many marketing efforts people will use their personal Point & Shoot camera for their web or print photographs. The typical result is pictures that more closely resemble family photo album snapshots, not a high quality marketing photograph that has the ability to catch a buyers eye. Most point & shoot cameras take a light reading and then calculate an average to the full frame of the image. This is OK if the lighting conditions are Ideal! But for those less than ideal conditions, which is most of the time, or to capture a more creative image, you’ll need more camera control. In the “Auto” or “Program” setting you’ll notice over-exposed areas that will be “washed out” and also under-exposed areas that will be very dark. In both cases, you’ll not be able to see any of the fine detail, if any detail at all. The result is a very run-of-the-mill photo, not an eye-catching high-quality marketing image.

"Professional Camera" (SLR) Photos

Most, but not all, professional photographers use an SLR camera. SLR stands for “Single Lens Reflex”. With this type of camera you can change the lenses in order to better match the application or to obtain a more creative image. Another significant difference is that there is the ability to manually adjust the exposure settings. A good professional photographer will be able to greatly minimize, even eliminate, any under or over exposed areas of a photograph. The proper settings will result in the ability to see greater detail in the picture. Knowing how to manually adjust other settings such as the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed can greatly improve the photograph also.

"Post Processing"

In order to get the very best result from an image capture, some amount of post processing is required. In the Land & Home Imaging philosophy, post processing is necessary only to make minor adjustments to the image the camera captured. Most people do not realize that even the old professional film photographers such as Ansel Adams spent many hours post processing images in the darkroom.

"Land & Home Imaging Photography"

We use only high-end professional quality Canon and Nikon SLR digital cameras & lenses. We also have many years of experience in the world of photography. Therefore we have a good understanding of how subtle adjustments throughout the photographic process will result in the highest quality images for our clients. We’re always looking for that special angle, out of the ordinary lighting or soft shadow, and non-typical perspective that will make your image a unique, eye-catching and powerful marketing photograph.

Other Photography Definitions:

"Proper Exposure" The combination of camera settings used to obtain a photograph which is appealing to the viewer. Typically a sharp, clear, well-lit image is desired.

To obtain a truly proper exposure you must add precisely the right amount of light to film or the digital sensor in order to create an image where you see the maximum detail in both the brightly lit areas and the shadowed or low-lit portions of a photograph. Even the most expensive camera with the newest technology will not be able to capture all of details from a very bright area to a dark shadow the way the human eye, along with the processing that occurs in the brain, can see. This wide spectrum of light intensity is known as “High Dynamic Range” or HDR. More about this later, don’t stop here…… Read On.

Every camera has two settings that are the most critical components to achieving proper exposures. They are the aperture (sometimes called f/stop) and the shutter speed settings. There MUST be a proper balance of these settings in order to produce an image with a good exposure. There is another very important element that affects the ability to get a proper exposure, it is the ISO number setting. Before digital cameras, you would have to buy a particular “speed” of film. (Those of us older photographers remember it as the ASA rating) Film ranged from a light sensitivity (aka speed) of 25 up to 400 ISO. You would select a 25 ISO film if you expected to be shooting outdoors in very bright light and you would use 400 ISO if you expected to be shooting in low light conditions, such as indoors. A 200 speed film would result in a fair exposure in both bright and low light conditions. But to always get the very best exposures, you would have to change-out your roll of film as you encountered different lighting situations. Now in the digital age, with a good digital camera, they are designed so you can adjust the ISO setting for each picture you take if you encounter a substantial change in the light conditions. There is one drawback to using a high ISO setting, your image tends to look noisy or grainy at the higher speeds.

"Aperture Setting" (aka f/stop) The size of the opening within a lens which allows light on to the image sensor.

An f/stop or aperture setting of 5.7 means that when the shutter button is pressed, the lens will operate with a large opening which lets a lot of light on to the sensor. An aperture setting of 22 is almost a pin-hole opening and is allowing a very small amount of light on to the sensor. It’s like a valve in a water faucet, a small opening only allows a small amount of water through, whereas when you open it all the way, you get a much greater volume of water. It’s a bit confusing, although there is good logic as to how it came about. The bottom line is that you must remember that with aperture settings….. the smaller the number the larger the opening (more light), and a larger the number the smaller the opening (less light)! Your aperture setting also affects the “depth of field”, but we’ll talk about that later.

"Shutter Speed" A setting that determines the length of time that the lens is open and allowing light on to the image sensor.

The shutter speed has to be balanced with the aperture setting in order to achieve that Proper Exposure. Typically speaking, in very bright light you’ll use a large number aperture setting (22 = small opening) and a high shutter speed. In very low light conditions you would typically use a lower number aperture setting (4.5 = large opening) and a slow shutter speed in order to let more light to the sensor. Most shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second. Although in very low light situations when using a tripod, you can have an exposure of up to several seconds. A fast shutter speed (1/500 or faster) is also necessary when you want to “freeze” a fast moving subject. If there is little or no movement within the scene you want to photograph, you can use a slower shutter speed. A general rule of thumb is to never use a shutter speed slower than 1/60 of a second if you are hand-holding the camera. If your shutter speed is slower than 1/60th you should always use a tripod to hold the camera still. Professional photographers, like those at Land & Home Imaging, try to always use a tripod in order to capture the most “Tack-Sharp” images possible.

It’s our attention to the details that will make the difference for you!

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