Photo Basics Week Two: Shutter Speed

I've really got to start doing my homework when it's not raining. But, aside from being wet and a little muddy, this week's assignment was pretty fun! I used my brothers this week--the little one's cute, and the bigger one can throw a frisbee. Many times. Without being annoyed that he has to keep throwing it, because none of my shots are working. And I am grateful. 

Frozen Action:

1/1000  f/5.0  ISO: 3200

This was a sweet catch by my brother. Usually he won't let me take pictures of him, but I guess he doesn't mind as long as a frisbee is involved. I must admit that I did crop it to get rid of the not-so-lovely water tank that has taken residence in the park near our house. And it's a little grainy from the high ISO. But I like it overall. And I thank Eric for coming out to throw a frisbee for me even though he had a fireside and couldn't change first.

Implied Action:

1/40  f/8.0  ISO: 400

This is my other little brother. He's usually not making such weird faces. He really got a kick out of throwing leaves up in the air though. You can see the implied motion of his hands and the leaves falling. We tried this many times. It was harder to keep him frozen and the leaves blurry than I thought it would be. Especially since he doesn't hold still for very long. But I think it turned out ok. I would have liked a few more falling leaves, but there's only so much you can ask from a seven-year old.

Panning (P.S. This is harder than you would think.) :

1/30  f/11  ISO: 400

So, this one I like, but the frisbee's not even really in focus. I do feel like I did pretty good with it as far as speed though. But it kind of hurts my head to look at it, since everything is blurry, but still recognizable. It drives me a little nuts.

1/6  f/22  ISO: 400

This one I like better, since everything is really blurry except for the frisbee. I also like that I caught it on its curve--it adds an interesting effect. But I can tell that this is something that I'm going to have to practice with a lot. I seriously took about 20 panning photos, most of the time I over-anticipated the speed and movement of the frisbee. But hope is not lost. I can't wait to practice with this more.

I am so glad we got to play with shutter speed this week! It's so great to know what to expect from different speeds. And it helps a lot to be able to apply last week's lessons about metering to the pictures as well. I would have been totally lost without metering on this assignment. Most of my pictures would be overexposed, and the rest would be really underexposed! Metering is so helpful. :)

Photo Basics Week One: Aperture

So, I'm in this awesome photo class, right? I love it. But I've decided that it would be better if I started taking my camera everywhere with me. Because if I don't, I forget that I have homework that needs to be done. And that it's probably not best to wait until the last minute to do that homework, because it will probably be raining. Because that's what happens in Cache Valley. It's lovely and sunny the first few days. And then it rains all weekend. Good thing I had a brightly polka-dotted umbrella and a cute sister who loves me. :)

This is my "singular focus" picture. I definitely like the singular focus aperture best for this--nicely blurred background, focus all on her.

f/4.5  1/60  ISO: 400

f/8.0  1/50  ISO: 800

f/22.0  1/25  ISO: 3200

Next up is the "who cares?" aperture picture. Don't you love my mom's sweet decorations? The only way you can really see a difference in the apertures is the "sunburst" effect coming from the very bright little light in the pumpkin. Believe it or not, I actually like the "who cares?" aperture best.

f/4.5  1/60  ISO: 1600

f/8.0  1/15  ISO:1600

f/16.0  1/15  ISO: 3200

And last of all, we have the "storytelling" aperture. My sister excels at being dramatic. 

f/5.6  1/100  ISO: 400

f/8.0  1/60  ISO: 400

f/22.0  1/40  ISO: 3200

And that's pretty much it. I noticed that metering off of different objects really does make a difference. I spent plenty of time trying to figure out what I was metering off of that was causing me to over or under expose my picture. I'm so grateful for a patient subject. I can also see a serious difference between the different aperture categories. Some of these pictures make it a little hard to tell what the difference is, but when I see it full screen, I can tell.

Also, can I just say how weird it is to post pictures without even introducing them to photoshop? Can't wait to hear your feedback!

McKenna's Senior Pictures: Sneak Peek!

McKenna is fantastic. I've known her forever, and she's always friendly, happy, and fun. So when she asked me to do some senior pictures for her, I immediately said yes! I had so many ideas, there just wasn't enough light. So we're going to go again sometime! I can't wait! But these are some of my favorites from our shoot earlier this week.