lightstalking.com - Weekly Assignment

There are some photographs every photographer, regardless of level, should know how to take. These are some of the most popular methods of taking photos.

1. THE BACKGROUND BLUR SHOT- known as "shallow depth of field". This shows you understand the relationship between sharpness and blur, how it works in a photograph, and creating it. You create this photo by placing your subject of interest inside the area of sharpness, while placing your background behind.
2. THE EVERYTHING-SHARP PHOTO- You should aim to get all your photos sharp without the use of the flash, because that is a great achievement. Using a wide depth of field will make everything sharp at infinity, meaning you create a photograph  where everything looks sharp because the depth of field is so wide there is no room for blur. Moving subjects are an exception which create a blur. Hyper-focal Distance is important subject to tackle when creating photographs using wide depth.
3. MOTION BLUR- A common favorite is capturing subjects in motion to the point that they blur in the scene, which can be achieved by using a slow shutter speed. You can capture objects such as light trails, light painting, and turning the sea into a milk-like silky form. To learn this you must learn slow shutter techniques, and knowledge in the fundamental details of focusing and depth of field since sharpness is still very important. Even outdoors at 12:00, an experienced photographer can create an effect with the right tools, setting, and knowledge.
4. FREEZE MOTION- The idea of a photo finish uses the technique called stop motion/ freeze motion. This is when you freeze a action shot. This technique can be used with the aide of flash or studio strobes or it can be done using natural light at the right time of day.
5. THE GRAINY SHOT- Grain was basically dependent on the ASA (ISO) of the film used. Digital wasn't able to effectively replicate this effect as it couldn't handle dark tomes very well when you chose a high ISO. If you zoom in close enough to see the pixels, you will notice a little bit of pixel merging happening which can be mistaken as being slightly blurry even if your photo is actually sharp. The secret is in the ability of a photographer to make judgement calls as to when is the best time to use a specific ISO setting based on luminance.