A faded, or too dark, photo is an image taken with an incorrect exposure that is then difficult to correct in post-production phase in a photo editing program. Digital cameras, in most cases, offer two systems to adjust the exposure correctly: the automatic mode, ie the camera does everything by itself, or manually intervene to adjust the settings.
If you are taking your first steps into the world of Seattle Engagement Photography, you could opt for automatic adjustment, but as you become more confident with your camera, there will come a day when you want to have total control of your shots. And everything starts from the exposure and the correct setting of the three parameters that regulate it. Let’s analyze them, then, in detail.
The diaphragm, depending on its opening, determines the amount of light that reaches the sensor during the period in which the shutter remains open. It consists of a slat system that reduces or increases the passage of light based on the settings of the photographer.
The diaphragms use the f/stop unit of measurement that goes from the smallest number that corresponds to the largest opening, to the largest number, which instead indicates the smallest opening. Each increment of f/stop corresponds to 1 stop, and each increment equals double the light.
Attention because closing the diaphragm too much produces diffraction phenomena: better to stay below f/16. If you have set, for a practical example, the f/2.8 aperture will be very open – so the sensor will be hit by a lot of light – while a f/11 setting will let in much less light. In short, the low numbers open the diaphragm, while the high numbers close it.
The diaphragm, or rather its degree of opening, affects the depth of field. Any examples? A very open diaphragm – for example f/1.4 or f/2.0 – is ideal when you want to emphasize a subject by putting it in the foreground with respect to the background, as in a classic portrait or Seattle Engagement Photography.
A closed aperture – for example f/8.0 or f/11 – is to be preferred when you want to expand the area in focus as in a landscape photo. In summary, the largest aperture is open and more light reaches the sensor while decreasing, at the same time, the depth of field. A larger aperture is closed, conversely, it will let in less light but will offer greater depth of field.
Another way to vary the amount of light entering the camera is to use the shutter (or exposure) times. The shutter is a mechanism positioned in front of the sensor that opens for a given amount of set exposure time, to then close and not let more light pass.