h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Picture Perfect - A853139
Author: cl zoomer - U200838

I thought that a little of my experience might help people who what to take better film, digital, or video pictures of individuals and friends. I have tried to keep it as simple as possible without explainations that would require formulae or diagrams.

Hi zoomer,

Interesting article, but I think it could do with a bit more explanation. A layman with little knowledge of photography would find it difficult to follow as you introduce concepts and jargon without any explanation. You explain depth of field with another obscure phrase, plane of focus which isn’t strictly correct. A better explanation of what depth of field means would make it easier to understand.

“In film or digital 'still' photography this is achieved through the exposure and in video photography it is done with shutter. Ideally a 'wide open' f-stop is preferable, so set the exposure or shutter to achieve that.”

You seem to be using exposure and shutter as being interchangeable. Exposure is a function of shutter speed and aperture. Vary either one and you alter the exposure. So in this instance we need a wide open aperture and the shutter speed set accordingly. Makes little difference whether it is still or video, digital or film.

A wide open F Stop isn’t strictly correct. You can have a wide open aperture which is produced by the smallest F Stop. The larger the aperture, equivalent to the smallest F Stop, will produce a small depth of field and conversely the smallest aperture and the largest F stop will produce the largest depth of field.

You might mention what a multi-flash slave setup actually is instead of leaving the layman to guess.

Its not Distortion that is the problem when taking portraits. The standard 50 mm lens on a 35 mm camera produces the same angle of view as the human eye without distortion. The reason for using a telephoto lens, 125 mm is the recommended focal length for portraits, is that it allows the photographer to stand back from the subject, thus reducing any self-consciousness in the subject. A head and shoulders shot with a 50mm lens is a bit in your face.

Regards


Stuart

Plane of focus can be used as reference to either the focal plane of the camera or the plane which is in focus in an extremely short depth of field. I thought I was clear that exposure was a reference to still photography and is only the length of time the shutter is open while shutter when used in video refers to the number of times it exposes per second. They are both shutters but I was using exposure to differentiate, you are right I should use the more technical term aperture.

"Wide open" iris settings are not a reference to the f-stop which is a numerical value based on an inverse logorithmic scale. It refers to the fact the the iris is in fact wide open.

A definition of a multiflash setup is not the point of the submission which was to simply explain how to achieve decent pictures without expensive or complicated equipment. Perhaps I should refer to what a non-professional might see at a professional film portrait studio.

The distortion I mentioned with these lenses was in fact due to the closeness of the wide-angle lens and the distance of the telephoto. I merely suggested that both those situations were wrong and would produce distortion. They were meant to make a point, that the 50 or 55 mm lens that comes standard with some 35 mm cameras or the zoom lens of a 3/4 ' chip video camera that starts at say 7 or even 5 mm can easily distort if used improperly. If I wanted to teach professionals I wouldn't need to mention it but I wanted to explain something about the 'sweet spot' in the middle of optics.

Made some changes based on some of your suggestions. Thank you.

More revisions. Do you thing I should provide definitions of f-stop, aperture, depth of field? I was hoping that it needn't be so complicated.

*wanders in*

.....

*wanders out again when he realises the entry isn't about the film with Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Bacon*

*sticks head round door as an afterthought*

Could I suggest that your title is a little misleading?

B

It is hereby changed to *Picture Perfection* although that is a little pompous, what would you suggest?

I was thinking something really gerund (sorry - my word of the day, 'gerund') and boring. Such as 'Camera Optics and the Perfect Picture'

B

if you really think so...it seems *very* gerund to me (or at least what I imagine that word is until I have the time to actually go look it up). I was thinking of something that ends in *ing* like 'Portraiting' or some such.

The Editors like boring titles, though. There's a bunch about it in the <./>SubEditors-Style</.> page.

B

And so it shall be... If there are no other suggestions?