Cut through the Techy Stuff and Learn Photography the Easy Way

Last week we talked about the difference between a snapshot and a photograph.

And to clarify a little more .... I took a snapshot and a creative photograph of the same thing.

I fell in love with a little teddy bear in a Charity Shop and thought I'd spend the few pence on it and place him on my desk amongst my pics of my grandchildren.

So first I took a snapshot of this little guy on my desk ....

Remember for these blogs, in order to hopefully give a better understanding, I'm not editing my images at all, just uploading and resizing so that the images aren't too large for upload.

Snapshot ISO800 F 5.6 with 45mm lens
As much as I love my grandson behind little ted, I think this little fluffy chap warrants an image on his own.

Consequently I thought about the image I'd like to create.

My camera is still set on Aperture Priority

I got in much closer and changed my aperture to 1.8 to give Ted a real up close and personal photograph and create a soft and fluffy creative image.

Close up at ISO800 F 1.8 on 45mm lens
You see by setting my aperture wide open as far as it could go, which was 1.8 on this lens, it creates a lovely soft milky look to the image.

This is why I love aperture priority, all you have to worry about is deciding what you want to be sharp,  placing your focus point (in this instance it was the nose of the teddy) ensure you have enough light, set your ISO and off you go.

Close up with iPhone

You can do quite a good example of a fluffy ted on your iPhone too.
Sitting at my desk and I've done just that.  
Not quite the milky effect I like, but as far as iPhones go, not a bad effort.

iPhone close up image
Did you notice?  Little ted has a bit more of a yellow colour cast in the iPhone image.  That's because I switched the light on!

I'm trying not to rush through everything and hoping to keep things simple cutting through the techy stuff and learning photography the easy way.

But ......

How are you all getting on?

Are you ready to move on to more settings yet?

I think we may just do a bit more with Aperture.  I will post a few more images next week with settings to help you a little more and then maybe we'll move on.  How does that sound?

Quote of the week.
'Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase'
Percy W Harris

So keep on practicing.  Have a great week.

Jan x