Camera Functions

Digital Cameras are available from lots of different companies and come in different shapes and sizes, however the basic camera functions are the same. There are functions that are common in photography. These are:

  1. Aperture
  2. Shutter Speed
  3. Depth of Field
  4. Exposure
  5. ISO

Aperture

This refers to the size of opening within the camera lens that allows light to enter the camera. You can shrink or enlarge the size of the aperture to allow more or less light to reach the camera sensor. Aperture effects the brightness or exposure of the photograph taken, because of the variation in size. Aperture can also be known as f- stop, examples are f/16 (small) and f/2 (large).

Shutter Speed

This refers to the length of time in which the shutter is open, allowing the sensor to be exposed to light. The speed is measured in fractions of a second e.g. 1/500. The faster the shutter opens and closed the less light hits the sensor. Shutter speed will change the brightness of a photograph and create different effects by either freezing action or blurring motion.

Depth of Field

This refers to how much of a photograph is in focus or appears sharp from the front to the back. This is controlled by both aperture and lens magnification. A "shallow/thin" depth of field will mean that the background is completely out of focus. A "deep/large" depth of field is where both the foreground and the background are sharp.

Exposure

This refers to the amount of light that reaches the sensor, it impacts how bright or dark your photographs appear. The more you expose the sensor to light, the lighter the photograph will be. The less light the darker the photograph will be.

ISO

This refers to a camera setting that will brighten or darken a photograph. If you increase the ISO setting the photograph will become gradually lighter. Examples of ISO are ISO 200, ISO 400, when you double your ISO speed, you double the brightness of the photograph.