Photography 101: What is Shutter Speed?

cover photo credit: rynharrison, natecharrison.com

Shutter Speed is the third out of the three cornerstones of photography, the other two being ISO and Aperture. With the shutter speed parameter one can achieve many great effects that might seem magical. Have you ever seen the picture of the freeway where there is no cars seen but just two big rivers of light -white and red – flowing together? Or you’ve probably seen how the drop of water looks in its beautiful geometrical shape before it touches the background, haven’t you? These photos are achievable due to the wizardry of the shutter speed! Let’s take a closer look at the technical aspects of it and its application.

Captured and taken from Robin Wong’s blog

CAMERA SHUTTER

A camera shutter is a plate or a curtain that covers the sensor from the light and only opens when the “shutter button” is fired. On the DSLR cameras the shutter is the mirror that switches from bouncing the light to the viewfinder while keeping the sensor in the dark to the open position, revealing the sensor to the light for a certain period of time while temporarily interrupting the view of the viewfinder. The light passing through the lens aperture is being captured by the sensor with the certain sensitivity called ISO. This chain of reaction is the foundation of the art of capturing the light – the photography.

SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speed, also known as “exposure time”, stands for the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera sensor. If the shutter speed is fast, lets say over a 1/1000 of a second, it can help to freeze action completely, as seen with the drop of water before it hits the surface. If the shutter speed is slow, it can create an effect called “motion blur”, where moving objects appear blurred along the direction of the motion. While the example of two rivers of light flowing up and down the freeway is an instance of a very slow or “long” shutter speed (1,2,5,15 seconds), the effect of motion blur is also used very often in ads of cars and motorbikes, where a sense of speed and motion is imitated by intentionally blurring the spinning wheels.

Taken from thenextweb.com

Also the landscape photographers intentionally use slow shutter speeds to create a sense of motion on rivers and waterfalls, while keeping everything else in focus.

Taken from Youtube

MEASURING SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a second. For example 1/2 means a half of a second, while 1/150 means one one-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second. Most modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras can handle shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th of a second and faster. The longest shutter speed on most cameras is typically 30 seconds. There is also a bulb mode where the shutter speed is as big as the period of pressing the shutter button.

Taken from snap snap snap

FAST, SLOW and LONG

Fast shutter speed does not have a set number. It is what it takes to freeze the action of the subject. For people the 1/250 might be more than enough, for birds 1/1000 is a good number to start with.

Taken from Photography Life

Slow shutter speed is also a relative term. It is what it takes to capture the motion without introducing the blur or a camera shake. Some lenses, however, aid to avoid the shake by having an image stabilization or “vibration reduction” technologies installed within lens. And long shutter speeds are typically above 1 second, when you have to use a tripod to get acceptably sharp images (for low-light/night photography or to capture movement).

SETTING THE SHUTTER SPEED

Most cameras handle shutter speeds automatically through in-camera metering. When the camera is set to “Auto” mode, both shutter speed and aperture are automatically selected by the camera. When you shoot in “Aperture Priority” mode, you set the lens aperture, while the camera automatically sets the shutter speed. On the other hand, setting the camera to “Shutter Priority” lets you control the shutter speed while the camera takes care of the aperture. Also the “Manual” mode is a complete autopilot OFF mode where you get to control and set all parameters manually (duh?). It is a common practice to leave the camera on “aperture priority” and have the camera control the shutter speed. Take a look at the video below posted by Apalapse that explains the Shutter Speed in a very easy to grasp way!

Erikson Erise and his friends

How fun can it be to invite a few friends over and had a series of portraits taken in a perfect sunlight condition. Photographer Erikson Erise showed us that it can be actually very fun!

Erikson Erise and his friends -wrongron, Wrong Ron, Studio Photography, Stage A, shot at FD Photo Studio, rental stages, Photoshop, Photoshoot, photography services, photographer, modeling, Los Angeles, headshots, FD photo studio, Erikson Erise, DTLA, blog, !done, !Av2

Here is what you need to know about the photographer:

“Erikson Erise is a portrait photographer based in Los Angeles, California. When I’m not taking photos, you’ll usually catch me hanging out at pop culture conventions, catching up on new books, or cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway.”

Find out more about Erikson Erise via his INSTAGRAM and WEBSITE pages.

The crew has chosen Stage A due to its size and affordability. Nevertheless, this Stage provides outstanding natural lighting conditions where there is a direct sunlight in the morning through north and east-facing windows, and beautifully soft indirect light as the day goes on. Equipped with all of the same great gear that’s included with all of our studios – strobes, light modifiers, radio trigger, and paper backdrops – it’s a wonderful place to be able to achieve different looks all in the same place. Visit Stage A on our website to learn more.

Aaron Carter in FD Photo Studio

Pop Star Aaron Carter came to stage B to update his Instagram profile pic and switch it bright, sensual and romantic photo. Does it reflect his approach to music and singing? We certainly think so! The MUA for the shoot was Sophie Leonard. Have a listen to Aaron Carter‘s songs on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon. Follow the artist on his INSTAGRAM and TWITTER profiles. Stage B features all black walls and ceiling, with capabilities to completely shut off the natural window light. Equipped with black, gray, and white background paper, three strobe lights and numerous modifiers for your choice this stage is all you need for a perfect, intimate, creative environment. To check the availability for this stage as well as find more helpful information about our rental please see the WEBSITE.

by Wrong Ron

Team FLY MEAN GO for PROMO magazine

The team of industry professionals visited stage F to shoot series of stunning, electrifying, pink -infused fashion shots for the PROMO Magazine. Setting up a theme with toy flamingo props and emphasizing the birds natural color with matching backdrops and outfits the session has resulted in the unity of model’s looks, MU work, the outfit and framework. A few words about how the photoshoot came to be:

“I really got inspired after my recent trip to San Diego Zoo Park. I saw that beautiful flamingos and decided to order artificial birds right away. This is how it started. Now i have series of photos matching this idea. I’m planning to submit and drop every new project like that monthly.”

The PHOTOGRAPHER of the session was Sana Nodelman. Have a look at her INSTAGRAM and WEBSITE for more amazing work. The STYLIST of the Fly Mean Go was Mari Kurs. Make sure to check Mari’s INSTAGRAM and WEBSITE for daily updates and upcoming projects. The MUA of the shoot, Tetiana Kazak can be reached through her INSTAGRAM and YOUTUBE channels. The MODEL of the session was gorgeous Brittany Martinez representing Otto Models.

StageF was used for this team’s creative session. The studio is the smallest space we currently offer for our clients. Yet it is one of the most brightest stages with the tremendous amount of natural light coming from North West. It has gained a nickname – “light box” by some of our regulars and it truly fulfills it at any time of the day from dawn until dusk. This studio also features two section laminate floor of white and dark color for your creative needs. As with any of our stages, Studio F comes with 3 strobe lights already included in the hourly rate and backdrop seamless paper installed. Take a closer look HERE.

by Wrong Ron

Pants are for Losers! – says Eva Catherine

Unstoppable Eva Catherine takes the best of the world and showcases it on her fashion blog called “The Indie Gypsie”. Being spotlighted a few times in out previous blog posts, this fashionista has already made a few bold and fun statements with her outfits and yet now is making another one – Pants are for losers! If you have not already, check out The Indie Gypsie Blog and Eva Catherine’s INSTAGRAM.

Pants are for Losers! - says Eva Catherine -wrongron, Wrong Ron, The Indie Gypsie, Stage Art 3, shot at FD Photo Studio, Rose wall, props, Photoshop, Photoshoot, photography services, photographer, FD photo studio, Eva Catherine, DTLA, blog, bathtub, Art Studios, !done, !Art3

Stage Art 3 is one of our most popular stages. Featuring shot perfect props such as an elegant white-and-gold chair with a mirror as well as a luxurious bathtub, this stage is always on a high demand. Art 3 now also presents a gorgeous rose wall for your unrivaled, outstanding background setting. Besides, this studio is supplied with a seamless backdrop paper of black,grey and white color and studio lighting found in all of our spaces, promoting it as a very flexible creative space. For pictures and more information about stage Art 3 check out our WEBSITE.

by Wrong Ron

Alina Isabella Mason, 5 y.o. fashionista

Which stage out of 16 that we currently offer would have an appearance of the fairy tale where a magical, romantic and tender photoshoot can take place?

That is right, it is Art 3 stage.

To back this statement up we do not need to show a lot of evidence. One photoshoot with marvelous, adorable 5 year old trend setter Alinaizzybella is enough to erase any doubt.

Celebrating her birthday, Alina dressed stunningly will melt everybody’s heart.

Alina Isabella Mason, 5 y.o. fashionista -wrongron, Wrong Ron, Stage Art 3, shot at FD Photo Studio, Rose wall, props, Photoshop, Photoshoot, photography services, photographer, FD photo studio, DTLA, blog, bathtub, Art Studios, Alora Safari Couture Designs, Alinaizzybella, Abella Vida Photography, !done, !Art3v2

A little background info about Alina:

“Alina better known as Alinaizzybella is a young trend setting fashionista. At only 5 She loves being in front of the camera rocking out in her fun outfits. And already was invited to walk the runway for NYFW spring 2017 for a kids couture line, making her one of the youngest in the show. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for this little chica from the East Side.”

Follow this 5 year old princess on INSTAGRAM for more cute pictures. The DRESS was provided by Alora Safari Couture Designs. The PHOTOGRAPHER of the birthday shoot was Karina from Abella Vida Photography.

Stage Art 3 is truly one of the pearls of our studio. Featuring thematic furniture of white and gold color and antique look that beautifully coincides with a rose wall covered completely in red and white flowers this stage brings both the uniqueness and versatility. As any of other 11 studios we provide this stage is equipped with three paper backdrops of white, black and grey color ready for your shoot. Art 3 has amazing natural lighting conditions. However, if you require the help of the strobe lights, we have 3 of them installed and included in the hourly rate, thus making it as a very flexible creative space. For pictures and more information about stage Art 3 check out our WEBSITE.

by Wrong Ron

Photography 101: What is Aperture?

Last week we talked about one of three main characteristics of the photography – ISO. Today we will explore another pillar each photo is based on – aperture.

Aperture is the most creative tool out of three you can play with due to its ability to add dimension by blurring background or bringing everything in focus.

What is Aperture?

Aperture is the hole in lens through which the light travels to camera sensor. This hole can either dilate or contract by using a mechanism built in the lens. The more its dilated, the more light comes in, the bigger the aperture.

The design of it was taken from the human eye which works exactly the same way. If you ever paid attention to somebody’s eye once you turn off the light in a room you would see how the pupil expands in order to gather more light and try to see through the dimmed environment. Same goes with aperture. So if you shooting night time or in a bad lighting condition, you would need higher aperture so the camera could “see” the picture.

Size of Aperture

The aperture is measured in F-numbers of F-stops. The smaller the F-stop the bigger the aperture and vice versa. It might seem confusing at first and hard to remember but once you get your hands on the camera and play with aperture settings you will get a hang of it right away and see that for example, f/1.4 is larger than f/2.0 and much larger than f/8.0.

Taken from Wikipedia

Depth of Field

The depth of field is the most fun thing you can get out of changing your aperture. It is the area of the image that appears to be sharp. A large f-number such as f/32, (smaller aperture) will bring all foreground and background objects in focus, while a small f-number such as f/1.4 will isolate the foreground from the background by making the foreground objects sharp and the background blurry.

Taken from Exposure Guide

As you can seen the picture above, the difference between changing aperture from f/2 to f/16 is drastic and the background with the bigger aperture (f/2) gets really blurry.

Lens Apertures

Ever heard when photographers start bragging about how fast their lens is? The term “fast” applies to the maximum aperture the lens can offer which is usually f/1.8 or f/2.5. Lens with these f numbers are considered to fast lens because it can pass through the most amount of light to the camera. Usually the fast lens is the choice of landscape photographers because in a dim lighting conditions like shooting the night sky it requires to get as much light as possible without bumping up the ISO and introducing distortion. Every lens has a limit on how large or how small the aperture can get. If you take a look at the specifications of your lens, it should say what the maximum (lowest f-number) and minimum apertures (highest f-number) of your lens are.

The minimum aperture is not that important, because almost all modern lenses can provide at least f/16 as the minimum aperture, which is typically more than enough for everyday photography needs.

Next time when you purchase or rent a lens, take a look at what aperture it can provide. Usually the lens that has the best aperture are “fixed” or “prime” lens. Fixed lens cannot zoom in and out so you would need to physically need to move the camera closer to the object in order to get a closer look. The zoom lenses on the other hand have a lower maximum aperture (usually) and also change the f/number to a bigger one (smaller aperture) once you zoom in depending on how the lens was built. The more expensive lens ($1000 up) might have a set aperture regardless of your focal length.

Check out this great blog post on exposure by photographytalk.com called The Exposure Triangle Explained in Plain English

For more information and awesome animated instructions take a look at this video made by Apalapse

How to use a CYC wall #2

cover photo taken by: atom.toma

What is a CYC wall? How do you use it? Many of our clients who are new to photography do not know what cyclorama wall is for and usually get the same canned response – it is the infinity wall, the one that bends at the bottom. While this short description is an accurate and concise one, it does not explain what the CYC is for. Let’s dive into it.

Photographer: @kscatesstudios , Makeup: @withlovebyk , Wardrobe: @bridgettedenise , Hair: @raelynnhairstudio , Model: @torinicolebass @nousmodels

WHAT THE CYCLORAMA WALL IS.

A CYC, cyclorama or an infinity wall all mean the same thing. It is a huge wall of one color that is built to have no defined corners. Thus when the light hits the wall it does not reflect the depth of the background. No corners – no depth. Usually cyc walls are painted white but for film production there are green screen huge CYCs built to make it easy to replace the vast space in the frame in with the special effects. If there was no CYC there will be no Frodo jumping over fallen bridge and Spiderman flying through high risers.

Photo taken by: starstylistsalonnet

WHAT THE CYC IS FOR.

E-commerce

CYC wall is perfect for shooting e-commerce since it can provide an evenly lit background or the feeling of no background at all. In this case you will need to light up the cyc to eliminate the shadow caused by the key light on the model. You may use 4 lights – 2 from each side positioned in a 45 degree angle so the wall can be evenly lit. However, depending on the setup and the size of the modifier, 2 lights – 1 from each side might be enough. Make sure to separate the background light with the key light by using V flats so no spillage will occur.

Photo taken for telegraphaveshop

Fashion

Shooting fashion usually has some dramatic look and a play of shadows. In this case A cyc wall can be lit up with colored gels or patterned screens. Also it might be just one light hitting the wall from the side or top/bottom to create a silhouette behind the model. There even might be no light at all for the background to bring in complete darkness behind.

Photo taken by welcometoshade

Creative Approach

Lastly, a CYC wall itself is a peculiar structure that you might not see that often in a real life. Our society likes to confine itself in corners. So when you see a curve, you might just use it to your advantage and experiment with an orthodox positioning of the camera.

How to use a CYC wall #2 -wrongron, Wrong Ron, Tutorial, tips, Studio Photography, shot at FD Photo Studio, rental stages, Photoshop, Photoshoot, Photography blog, photographer blog, photo gallery, paid photography, modeling, Los Angeles, infinity wall, How To, History of photography, guide, gear, gallery, FD photo studio, fashion photographer, exhibits, exhibition, DTLA, cyclorama, cyc wall, CYC, blog

Photo taken by @oreeeo with @maggiekeating

Here at FD photo studio, we currently offer stage C with a big CYC wall. Take a look at stage C for more information, availability and prices on our website.

LA Soul Headshots starting their portrait series

New to the industry headshot company called LA Soul Headshots had a recent photo session in our studios. Applying minimum of post editing photographers set the trend for their company – real photos of real people. A short description of LA Soul Headshots:

“AT LASOULHEADSHOTS OUR GOAL IS TO CAPTURE YOUR UNIQUENESS & BEAUTY Every big star started out small. At LASOULHEADSHOTS we understand the struggles of humble beginnings, this is why we have come into business. We are committed to give aspiring actors and business professionals in Los Angeles great quality headshots at affordable rates.”

Pro Stage I has undergone a recent update and now features a Old Glory Red Wall with Silver Fainting Couch. In addition to that, standard photo backdrops of black, white and grey color, and studio lighting for stills are also included in the hourly rate. Make sure to catch the coolness of this space with your photo and video cameras and book with us NOW.