36 Nebraskaland • June 2021
ave you ever wondered why the photos you take at dusk turn
out grainy or blurry? Why is it that only the left ear of your
deer photo is sharp and the rest of the scene is out of focus?
Simply put, your camera doesn't see the world like you do.
The fi rst installment of this series, released in the May
2021 edition, covered mainly fi eld of view and focus, but also
mentioned depth of fi eld. This time, we'll explore depth of
fi eld further, but in the context of exposure and the settings
that control it. As a reminder, depth of fi eld is the distance
between the nearest and farthest objects away from you that
appear in focus simultaneously. In other words, there is a
limited range of space between you and the horizon that can
be in focus when you take a photo.
The Shutter Speed/Aperture Tradeoff
Depth of fi eld is infl uenced by the focal length of a lens
and the proximity of your subject. Within those contexts,
though, you also can also control depth of fi eld by changing
the aperture size (the opening through which light passes
into the camera) in a camera's lens. A smaller hole creates
greater depth of fi eld than a bigger one. In addition to altering
the depth of fi eld, however, that aperture also infl uences
exposure, or the amount of light per unit area that hits the
sensor of your camera (or fi lm if you're a Luddite or artisan).
A big hole lets in more light than a small hole, and more light
makes a brighter image.
What if you need a bigger aperture but don't want the image
to be brighter? Fortunately, there is a second regulator of light
that allows you to change the aperture without your image
becoming too bright or too dark — the shutter speed. The
shutter speed of a camera is the amount of time the "door"
of the camera stays open and allows light to pass into the
camera. A faster shutter speed lets less light in than a slower
shutter speed because it opens and closes the shutter more
quickly. Fast shutter speeds also help capture sharp images of
moving objects like running deer or swaying fl owers.
On your camera, shutter speed increments and aperture
increments (f/stops) are complementary. If you want a
diff erent shutter speed or aperture setting, but don't want
Your Camera
Doesn't See
Like You Do
Part 2 of 3
Story and photos by Chris Helzer
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