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Here are some ways to train yourself to see with camera vision.
Compare
In my classes, I photograph a side-lighted soda can with a digital camera.
My students can then compare what they see with their eyes, with the photography vision of the image on a monitor.
You can do the same with the previous Play with a Light exercise.
Measure the Brightness Range
Find a scene that has brightly illuminated areas, and areas with dark shadows.
Using the shutter-priority exposure mode (S or Tv), set your shutter to about 1/500th of a second.
Point your camera at different parts of the scene, and write down the f/stop that your camera's light meter selects.
You might end up with a range of apertures like this one:
|
f/4 |
f/5.6 |
f/8 |
f/11 |
f/16 |
f/22 |
Generally, if you have a more than a two-stop difference between the bright and dark areas, you may be disappointed in the resulting photograph.
In the scene, there's a five stop range of brightness:
|
f/4 |
f/5.6 |
f/8 |
f/11 |
f/16 |
f/22 |
|
1 stop |
1 stop |
1 stop |
1 stop |
1 stop |
That's too much contrast for photographic materials to reproduce.
When you encounter a scene with too much contrast, use the techniques on the following pages.
Visual Notes
Be sure to place examples of camera vision into your visual notes notebook.
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