A Short Guide To Photography - Minolta DiMAGE S414 Instruction Manual

A SHORT GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography can be a rewarding pursuit. It is a broad and disciplined field that can take years to
master. But the pleasure in making photographs and the joy of capturing a magical moment cannot
be compared. This guide is an introduction to some basic photographic principles.
The lens aperture controls not only exposure, but also depth of field; the area between the closest
and the furthest object in focus. The larger the aperture value, the greater the depth of field and the
longer the shutter speed needed to make the exposure. The smaller the aperture value, the shallower
the depth of field and the faster the shutter speed needed to make the exposure. Usually landscape
photographs use a large depth of field (large aperture value) to keep the foreground and background
in focus, and portraits use a shallow depth of field (small aperture value) to separate the subject from
the background.
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A SHORT GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY
Depth of field also changes with focal
length. The wide-angle position of the lens
has a large depth of field; the telephoto
position has a shallow depth of field.