Mar. 03, 2026
I get asked a lot of questions about photography and I love it! It is exciting to see people trying to learn about photography. Here are 10 of the most common photography questions that I get asked all the time.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website.
This is all about your lens and your choice of aperture. The lower you set your aperture (f-stop) the more blur you will introduce into your photo. For that dreamy blur you will want to be using a prime lens that has a low aperture threshold of at least f2.8 but you will do better with an aperture of f1.8. Check out this article on prime lenses to learn more.
Choosing the correct shutter speed is dependent on what you are trying to do. If you are trying to capture motion blur you will want a lower shutter speed, probably less than 1/60. If you are trying to freeze motion or take tack sharp photos you will want a fast shutter, meaning no less than 1/250 (I usually don’t go below 1/500). If you are trying to capture light trails you will want a super slow shutter. Take your shutter down to at least 2 seconds. Check out this article on getting tack sharp photos, or this one on capturing sparkler light trails for more information.
Subjects being soft or out of focus is probably the number one question I get and really the solution is in the answer to question number 2. It’s all about your shutter speed! Your shutter speed needs to be faster than 1/250 to get tack sharp photos. The reason behind this is because unless you are shooting a statue and/or you have the steady hands of a neurosurgeon the subject is always moving and so are your hands. Choosing a fast shutter speed will freeze the motion allowing the photo to be tack sharp.
Another favorite question! In my opinion the first lens you should buy after buying your camera is the nifty 50. It is called this because it is one of the most versatile lenses for both crop sensor and full frame cameras. The nifty 50 is a prime 50mm lens with an aperture capability of f1.4 or f1.8. This allows you to get that dreamy blurry background you have asked about above. Here is an article that goes over various lenses and how to choose the right one for your shooting situation.
Grainy photos happen for a variety of reasons, but the main one is basically your ISO. If your ISO is super high, say above ISO your photos will start to have grain. The way to combat this is to play with your aperture and shutter speed so that you can lower your ISO and reduce the noise. The second reason your photos may be grainy is the post-processing you are doing. If you have accidentally underexposed or overexposed your photo and are trying to fix it by reducing the exposure in a post-processing software such as Lightroom, you will automatically introduce noise. The more you lower or raise your exposure in post-processing the more noise you will introduce.
White balance is the color temperature of your photos. When you are shooting in different lighting scenarios you are technically shooting in different color temperatures. A photo shot outside on a sunny day will have a different color temp than a photo shot indoors under incandescent light. White balance is how you tell your camera what lighting condition you are in. You can leave your white balance on auto and let the camera try and figure it out or you can set it to your specific scenario. The other option is you leave your white balance on Auto and then fix it in post-processing. This can be done without introducing any noise at all so this is actually what I prefer to do. One less setting to worry about!
This is a big question for most newbie photographers. RAW files are large photo files that contain a ton of data to make the picture. The extensions for these files are dependent on the brand of camera you have. These files cannot be shared or sent to printers as is but must be converted to jpeg files using a post-processing software such as Lightroom before sharing. These files are best used by photographers who are going to do a lot of editing after the shoot and have a ton of storage space. JPEG files are compressed photo files. They don’t need to be processed by a photo editing software to be used straight out of camera, although they can be edited. They are also smaller files that don’t take up as much space on hard drives or cloud storage systems.
The simple answer is no. You can get great photos out of the priority modes on your DSLR such as Aperture Priority or Shutter Speed Priority. Manual mode simply allows you to have control over all the settings on the camera. The only modes you will want to avoid are the Auto modes. Auto mode on a DSLR camera is about the same as using the camera on your . Here is a great article explaining the shooting modes on the Canon and Nikon.
To get out of a photography rut you must pick up your camera and look at your scene or subjects in a different light. There are some simple things you can do to change up what you are shooting.
Here is an article on using objects to shoot through to give you some creative ideas.
You should try to avoid using your on-camera flash at all costs. The reason is the on-camera flash will only shoot light in one direction, primarily at your subject. This will create a bright spot on your subject and look like manufactured light. To avoid using on-camera flash try raising your ISO or turning on lights in your scene if you can. If you really must use the flash try diffusing it with a tissue or napkin wrapped around the flash. This will make the light more even and less harsh on your subject. To learn more tips on avoiding on-camera flash read this!
Did I miss a question you have? If so, leave me a comment. I love helping people on their photography journey.
Articles You May Be Interested In:
Choosing a great filmmaking camera is no easy task. With new cameras released almost weekly, it can be overwhelming to find the best option for your needs. So the next time you’re in the market for a new filmmaking camera ask yourself these ten questions:
Unless you are buying an all-in-one camcorder style camera, you are going to be investing a lot of money in lenses. In fact, most filmmakers have more money invested in their lens arsenal than their camera bodies. So when you’re looking to purchase a filmmaking camera, you want to take a look at the available lenses and their corresponding prices. For example, lenses used on a Sony E mount lenses tend to be much more expensive then those found on Canon Cameras.
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Linhuitong Information Technology.
Back in the good ol’ days (2 years ago) there was a huge discrepancy between lens options for Canon cameras and lens options for MFT cameras, but that’s simply not the case today. Sure, Canon has more lenses… but you probably won’t be limited as a filmmaker if you stick to MFT.
More often than not, any cinematic footage you see was shot on a camera with a high-dynamic range. If you’re not already familiar with the term dynamic range, it’s essentially the camera’s ability to capture both light and dark areas at the same time. The higher the number, the better the camera’s ability to capture contrasted images. Good cameras will typically have a dynamic range of 12 stops or higher. For example, the ARRI Alexa (which is used in 90% of Hollywood films) has a dynamic range of 13.5.
If you want the look of your footage to go from video to film, I highly recommend investing in dynamic range. If you’re looking for an affordable camera with a decent dynamic range, check out the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera which has a dynamic range of 13 for less than $1,000.
Your camera’s ability to record well in low light is incredibly important, especially because cinematic footage tends to be darker than commercial footage. Just because the camera is capable of producing an image in low light doesn’t mean the footage will be usable. If you’re going to buy a camera because of its low light capabilities, download test footage before you commit… don’t simply watch YouTube videos. YouTube and Vimeo highly compress their videos, so there might be a lot of grain in the low-light image that you can’t see in online test footage.
A decent low-light camera can also open up a lot of possibilities for you in the lens department, as you might be able to get by with a kit lens if your camera is capable of getting great low-light images at higher f-stops.
Not all file formats are created equal. When it comes to recording footage, the file format will determine how much control you will have over your footage in post-production. Sure, great cinematographers can get fantastic footage on set, but the footage doesn’t become cinematic until it’s been graded in a post-production software. This is where codecs (or a lack of codecs) will come into play.
File formats like H264 and AVC-HD are incredibly difficult to color correct and grade in post. However, formats like ProRes or even RAW (technically not a format) give editors much more control over color, which will lead to more cinematic images.
Cameras are expensive. So when you’re looking for a new camera, you need to take longevity into consideration. For example, with 4K quickly becoming more and more popular, it would stand to reason that 4K footage will be the norm in just a few years. So instead of purchasing an HD camera that will quickly lose value, maybe it makes more sense to go for 4K.
Cameras like the Blackmagic URSA have interchangeable sensors that can be easily replaced when a new sensor is released. This makes the URSA very future-proof and will subsequently save you a lot of money in the future now that you don’t have to buy a new camera body.
This may seem like a silly question to ask, but modern cards can get really expensive. Sure, SD cards and CF cards can be purchased for under $200, but cameras like the URSA mini take C-Fast cards (not to be confused with CF cards). C-Fast cards start at about $200 and can easily cost you more than $500 a card if you get at 256GB card. If you’re shooting on RAW, you could easily fill up three 256GB cards on a shoot — which is at least $1,500!
There’s a lot to be said about ease of use when it comes to filmmaking cameras. If you’re shooting a narrative film, it’s usually not a big deal to set up a complex rig while on set. But if you plan to shoot something like a documentary, you may not have the time to put together a convoluted rig. Ask yourself:
Little annoyances will become incredible pain-points after a few shoots. Take time to really consider whether the camera is helpful for your individual needs.
Most filmmakers record audio separately from video when shooting a film. This is typically for quality and convenience sake. But any indie filmmaker who buys a camera that requires an off-camera mic to get great audio is instantly backing themselves into a corner.
From now on, you will either need a second person with you at all times to record audio, or you must deal with two separate devices on a single rig. It’s going to be a pain if you shoot normal stuff like weddings and events in addition to films.
Having an external monitor on set is vital. If you don’t have an external monitor set up, you could very well miss something that you couldn’t see on your small camera screen. Plus, having an external monitor will help crew members visualize the finished shot when doing set design and lighting. There’s also the added flexibility of using external field recorders on set when you can output high-quality footage.
Crop factor is often overlooked by beginners when they’re looking for a filmmaking camera. Some people say that getting a full-frame camera is not that important, but I disagree. A camera with a bad crop factor like the Blackmagic Pocket Camera (2.88x) will make it nearly impossible to get wide-angle shots. You’re limited to either using super-wide angle lenses or Speed Boosters — and both options can cost a lot of money. If you decide to go the full-frame route, you won’t regret it.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Camera Modules.
Previous: None
Next: Wie löst ein Niedriglicht-Kameramodul Probleme bei schlechten Lichtverhältnissen?
If you are interested in sending in a Guest Blogger Submission,welcome to write for us!
All Comments ( 0 )