Lessons
Class Introduction
17:26 2Welcome to Photography
13:08 3Camera Types Overview
02:00 4Viewing Systems
28:43 5Viewing Systems Q&A
08:45 6Lens Systems
32:06 7Shutter Systems
13:17 8Shutter Speeds
10:47Choosing a Shutter Speed
31:30 10Shutter Speeds for Handholding
08:36 11Shutter Speed Pop Quiz
09:06 12Camera Settings
25:35 13General Camera Q&A
14:38 14Sensor Sizes: The Basics
15:33 15Sensor Sizes: Compared
19:10 16Pixels
20:13 17ISO
21:13 18Sensor Q&A
13:34 19Focal Length: Overview
11:09 20Focal Length: Angle of View
15:09 21Wide Angle Lenses
08:48 22Telephoto Lenses
25:23 23Angle of View Q&A
09:29 24Fish Eye Lenses
10:39 25Tilt & Shift Lenses
23:42 26Subject Zone
17:19 27Lens Speed
09:56 28Aperture Basics
08:46 29Depth of Field
21:49 30Aperture Pop Quiz
13:23 31Lens Quality
18:30 32Photo Equipment Life Cycle
03:57 33Light Meter Basics
09:25 34Histogram
15:25 35Histogram Pop Quiz and Q&A
10:58 36Dynamic Range
06:03 37Exposure Modes
15:58 38Manual Exposure
09:38 39Sunny 16 Rule
05:54 40Exposure Bracketing
10:18 41Exposure Values
27:21 42Exposure Pop Quiz
26:43 43Focus Overview
16:15 44Focusing Systems
05:15 45Autofocus Controls
11:56 46Focus Points
07:35 47Autofocusing on Subjects
20:19 48Manual Focus
07:52 49Digital Focusing Assistance
03:40 50Focus Options: DSLR and Mirrorless
04:58 51Shutter Speeds for Sharpness and DoF
05:20 52Depth of Field Pop Quiz
12:14 53Depth of Field Camera Features
04:54 54Lens Sharpness
09:58 55Camera Movement
05:20 56Handheld and Tripod Focusing
04:32 57Advanced Techniques
07:12 58Hyperfocal Distance
06:50 59Hyperfocal Quiz and Focusing Formula
04:36 60Micro adjust and AF Fine Tune
05:34 61Focus Stacking and Post Sharpening
06:00 62Focus Problem Pop Quiz
18:07 63The Gadget Bag: Camera Accessories
25:30 64The Gadget Bag: Lens Accessories
12:46 65The Gadget Bag: Neutral Density Filter
20:43 66The Gadget Bag: Lens Hood and Teleconverters
08:55 67The Gadget Bag: Lens Adapters
05:43 68The Gadget Bag: Lens Cleaning Supplies
04:34 69The Gadget Bag: Macro Lenses and Accessories
15:57 70The Gadget Bag: Flash and Lighting
05:08 71The Gadget Bag: Tripods and Accessories
18:50 72The Gadget Bag: Custom Cases
11:20 7310 Thoughts on Being a Photographer
07:37 74Direct Sunlight
25:04 75Indirect Sunlight
18:49 76Sunrise and Sunset
18:39 77Cloud Light
14:48 78Golden Hour
09:50 79Light Pop Quiz
07:53 80Light Management
14:00 81Artificial Light
13:56 82Speedlights
16:02 83Off-Camera Flash
27:38 84Advanced Flash Techniques
09:49 85Editing Overview
08:24 86Editing Set-up
08:06 87Importing Images
16:45 88Best Use of Files and Folders
20:54 89Culling
20:56 90Develop: Fixing in Lightroom
18:13 91Develop: Treating Your Images
10:53 92Develop: Optimizing in Lightroom
14:51 93Art of Editing Q&A
06:01 94Composition Overview
06:53 95Photographic Intrusions
10:10 96Mystery and Working the Scene
16:18 97Point of View
09:11 98Better Backgrounds
16:02 99Unique Perspective
11:02 100Angle of View
15:06 101Subject Placement
41:14 102Subject Placement Q&A
05:18 103Panorama
07:39 104Multishot Techniques
13:57 105Timelapse
16:13 106Human Vision vs The Camera
20:07 107Visual Perception
08:35 108Visual Balance Test
22:56 109Visual Drama
12:25 110Elements of Design
28:57 111The Photographic Process
12:28 112Working the Shot
27:38 113The Moment
04:42 114One Hour Photo - Colby Brown
1:04:32 115One Hour Photo - John Keatley
1:03:05 116One Hour Photo - Art Wolfe
59:01 117One Hour Photo - Rocco Ancora
1:01:20 118One Hour Photo - Mike Hagen
1:01:20 119One Hour Photo - Lisa Carney
1:00:52 120One Hour Photo - Ian Shive
1:08:00 121One Hour Photo - Sandra Coan
1:10:29 122One Hour Photo - Daniel Gregory
1:06:07 123One Hour Photo - Scott Robert Lim
1:05:41Lesson Info
Lens Speed
So, lens speed. We talked about the focal length. Now it's time to switch over to the other number, and that is the aperture number. And this is the maximum aperture of the lens. So let's just talk about the maximum opening. We'll talk about the actual diaphragm moving in the lens in just a moment. So, the aperture is the opening through which light travels. Alright? How big a hallway is tunneling this light into the camera. And so, lenses come in a variety of apertures, 1.4, down to 5.6, in some cases beyond that. And that is describing the maximum amount of light that you can get through that lens. And that'll be listed right on the lens. It'll have a one, a colon, and then the number. And your phone may even have this written right on the lens right on front, really small. And so this something that is usually written right on the front of the lens somewhere. So, a very common lens is the 50 millimeter 1.4. So let's investigate what exactly does this 1:1.4 mean? So the one, colon, i...
s the one represents the focal length number, so in this case, it means 50. So whatever the focal length is, and that colon, is the divide symbol, and so it basically means we're putting one over this other number and it's just a way of doing it in one line of information. And so in this case, it is 50 millimeters over 1. and if we do that division, 35 millimeters is the maximum opening on this lens. It's not necessarily the size of the front element. It's not the size of the filter. This is not listed on your lens, but it can be very easily figured if you divide the focal length by the aperture. And so in this case, the 50 millimeter lens, if you were to hold it up to the light, you're probably going to see about a 35 millimeter opening as far as how much light is tunneling through that lens. Alright, so that's the 50 millimeter, 1.4. We know that has a 35 millimeter opening. Well, let's apply that same focal length with a different aperture. 50 millimeter, 1.8 lens has a 28 millimeter opening, so it's a little bit smaller in the amount of light that is getting through that particular lens. Now Canon is a nice example because they make three different 50 millimeter lenses with three different aperture settings. The 1.2 has a 42 millimeter opening. And so, different size openings resulting in a different maximum aperture. So now let's take that same aperture of 1. and apply it to a 24 millimeter lens. A 24 millimeter lens has only a 17 millimeter opening, but they let in the same amount of light because they are different focal lengths. Look at a 300, 2.8. It's not a 1.4, it's a 2.8, quite a bit smaller, but it has a huge opening because it has a very long focal length. So focal length is going to be tied into aperture, and they're kind of working together here. So the maximum aperture is the lens's maximum opening. This is what we will call, kind of in lingo, the lens speed. How fast a lens do you have? And so we have lenses of different speeds here. We've got 1.4, 2.8, 3.5 to 4.5, 3.5 to 6.3. And 3.5 to 6.3 is what we would call a slower lens. Now this slow and fast term will depend a little bit on the focal length. But generally speaking, a 1.4 lens is going to be considered a fast lens in every scenario. So the maximum aperture on a zoom lens, this is one of the most common lenses out there, the 18 to 55, the maximum aperture is 3.5 to 5.6. Another common telephoto would be like the 70 to 300, four to 5.6. What this means is that the maximum aperture, the most amount of light that can be let through this lens, it changes, and this tells us what the range is. 3.5 to 5.6, and it changes as you zoom the lens back and forth. And I gotta be honest with you, this is a little frustrating to work with out in the field. When you zoom the lens back and forth and it changes how much light is coming into your camera, these are less expensive to make, and so you're gonna find them, very common, on entry-level equipment. If you want, you can get a fixed maximum aperture lens. It's gonna cost you more money. These are more difficult to make. This is an F/4 example, both from Nikon. And then a 2.8 from Canon. So they are available at usually around these apertures. But they're typically bigger, heavier, and more money. So a fast prime lens. Let's look at some of the fastest prime lenses available. Sigma just introduced a 20 millimeter 1.4. There's a bunch of 24, 1.4s out there. Lots of 35, 1.4s. Canon makes a very cool 85, 1.2, very nice portrait lens. Sony has a 135, 1.8, fastest in that range. And then as we get up to the 200s, 300s, and 400s, Canon and Nikon have pretty competitive models back and forth in that range, all the way up to an 800, 5.6. Leica makes 50 millimeter, 0.95, and then there are some other companies that are making a 40 millimeter, 0.85. So yes, you can go faster than 1.0. It's just a number, and we can have big numbers and we can have small numbers, and that's just a little bit of a smaller number. A fast zoom lens. Generally speaking, for the last 30 years, the 2.8 zoom lens has been considered the fast zoom lens. Kind of the workhorse for most professional photographers is the 24 to 70, 2.8, along with the 70 to 200, 2.8. Very popular combo of lenses. Some wildlife lenses, 200 to 400, F/4. This one is really unusual. A 200 to 500, 2.8. And Sigma also makes a 300-800, 5.6. And we've seen this barrier recently broken. Sigma has brought out a 1.8 zoom lens, which is the only one of its kind out there. Very fast, and that was for crop frame sensors. They brought out one for full frame. It's a 24 to 35, F/2. So you can have a very fast aperture of F/2 and a zoom lens, but it's a very limited zoom range. And it tends to be a little bit of a big lens and a slightly more expensive lens. And so these are the fastest zoom lenses that are available today. So why do photographers get so excited about fast lenses? What is so great about them? Well, there's a lot of things that are very nice about them. First off, the faster lens generally comes from the term that we are able to use faster shutter speeds because the lenses are letting in more light. We're able to use lower ISOs potentially, which is going to increase our image quality. We can shoot under low light conditions, which is really nice so that we might not need a tripod. We can get those shallow depth of field look with these fast lenses. It's gonna be brighter in the viewfinder. This is only for the SLR users. Doesn't really matter on the mirrorless users, but for the SLR users, it is a brighter viewfinder experience, which makes focusing a little bit easier. Typically, because these are letting in more light, it's easier for the focusing systems in the camera because it can just see what's going on more clearly. And while it's not set in stone, typically, these lenses are made with better construction, usually because they are high-end lenses, but it's also because they have less moving parts back and forth. And so they tend to be a little bit more durable. And so I'm not sure if we have any questions on lens speed or the maximum aperture of the lens, but I'll take a quick check to see. Alright, let me grab one from online, John. This is from John Keaty. Can you just again, so it sinks, can you explain what's going on when a variable aperture lens is zoomed? Yeah, and I hate to say this, but I've got a slide for it coming up. Okay, we'll wait for that one. (laughs) It's alright because it was a lot of information. I'm trying to get as smooth of flow as possible, but sometimes I need to jump ahead of myself to explain certain concepts. Absolutely. This is from Kazmab. What do you think of depth of field calculators, which also calculate angles and field of view to predict what focal length you'll use for a specific shot? So, either online, there are a number of websites that you can go to, or there's apps that you can get for your phone, where you can punch in what sensor size you have, what focal length you have, what aperture you're shooting at, and what distance you're shooting at, and it will give you the parameters of what's gonna be in focus or what your angle of view is going to be. And I think they're super handy. I think they're fantastic. They're not perfect, but they're a great way for kind of estimating and learning what you're going to need for a particular shot. And so I have one on my phone, that's for sure. I don't use it out in the field, but every once in a while, I'll just kind of conceptually, well how would this compare to that? And so there's a bunch of these that are totally free out there, if you want to get one for your smartphone. I forget the name of it, but if you look for depth of field, DOF, calculator, there's gonna be a bunch of them out there that are quite nice.
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Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Love love all John Greengo classes! Wish to have had him decades ago with this info, but no internet then!! John is the greatest photography teacher I have seen out there, and I watch a lot of Creative Live classes and folks on YouTube too. John is so detailed and there are a ton of ah ha moments for me and I know lots of others. I think I own 4 John Greengo classes so far and want to add this one and Travel Photography!! I just drop everything to watch John on Creative Live. I wish sometime soon he would teach a Lightroom class and his knowledge on photography post editing.!!! That would probably take a LOT OF TIME but I know John would explain it soooooo good, like he does all his Photography classes!! Thank you Creative Live for having such a wonderful instructor with John Greengo!! Make more classes John, for just love them and soak it up! There is soooo much to learn and sometimes just so overwhelming. Is there anyway you might do a Motivation class!!?? Like do this button for this day, and try this technique for a week, or post this subject for this week, etc. Motivation and inspiration, and playing around with what you teach, needed so much and would be so fun.!! Just saying??? Awaiting gadgets class now, while waiting for lunch break to be over. All the filters and gadgets, oh my. Thank you thank you for all you teach John, You are truly a wonderful wonderful instructor and I would highly recommend folks listening and buying your classes.
Eve
I don't think that adjectives like beautiful, fantastic or excellent can describe the course and classes with John Greengo well enough. I've just bought my first camera and I am a total amateur but I fell in love with photography while watching the classes with John. It is fun, clear, understandable, entertaining, informative and and and. He is not only a fabulous photographer but a great teacher as well. Easy to follow, clear explanations and fantastic visuals. The only disadvantage I can list here that he is sooooo good that keeps me from going out to shoot as I am just glued to the screen. :-) Don't miss it and well worth the money invested! Thank you John!
Vlad Chiriacescu
Wow! John is THE best teacher I have ever had the pleasure of learning from, and this is the most comprehensive, eloquent and fun course I have ever taken (online or off). If you're even / / interested in photography, take this course as soon as possible! You might find out that taking great photos requires much more work than you're willing to invest, or you might get so excited learning from John that you'll start taking your camera with you EVERYWHERE. At the very least, you'll learn the fundamental inner workings and techniques that WILL help you get a better photo. Worried about the cost? Well, I've taken courses that are twice as expensive that offer less than maybe a tenth of the value. You'll be much better off investing in this course than a new camera or a new lens. I cannot reccomend John and this course enough!