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Know Your Reciprocals

Lesson 4 from: Foundations of a Working Photographer

Zack Arias

Know Your Reciprocals

Lesson 4 from: Foundations of a Working Photographer

Zack Arias

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Lesson Info

4. Know Your Reciprocals

Lesson Info

Know Your Reciprocals

So we are back with we're still talking through the technical of exposure aperture and shutter speeds all right? When that when that camera fires, we've got the aperture value going on, we have a shutter speed value going on, alright aperture, you know, I'm thinking apatow for whatever linds I have on on my camera at that point, I'm thinking about my depth of field um and how much light is coming in the camera? The amount of light coming in the camera, the shutter speed I'm considering aa lot of times for sharpness um, and when I'm thinking, oh, I need this picture to be a sharp is possible shutter speed pops into my head I'm shooting a two hundred millimeter lens I'm its sixtieth of a second on my shutter speed I'm going to have a really hard time and I don't have a tripod or I don't have a model pod I better really watch myself what I'm doing, but I want to go through the the, uh, relationship that he's have with each other and those air called reciprocal cz okay and reciprocal zehr ...

basically the same exposure value but achieved with different settings. Ok, so for this hypothetical situation here let's say that we have a subject sitting down way meter them, we're going to talk about me during the light coming up and let's say that our our exposure proper exposure for whatever hypothetical situation we find herself in for this slide is two point eight five hundredth of a second all right two eight eight five hundredth of a second when you find that proper exposure of that aperture in that shutter speed together whatever I s oh you're using this reciprocal chart gets made or these reciprocal they're made so two eight five hundredth of a second is equal to f four at two fiftieth is equal to five six at one twenty fifth is equal to f ate at sixty it is equal to f eleven at thirtieth all right so as we have our apertures alright these air not to scale to a four five six eight and eleven all right if at two a five hundredth of a second we have proper exposure if we cut our light in half by going to f or but we still want proper exposure we need the time for that amount of light to double all right we cut our light in half with an aperture but we still want it to be equal to two eight five hundred so now we need that light to come in for twice a cz long so that is to fiftieth of a second so f for it to fifty is equal to two eight, five hundred all right and as we work down through these if this is five point six this needs to be one twenty fifth, all right? And if this is f a this needs to be sixtieth of a second and that this is f eleven, this needs to be thirtieth of a second, so we have five hundred to fifty one, twenty five, sixty, thirty full stop increments were working in to a four, five, six, eight, eleven full stop increments. I mean, we're lucky and that whoever figured out photography figured out all of this stuff in full stops, imagine how confusing would be is if, as you changed apertures, they were stopping a half point and shutters needs were three quarters stops, and I'm so so we're half stops, and as you're trying to figure this all out, you're having to do multiple different kinds of equations everything that we calculate exposure rise is built on stops, full stops of light so our apertures moving full stops or shutter speeds movement full stops are esos moving full stops are flash power when we get into that moves in full stops and then we can fine tune it with third stops. All right, if we need to find tune if two eighty five hundred is not quite there, we need to find tune it we could maybe shoot this a three point two at five hundredth of a second and let's just say this was three point two one third of a stop at five hundredth of a second now this would be four point five at two fiftieth five point six would go teo I think it's six point three right eight would go toe like uh nine and eleven from eleven to sixteen is eleven thirteen I think is the third stop increment closed down from eleven all right so you're out shooting let's uh let's heip pathetically put this must change this up a bit all right let's say we are at two point eight at thirtieth of a second all right on we have four couldn't get these numbers up five point six eight and eleven all right so a two point eight thirtieth of a second we have proper exposure hypothetically which is say let's say we sit someone down over here we point our camera at them we take a meter reading we shoot a test shot we're looking at the back of that camera were saying that is a great exposure at two eight thirtieth alright f four would be fifteenth right as you close down aperture shutter speed has to go longer as you take that water faucet and close it down in order to get a full cup of water you have to have that water under there for a longer amount of time as the water faucet opens up and it's just rushing out you put that cup under the needs there you don't need much time all right, so we go fifteen eighth of a second quarter half a second and f eleven all right, so let's say where it s o one hundred here and our asses go one hundred two hundred four hundred eight hundred sixteen hundred thirty, two hundred sixty, four hundred set, etcetera. All right, so where to? Eight thirtieth of a second s o one hundred and you're out shooting a job you're you're in the back of ah of a church shooting a wedding you're out in seattle late afternoon it's cloudy and you're shooting portrait and you meet her and your eyes so one hundred at two point eight at thirtieth of a second with two hundred millimeter lens you need to be looking through the viewfinder see that you're a thirtieth of a second I'm a two hundred millimeter thirtieth of a second crap I'm gonna have a hard time holding this still in this this could be a hard time getting this shot to be sharp because I'm a two hundred millimeter lens at thirtieth of a second. I need this to get to fiftieth of a second right now I'm a nice so one hundred I'm it to eight thirtieth now if we can continue opening our lens up f two, the next full stop would be sixtieth of a second all right, we still have to get the one twenty fifth to fiftieth and we don't own glass that it's that fast for this situation so our next consideration is we jumped o s o and a lot of times when I'm making a a nice so move I'm making that I esso move based on the shutter speed that I'm set at I see my shutter speed getting too slow I know I'm going to have a hard time hand holding it so the next thing is ice so I've got to get my eyes so up now if you're working with a camera body that doesn't have very good I esso performance and you're working with a slower lin's meaning like your lenses on ly opens two five six and you can only shoot the s o four hundred you're going to have a very difficult time shooting, you know, in low light situations where you walk in with a d seventy and a five six lin's into a church to shoot in the evening ceremony you were sweating bullets because of the limitations of the equipment. All right? So where it to eight thirtieth? We need to get to two fiftieth if I may to fifty if I can be shooting with that two hundred millimeter lens and aiken it's going to be sharp, but that means aren't going from thirtieth to sixtieth one twenty fifth to fifty if that means I need three stops of light so I have to increase s o three stops so I wouldn't go two hundred four hundred eight hundred so now at s o eight hundred I could be shooting this at two fiftieth so two point eight two fifty if it s o eight hundred is equal to two eight at thirtieth of a second that I as a one hundred and when you're shooting and this is happening in front of you, you've got to be able to go through these numbers quickly in your right and that means you're gonna have to commit these to memory it means you're going tohave toe commit the relationships to memory if I say you're a two eight and thirtieth of a second what is your the shutter speed at f four at that I so you need to immediately go fifteenth of a second if you're a thirtieth of a second you're looking in your view finder on the thirtieth of a second I need to be a two fiftieth you need to go sixty one twenty five to fifty that's three stops alight I mean I so one hundred two hundred four hundred eight hundred click click click grab that camera, push it to eight hundred get that shutter speed to two fiftieth you're not to eight to fifty s o eight hundred and where you start learning the limits of your equipment let's say you have a two eight lin's but you're on a camera body that really your only comfortable shooting at four hundred I s o four hundred you need to shoot this at eight hundred so now you're it to a at I s o four hundred at one twenty fifth of a second with a two hundred millimeter lens as a working photographer you need to be telling yourself I got to hold this steady I'm shooting a slower shutter speed that my focal length I need to stay steady on this I've got to find a wall to lean up against but that wall the lean up against the kind of steady your camera might change your composition I want this picture but I'm having a hard time holding it and you're tired you've already been working five hours for the day you're already kind of tired and you tired worn out you're sweating bullets and you're starting to shoot and ranges that you don't want to shoot and it's this kind of stuff that dictates what your next court equipment purchase will be so you're shooting it I s o four hundred too slow of a shutter speed for the linds that you have and you're doing that every weekend the thing that should start going through your brain is I need to make a camera body purchase that will get me to eight hundred to six hundred comfortably so I can be a shutter speeds I'm comfortable with in thes situate issues, I'm constantly shooting it. You don't go by the eight hundred sixteen hundred s o performance if all you do issued in a studio like when I'm looking at these medium format backs is gorgeous, is they are and as much is sometimes they get close toe like, you know, down payment of houses on prices, they're high, I esso performances, atrocious d threes and five d's runs circles around him at a you know, a fraction of the cost, but I'm not going to be out in a church with a hassle glad, you know, shooting digitally and a dark church that's not where I'm taking that camera that cameras living in the studio and living under lighting situations where I'm lighting sets and things like that. So I'm not worried about I s o because I'm not worried about my shutter speed at that point, so when I'm looking at that camera system and knowing that the I s o performance isn't that great, I'm knowing I'm not putting it in the situations where a d three or a five d mark two are going to do better. When I had the d seventy and the d one hundred and I was shooting weddings with my buddy mark, I I had to go get a tripod. Because I couldn't push my I esso up to the point I had to shoot a two hundred millimeter lens at sixteenth of a second I'm back of the church, I got to get to kiss it's got to be sharp either that you make a black and white call it fine heart, you know when it's like you've blown focus and you've blown exposure and you've blown everything in the world just black and white it's fine art and now it costs more so so I'm back there in the church sweating because of the limitations of my gear and it's reciprocal so I'm sitting here watching on meeting I'm watching, I'm going thing it I'm a two hundred millimeter lens on the thirtieth of a second I can't push my eyes so any further I know my equipment, I know my lenses, I know what they can do and what they can't do you and it's stuff like this dictated I have to go get a tripod I have to if I had a better camera body, I would need a tripod, but a tripod is cheaper than it came everybody most let's get those crazy carbon fiber ones with the, you know, crazy heads on him and all that they could be as much as a camera body um but I don't go by one hundred fifty dollars tripod and just be careful with it but even a thirtieth of a second if the subjects are moving too much they better kiss and whole they better not like start dancing up there or it's just going to go all the hell on me right um so understanding these relationships understanding how they relate to the pictures you're trying to create and understanding the limits of your gear all of this even if you're in the back of that church or wherever sweating bullets you know what you're doing and you know why you're up against a brick wall and you figure out how to still make it happen and when you walk out of that wedding and you go home and you say I've got a seventy two, two hundred two eight lin's beautiful linds and I got a crappy camera body I don't need another linda I need a better camera body that seventy two hundred two eights fine, I'm just not getting the I s o performance I need and I got twelve more weddings on the books for the year like I'm going to be in the situation all the time that's where I'm putting my money next is the camera body find yourself you're lighting everything or you shoot outside in parks in the middle of the day or or whatever, whatever whatever and you're not ever finding yourself of having to be up here maybe you have a kind of a bad lin's maybe your money's going to go to a lin's because you could only stop down to five six but you'd rather have to wait for a shallow depth of field your money is not going to camera body your money's going toe linz because now you can only open to five six but you'd love to get to eight to have a shallow depth of field at that and you're not in dark situations like your canon rebel is fine for shooting under good lighting conditions it's fine it's okay, you could take that money instead of getting a new camera body, you get a new linds and you get a new linds based on you want to open up two to eight and you're not just I need new lenses and cameras what are you shooting? Because one of the other end and I'm talking again, you're not putting this on credit cards. We'll get more into that on sunday in the numbers you're trying to do this for money you're trying to do this as a business you're trying to do this for your life like and to feed your kids into to build something up and if you're just like I'm just got by the new camera I gotta buy the new linds I gotta have this I gotta have that why why, why, why why you may not you may not ever we have an eighty five one two over here which is a gorgeous lens but I don't own it I had to get it from borrow lenses it's a two thousand something dollar lin's like for what I do I don't need that one two lengths like I have a one eight that I paid three hundred bucks for used and as fine as perfect it's exactly what I need um I don't I don't even necessarily want the one point two wins because exactly is a one point two lenses billy do thanks ebay hee hee bae that crap I would sell that one to linz you gave me an eighty five one two I've said thank you very much really appreciate would sell it and I put it into some other equipment that I need more then that lindsay is that gorgeous lends absolutely is a beautiful fantastic absolutely great lin's and if I just had all the money in the world just could have whatever I'd have all one point two one point four glass and look at my camera back you know but I don't and so when I buy equipment it's this kind of thing so I don't want talk about reciprocal cz will reciprocal is dictated to me what year I bought the more weddings I shot with mark the more I had to get to that d three the less weddings I shoot the more portrait work I do now, I'm actually selling off my nikon here and putting it into medium format, because that is the direction I'm going. So one system is going away as I'm trying to get into a new system and what I shoot in the conditions I shoot in and understanding my it's comes down to understanding the stupid, reciprocal zx and my numbers. And what I shoot in the way I shoot, where I shoot, dictates all that gear on the table.

Class Materials

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creativeLIVE-Zack01.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

Ivan
 

Outstanding! There are so many gems, any photographer aspiring to venture into business will gain much from this course. There are plenty of technical how-to's with superb examples, from choosing the right lens for a given situation, to learning about reciprocals, expressed in Zack's warm and fun style. He's a joy to watch. But, this class is much more than that. Zack is extremely generous in sharing very personal experiences and insight, on how he began from early days of struggling, to current projects, how he built his portfolio, and looking ahead to the future. And, in the final discussion with his wife Meghan, they open up and share their personal struggles balancing work and family life, and their strong support of each other. We can all relate to this. This class is a great guide on what it takes to start and become a successful pro photographer, and pulls no punches. It's not easy to do, but with some creativity and an insane amount of hard work, is doable and very rewarding!

a Creativelive Student
 

Zack's always been one of my favorite photographers and when I think about why he is, it isn't even his work that comes to mind. Zack's technical knowledge and ability to pull off really stunning images is reason enough to check out this course. While he does a good job at teaching the fundamentals, he even better job at explaining why he makes the choices he does. Anyone can tell you what "rules" to follow and what you should and shouldn't do but Zack does a good job explaining why those guidelines are JUST guidelines and shouldn't be taken as law, which can be limiting. I highly recommended this for anyone who has an interest in becoming a better photographer.

a Creativelive Student
 

I haven't finished the course yet either but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I love Zacks work I think he is an amazing teacher and a very funny man. I loved one light and I'm looking forward to finishing this and starting the his studio lighting course also.

Student Work

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