Previously, I wrote about the meaning of the term “exposure” in camera talk. To briefly recap, a “stop” is a relative term describing how well-lit and well-exposed the image is. Adjusting the camera settings to increase the light by “one stop” will effectively double the amount of light in the picture (either by opening the aperture, raising the ISO, or lowering the shutter speed).

The same terminology applies in post-processing, although at this point you’re no longer changing the camera settings. In photo editing software, including Adobe Lightroom, you will usually find an “Exposure” adjustment or slider. Dragging this will digitally alter the image and brighten or darken it as if you had adjusted the camera settings. Keep reading…

A stop (might also be called an f-stop or an exposure stop) is a basic but important term in photography. You might hear someone say that a picture is “Underexposed by 1 stop” or “The picture is overexposed, turn the exposure down one stop.” The term “stop” is a relative term defining the amount of light in a picture.

If you increase the exposure by one stop, you double the amount of light in the picture. If you decrease the exposure by one stop, you halve the amount of light in the picture.

If someone says, “The picture is underexposed by 1 stop,” they’re making a comparison between the picture they see and what they think the proper exposure should be. If you double the amount of light in the image, it should look better. Keep reading…

A battery grip is a camera accessory with two purposes – to add battery capacity to your camera and to allow you to more easily turn the camera to portrait orientation and take a vertical picture. The image to the left is one example: the official Canon grip for a Canon T1i.

One reason to have a a battery grip is that it increases the battery life of your camera. For example, the battery grip for my Canon T1i allows me to have two batteries in the camera instead of one. Effectively doubles the battery life of the camera, reducing the need to pull out batteries and change them in the middle of an event. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had to stop and change the batteries in the middle of an event/shoot now that I have the battery grip. Keep reading…

On most cameras, you’ve got a handful of automatic of semi-automatic modes. One of those is usually Shutter Priority Mode. It’s usually identified with the Tv label on the settings dial. It might also be labeled simply with a “T” or an “S”.

In shutter priority mode, you select a shutter speed. The camera then automatically chooses an aperture value that gives you the proper exposure. This might be a good option if you want to control the amount of motion blur in the picture – choose a slow shutter (i.e. 1/30th of a second) and you can force the camera to capture a little blur. Choose a quick shutter (i.e. 1/250th of a second), and you’ll eliminate most of that blur. Keep reading…

An important concept to understand in lighting is the ambient light or ambient exposure.

The ambient light level is the amount of light that’s normally present in a setting. If you’re inside, the ambient light is probably provided by lamps or sunlight coming in through the window. If you’re outside in the daytime, the ambient light is probably the sun.

When you “expose for the ambient,” you’re taking a picture with the available level of light. You pick the right mix of camera settings – shutter speed, aperture, and ISO – that makes a reasonably well lit photo based on the light that is currently available to you.

This is particularly important to understand when you start working with external lights and flashes. Then, you’ve got the option of working with the ambient – i.e. exposing for the ambient and then adding some lights to fill in shadows – or overpowering the ambient – picking camera settings that underexpose the ambient and then light the whole scene with speedlights.

When you’re reading about sports photography, you’ll probably come across the term fast glass or a fast lens. What does this mean?

A fast lens is a lens with a large maximum aperture – in other words, a really low f/value. The term is somewhat relative, and anything from a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L to a Canon 50mm f/1.2L would be considered fast… although that f/1.2 is probably about as fast as you’ll get.

This often means really expensive, too, although you can find some more economical lenses under $1,000.

So Why Are These Lenses “Fast”?

Two related settings affect an image’s exposure – aperture and shutter speed. As the aperture gets larger, more light comes in. To compensate for this and keep the exposure the same, you can increase the shutter speed. A “faster” lens has a larger maximum opening, allowing you to use a quicker maximum shutter speed.

This is especially important with regards to indoor sporting events. You need a high shutter speed to freeze the action, but you’re often constrained by crappy lighting conditions. Professional venues will have decent lights, but high school gyms are going to make you pull your hair out. With a not-so-fast lens that maxes out at f/5.6, like the run of the mill Canon 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 zoom lens I originally got with my first dSLR, you’re either going to have to jack up the ISO or settle for blurry photos.

A zoom lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 is much better suited for indoor or night sports photography. Simply put, the glass is “faster.” And this is, unfortunately, one area where the quality and expense of your gear makes a big difference.