Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, Depth of Field, Dynamic Range
Aperture: A hole within the lens which allows light to pass through to the camera sensor; it’s like the pupil in your eyes. A large aperture means more light comes through (think of your pupils getting really large when you’re in a dark space), while a small aperture is the opposite (your eyes + bright and sunny = small pupils).
https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography
Shutter Speed: The length of time your shutter is open and exposing the sensor to light. A long shutter speed will create motion blur, while a fast shutter speed will freeze motion. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of seconds; 1/4 is a quarter of a second (it’s a really long time!) while 1/2500 is one two-thousand-five-hundredth of a second (super fast!).
https://photographylife.com/what-is-shutter-speed-in-photography
ISO: Effects the darkness or brightness of the photo (lower ISO is darker, while higher is brighter); however, brightening an image too much can cause a lot of grain (noise)and make an image appear blown out (I think of it as artificial brightening). It’s sort of the last resort if you can’t affect the brightness with your aperture or shutter speed. ISO 200 is twice as bright as ISO 100, and ISO 400 is twice as bright as ISO 200, and so on; doubling your ISO is doubling the brightness! The lowest ISO setting in your camera is called the “base ISO” it will (most likely) give you the highest quality image (no artificial enhancements here!).
https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography
How the above all work together (for future reference): https://photographylife.com/iso-shutter-speed-and-aperture-for-beginners
Depth of Field: The distance between the nearest and furthest subjects in your photo and what appears to be in focus; affected mainly by aperture. Large apertures (like f/2 (they’re fractions!!)) create a more shallow depth of field, while smaller apertures (like f/20) create a larger depth of field.
https://photographylife.com/what-is-depth-of-field
Dynamic Range: The difference between the darkest and lightest parts of an image; usually referring to what the camera is capable of capturing. Dynamic range is measured in “stops” (the human eye can see about 20 stops but cameras are mostly only able to perceive somewhere between the low to mid-teens (they’re closing in!)), increasing one stop doubles the brightness of the image. Essentially we’re trying to keep all the details of a photo while trying to avoid pure blacks and pure whites (focusing the camera on different light or dark areas of an image effects how the image overall is effected). Limited dynamic range can be combated using High Dynamic Range (HDR)photography which combines multiple different exposures to create a final image! Cell phones in recent years have come equipped with an HDR setting (even my Galaxy S5 has it).
https://www.adorama.com/alc/8256/article/dynamic-range-photography-explained
https://www.howtogeek.com/321311/what-is-dynamic-range-in-photography/
