It's "Hey Rick! What's Your F-stop?" Wednesday #1

I am starting a new series here on my blog: It's "Hey Rick! What's Your F-Stop?" Wednesday. The series was prompted by the question I get asked most on my workshops.

Hey Rick #1

Photograph: Mandarin Ducks.

Location: San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California.

Camera: Canon 10D (I now use the Canon 5D Mark III) .

Lens: Canon 100-400mm IS lens @ 260mm.

Exposure: ISO 400. f/5.6 @ 1/180th sec. Exposure compensation: -1. Set at -1 to preserve highlights.

Reasoning: Use a fast enough shutter speed to stop the action – and these guys were moving kinda fast. After focusing on the eyes, use a wide aperture to set the background slightly out of focus, which will make your subject stand out in your image.

Concept: Shoot tight to capture the all beauty in details.

I hope to see you on one of my workshops.

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Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. My forthcoming Focal Press book, Creative Visualization for Photographers, has an entire chapter – with different photographs – on this topic.