You will have heard more than once the word step attached to photography, and surely you will have finally deduced that it has nothing to do with dancing ? . But, beyond that, you may still be in a sea of ??doubt. Whether you think of dance steps or if you swim in a sea of ??doubt, this article is for you. Although it seems very complicated, the truth is that it is very simple, you just need to know several concepts that we will see little by little. WHAT IS A "STEP" IN PHOTOGRAPHY? The steps in photography simply refer to the increase in light or reduction in the exposure of our photographs. Going up one step means increasing the light input and going down one step , on the contrary, it means decreasing the light input. Now the question is: How much light are we exactly talking about? Let's see it? HOW IS THE LIGHT INPUT CALCULATED IN STEPS? Before we have commented that one step is to increase or decrease the light; specifically one step is to double the light entrance or divide it by two depending on whether we are going up or down one step. For example, when we are working on a diaphragm aperture of f / 5.6 and we need more light, what we do is open the diaphragm af / 4. With this simple diaphragm movement, we are multiplying the light input to our sensor by 2. If on the contrary, what we want is to reduce the light input, what we will do is close the diaphragm of f / 5.6 af / 8. With this we would reduce the light input by half. In both cases, we have moved a light step , up or down, doubling or dividing the light input by two. DIAPHRAGM, SPEED ??AND SENSITIVITY: THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE Now, when we talk about steps, we don't just talk about diaphragm steps . We also talk about steps in ISO (Sensitivity) or Speed. But don't be scared, because despite having different units and nomenclatures, the steps work exactly the same for speed, ISO or aperture, only to adjust one or the other, it influences the final result of the picture differently. These three variables (Diaphragm, Speed ??and ISO) are what we know as the Exposure Triangle variables , through which the exposure or light input received by our sensor or film is controlled. Let's see how: SHUTTER SPEED It's time that the shutter of our camera remains open, allowing the light to pass to the sensor. Basically it is the time we tell our camera that it should "take" to take the picture. If we use speeds more high , the shutter is opened and closed with greater speed ; that is to say, it remains open less time, which for practical purposes allows us to freeze movement in the scene but allows less light to enter . If we use speed more low , the shutter stays open longer time, allowing input a more light and capture the trace of movement of the scene in the sensor. Since we talk about time, speed is counted in seconds. When we talk about steps in speed, they work exactly the same as when we talk about diaphragm or ISO steps; Duplicating or dividing the light input. For example, if we are shooting at a speed of 1 / 60s and need more light, we will lower the speed one step, which will give us twice the light at 1 / 30s. shutter speed steps DIAPHRAGM The diaphragm not only controls the amount of light that enters our camera's sensor, but also controls the depth of field or area focused on the image. The more closed it is, the less light it will enter and the more depth of field we will have. On the contrary, the more open it is, the more light it will enter but the less depth of field you will have. opening steps ISO It is the sensitivity of the film or the camera's sensor to light. A higher ISO value , more sensitivity but "worse" image quality or more grain in the image. Less ISO value, less sensitivity but better image quality; less grain When you adjust the sensitivity to have more light and move the ISO from 100 to 200, what you are actually doing is raising a light step, or doubling the light you have. On the contrary, if you lower a light step through the sensitivity, you will be dividing that value by 2. For example from 100 ISO to 50 ISO. steps in iso We have always recommended that you venture to try the semi-manual modes of your camera, even more so that you learn to master the manual first , even if it seems like a great challenge. To do so, you must be clear about the concepts associated with the Exposure Triangle and the way in which they affect the final image, since it is not only the amount of light that we are modifying when we move diaphragm, velocity or ISO up or down, it is also the depth of field, the quality of the image, or the ability to freeze or not the movement. Once you master the three variables of the exhibition and learn to combine them, there will be no photo that you resist. You will use the steps in any of their variables mechanically, almost without thinking. If you sign up for a photography course and they tell you to go up or open 2 diaphragm steps, lower one speed and lower another ISO, you will not put on a stomach ache, but you will do so naturally, arriving at least yourself to the following conclusions. Here is an example: example-steps If it sounds like Chinese it is a matter of practice and of assimilating the concepts little by little, or why not, of proposing exercises yourself: If I want to double the depth of field but I want to keep the ISO, how do I do it? If I want a low speed but I have too much light, how do I do it? and so on, and little by little you will see how you solve these situations quickly and effectively. Everything we started looks like an unreachable mountain, but step by step you reach the top, and in this case, never better ? I hope I helped you understand the concept of "steps" in photography. If so, I would appreciate it if you shared this article with someone else you think might be interested in reading it. Thank you and see you next time?
