Need some help figuring out exposure

Hi guys,

*Complete newbie here*
I recently got my hands on an old Canon ae1 Program. I’m fairly new to shooting film, or photography in general, so I was happy to see that this one had a program mode which I used all the time while shooting. Some photos turned out nicely; but by far most of them turned out to be blurry, over or underexposed and/or out of focus. Unfortunately the camera got stolen, so I got a new one: a Canon ae-1 without Program mode. Meaning I’ll have to shoot manual this time.
I find it very difficult to figure out how to use Aperture and Shutterspeed, especially since I can’t see the results straight away. I’ve watched many YouTube video’s and read many articles about f-stops and such, so I know the ‘theory’ behind it. Is there a general rule on when to use a specific Aperture?
Also, I thought I pretty much nailed the focusing bit, but my photos tell me otherwise. Sometimes the subject I’d like to focus on is not in the middle of the photo but rather in the corner. So I move my camera to have to subject in the middle, focus on it, and then move it back so the subject is in the corner again. Am I doing this right?

I'm not familiar with your camera. Shooting manually you control the settings. The smaller the aperture ie f22 the greater the depth of field. The correct exposure depends on the aperture/shutter speed for the ISO of the film you are using. For example if your scene calls for F8 at 125th of a second and you wish to shoot at a 250th of a second you change the F stop to F5.6 @ 1/250th for the same amount of exposure. Most cameras have a preview button so when you focus manually on your subject the lens is open to the widest aperture although you have an actual different setting. The lens stops down when you depress the shutter release but if you press the preview button first you can see the stopped down effect without exposing the film. If you are using an auto-focus then usually you focus on your subject while depressing the shutter release half way , holding it there and move the camera for the composition you want. Your equipment might have the option for manually focusing so try it both way to see what works for you. Some cameras have auto-focus with manual assist as well. My understanding is that auto-focus works best when there is a straight edge to what you are focusing on. Most of my photography is fully manual with film but my digital cameras have auto-focus that I can manually assist and vary the field of focus. My best advice is to keep it simple and practice so you are familiar with your equipment before trying variations for different affects. Start with a higher ISO film such as 400 and remember that black and white film is more forgiving than color so you can compensate for small errors. As they say "practice, practice, practice ---"

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

http://www.sculptureandphotography.com/

As long as the light meter is working, you should not have to go full manual on the exposure (yet). I found a video that might help with the controls and operation of the AE-1.
To get a better feeling for aperture and it's effect, I would recommend practice. It will cost you time and money, but I believe provide better results than studying alone. Assuming you use the built-in light meter to minimize exposure error, you can experiment using different aperture settings on the same composition. Keep notes so you can remember what you were doing when you finally get the scans or prints back much later.

For the focus, it may be motion blur that you are experiencing. This is when the camera moves during the exposure. If you have a tripod, use that for some testing. Mount the camera on the tripod and make sure it is steady. Get the focus where you think it is right and when pressing the shutter release, be very careful to not move the camera. You could also use a cable release if you have it or willing to purchase. The goal here is to make the camera as steady as possible so you can isolate the problem. If everything is nicely focused and sharp for these test shots, then you are probably moving the camera when holding in your hands. Everyone does it, but there are ways to minimize the effect. First, find out if it really is causing an issue for you or something else.

As for the last question regarding focus - yes, due to the focus screen layout you would focus on the subject with the microprism spot in the center. Then once focus is set, you would recompose.

What lens are you using?

Your focusing technique is correct. As far as exposure goes, I don't know if this will help you understand exposure, but this is one way to try to understand it:

Think of proper exposure (as read on a handheld or camera meter) as a glass full of water. You can chose to fill the glass slowly with the tap open just a little (small aperture, longer shutter speed) or fill the glass quickly with the tap fully open (large aperture, faster shutter speed). So as you change the aperture, the shutter speed needs to move in the opposite direction and vice-versa. Another factor issue film speed. A higher ISO needs less light to make a proper exposure, allowing for faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures. The pictures will be sharper, but higher ISO films will have more grain, showing less detail.

Generally, you will want to chose an aperture that gives you enough depth of field (that is, how much of the image is sharp, measuring from in front and beyond the subject you're focused on (you can consider hyperlocal distance and other niceties later) and still be able to use a shutter speed that will either stop the action in the scene (children running, vehicles moving) and not be affected by camera movement.

Additionally, wider lenses (in the case of 35mm, a focal length of less than 35mm) will have more depth of field for the same given aperture than longer lenses (say, more than an 85mm lens). Also, longer lenses, because they are heavier and record a smaller area of a scene, will show camera movement more than wider ones--so you want to use a faster shutter speed. Most people are able to hold a camera steadily enough at a shutter speed that corresponds approximately to the focal length of the lens being used. So a 28mm lens will not be affected by camera movement at shutter speeds of 1/30th and faster, but a 135mm lens will require you to shoot at 1/125 or faster to eliminate camera shake. Using a good tripod will eliminate that issue entirely.

I know it can be confusing--keep at it. It is very rewarding when you control everything on the camera. You have truly made the picture, not just taken it.

Pieter's analogy to water is one I teach with as well. As for ISO rating, think that 'proper exposure' = 'full glass'...so faster ISO simply is analogous to having a smaller glass, so you need less water (or light) to achieve 'full glass' (or 'proper exposure')

Something that might contribute to 'blurry shots', besides poor focus, is the use of a shutter speed which is too long to be handheld without blur being recorded. Using a 135 format SLR, the rule of thumb for slowest handheld shutter speed = 1/FL... a 100mm lens should be handheld for no slower than 1/100sec shutter speed; a 50mm lens should be handheld for no slow than 1/50sec shutter speed. If you need to use a slow shutter speed, mount the camera on a tripod (best) or lean against a wall (worst, but still better than hand held camera with slow shutter speed).

welcome to photrio...

there is a great book by kodak "how to make good pictures". it small with a lot of graphics. it explains all those confusing and weird (at first) photo concepts - sunny 16, depth-of-field, shutter speed, f-stop, focus,etc. - all with pictures and few words -and a lot of the "why's!" they published about 65 editions (really), and they can be found today, and cheap! i remember editions in the 35 to 55 range were the best because they dealt with slr's like you're using.

have fun.