What is the best way to choose the proper photography f-stop? A lot has been written about the proper photography f-stops. I could not figure out how I was going to add to all of the great content that is already out there, until I realized my own photography f-stop is not on the camera at all. Here is what I think about what is the best way to choose the proper photography f-stop.
Shot at f 2.8
Allow me to explain by filling in a few more details about how I photograph. Many photographers talk about f stops vs shutter speed and I’ve read really wonderful tutorials online.
In thinking about what I could offer in a workshop, I discovered what I call MY f-stop! What is the best way to choose the proper f-stop is my play on a popular technical debate because I Feel for the right moment of emotion as I take the shot. I Feel like that is my area of expertise that I have to offer other photographers. I’m about Fun and Feel while photographing, for sure!
My customers talk about how my photos move them emotionally as they look at them. It has become more obvious to me that people are stirred by my images. The viewer receives a feeling for the essence of the horse in my photographs.
So, what’s my f-stop…
The proper f-stop for me is the moment when I can feel myself settling into the connection with the horse and then click the shutter. We almost begin to breathe together and I can feel the horse on a deeper level. A more personal level than just horse photographer and horse. It does not seem to hinder the process if the horses are standing still, I feel the same urging moment come along for me. This moment feels right, click. Synchronicity occurs when the horses start to run together, the wind causing their manes and tails to dance freely. Then this feels like the next right moment, click.
While I have used the f in f-stop as a play on words to represent how I feel my way into the photograph I want to capture, I know that this is part of my voice as a photographer. Providing the atmosphere to discover as well as connect to that feeling of the essence that the horse offers is exactly what I would talk about during my workshops. Perhaps I would call it “Feeling for the proper f-stop.”
Jody Miller is a professional photographer specializing in Horse Photography, Equine Photography, and Equestrian photography. Her work can be viewed online here in her gallery section, and she is also featured at these Arizona Galleries: Van Gogh’s Ear Gallery on Whiskey Row in Prescott, AZ and Coops Coffee House at Talking Rock Ranch. Gift Shop at The Phippen Western Art Museum