Photographic Variables on Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses
This is a list I hand out first thing to my students at the Delaware Art Museum.
Many variables are at the photographer’s command before a picture is taken. Here a list. Of course, many more changes can be made to an image in post-processing, after the image is captured.
YOU CAN CHANGE what’s framed in the viewfinder. This is determined by:
- Where the camera is pointed.
- When the camera is pointed.
- The focal length of the lens.
YOU CAN CHANGE the lights and darks of the image (exposure), and color fidelity. This is determined by:
- Light reflected from subject and light produced by subject
- Shutter speed
- Aperture
- ISO setting (sensitivity of sensor)
- White balance
- Number of pixels captured and their bit depth
- File format of captured image

YOU CAN CHANGE the sharpness of the image. This is determined by:
- Quality of the lens
- Focus
- Shutter Speed relative to the motion of the subject and the camera
- Depth of Field (adjusted by changing the aperture, also called the f/stop)
- Number of pixels captured and their bit depth
- Filter on the front of the lens