And So It Begins

It's not really the beginning, but it is sort of the beginning of the beginning. No, it's not even that. Let's say it is the harbinger of the beginning.

I speak of colder weather, though I dasn't (or daren't, if you must) utter the W word just yet.

I slept in until 6 on Sunday and awoke to a temperature at 14°C. That's not too bad for morning because, of course, it isn't 14 inside. By an hour later, however, the temperature had dropped to 12, and with the windows wide open, a rather stiff, cold breeze coming in. I could have closed the window, or I could have dressed warmer. I chose the latter.

So I did what I hadn't had to do for months — donned my hoodie and not just any hoodie but the thick, sweater one.

I didn't think to take a selfie of the occasion, but I did snap one later with the phone when I was wearing a lighter hoodie.

Pray tell, why the lad looks so happy about the cold.
Brain freeze, perhaps?

That was on Sunday, but yesterday morning, Monday, was even a cooler 10°C, so I was back in my wooly hoodie and remembered to take a picture this time.

This one ↓ was quite early and in lower light. I composed with the computer screen in the background because that is what I do first thing.

This is how it all begins, or at least presages the beginning, for there will be plenty of nice weather for at least another month.

I did not intend to add this next part, but those who are interested in having more control over your phone photos may or may not wish to learn a bit of new (for some) information.

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The Lessons

1. Look for the Light

This first point is not phone specific but applies to any photography with any device. Find good light for the best results. The first and better photo, above, was taken in the afternoon with light streaming in. The second and poorer image was taken in the morning with just indoor lighting. While we shoot when and where it is convenient, the light does matter if we want best results. We all know this to some degree but often fail to remember that it does make a difference.

2. Use the F-stop

Notice that in both selfies, the background is deliberately blurry. You may or may not want this effect, but if you do, here's how.

When you use the dedicated portrait mode on your phone (I presume for all phones that actually have a portrait mode), you have the ability to change the f-stop. In plain speak, you can control how wide or narrow the aperture (lens opening) is. If the lens is wide open, the photo will tend to be blurrier. Obviously, the opposite applies: the smaller the aperture (lens opening) the more of the scene that will be in focus.

For many portraits, people want a very out of focus background which does not pull the viewers' eyes away from the subject. Of course, you still want to be careful to get the subject in decent focus.

Here's ↓ where to find the f-stop on an iPhone and how to adjust it. Also, please remember that as far as I know now, this f-stop option only applies to portrait mode. Follow the red arrows and notes (there are only 2) and click to enlarge if need be.

Kindly disregard my countenance, and just look at the info.
😀  😎  🙄

3. Raise or Lower the Exposure

I didn't intend this third lesson, but if you put you finger within the yellow box (see above ↑ photo) you can increase or decrease the exposure (brightness). Slide up to brighten the exposure or down for a darker exposure. You won't see this yellow outline by default in the regular photo mode, but if you hold your finger on the area where you want to focus, a yellow box will appear although smaller than in the portrait mode. You can then swipe up or down just as I explained for the portrait mode, above.. 

Now, you wouldn't want to change the exposure in this case, but there may be times that you would. For example: if you main subject were in shadow, you might want to make your photo brighter. Or if you could see that there are overly bright highlights, you might want to lower the exposure.

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Well, this went miles farther than I intended. I was just going to post that it was cold and that I put on my wooly hoodie. 😎