FLASHCARDS: How Math Can Instantly Improve Your Photography

Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) It's Flash Card Friday here at Mass Science
History, and this Friday I'm bringing you some
perspective.
That was a photography joke.
Today I will talk about some simple math
tricks that will help you improve your photography.
Whether you are using a phone or a
camera, these tricks will help you get some
of the best photos with a new perspective.

(00:24):
First, let's use the rule of thirds.
Imagine that your photo is going to be
divided into nine equal parts, with two horizontal
lines and two vertical lines.
It's a grid.
And your phone might even provide you with
a grid if you choose to access it.
Use this imagined or applicable grid to place
key elements along these lines or at their

(00:45):
intersections for balanced, engaging photos.
Next, consider leading lines.
This is a cool trick.
There are natural lines that guide the viewer's
eyes towards the subject.
Think of roads, fences, pillars, or rivers.
When you use these, they add depth and
interest to your photos.
I will post a picture of me on

(01:06):
my website at masssciencehistory.com that my husband
took when I graduated with my second degree.
It was taken at the downtown LA Public
Library in front of a giant pillar.
And I will give him the credit for
the photo, even though it was my idea.
But it'll give you an idea about leading
lines and how they help take a beautiful

(01:26):
picture.
Oh, and by the way, while you're at
Math, Science, History, don't forget to click on
that coffee button and buy a cup of
coffee, because every cup of coffee is a
donation to the podcast Math, Science, History.
So next up, symmetry and patterns.
These are really pleasing to the eye.
So look for symmetrical scenes or repetitive patterns
and center your shot to emphasize them.

(01:48):
I love symmetry and repetitive patterns, because they
really yield stunning results.
Then there's something I talked a couple of
weeks ago called the golden ratio.
It's like the rule of thirds, but it's
a lot more dynamic.
It's a ratio that is about 1.5
to 1.
So you place your subject at a point
that follows this tiny ratio for a naturally

(02:10):
appealing composition.
Now let's talk about light and exposure.
Math is utilized for this too.
Doing a callback to the rule of thirds,
if you have a line of light like
a sunset, position the horizon along the top
or the bottom horizontal line and place the
Sun near one of the intersections.
This really harmonizes the photo, and I know

(02:32):
that's a funny way of saying it, but
it's a third, and it creates this balance
and the eyes fall in a certain way
to truly see the application of the Sun
to the sunrise or the sunset.
Math is at the core of photography, especially
when balancing shutter speed, ISO, and aperture to
get the perfect shot.
Shutter speed, measured in fractions of a second,

(02:53):
like 1 250th or 1 1000th, controls how
long light hits the sensor.
Longer exposures let in more light, but can
blur fast moving objects.
ISO adjusts the sensor's sensitivity to light, with
lower numbers with the ISO being 100, producing
clear images, and higher numbers like an ISO

(03:16):
of 3200, adding brightness but also grain.
Aperture, which is measured in f-stops, controls
how wide the lens opens.
Lower f-numbers, like f over 2.8,
let in more light and blur the background,
while higher f-numbers, like f over 11,

(03:36):
keep more of the scene in focus.
These three settings form the exposure triangle, where
adjusting one requires balancing the others to achieve
proper exposure.
It's like a tripod, you know, if you
adjust one leg, you have to adjust the
other two so it's not leaning.
A fast shutter speed, like 1 1000th, requires

(03:57):
a wider aperture or higher ISO, while a
slow shutter speed, like 1 30th, may need
a smaller aperture or lower ISO to avoid
overexposure.
Understanding these mathematical relationships helps photographers control
light, motion, and depth to capture the perfect
image.
Another way math is used in photography is

(04:18):
with focal length and zoom.
Focal length is measured in millimeters and will
define how much of the scene you want,
so when you zoom in or when you
zoom out.
Photographers use math to obtain the desired focal
length to control how much of a scene
they captured and how subjects appear in relation
to their surroundings.
A shorter focal length, like 18 millimeters, captures

(04:41):
a wider view, making it great for landscapes
or large scenes, while a longer focal length,
like 200 millimeters, zooms in, making distant subjects
appear closer and more detailed, like in wildlife
or sports photography.
The choice of focal length also affects perspective.
Wide-angle lenses exaggerate distances, making objects seem

(05:04):
farther apart, while telephoto lenses compress space, making
objects appear closer together.
This is why a photo of a city
skyline taken with a zoom lens looks like
the buildings are stacked tightly together, while a
wide-angle shot of the same skyline makes
them seem more spaced out.
By understanding how different lenses change what we

(05:26):
see, photographers can use focal length to create
the exact composition and feeling they want in
an image.
Finally, depth of field.
Depth of field is controlled through aperture settings,
so let's say you want to get a
photo with the shallow depth of field, which
would make the background blurry and focus on
the subject.
In that case, a lower f-stop number,

(05:48):
which is a larger aperture, would help you
get that perfect photo with a blurry background
and a sharp subject.
Now, let's say you want the entire scene
in sharp focus.
You would use a higher f-stop number,
which means you would use a smaller aperture.
This increases the depth of field and keeps
the scene in focus.
Math helps photographers frame the perfect shot, so

(06:11):
whether you're calculating focal length or just trying
to focus on getting a clear picture, remember
that math is always in the frame, whether
you notice it or not.
Until next time, carpe diem.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}FLASHCARDS: How Math Can Instantly Improve Your Photography