Photo Lab 3

In Lab 3 the goal was to apply our knowledge from lab 2 to real life scenarios. We took many photos in different areas with varying levels of light. Our objective was to take the photos in these different settings while making the correct changes to the camera so the photos were clear and showed detail.

Methods: Each of the groups was issued a DJI Mavic 2 and sent to the different locations where we were taking photos. The locations were the hangar in Niswonger, the computer lab, a bike rack, and a location of our choice. The objects we were taking photos of were a large object in the hanger, a small owl paperweight, the bike rack outside, and a small model plane.

We took a photo of a plane in the hangar first.

For this photo we used a shutter speed of 1/8 seconds, an ISO of 200, and an aperture of 400. The Niswonger hangar has many lights so it is bright for a photo. This is why we had a short shutter speed and a low ISO setting.

After taking our photo in the hangar, our group went outside where the bike rack was located.

On the day we took these photos, it was sunny out and fairly bright. To capture enough detail for the photo, we had to lower the shutter speed and ISO settings even more than we did in the hangar. In this photo the shutter speed is 1/50 seconds and the ISO is 100. Even with these settings, the white parts of the first bike on the rack seem to mesh with the sidewalk. This means we probably should have done more to fight against the brightness.

For the third photo we moved to a darker setting with the paperweight owl in the computer lab.

It does not appear that dark in this photo but that is because of our camera settings. We put the owl on the screen projector because that was a darker area in the computer lab. For camera settings we used a shutter speed of 1/40 seconds and an ISO of 1600. The shutter speed was not changed too much but ISO was the main factor in the brightness of this photo. As we learned in lab 2, ISO is the camera sensitivity to light. This means that an ISO of 1600 will be very sensitive to light and that is how we made the photo look better. 

The final photo was taken in a hallway in Niswonger.

This photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/40 seconds and an ISO of 400. It was not too bright or too dark in the hallway so we used settings more towards the middle. This photo also appears to have the most color in it, besides the bike rack which was outside, and our camera settings did not wash out the the color. 

Lab 3 took what we learned in the past and applied it to real settings. As we are using UAS to collect data we need to be able to change the settings so that the photo shows the proper amount of detail regardless of the lighting around us. By having us take photos in different settings, we got practice in assessing the situation and making the correct camera setting changes. This will help establish good habits in our future UAS careers.