What Every Beginner Needs To know

 

  1. A photographer should be able to tell if their exposure is correct and be able to make the necessary adjustments by reading the histogram. 
  2. RAW format will give you access to the full capabilities of your camera. 
  3. Your camera has the option of selecting the auto focus points for you. 
  4. Learn all AF modes. The one-shot mode will stop refocusing once it’s locked onto the subject. AI- Servo AF mode won’t lock the focus and it will constantly refocus, and it is a great focusing mode for sports and other fast-moving subjects. AI focus will automatically from one -shot to Servo if it detects movement in the frame. 
  5. In aperture priority mode, your camera will vary the exposure settings depending on the aperture value you set. This is a great setting for shooting portraits with blurred backgrounds. 
  6. The shutter priority mode gives you complete control over shutter speed while making all the other settings automatically, according to the selected value. 
  7. Learn what the lowest speed is for you and stick to it for motion free images. 
  8. Learn to set white balance manually, according to each lighting situation. 
  9. Master metering modes by reading the manual.  
  10. Learn how to pick the correct ISO value depending on the lighting. 
  11.  Auto ISO can help you when shooting hand held. 
  12. Exposure compensation is a +/- scale that will tell your camera to increase or decrease exposure. 
  13. Manual exposure is the last stage in  learning how to use your camera settings.  

Shadows and Light

Texture

 

Composition

Camera Simulator

By playing around with the camera simulator, I now understand how to set the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed correctly. I saw the difference in the picture when I set the aperture at 22.0 and 4.5. When the aperture was at 22.0, the shutter speed was at 1/1, and the ISO setting was at 200, I captured all the up close and far objects in the picture with good exposure, high f-stop value, and the motion of the small plane propeller is visible. On other hand, when I set the aperture at 4.5, the shutter speed at 1/160, and the ISO setting at 400, the objects at the back and up close were blurred except for the small toy plane in the middle of the picture because of my low f-stop value. I still had good exposure and you could see the movement in the picture but this time the camera focused on an object for you to focus on.  

What I Learned About Exposure

After reading the article from Cambridge in Color, I learned many things about exposure. The first thing that I learned was that photograph’s exposure determines how light or dark an image will appear when it’s been captured by your camera. There are 3 camera settings that determine how light or dark an image will be are aperture, ISO and shutter speed. These 3 settings are also known as the exposure triangle. Natural light for a photographer was compared to the rate of rainfall, meaning that they’re both out of your control always.  I learned that aperture controls area over which light can enter your cameras lens. Aperture is specified in terms of a f-stop value. This can be unreasonable at times because the area of the opening increases as the f-stop decreases. I also learned some photography slang! When someone says they are “stopping down” or “opening up” their lens, they mean that they are increasing and decreasing the f-stop value. Every time the f-stop value halves, the light-collecting area quadruples. This simply means that the lower your f-stop value is, the larger your lens is going to open. Its vice versa for when your f-stop value is high, the opening of your lens is smaller. Your f-stop value range can also vary based on the type of camera you have. A compact camera might have an available range of f/2.8 to f/8.0. On the other hand, a digital SLR camera might have a range of f/1.4 to f/32 with a portrait lens. I learned that shutter speed controls the duration of the exposure. A camera’s shutter determines when the camera sensor will be open or closed to incoming light from the camera lens. The shutter speed specifically refers to how long this light can enter the camera. When the exposure time doubles the amount of light entering the camera doubles. Shutter speed is a great tool for freezing or exaggerating the appearance of motion. Lastly, I learned that the ISO speed controls the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor to a given amount of light. ISO speed also has a ratio of 1:1, just like shutter speed. Although, unlike aperture and shutter speed, a lower ISO speed is almost always desirable, since higher ISO speeds dramatically increase image noise. ISO speed is usually only increased from its minimum value if the desired aperture and shutter speed aren’t otherwise obtainable.