When you’re a beginning photographer, knowing your camera is an important first step. Learning the settings on your camera can be boring and feel like a foreign language at first. But like most things, they become second nature with a little studying and practice. There are plenty of resources available online and in book form that cover the basic settings for modern photography, but many are overly detailed and make learning feel like a daunting task for some newbies.
So without further ado, here are some basic points to remember... (Warning: some cameras, especially point and shoots, do not allow the user to have complete control over every setting mentioned)
So without further ado, here are some basic points to remember... (Warning: some cameras, especially point and shoots, do not allow the user to have complete control over every setting mentioned)
- One of the most difficult concepts for beginner photographers is understanding exposure. Get started by learning the concept of the Exposure Triangle, as it’s a great way to get started
- Always use your camera on the Manual setting
- The ISO (ex. 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600) controls the camera’s sensitivity to light
- The shutter speed (ex.1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30) controls the amount of time that the camera’s shutter is open or pulling in light
- The f/stop regulates how much light is allowed through the lens by varying the size of the hole that allows light to enter the camera
- The white balance is the process of removing unrealistic color casts
- Use lenses that are 70mm and above to avoid distortion, which is especially useful when photographing portraits of people
- Lowering your shutter speed allows motion to be apparent in your photographs, like when shooting moving traffic or waterfalls
- You can use the ISO, shutter speed and f/stop settings to capture the correct exposure and to control the mood of your images
- Use ND (neutral density) lens filters to extend exposure time in bright light
- Lowering your shutter speed (ex. 8s, 15s, 30s) in low light situations will allow more light to enter the camera. But make sure that the camera is supported on a steady base, like a tripod, or else your focus will likely become blurry
- Use UV lens filters to improve clarity and to provide extra protection to your lens front
- Lowering your f/stop (ex. 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0) will give your image a shallow depth of field which will allow you to have blurry backgrounds behind focused foregrounds. However it’s important to be careful, by making sure the subject is stationary, your focus is on point and your camera is supported, as it’s easy to have issues with soft focus
- The higher you set your ISO (ex. 1600, 3200, 6400), the more susceptible your images are to harmful grain and noise obstructions
- The higher your f/stop (ex 11, 16, 22) setting, the sharper your image will be overall
- For travel photography, try shooting with wide angle lenses (10-24mm) for a more interesting and larger scenes
- Shoot with a long exposure (lower your shutter speed) will bring out the lights of a city scene at night
- Use polarizer lens filters to reduce glare and improve saturation
- Support is important! Supporting your camera, even in bright light means sharper photos. You don’t need to invest in an expensive heavy-duty tripod as rice bags or inexpensive units like Gorilla pods work wonders
- Use GND (graduated neutral density) lens filters to control strong light gradients (ex. for dramatically lit landscapes)
Photo credits, (top to bottom) by Christopher Herring, Clifford Ngong, Vaibhav Dubey, Alan Smith, unknown, Trey Ratcliff
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