So, you just purchased your brand new DSLR camera, brought it home, pulled out the user's manual, and..."Huh?" You find yourself overwhelmed by all the technical terms and features. Well, there's good news, you're not alone!
Photo by Michelle Johnson | Love that Shot
The user's manual is a great resource for finding various settings on your camera, but it's not a very good teacher. Rarely are these manuals written in plain English. So, how about a brief explanation of a few key features written in an easy-to-understand language? Great, let's get started!
First off, let's talk about three key elements, also referred to as the Exposure Triangle: Aperture (f-stop), ISO, and Shutter Speed. These are what control your exposure and allow you to create unique photographs. Say goodbye to the snapshot look!
Aperture controls the amount of light that is let into your camera through the lens. It also controls depth-of-field (whether the entire photo is in focus, or the background is blurry). Aperture is represented by the numbers: f/1.4, f/5.6, f/11, etc. Notice in the photo below, the space around the focal point is blurry; this is considered shallow depth-of-field.
Photo by Michelle Johnson | Love that Shot
Shutter speed, on the other hand, controls the length of time the light is allowed in, and is represented by fractions of a second, such as 1/100, 1/1600, etc. Fast shutter speeds freeze action, while slower speeds allow motion to blur. For instance, in this landscape shot, the flowing water was created by using a slower shutter speed of 1/4 second. Often, slower shutter speeds require the use of a tripod.
Photo by Misti Tracy | Love that Shot
And lastly, ISO controls sensitivity to light. This is extremely important in low-light situations. If you find that you're shooting indoors and can't get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze action, you can bump the ISO up from 100 to 800, allowing your camera to be more sensitive to the light available. Higher ISOs tend to create a grainy look in your photo, so finding a good ISO for the situation you are shooting in is a fine balance that comes with practice.
Since you're first starting out in digital photography, we suggest beginning in either Aperture Priority (AV - Canon, A - Nikon) or Shutter Priority (TV - Canon, S - Nikon) mode. These are semi-automatic modes where you control either shutter speed or aperture, allowing the camera to set the other for a good exposure. Once you've experimented with each of these modes and feel comfortable in both, then you're ready to jump into full manual mode!
Ready to dive into more of the basics of digital photography? Click here to discover how exciting shooting in manual mode can be!
About the Authors
Two sisters, following slightly different paths, developed a passion for photography, which led to the founding of Love That Shot. Michelle’s initial creative pursuit was music and Misti’s, graphic design. They took what they learned and started Love that Shot to provide the everyday, casual photographer with convenient, easy-to-understand and affordable online workshops. Find them on Facebook!