Moving Beyond

"Auto” ModeSo you got this beautiful new camera and

you know how to turn it on. Now what? Advance beyond using the automatic

settings on your digital camera to learn why and when to use the variations of shutter

speed , aperture and ISO.

3 main Elements of manual

Shutter Speed

A camera's shutter speed can control exposure, but it's also one of the most powerful creative tools in photography. It can convey motion, freeze action, isolate subjects and smooth water.

Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the number the faster the speed 1/1000 (stops motion) the smaller the number the slower the speed1/30 (blurs motion).

As you change shutter speed you’ll need to change one or both of the other elements to compensate for it.

The slower the shutter speed, the longer the exposure time. The shutter speed and aperture together control the total amount of light reaching the sensor.

‘the amount of time that the shutter is open’

Aperture either adds a dimension to a photograph by blurring the background, or magically brings everything in focus. Aperture is expressed as F-stop, e.g. F5.6. Depth of field: The lower the f/stop—the larger the opening in the lens—the less depth of field—the blurrier the background.

The f/stop also affects shutter speed. Using a low f/stop means more light is entering the lens and therefore the shutter doesn't need to stay open as long to make a correct exposure which means faster shutter speed.

Make sure youraperture is at

leastthe same number

as there are people in the photo! e.g. 4

people= F-stop 4 or higher

The higher the f/stop—the smaller the opening in the lens—the greater the depth of field—the sharper the background.

‘opening of a lens's diaphragm through which light passes’

A lower ISO will produce a higher quality image but requires more light to expose a picture e.g. 100A higher ISO will produce a lower quality image but requires less light to expose a picture e.g. 1600 You should always aim to use the lowest ISO setting possible, this will give you the best image quality. However, your first priority should be getting a fast enough shutter speed, because a blurry photo is a lot more distracting than one with a bit of digital noise.

ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera.

‘sensitivity of the image sensor’

Where to find these elements

on your LCD screen Nikon Canon

Exposure Value

Correct

Over

Under

Exposure Bracketing

(EV)

Cheat Sheets

Charts