Do you always stick to the automatic settings on your camera? Try taking a step outside of your comfort zone and consider going manual with your photography. Understanding the basics can give you the confidence you need to shift away from relying on your camera's presets.
Aperture
Take a look at your camera lens and you can see the hole where the light enters. When you adjust your aperture, you make that hole larger or smaller. This is indicated by the f-stop setting, with a lower number, like f/1.4, denoting a wider aperture and a higher number, like f/22 denoting a narrower aperture.
What does this mean? The size of the aperture hole controls the amount of light that is let in. A wider aperture will let in more light, giving photographs the often-desired result of a focused subject set against a beautifully blurred background. With a narrow aperture, you'll get more of the photo in focus, which is ideal for landscape shots. The aperture you choose when going manual with your photography will depend upon the situation of your photography.
Aperture
Take a look at your camera lens and you can see the hole where the light enters. When you adjust your aperture, you make that hole larger or smaller. This is indicated by the f-stop setting, with a lower number, like f/1.4, denoting a wider aperture and a higher number, like f/22 denoting a narrower aperture.
What does this mean? The size of the aperture hole controls the amount of light that is let in. A wider aperture will let in more light, giving photographs the often-desired result of a focused subject set against a beautifully blurred background. With a narrow aperture, you'll get more of the photo in focus, which is ideal for landscape shots. The aperture you choose when going manual with your photography will depend upon the situation of your photography.
Shutter Speed
The aperture blades on your camera begin to close when you press the shutter button on your camera. The amount of time it takes for them to close completely – usually a fraction of a second – is your shutter speed. In most shooting situations you want to use the fastest shutter speed that you can. This is particularly important for photography without a tripod and for subjects in motion. If, however, you are shooting in low light or if you want a blurred effect in your photos, going manual with your photography by exploring slower shutter speeds can give you the quality shots you want.
ISO
The ISO rating is the digital representation of film speed and indicates the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The faster the film speed – or, the higher the ISO – the more sensitive it is to light. A high ISO will pick up more details in a low-light setting; however, increasing the ISO may come at the cost of picking up more photographic noise. A low ISO more accurately represents the light in a given exposure. Every camera has a base ISO setting, which is usually good to stick with, especially if your lighting situation does not change throughout the shoot. If the lighting changes during the shoot, it will require going manual and adjusting the ISO setting to get the best photos.
Putting the Settings to Work
While you may not need to change the ISO setting on your camera for most situations, going manual with your photography will involve deciding what is the most important setting for your shoot. Is it your priority to capture a shallow depth of field with less of the background in focus? Consider your aperture first. If, however, you want to prevent as much motion blur as possible, you'll want to think about your shutter speed first. After you figure out your first priority for the shoot, the other settings will be easier to determine as you will simply adjust them to expose the right amount of light to the photograph.
The aperture blades on your camera begin to close when you press the shutter button on your camera. The amount of time it takes for them to close completely – usually a fraction of a second – is your shutter speed. In most shooting situations you want to use the fastest shutter speed that you can. This is particularly important for photography without a tripod and for subjects in motion. If, however, you are shooting in low light or if you want a blurred effect in your photos, going manual with your photography by exploring slower shutter speeds can give you the quality shots you want.
ISO
The ISO rating is the digital representation of film speed and indicates the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The faster the film speed – or, the higher the ISO – the more sensitive it is to light. A high ISO will pick up more details in a low-light setting; however, increasing the ISO may come at the cost of picking up more photographic noise. A low ISO more accurately represents the light in a given exposure. Every camera has a base ISO setting, which is usually good to stick with, especially if your lighting situation does not change throughout the shoot. If the lighting changes during the shoot, it will require going manual and adjusting the ISO setting to get the best photos.
Putting the Settings to Work
While you may not need to change the ISO setting on your camera for most situations, going manual with your photography will involve deciding what is the most important setting for your shoot. Is it your priority to capture a shallow depth of field with less of the background in focus? Consider your aperture first. If, however, you want to prevent as much motion blur as possible, you'll want to think about your shutter speed first. After you figure out your first priority for the shoot, the other settings will be easier to determine as you will simply adjust them to expose the right amount of light to the photograph.
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