Understanding how to use your SLR is not as tough as it appears. Think of the digital camera as a box that lets in light. On that box is a series of various controls. These controls allow you to let a lot or a modest bit of light in. The quantity of lighting coming in will influence how you capture your image.
Let's start with the automatic function. The auto function enables the camera to formulate the judgements for you. This lets you to just focus on shooting the photo instead of worrying about the shooting modes. The auto mode is simple however it is not ideal.
The basics of digital SLR photography are simple to become skilled at when you recognize how the camera controls lighting. Camera has control over the light two main ways; Aperture and shutter speed. Your aperture is the opening in which you allow your light in. Your shutter speed is how you organize the speed at which the lighting is coming in. You need them both to be able to control the light.
Think of the camera as a human eye. Your aperture is the iris that opens and closes. The shutter speed is like the eyelid. Your aperture is also identified as F stop. F-stop is a numeric value that tells you how much the iris is open. If the aperture is pretty open then we say that it is a substantial aperture. A large aperture is a small number. For example F2 .8 is a very wide aperture. It means the aperture is open very wide. It is comparable to how the iris operates in soft light. The iris will open more to let supplementary light in so that we can distinguish things in the dark. Your digital camera is the same.
Aperture not only controls how wide the iris is but it plays a necessary role to play in depth of field. Depth of field just means what part of the photo is in clear, sharp focus. If every single object in the photo is in focus then we call that a long depth of field. If there is only a little part of the photo that is in clear, sharp focus we call this a short depth of field.
When you have a wide aperture, F2 .8 for example, your depth of field can be small. If you have a small aperture such as F 22, then everything in image is in focus. (Lighting permitting of course.) I will explain this in another article.
Shutter speed is intimately linked to seconds. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second, seconds and then minutes. A number of cameras have a setting called "Bulb". This means the shutter stays wide open for as long as you keep it open. You can fasten a particular cable to the digital camera and press it just the once. The shutter will open up. It will close up only when you compress the cable button. This will mean that you might have the shutter right open for an hour if your camera allowed it.
Let's take for example the night sky. There is not much light at the human eye can distinguish. In this instance we may want to keep the shutter open for 10 seconds or more. However if we want to take a photo of movement that is fast paced and "freeze" the action, then we want to retain a very fast shutter speed. This is where we get into fractions of a second. I have a Canon 5D Mark II and the shutter speed can go to 1/8000 of a second. This is extremely fast! I use a fast shutter speed when I want to create the effect of water floating in midair for example.
You will see types of shooting modes on your camera dial. Not only do you have the automatic mode but you have aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and possibly more. Aperture priority creates the aperture for you. It means the camera chooses what f-stop to shoot in and you select the shutter speed. Shutter priority works the other way round. This will mean that that the camera chooses the shutter speed and you do the rest These two settings are okay but you still will not get the ideal result. The best function to use is manual.
When you employ the manual setting you have essentially the most control over your digital camera. You can set the shutter speed and the aperture concurrently. Once you become comfortable with how manual works then you can start to have more influence over light. Once you have most control over the light that is when your pictures begin to look beautiful.
Learning how to use your SLR is not a intense or difficult progression. It actually a lot of enjoyment and fairly easy when you get the hang of it. The basics of digital SLR photography purely depend on your camera's capability to interpret light. This of course will mean that that you have to comprehend light too! Once you recognize how light works with your camera you can then choose the shutter speed and aperture that produces the photos that you desire.
Once you get better at the basics of digital SLR photography you can then progress on to using tools to enhance your light. These accessories can improve and manipulate the appearance of light in your images. Using the flash is one such example of this. But I will leave this to another tutorial.
Your onboard light gauge is a very significant part of knowing light. Your internal light meter is a small scale that you see when you look through the digital camera. When you put your dial on manual then the indicator will be more to the left or the right.
Depending on what camera model you have the indicator means there is too little or too much light. When the indicator is sitting in the center of the scale it means the camera believes there is just the right amount of light and you may confidently take the shot. To be able to master light effectively simply start shooting in auto and write down the aperture and shutter speed that the camera has suggested. Then switch your camera dial to manual and pick those same aperture and shutter speed settings. You will notice that those suggestions may not be the perfect ones that you once thought. Sometimes at those settings will make the photo under exposed. This is why it is significant to take photos using manual.
Learning how to use your SLR takes a bit practice. The best thing about photography is you can always delete the photos you don't care for. Do not be fearful of making errors. Errors are opportunities for discovering new things. Once you discover how your camera interprets light then you will be free to become the skilled photographer you've always dreamt about.
Let's start with the automatic function. The auto function enables the camera to formulate the judgements for you. This lets you to just focus on shooting the photo instead of worrying about the shooting modes. The auto mode is simple however it is not ideal.
The basics of digital SLR photography are simple to become skilled at when you recognize how the camera controls lighting. Camera has control over the light two main ways; Aperture and shutter speed. Your aperture is the opening in which you allow your light in. Your shutter speed is how you organize the speed at which the lighting is coming in. You need them both to be able to control the light.
Think of the camera as a human eye. Your aperture is the iris that opens and closes. The shutter speed is like the eyelid. Your aperture is also identified as F stop. F-stop is a numeric value that tells you how much the iris is open. If the aperture is pretty open then we say that it is a substantial aperture. A large aperture is a small number. For example F2 .8 is a very wide aperture. It means the aperture is open very wide. It is comparable to how the iris operates in soft light. The iris will open more to let supplementary light in so that we can distinguish things in the dark. Your digital camera is the same.
Aperture not only controls how wide the iris is but it plays a necessary role to play in depth of field. Depth of field just means what part of the photo is in clear, sharp focus. If every single object in the photo is in focus then we call that a long depth of field. If there is only a little part of the photo that is in clear, sharp focus we call this a short depth of field.
When you have a wide aperture, F2 .8 for example, your depth of field can be small. If you have a small aperture such as F 22, then everything in image is in focus. (Lighting permitting of course.) I will explain this in another article.
Shutter speed is intimately linked to seconds. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second, seconds and then minutes. A number of cameras have a setting called "Bulb". This means the shutter stays wide open for as long as you keep it open. You can fasten a particular cable to the digital camera and press it just the once. The shutter will open up. It will close up only when you compress the cable button. This will mean that you might have the shutter right open for an hour if your camera allowed it.
Let's take for example the night sky. There is not much light at the human eye can distinguish. In this instance we may want to keep the shutter open for 10 seconds or more. However if we want to take a photo of movement that is fast paced and "freeze" the action, then we want to retain a very fast shutter speed. This is where we get into fractions of a second. I have a Canon 5D Mark II and the shutter speed can go to 1/8000 of a second. This is extremely fast! I use a fast shutter speed when I want to create the effect of water floating in midair for example.
You will see types of shooting modes on your camera dial. Not only do you have the automatic mode but you have aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and possibly more. Aperture priority creates the aperture for you. It means the camera chooses what f-stop to shoot in and you select the shutter speed. Shutter priority works the other way round. This will mean that that the camera chooses the shutter speed and you do the rest These two settings are okay but you still will not get the ideal result. The best function to use is manual.
When you employ the manual setting you have essentially the most control over your digital camera. You can set the shutter speed and the aperture concurrently. Once you become comfortable with how manual works then you can start to have more influence over light. Once you have most control over the light that is when your pictures begin to look beautiful.
Learning how to use your SLR is not a intense or difficult progression. It actually a lot of enjoyment and fairly easy when you get the hang of it. The basics of digital SLR photography purely depend on your camera's capability to interpret light. This of course will mean that that you have to comprehend light too! Once you recognize how light works with your camera you can then choose the shutter speed and aperture that produces the photos that you desire.
Once you get better at the basics of digital SLR photography you can then progress on to using tools to enhance your light. These accessories can improve and manipulate the appearance of light in your images. Using the flash is one such example of this. But I will leave this to another tutorial.
Your onboard light gauge is a very significant part of knowing light. Your internal light meter is a small scale that you see when you look through the digital camera. When you put your dial on manual then the indicator will be more to the left or the right.
Depending on what camera model you have the indicator means there is too little or too much light. When the indicator is sitting in the center of the scale it means the camera believes there is just the right amount of light and you may confidently take the shot. To be able to master light effectively simply start shooting in auto and write down the aperture and shutter speed that the camera has suggested. Then switch your camera dial to manual and pick those same aperture and shutter speed settings. You will notice that those suggestions may not be the perfect ones that you once thought. Sometimes at those settings will make the photo under exposed. This is why it is significant to take photos using manual.
Learning how to use your SLR takes a bit practice. The best thing about photography is you can always delete the photos you don't care for. Do not be fearful of making errors. Errors are opportunities for discovering new things. Once you discover how your camera interprets light then you will be free to become the skilled photographer you've always dreamt about.
About the Author:
Amy Renfrey is a professional photography teacher. She shows you how to take stunning photos every single time, even if you have never used a digital camera before. To discover how to master the basics of slr photography/ better than ever before visit her website today.
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