Photography 101 – a quick reference on how to use your DSLR camera
Ready to tackle that big hunk of a dSLR you love to hold? Do you love the images you create, but at the same time, feel like all the functions are overwhelming? You’re rocking using it in Auto mode, but you secretly wish you could switch it over to manual. Frankly, not having auto to lean on scares the crap out of you.
If that’s the case, then this tutorial is just what you need!
First, let me start by saying you only learn by doing. Reading this tutorial isn’t going to make you a better photographer – going out and practicing what you learn will do that. So, print out the handy dandy field guide when you’re done reading and then get out there and play.
By the time you’re done reading, you’ll have the tools to confidently which from “Program” mode to “Manual” mode.
Second, this tutorial isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s jam packed full of an entire course’s worth of information and it’s quite lengthy. So bookmark it, read it again and again, and give yourself the time to absorb it all in!
You will learn about the daunting exposure triangle and how aperture, iso and shutter speed work together to create your perfect image. (And how YOU actually decide what perfect exposure is!)
But first, let’s cover the basics:
Introducing….. your camera!
Because dSLRs are so much bigger than other Point and Shoot cameras, they can look a little intimidating. In truth, they are actually much simpler to use and control than a Point and Shoot camera because all those buttons on the back give you the ability to change and set functions easier than ever before.
If you haven’t already, begin exploring your camera.
Look through all the menus, turn all the dials, and learn what your camera feels like in your hands.
Now a bit about exposure
What is exposure?
Exposure is how you want your final image to look on paper. Contrary to popular belief, there really isn’t such a thing as one perfect exposure. Optimum exposure is in the eye of the beholder.
Of course, there are some guidelines that should be followed, but photography is an art.
Understanding the science behind exposure will allow you to create the art you want.
What does it mean to create a perfectly exposed photograph?
A perfectly exposed photograph will represent the scene you see without compromising any detail. It should be somewhat representative of the scene you see in real life. In other words, if you’re photographing a low light scene, such as a darker room, your photograph should look like it was taken in a dark room.
In reality, even the best image sensors in a camera cannot record the range of darks and lights that our eyes can – therefore, perfect exposure is always a balance of light and dark – and what you feel is most important to record.
(You are still smarter than your camera, no matter how expensive that camera was!)
For example…
This scene has a wide range from light to dark tones. An image sensor cannot record it all (i.e., it can’t keep the detail in the light areas AND the dark areas). Therefore, it’s up to you to decide what proper exposure is. The image on the left is what a camera will decide proper exposure is. It tries to reduce everything in the scene to be “average” or “middle grey.” In reality, the image on the right is what we see in our minds as proper exposure – because we know what areas of the photograph are important. We want the detail in their faces, not in the windows behind them.
Technically, neither of these images is “wrong.”
Exposure refers to the amount of light that falls on an image sensor (the thing in the camera that actually records your image). There are 3 variables you control to determine how the image will be recorded on that sensor. In perfect balance, together, they create the exposure triangle.
You control what exposure you create by reading your camera’s light meter and then knowing how to adjust it.
There are three elements that determine exposure:
ISO + Aperture + Shutter speed
It’s represented as a triangle because it’s a balancing act of the three elements of exposure. And each one is controlled by a button/dial on your camera.
ISO
ISO adds brightness to your image. Technically, the level of ISO determines how sensitive your camera is to light. As you increase ISO, you increase the camera’s ability to “let more light” into your camera. As long as your camera isn’t on the little green square, you should be able to control what your ISO settings are.
Although you always want to use the a lower ISO setting (especially if you only have an entry level DSLR camera), remember that noise isn’t a horrible thing to have in your image. We discuss this more in depth right here.
This image’s ISO is 5000!!! Remember that sometimes grain is absolutely acceptable in an image!
Aperture
You want to create those professional looking images? The ones with the blurry backgrounds, where your subject almost pops out of the scene?
The secret is in understanding aperture and depth of field.
Lenses have diaphragms that open and close, depending on how much light you want to let into your scene.
When you want to control how much of your scene is in focus – use the A/Av setting on your camera.
The smaller the f-number, the wider the aperture is, and the blurrier your background will be. (This is discussed in more depth in Kickin’ Auto!) This is known as depth of field.
A very wide aperture was used here to focus on the wheat grains.
A very low aperture was used here to show lots of detail and have a large depth of field
Both of these images were taken near the same time on the same day. By adjusting aperture, I was able to craft my story. If you want to know how to make your backgrounds blurry, you need to read this article. But make sure you also read this one, which tells you why shooting wide open can be such a bad idea!
Shutter speed
Shutter speed refers to how long your camera’s shutter is open. This lets in light, which is how a photograph is created.
Shutter speed gives you the ability to control time. Do you want to create a smooth flowing stream of water, or to show each single water droplet?
Changing shutter speed is how you can depict motion in a two dimensional image. It’s also the most common culprit of blurry photos (second only to poor focusing!)
The reason you get blurry images, assuming your focus is OK, is because the shutter speed is too slow. The shutter was left open for too long – and you recorded unwanted motion in your final image. With slow shutter speeds, it’s best to use a tripod. Read this to find out how you can master tack sharp images.
When you use your camera in S/Tv mode, you are telling your camera what you want the shutter speed to be.
I deliberately slowed my shutter speed here to show this baby’s legs dancing to her daddy’s guitar beat!
Now that you understand how the elements of exposure come together to create a photograph (and how to set them in your camera), let’s talk about focusing. Because if you can’t focus your camera properly, it doesn’t matter how well exposed your image is. As the saying goes “you can’t fix poop.”
Focusing
If you only ever learn one system on your camera, let it be how to control your focus points.
If you’ve never played around with the focusing systems on your camera, it’s likely still set to automatic autofocus. This means you are letting your camera decide what should be in focus and what shouldn’t (and you’re smarter than that!). Take 5 minutes to read up in your manual how switch your camera out of automatic autofocus and into single point autofocus. And read more about it right here.
Don’t confuse this with manually switching from AF to MF on your lens - I’m not talking about manual focusing – I’m talking about manually selecting your autofocus point. This will open a WORLD of possibilities for you!
Moving towards manual
With your understanding of when to increase ISO, how to control Shutter Speed through the T/S mode, how to control depth of field (aperture) through the A/Av mode and how to manual select your focus points, you are well on your way to rocking full manual mode.
There’s just one last point to share with you: The light meter (AKA Exposure Compensation)
In all other modes, your camera decides what proper exposure is. It will always make the light meter read “0,” indicating a balanced exposure. But based on where the light is coming from in your scene, and what is important for you to capture, you camera may not be getting it right. That’s why you end up with images like this:
Classic in-camera light meter fails!
We determine correct exposure by metering. Your light meter looks like this (or something really close to this:)
It’s usually at the bottom of your viewfinder, or, it may show on the back of your camera.
It tells you what it thinks perfect exposure should be (based on the settings you’ve set) by keeping your pointer in the middle of the light meter. (It does that by adjusting the other aspects of the exposure triangle that you haven’t set.)
Backlit images are commonly underexposed because your camera’s light meter wants to expose for everything in the scene properly.
All that goes out the window in manual mode! You are in total control now. You tell your camera exactly what you want all three settings to be and YOU decide what your perfect exposure is. Complete creative freedom!
But first you need to know how to read that light meter.
As you point your camera at varying degrees of lightness and darkness in a scene (i.e., point it straight at a window and then at some shadows on the floor), your indicator will move along the exposure line, telling you that based on your current settings, your image is now under or over-exposed. You decide what setting to alter to make the correct image. We go more in depth on your camera’s light mere right here.
Photographing in manual mode (a real quick example)
First, set your focal point and adjust your exposure settings so that the light meter reads “0,” indicating a balanced exposure – then take a test picture.
The image is too underexposed for me! Redo!
If you’re not happy, you need to adjust exposure somehow. You now must decide what exposure element is most important to you (usually that’s aperture, for the blurry background).
Now what was wrong with your image?
Was it too dark? Then consider increasing your ISO, lowering your shutter speed, or opening your aperture.
Was it too light? Then consider decreasing your ISO, increasing your shutter speed, or closing your aperture.
On the next pass she made, I adjusted my settings (decreasing shutter speed) to bump the exposure in the image. The light meter in the camera showed as overexposed, but that was perfectly fine- I knew what I wanted to create!
BAM! You’re manually adjusting exposure and photographing in manual.
Still itching to learn more? We’ve got you covered:
Photography is all about light. Do you really understand what makes beautiful light? Read this to open your eyes to the concept of open shade.
Do your images come out too blue, too cool, too yellow or too pink? That would be a problem with your white balance. This is how you can capture beautiful colour straight out of the camera.
Can your camera not handle those high ISO numbers? (And yes, if you have an entry level dSLR, it likely cannot go above ISO 1,200!). Here’s what you can do instead.
Another super common question is whether you should be photographing in RAW or jpeg. Weigh in right here.
And very last, did you know that my secret trick for learning to photograph in manual was actually to keep my camera in auto? For real. Here’s why.