You have bought your first “real” camera and want to learn how to take better photos but don’t know where to start so you turn to google. Your head starts to spin as you find page after page after page of all these technical words that start to blur into one BIG jumbled mess.
DON’T FRET!!! I have tried to break these up for you into simple, easy-to-understand explanations to help you on your photography journey.
- Aperture – This refers to the size of the opening in the lens (similar to the pupil in your eye or a window) and is measured in f-stops (eg. f/1.4: f/2; f/5.6: f/8; f/11, etc). A large aperture (like a large window) will let in more light for a brighter photo and are usually used in low light conditions. A small aperture (like a small window) lets in less light. In other words, as the f-stop numbers get smaller, the Aperture (or the opening) gets larger (for example, an aperture of f/2 (known as a small f-stop and wide opening) is LARGER than an aperture of f/8 (known as a large f-stop and narrow opening) and therefore lets in MORE light). Aperture also affects how much of the image is in focus (see “Depth of Field”).
📷 Photography Life - Camera Modes – There are usually five camera modes that you can select using the dial on most cameras. Automatic (“A”), Program (“P”), Shutter Priority (“S” or “TV”), Aperture Priority (“A” or “AV”) and Manual (“M”).
- Colour Temperature – This refers to the colour of light and is measured in units of Kelvin (K). Colour temperatures range from cool (blue tint) to warm (orange/red tint). The lower the number, the “warmer” (more orange/red) an image will appear.
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- Depth of Field - This refers to how much of an image is in focus. Small apertures (eg. f/11, f/16) will have more depth of field and keep more of the image sharp and in focus (such as in landscape photography). This is known as “large depth of field”. Large apertures (eg. f1.4, f/2) will have less depth of field and often have a soft, unfocused background (such as in portrait photography). This is known as “shallow depth of field”.
- Exposure – This refers to how light or dark your image is. A dark photo is considered to be “underexposed” (not exposed to enough light). A light photo is considered to be “overexposed” (exposed to too much light). You can control your exposure through Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.
- File Format – This is how your camera records (saves) your image, either as a JPG or a RAW file. I would personally suggest setting your camera to save as both. RAW files capture a greater amount of image data than a JPG and allows more flexibility in your editing process. NOTE OF WARNING: never give your RAW files to clients/customers. Only ever provide them with your saved JPG files!
- Focal Length – Technically, this is determined by the distance between the lens and the camera’s image sensor when the subject is in focus. In simple terms, it is how “zoomed” in your images will appear and the number on the lens informs you of how much of what is being shot will be captured (the angle of view) and how large things will appear (the magnification). It is written in millimeters on your lens, the greater the number the longer the focal length. A “Zoom Lens” will cover a range of focal lengths while a “Prime Lens” covers just a single focal length.
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- Focus – the process of making adjustments to the lens (either manually or by auto focus) to make your subject as detailed and high in contrast as possible and highlighting what is important in your image and what isn’t. Manual focus is easier to use for portrait, landscape, low light and macro photography (subjects that don’t move and allow you time to adjust your focus). Auto focus is preferred for moving objects such as wildlife and sport photography.
- Focus Modes – Most cameras have an Autofocus Mode button on the top of it which you simply press and then turn the dial near it to select the “Focus Mode”. You can also select the “Focus Mode” through your Menu option. There are two modes to select from:-
a. Autofocus Continuous (AF-C/AI SERVO) – recommended for wildlife and portrait photography, this tells your camera to continually focus as your subject moves.
b. Autofocus Single (AF-S/ONE- SHOT AF) – recommended for landscape photography, this tells your camera to focus once when you press the focusing button; or
c. Automatic Switching (AI FOCUS/AUTO-SERVO AF) – your camera will automatically switch between single focus and continuous focus as the need arises.
- Focus Points – These are the points in the camera’s view which it can focus on and are the circular or square marks that you see through the viewfinder of your camera. You can chose to use a single focus point to select an exact spot on your subject or you can use multiple focus points to capture moving objects. The most sensitive and accurate focus point is called the Central Focus Point and exists in the centre of the viewfinder and is great for when your subject is in the centre of your camera frame. In your camera’s menu option, you can select the “Focus Mode” and tell your camera where you would like it to focus when taking your photo (see “Focus Mode” below).
- Hot Shoe – Some cameras do not come with a built-in flash. The Hot Shoe is the slot at the top of the camera that can be used for adding accessories such as a Flash.
- ISO – This refers to how sensitive the camera is to light and affects the brightness of an image. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive to light it is (eg. ISO 100 is less sensitive to light than ISO 3200 and better for shooting on the daylight). An ISO of 3200 is great for low light situations (eg. Night photography) but starts to introduce graininess (or noise) and may have less detail in the image. ISO works in conjunction with Aperture and Shutter Speed to get the right exposure.
- Long Exposure –This is an image that has been exposed for a long time or uses a long shutter speed and is useful for shooting still objects in low light (such as night photography) or blurring any quick-moving objects such as moving cars.
- Manual Mode – This allows you to have full control over the shutter speed, aperture and ISO (although you can still select automatic ISO if you wish). This often allows you to have consistent exposure, provided light conditions don’t change.
- Metering – This is how your camera reads the light in a scene and is built into your camera (so the brightness, contrast, darkness, etc). It is based on what is called a “middle gray” where white scenes become gray and black scenes become gray. There are 3 different types of metering you can select from on your camera:-
a. Centre-weighted Metering – considers only what is in the CENTRE of a scene and makes it the “middle gray”;
b.Matrix/Evaluative Metering – reads the light from the ENTIRE scene and represents the camera’s best guess at a good exposure from that read;
c. Partial Metering – reads the light from a small circular area in the centre of the camera (around 10-15% of the entire scene) and is only found in Canon cameras; and
d. Spot Metering – measures the light where your focus point is or the centre of the image.
- Prime lens –This is a lens that doesn’t have the capacity to zoom in or out on an object. The photographer is required to physically move themselves or the camera to get closer to or further away from their subject. An example of a prime lens is a 50mm.
- Shutter Release – This is the button that you press down to take your photos and is generally found on the right-hand side of your camera.
- Shutter Speed – This is how long your camera spends taking an image (or how long your “shutter” stays open to let light in and take a photo) and is written in seconds or fractions of seconds (For example, 5”, 2”, ½, ¼, 1/8). The longer the shutter stays open, the more light it lets in. Shutter speed affects your exposure and motion blur. If anything moves while the shutter is open, it will become a blur or if the camera shakes or is moved while the shutter is opened, the image will become blurring (using a tripod will minimise this from happening).
A slow shutter speed like 25” (25 seconds) where the lens is open for a longer time, is great for taking photos of the Milky Way (and using a tripod to keep your camera steady and to avoid any camera movement and unnecessary motion blur). A faster shutter speed of say, 1/1000 or faster, where the lens is open for a shorter period of time, is great for taking action shots of sporting events to freeze any movement in the image or for wildlife photography such as taking images of birds in flight (the higher the shutter speed, the more motion freeze you will have).
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- View Finder – This is the little “window” that you look through to see a representation of the image that you are about to take and will look the same as it does with the naked eye. Some digital cameras, however, do not have the view finder and only have an LCD screen.
- White Balance –This is a setting on your camera that controls how colours are captured in different types of light. Direct sunlight at noon is considered to be a “normal” colour temperature and as such, all other light sources are compared to this as the standard. What you see as “white light” might actually have different colours in it therefore, when you set your White Balance, you are telling your camera to adjust the colours so that your image looks more neutral Your camera has a number of presets for you to choose from (Auto, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Daylight/Sunlight, Cloudy, Flash, Shade or Manual).
- Zoom lens – These cover multiple focal lengths in a single lens and are quite useful to those who are interested in wildlife, sports and landscape photography. These allow you to get up close and personal with your subject, reframing a scene quickly all while not physically moving or actually disturbing your subject.
Happy snapping 📸
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