Hi Guys, With our dog approaching 3 this year, my wife and I felt that we really missed the boat on photos while he was a puppy. I dusted off the DSLR I bought my dad a few years ago and now have a mini mission to learn how to use it better. Any of you guys have any good online resources you could recommend? Or courses in / around London that you feel are worth looking at. Not looking to become a professional or anything, just want to learn more that point and shoot to try and get the best out of our family pics. Nims
Best recommendation I can give is stick your camera in Manual and learn how controlling settings influences what happens when you shoot. http://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/dslr-tips-for-beginners-how-to-use-manual-mode/ This give an ok overview on how aperture and shutter speed work together to take a decent shot. In full manual you also have a plethora of other setting with can be tweaked, ISO, White Balance (if you shoot in RAW you can alter the WB in post processing.) You can find a lot in info online on how to get the best out of the camera without having to spend a penny.
Learning how to use a camera is easy-peasy - there are millions of books and guides explaining the theory. Learning what makes a good picture is a lot more difficult. Don't worry too much about the technicalities, you'll pick them up over time. Just take lots and lots of pictures, and more importantly, look at lots and lots of good photographer's pictures. That's how you learn "photography".
I thought it was fairly self explanatory tbh... The top panel is to do with aperture size (size of white circle in black circle) - the smaller the number the bigger the aperture and the blurrier the background. The second panel is shutter speed - the faster the shutter speed (fraction with biggest number on bottom) the more you freeze action and the slower the shutter speed the more blurry action shots will be. The bottom panel is ISO - the bigger the number the more noisy (grainy) your pictures are.
Top row = aperture. The bigger the hole, the shallower the depth of field (area in sharp focus). Middle row = shutter speed. The slower the speed, the more movement is captured. Bottow row = ISO (film speed in the old days). The higher the ISO, the grainier the image will appear. Edit: beaten to it by George.
Sorry for being thick then. But now with your explanation I am a little wiser. Thanks for that and much prefer your explanation.
Odd question as I only tend to get drunk twice a year and don't tend to read camera manuals when I do. I have watched videos and bought a Dummies book for the camera but just cannot seem to grasp things trying to learn this way so have signed up for a evening class come September.
I've just thought, there are online camera simulators that let you play with aperture settings and what-not. (I'm on a tablet that doesn't do Flash so can't try any out at the moment.)
Only pulling your leg, fella. Evening classes are a great idea, you can't beat structured, hands-on training.
I think you are right, Until someone physical shows me the basics then I don't think I will get very far. Pretty much the same thing when I first got a PC, had not a clue but met someone who showed me the basics and ever looked back. Not looking to be a David Bailey or some such but just to know what setting in whatever situation to manually input will do for me. Oh and i would love to know what the three lenses i have should be used in which particular situation also.
This is my take on it. Other than framing the shot, it’s all about controlling the amount of light reaching the sensor and managing the consequences of the settings selected to achieve the light exposure. Too much light and the shot will come out over exposed, this is when the shot is bleached with the detail hidden behind white. Not enough light and the shot will come out under exposed, the shot will appear too dark – the sensor has not been exposed to enough light to capture the image. You can control the amount of light hitting the sensor in 2 primary ways, and a 3rd artificially. 1. You change the aperture of the lens, open it up (small f number [f2.8] to allow more light and close it down (large f number [f32] to restrict light 2. You can control the amount of time the sensor is exposed to light, the exposure or shutter speed, this is generally expressed in fractions of a second (i.e. 1/3200 for a very fast exposure and 1/50 and above for a slow exposure) the longer the exposure the more light. 3. Controlling the sensor sensitivity, this is expressed as an ISO number – the higher the number the higher the sensitivity to light. If you increase the ISO it will require less exposure to light. The consequences: Aperture: A large aperture will allow a lot of light to be exposed to the sensor, but may result in a shallow depth of field (only the primary focal point will be in focus, i.e. backgrounds or foregrounds may come out blurry) A small aperture will ensure more of the frame is in focus, however will usually require a slow shutter speed causing moving objects to blur Exposure/Shutter speed: A fast shutter speed will freeze the frame, moving object will remain in focus and not result in motion blur but may not allow enough light to reach the sensor to ensure correct exposure A slow shutter speed will allow more light to reach the sensor, but moving object will be effected by motion blur. In addition if handheld this could lead to camera shake (movement when holding the camera) where the whole picture is impacted by motion blur. ISO: Low ISO will result in the best picture quality, but will require more exposure to light (either large aperture or slower shutter speed) High ISO will allow for a shot to be taken in low light conditions, but will result in a grainy picture. The key is to combine all three to achieve the best compromise, obviously camera and lens quality and features will play a part.
Try some practical demonstrations of the semi-auto modes: Put the camera in Av mode (aperture priority) and auto ISO. You can fiddle with the aperture and the camera will take care of the rest of the settings. Pop a can of coke on a table and take a photo of it, fairly close up, at F4. Now take the same photo at F16. Look at the images and notice the difference in how much is in focus in the foreground and background. Put the camera in Tv mode (shutter priority) and auto ISO. Again you can fiddle with the shutter speed and the camera will take care of the rest of the settings. Photograph a moving object (a fan is ideal) at 1/500 and again at 1/30. Look at images and notice the difference in the shutter speed freezing or showing the movement.
