Discamer: I am not a Pro. Just to share what I know so far. edit: And my English

Photography 101 part 2.
You don’t need a dslr or any other fancy camera to take good photo. They just offer more flexibility. The camera on your phone is very useful because it is always with you.

For a dslr camera or a camera with manual control, there is a 3 setting that needs to be understand first, other than this ( mostly ) is just your eyes and your subjects.

Changes to any of these changes the brightness of the image because more light is going in. (or more sensitive)

is all about balance of these settings depending on the situation.

Shutter speed.

The time the shutter “opens” to capture light

800px-Windflower-05237-nevit

(assuming they had spin at the same speed, the shutter speed changed, the left one fast shutter speed, the right one slow shutter speed, that also means the Aperture or  iso had changed, for the left one the Aperture will need to be wider to get the same amount of light in, the right one will need a small Aperture or it will be a very bight image (or just white) )

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_speed

Aperture.

The size of the hole that lets light into the camera.

wide open – morel light in – shallow depth of field. Smaller F number eg. f/5.6    ,  f/2.8   ,  f / 1.4

narrow – less light in – larger range in focus. Larger F number eg. f/32

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(same here S or iso would have changed for these 2 images, is all about balance)

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture

iso.

The sensitivity of the sensor or film.

for digital sensor, large iso means a noises image.

Lens,

there is 2 value that’s impotent for a lens.

Aperture and focal length “zoom”

White balance ( Color ),

What the human eye see as white is not the same as the camera,

we can see it as white but it turns out to be yellowish because of the color temperature (from light, sun, etc)

to correct this, there is white balance, most of the time the camera get it right, when its wrong, the color will mess up , however it can be corrected in photoshop (better in RAW mode)

To use them

Well for most cameras there are: (this is for nikon)

M anual       -   control  everything

A perture    -  control the Aperture and     +/- Exposure Compensation, S will be set by camera, calculated by the light meter and the Exposure Compensation Setting.

S hutter       -  control the Shutter    and     +/- Exposure Compensation, A will be set by camera, calculated by the light meter and the Exposure Compensation Setting.

P rogram    – controls  +/- Exposure Compensation, “AUTO” A and P or it have some pairs of A and S to choose from.

I use P for just everyday photo, S or A when I have the time to take a nice one. M when I have lots of time and wants to play a bit.

and use tripod !


next topics

Flash

Lighting

things to avoid

6:35 am, nap time.  My sleeping time is so normal.