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03/09/2010 12:06:55 PM · #1 |
| Can anyone tell me any sites where I can learn manually how to use my camera. Learn how to use F-stops, and etc. So I can become a better photographer. I would appreciate any advice. |
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03/09/2010 12:21:31 PM · #2 |
You might find these free guidebooks to be useful, especially the first one:
Using your digital SLR: Tips, techniques and advice for every D-SLR owner, from selecting exposure modes and understanding histograms to choosing file formats and using white balance and much more. |
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03/09/2010 12:35:17 PM · #3 |
| In my area there is a good Art School that offers classes on the basic functions of your camera...do a google search for your area for photography classes...or ask a local camera store where there might be some classes going on...I was surprised at how good the class were...also your local library??? (that's more editing software although) |
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03/09/2010 12:37:44 PM · #4 |
Be careful of information overload. Just try one thing at a time. Put it on "A", for Aperture Priority, and experiment with the aperture settings (f-stops) so you can see what it does. Then do the same thing with "S", Shutter Priority, so you get the feel of what changing these single settings does to your images. Watch how changing the settings affects the settings that the camera selects as you change them and you'll start to understand the correlation. When you go to "M" for Manual, you can use the in camera exposure meter to help you select the right combination of aperture and shutter to get your exposure the way you want it.
Ain't technology grand????
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03/09/2010 01:12:11 PM · #5 |
| One exercise that may help is to select a subject and take several pictures from the same location (don't move the camera or the subject) with different settings, observing the results. |
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03/09/2010 01:15:05 PM · #6 |
Here are a couple of camera simulators to help you understand the ISO - Aperture - Shutter Speed relationship.
Simulator 1
Simulator 2
You don't have to go fully manual on your dSLR to mimic older film cameras. My 30 yr old Pentax ME Super has a light meter in it. After selecting the ISO (film speed/type), I then adjusted the aperture (Av) or the shutter speed (Tv) until the needle of the light meter was centered. You just need to think which attribute you need to control for the image you are taking (Av - Depth of focus or Tv - Action)
Tim
Message edited by author 2010-03-09 13:15:57. |
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03/09/2010 01:23:13 PM · #7 |
| Bryan Peterson: Understanding Exposure is a great start. And your camera manual. |
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03/09/2010 07:45:22 PM · #8 |
doesn't your manual explain all this?
When i was figuring out aperture on my point and shoot camera, I did this:
I set up a row of drinking glasses (about 5) in a diagonal row with my camera looking down them. I took a picture at f/2.8 then took a picture at f/9 and compared them. the difference is easily visible. On a DSLR it is even more noticeable due to the bigger and smaller apertures available on a bigger viewing area.
When I wanted to figure out shutter speed, I turned on the tap and changed my shutter speed from 1/200 to 15 seconds and looked at the differences. Again, these are easily visible.
Then I changed my ISO around to see what happened and how it related to things. When I was driving with my camera out the window on ISO 100, the shots would be blurry, but they would begin to get crisper the higher the ISO went, because I figured out the higher my ISO the faster my shutter speed would be, which is what I would need to freeze action - like I learned with the running water in the sink, the drops were visible at a fast speed but would blur at a longer speed (say 1 second or longer).
Once you figure out every variable on it's own, you can mix and match the effects you like to get the shot you need and also adapt quicker to a situation based on what's called for- so, when I shot sports, I knew from my fun with my sink that I would need a high shutter speed to freeze the action, otherwise there would be blur. How do I get a higher shutter speed? From my fooling around out of the car window, I know I should raise the ISO to get a shutter speed where things become crisp again, so I raised the ISO until I could get a shutter speed reading of somewhere around 1/200 or so. My ISO would be around 1600 but if it needs it, it needs it.
When I'm shooting a landscape I want everything to be in focus- from playing around with the drinking glasses, I knew I had to make the number after the F/ to go higher, so that's what i did until I got to around f/16 or so. Then I took the picture. If I didn't have a tripod, what could I do to avoid blur? My homework before had led me to realize the ISO must go up. Conversely, if the shutter speed is too quick and i want the blur, what do I do? Lower the ISO.
Then, things got a little trickier.
When I was taking pictures of the water running into the sink and blurring it, I found that I could change the shutter speed by changing something else, the aperture. I noticed when my camera was on f/2.8, it would be quicker at taking a shot than if it was f/9. I realized this accidentally when I set the ISO manually to 100 instead of leaving it in auto. I pondered this, and it makes mathematical sense: the higher the number goes, the more light you are restricting from entering the sensor/film so of course, you would need more time for adequate light to get through if the hole is small... much as like water in a jug will take ages if it's drop by drop, but would be quicker if it's under a running spout. The water is light, the jug is the aperture. |
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