Learning The Basics of SLR Photography

By Amy Renfrey


Understanding how to use your SLR is not as tough as it appears. Think of the digital camera as a box that lets in light. On that box is a series of various controls. These controls allow you to let a lot or a modest bit of light in. The quantity of lighting coming in will influence how you capture your image.

Let's start with the automatic function. The auto function enables the camera to formulate the judgements for you. This lets you to just focus on shooting the photo instead of worrying about the shooting modes. The auto mode is simple however it is not ideal.

The basics of digital SLR photography are simple to become skilled at when you recognize how the camera controls lighting. Camera has control over the light two main ways; Aperture and shutter speed. Your aperture is the opening in which you allow your light in. Your shutter speed is how you organize the speed at which the lighting is coming in. You need them both to be able to control the light.

Think of the camera as a human eye. Your aperture is the iris that lets light in and reduces so that light won't come in. The shutter speed is like the blinking eyelid. Your aperture is also known as F stop. F-stop is a numeric value that tells you how much the iris is open. If the aperture is pretty open then we say that it is a considerable aperture. A large aperture is a small number. For example F2 .8 is a very large aperture. It means the aperture is open very wide. It is comparable to how the iris behaves in soft light. The iris will open more to let more light in so that we can distinguish things in the dark. Your digital camera is the same.

Aperture not only controls how wide the iris is but it plays a necessary role to play in depth of field. Depth of field just means what part of the photo is in clear, sharp focus. If every single object in the photo is in focus then we call that a long depth of field. If there is only a little part of the photo that is in clear, sharp focus we call this a short depth of field.

When you have a large aperture, F2 .8 for example, your depth of field can be short. If you have a little aperture such as F 22, then everything in image is in focus. (Light allowing of course.) I will teach this in another lesson.

Shutter speed is directly linked to seconds. Shutter speed is calculated in fractions of a second, seconds and then minutes. A number of cameras have a function called "Bulb". This will mean that the shutter stays open for as long as you hold it open. You can attach a particular cable to the camera and press it once. The shutter will open up. It will shut only when you depress the remote cable button. This will mean that you could have the shutter right open for an hour if your camera allowed it.

Let's take for example the night sky. There is not much light at the human eye can distinguish. In this instance we may want to keep the shutter open for 10 seconds or more. However if we want to take a photo of movement that is fast paced and "freeze" the action, then we want to retain a very fast shutter speed. This is where we get into fractions of a second. I have a Canon 5D Mark II and the shutter speed can go to 1/8000 of a second. This is extremely fast! I use a fast shutter speed when I want to create the effect of water floating in midair for example.

You will see different shooting modes on your camera dial. Not only do you have the automatic setting but you have aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and possibly extra. Aperture priority sets the aperture for you. It means the camera chooses what f-stop to shoot in and you choose the shutter speed. Shutter priority works the other way round. This will mean that that the camera picks the shutter speed and you do the rest These two shooting modes are okay but you still won't get the ideal result. The best setting to use is manual.

When you use the manual setting you have essentially the most control over your digital camera. You can decide the shutter speed and the aperture concurrently. Once you become familiar with how the manual setting works then you can begin to have more control over lighting. Once you have utmost control over the lighting that is when your images begin to look lovely.

Learning how to use your SLR is not a heavy or hard course. It actually a lot of enjoyment and quite simple when you get the hang of it. The basics of digital SLR photography simply depend on your camera's ability to interpret light. This of course means that you have to understand light as well! Once you appreciate how light works through your camera you can then choose the shutter speed and aperture that produces the photographs that you desire.

Once you get better at the basics of digital SLR photography you can then progress on to using tools to enhance your light. These accessories can improve and manipulate the appearance of light in your images. Using the flash is one such example of this. But I will leave this to another tutorial.

Your onboard light gauge is a very significant part of knowing light. Your internal light meter is a small scale that you see when you look through the digital camera. When you put your dial on manual then the indicator will be more to the left or the right.

Based on what camera model you have the indicator means there is not enough or too much light. When the indicator is sitting in the center of the scale it means the camera believes there is just the precise amount of light and you may confidently take the photo. To be able to master light effectively just begin photographing in automatic and write down the aperture and shutter speed that the camera has recommended. Then change your dial to manual and pick those same aperture and shutter speed settings. You will see that those settings may not be the perfect ones that you once thought. At times at those settings can make the photo under exposed. This is why it is imperative to take photos using manual.

Learning how to use your SLR takes a bit practice. The great thing about photography is you can always remove the photos you don't like. Do not be fearful of making mistakes. Mistakes are catalysts for discovering new things. Once you learn how your camera interprets light then you will be free to become the skilled photographer you've always dreamed about.




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