groping in the dark

Get Comfortable with the Camera

Sorry yesterday's entry was so long. I'll try to restrain myself from now on...

For the first few years that I owned my Canon Rebel, I left it in auto-mode. I didn't have to worry about focus, when to turn on the flash, where to set my aperture or shutter speed, etc. The only thing I worried about was framing the shot (using the zoom lens if necessary) and pushing the button. I was essentially using a rather expensive point-and-shoot camera.

Now that I have begun using manual mode, I know that one of the hardest things for beginners to learn is how to control their exposures effectively. There are several variables at play and they are all intertwined, but it all boils down to one thing: photography is all about light, as in the amount of light that you allow into your camera to hit a little square piece of film.

For the beginner, there are three things to consider:

Film speed or ISO

Basically, the ISO rating indicates the sensitivity of film to light. The higher the ISO number, the less light that is needed to produce an image.

Aperture size or f-stop

This is the size of the opening in your lens that lets light into the camera. Like many things in photography, the numbers used seem backwards. In this case, the lower the f-stop, the bigger the opening.

Shutter speed

This is just what it sounds like. Your camera has a "curtain" that opens and closes to allow light entering the camera to hit the film. Again, the numbers are backwards. Low numbers mean the shutter stay open longer, allowing light to hit the film for a longer period of time.

Changing any one of these factors will affect your exposure. Obviously, changing more than one factor can have an offsetting effect which can be tricky until you get the hang of it. More about this later.