After a short hiatus for the holidays, I’m back into my 31 days to a better photo. I found that after just a couple weeks of a break, I’d forgotten everything I learned… awesome. So I went back, reread the first seven days of the tutorial, and attempted to summarize my new knowledge. I felt like a college student again, with all of my headers and bullet points.
A RECAP
There are three ingredients that can be fiddled with on a camera: shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. Changing the setting of one (or all three) will change the outcome of your photo.
Shutter Speed
- how long the lens is open
- measured in seconds
- ex: 2″ = 2 seconds
- ex: 250 = 1/250 of a second
- a longer opening lets in more light, but will be blurry unless everything (camera and subject) are perfectly still
- on my camera:
- flip dial to M
- press center button
- up and down arrows control
- on left side of screen
ISO
- number refers to light receptors
- low ISO = clear photo, high ISO = grainy photo
- measured in numbers such as 100, 200, 400, 800
- on my camera:
- flip dial to M
- press menu
- scroll up or down to get to ISO
Aperture
- Size of lens opening
- Small number = small border around large opening = focus on subject with everything else blurred
- Large number = thick border around small opening = all of photo is in focus
- Measured in F stops (my camera only has two choices – 3.5 and 8)
- ex: f/3.5 would have a single sharp subject and a softer focus on the rest of the photo, f/8 would have the entire photo sharp
- On my camera:
- flip dial to M
- press center button
- left and right arrows control
- on right side of screen
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Kate
