I need help and want to learn

[bunny99123]

I, like you, am not a technical person...the idea of reading my manual...yuck! Here's an easy way to think about it:

**ISO is like film speed...the higher the number, the more sensitive to light your sensor will be but there will be more grain (noise) in your photograph. Can be a cool effect, depending on the look you're going for.

**Shutter speed determines how long the shutter will stay open. Practical examples: slower speeds (1/30th and below) can be used for night photography (with a tripod to avoid camera blur), medium speeds (1/50th-1/200th) are good for general shooting (remember you want your shutter speed to equal the length of the lens to avoid blurry photos), and super fast speeds (1/250th +) are good for sports/wildlife/action photography. DISCLAIMER: these are just starting guidelines and by no means are the ONLY ways to use your shutter speed. As you work with your camera, you'll find your comfort zone.

**Aperture is how large the iris opening is on the lens. This is a two-fold aspect: 1) it changes how much light hits the sensor and 2) it changes how much is in focus (depth of field) in your photograph. DISCLAIMER: I am going to explain this in the NON-technical way as I think it can be easier to understand. When you have a "small" number (1.4-4.5) as your aperture, you will have a shallow depth of field and not very much will be in focus (great for portraits or macro photography). This will also let a lot of light onto your sensor. When you have a "large" number (f5.6-f22), you will be letting in less light and more will be in focus in your picture (good for general photography, landscape, group portraits and architectural photography).

All three of these make up the perfect exposure. As you get further along in your study, you'll find "presets" or your go-to settings for whatever you are shooting. I started off with the TV mode on my camera, that way I could assure my subject would be still by using a fast enough shutter speed. It will take time and it might be frustrating but you'll get the hang of it.

Lastly, while I don't like reading my manual, I actually did eventually read it. It helps to know what the functions of the buttons on your camera are but in most DSLRs it can be overwhelming at all the things it CAN do. So just focus on the three things you need to understand well and the rest are just bells and whistles. Oh and learn how to reset all functions on your camera...it will stop you from going crazy if you've changed up your settings so much and you can't figure out how to change it back.

Good job explaining it!

 

[bunny99123]

I read my manual and also bought a book written specific to my camera. It went into fuller depth of what my camera can do. The manual just offered the basic. Boy, did that help. Next, read DSLR for Dummies. Good job explaining in simple terms. I actually did more than read them, I studied them. Even made me a short list to remind me what to check. Nothing beats practicing.

 

[thunderkyss]

I read my manual and also bought a book written specific to my camera. It went into fuller depth of what my camera can do. The manual just offered the basic. Boy, did that help. Next, read DSLR for Dummies. Good job explaining in simple terms. I actually did more than read them, I studied them. Even made me a short list to remind me what to check. Nothing beats practicing.

what helped me a lot, was going to youtube & searching "dslr photography" and every time I heard a word like "aperture" I'd search it as well.