The advantages of changing settings?

[Starskream666]

Okay so i'm new to photography, at the moment i have my camera on manual all the time as i heard that's the best way... But when i'm changing the Shutter speed/aperture/iso i'm only doing so to make it not too bright or not too dark... without knowing wat the different settings actually do. The only way i can explain is in very lehman terms. I know what each thing does 'shutter/aperture/iso' but i don't know the advantages of changing one and not the other is?

Say a photo is coming out too dark... i would just slow down the shutter, but what would be the difference in just highering the iso instead, both would make the picture lighter. (i know higher iso adds noise)

Or opening the aperture more and keeping the shutter as it is? I know this is probably sounding confusing and im not explaining it well enough but.

I just want to know what the seperate advantages are because there could just be a button to brighten images or darken them but there isnt, there are 3 things you change to get the right light.

Cam

 

[oldmacman]

Let's say you when you are in manual mode you have the correct exposure to capture the image. However, you feel like getting a little artistic and want a shallower depth of field. What are you going to do? Or... you want a much higher DOF. What will you do?

It's all about understanding how the ISO, Aperture and Shutter work together and combine to create your image. THere are whole books on understanding exposure and artistic considerations. There are also tons of articles that explain the exposure triangle. Anything posted here would just be a rehash of those concepts.

Or, you could ask a specific question... not something so broad.

 

[ann]

This might be helpful

SLR Camera Simulator | Simulates a digital SLR camera

 

[nickzou]

This might be helpful

SLR Camera Simulator | Simulates a digital SLR camera

Wow, that's a cool app. Bookmarked.

 

[oldmacman]

This might be helpful

SLR Camera Simulator | Simulates a digital SLR camera

That is an awesome app. I'll be using that with my students in the fall. Thanks.

 

[frisii]

I just want to know what the seperate advantages are

Aperture: smaller = sharper towards edge/deep dof. wider= blurred towards edge/shallow dof. 1) 'Diffraction' reduces sharpness etc beyond a certain aperture (getting smaller) e.g smaller than f11, depends on the lens.

Shutter: quick = sharp/bright light. slow = blur/dim light. 1) exposure compensation works by adjusting this. 2) use a tripod to avoid shake but moving objects will still blur using longer shutter speeds.

ISO: low = higher detail to noise ratio. high=higher noise to detail ratio (maybe desirable..b&w).

 

[radiorickm]

Well, here's what I think.....
You actually may have taken the first step from "taking snapshots" to making photographs.

You see, the three items, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO setting form what most people have learned as an exposure triangle. Each of the three things effcts the way an image is captured in a certain way. Understanding this, you can use these things things to your advantage to create the mage you desire.

You will learn about the "Rule of Reciproscity" and that there are many settings that will yield a "correct exposure". Why you have been told to shoot in Manual Mode is so that you (rather than the camera) can make the decision of which settings to use.

So decide on what the priority in the image is, and use that as the guiding factor in choosing the three elements of the triangle.

Lets say you are taking a portrait of a friend. The first priority should be image quality, followed by sharpness (then all the compositional stuff..rule of thirds etc)
You would want to use a low ISO (highest quality) as the first leg of the triangle. Next think about a shutter speed to stop movement and keep the pictgure sharp. Finally use an aperture that alllows the first two items.

You see it's about balancing the three things. It may seem like a burden to choose, but actually its a GREAT Joy to have the freedom to choose how the image is captured.

An yes there are tons of books written about this subject.

Good luck with your photograhy.

 

[KmH]

There are at least 8 different combinations of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO that will give a correctly exposed photo.

One one of those 8 combinations of settings will be the right 'artistic' combination of settings.

Lens aperture not only effects the exposure, it also effects depth-of-field.

Shutter speed not only effects the exposure, it also determins if motion in the photo will be stopped or not.

ISO not only effects the exposure, it also effects how much image noise there is and what range of lens aperture and shutter speed can be used to get a correct exposure.

Manual mode gives the photographer total artistic control, if the photographer understands how the 3 exposure triad settings relate to one another and how adjustments to each individually will affect the resultant photo.

So, next lets introduce the concept of 'a stop'.

A stop is a doubeling or a halving.
If you have 1/200 set for the shutter speed, and want to change it by a stop, you can double the amount of time the shutter is open (less motion stopping capability) by changing the setting to 1/100 (200 divided by 2 = 100). If you want to halve the amount of time the shutter is open (more motion stopping capability) change the shutter speed to 1/400 (200 times 2). Make a note: most DSLR cameras are set by default to change the aperture/shutter speed/ISO in 1/3 stop steps, not full stop steps.

It's the same for ISO. ISO 200 is half as much image sensor sensitivity than ISO 400 is. The higher the ISO the less light needed to make a correct exposure, but at the price of an increase in the amount of image noise.

It gets a little more confusing with lens aperture because the area, not the diameter, of the lens opening is involved. Consequently, instead of just x2 or divide by 2, we have to use the square root of 2, or 1.4142.

Which is why full stop aperture numbers are: f/1, f/1.4, f/2. f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16. f/22, etc. Aperture numbers are rounded off: 2.8 x 1.4142 = 3.95976 (f/4) and 11 x 1.4142 = 15.5562 (f/16)

For further study I recommend:
Aperture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shutter speed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Film speed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia which is the same as ISO.

For a broder range of essential digital photography tutorials visit: Digital Photography Tutorials