Using Auto-Focus

Auto-Focus consists of holding your camera, pointing at the object/ what you are aiming to photograph, and instead of just pushing the shutter down and taking the photo straight away you hold the shutter down half way which allows the camera too auto-focus. The lens may need to be in “AF” mode. This can be useful when you are taking a photo of something that is moving, and may be helpful when taking photos of dynamic situations.

Using Manual Focus

Manual focus is used by using the switch on the lens and turning the front ring to adjust, this is you taking control. Manual focus provides you with precision and ultimate control over your focus. Manual focus vs Auto focus will always come down too the situation of the photo you are wishing too take. Most professional photographers tend too use manual focus due to being able to have full control.

White Balance

White balance is used too improve photos, it is used by going too your cameras menu, selecting the option to set a custom white balance, and then set it by choosing your photo. White balance is a setting in your camera that helps you produce a natural-looking colouration in your image. The goal is too achieve the most natural looking colours as possible. You can also set a white balance in your camera, such as “Daylight WB” which can be used to naturally capture warm scenes.

ISO

ISO is simply a camera setting that will brighten or darken your photo. Low values such as ISO 100 are most useful for a sunny out door shot, whereas things like ISO 1600 or higher are best for shooting at night. Keep the ISO setting as low as possible too reduce graininess. You can change the ISO by opening the menu, or the quick menu of your camera, otherwise there is a button on the camera near the shutter release that says ISO. If you press this button, your dial previously used to control shutter speed will instead control ISO until a value is selected

Aperture

Aperture in photography is the opening of the camera lens, which is related to the amount of light that passes through the camera lens to the image sensor. Low apertures let more light into the camera and higher apertures let less light into the camera. A higher aperture is better when you want your shot to be in focus, and a lower aperture is better when you are taking a photo in low-light. Many cameras have a physical dial that can be turned to change aperture which is measured within f-stops. If yours doesn’t have a dial just check your cameras general settings.

Focal Length : wide, standard and telephoto lenses

Focal length controls the angle of view and magnification of a photograph. A wide-angle lens has a focal length of 35mm or shorter, which gives you a wide field of view. The wider your field of view, the more of the scene you’ll be able to see in the frame. Standard lens (focal length 35mm to 70mm): These versatile lenses are good for just about any type of photography, from portraits to landscapes. These all-in-one lenses render images roughly the way the human eye sees the world, and easily adjust to a shallow or deep depth of field, depending on aperture. Most telephoto lenses range from “medium” (with a focal length between 70 and 200mm) all the way up to “super telephoto” (with focal lengths longer than 300mm). This is when the physical length of the lens is shorter then the focal length. They are great for brining distant scenes and subjects closer.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field is the distance between the nearest and furthest elements in a sense that appear to be “acceptably sharp” in a image. Depth of field is the portion of that distance or ‘depth’ that is ‘in-focus’. A higher depth of field would see the whole image from foreground to background sharp and in focus, a lower depth would result in blurry backgrounds and blurred elements in the foreground too. You can affect the depth of field by changing the following factors: aperture, the focal length and the distance from the subject. A wide angle lens will have greater depth of field than a normal or telephoto lens at any given aperture.

Slow/ Fast shutter speed

A slow shutter speed keeps the shutter open for longer. This not only allows more light to be recorded, it also means any moving objects will appear blurred. Slow shutter speeds are commonly used for photographing in low light conditions, or to capture motion blur.Fast shutter speeds in photography allow you to control the action and the mood of the image you’re creating. You can freeze moments that are too fast for the naked eye to see. To change your camera’s shutter speed manually: Select ‘Shutter Priority’ mode. On the camera’s dial, this is usually indicated by an ‘S’ or ‘Tv’. Scroll through and choose the shutter speed you want.

Exposure and exposure compensation

Exposure compensation basically helps you override automatic exposure adjustments your camera makes in situations with uneven light distribution, filters, non-standard processing, or underexposure or overexposure. It lets you take control of your image’s brightness by manually increasing or decreasing exposure. For manual exposures, start by changing the aperture and shutter speed until the meter indicates that you have the correct exposure , then adjust from there.

Exposure bracketing

Exposure bracketing is when a photographer creates pictures with different exposure settings. The purpose of this is to cover more of the dynamic range. You should make sure that your ISO is quite low when using exposure bracketing. Basically, when you bracket your shots you take exactly the same picture of your subject at several different exposures. This technique gives you a range of options to choose from when you’re editing.Because bracketing photography involves taking multiple shots with one press of the shutter, it should be used with caution when shooting fast moving subjects such as in sporting events or even wildlife.