Here's a quick Overview - what you need to know.
If you're just getting started with photography, or maybe you've just been stuck for a while (which is pretty common, so don't fret), here's an outline of what I'd suggest you learn and in an order that will make it easiest for you.
This post is not so much a lesson, but a short piece to give you pointers on where to start. I'll be posting again soon with more in-depth information, but hopefully this will be useful to give you a top-down view on how to get started.
Number 1 -Start by learning how to get the exposure right.
Auto just isn't clever enough to get it right all the time, so you need to learn how to set the exposure manually.
To do this, you need to learn how to set:
The ISO - This governs how sensitive to light the sensor is.
100, 200, 400, 800 etc.
The Shutter Speed - How long the shutter is open, and therefore how much light it lets in over time.
These are fractions of a section.
1/250, 1/500, 1/1000 etc.
The Aperture - how wide the opening in the lens is, how much light gets in through the lens in the first place.
These all have an F in front of them,
F3.2, F4, F5.6, F8 etc.
The aim here is to get the exposure right. The camera needs a certain amount of light to enter the lens and hit the sensor in order for it to register an image. You use the above settings to do that and to guide you, your camera will have a meter in the viewfinder or on the top or back of the camera to help you.
Once you get to grips with setting the exposure, you need to start working on focusing.
Number 2 - Learn how to focus effectively.
Next up you need to be able to get your subject in focus. All modern DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras have a range of options available for you to choose from.
Choose a focus point - the one in the middle.
In your viewfinder, you will have a bunch of little squares that light up or do something to indicate those are the ones in use. You can usually have a group of these in a certain area, or just a specific one set to use. I usually recommend just setting and using the central focus point only while you are getting started.
Then, choose how that focus point works.
Once you have selected a focus point to work with, you can choose how it works.
These will be your main options:
A mode for still objects/subjects.
A tracking mode for following things that are moving.
A mode that switches between these two.
Depending on your camera there may even be more advanced tracking modes, or things like for eye focus which will attempt to find and focus on a person's eyes for you - which is a game changer for portraits!
Focus points- your camera might have 637 of them, but you only need one! Choose the middle focus point.
That's it!
(For now anyway...)
If you can do those two things, set the exposure properly and focus effectively, those are the two most difficult aspects under control. Those are the core elements to taking photographs and once you have mastered those, you can move on to thinking about everything else! But.... everything else is fairly easy after this!
You just had to get through this first bit and you'll be on your way!
Get in touch if you need a hand, I offer lessons and am happy to offer free advice if you need help choosing cameras or anything else. Thanks for reading, I hope it helped!
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