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Photographers Cheat Sheets
Photographers Cheat Sheets
by gayle vehar from mom and camera for friends of pretty presets for lightroom
SIDE LIGHT & FRONT LIGHT
Any window or door can work as a great indoor light see if they are gone. If the light is nice and diffused with
source. Photographers generally prefer south-facing defined patches of light, YAY! It is the perfect time to shoot.
windows and doors. BUT, any window that doesn’t have You will likely have to raise your ISO a bit to get a nice
sun streaming directly into the window will work. You exposure. Don’t be afraid to do this. Your photo will be
can tell if there is light streaming in by looking at the better quality and have less grain if you raise your ISO
floor around the window and seeing if there are any and get nice exposure, than if you underexpose and
defined patches of light. If there are, check back later to have to lighten the shot with post-processing.
This lighting is very dramatic light with more shadow This is a simple, soft, even light. This type of light will
and definition than front light. darken the background since your subject is closer to
the light than the background is.
A reflector can help to even out some of the dramatic
light if you find it too harsh.
BACKLIGHT SUNLIGHT
Backlight is best shot in manual mode. (In fact, it is one Mid-day sunlight is also best shot on manaual mode.
of the best reasons to learn to use it.) (Anytime you are shooting shadows and highlights,
manual should be your first choice!)
Use spot metering or take your meter readings with only
the face in your frame. Backlight will easily trick your Position yourself so that your subject is looking into their
camera’s light meter and cause an underexposed photo. own shadow (you can use some of the tips for back light
here) to keep nice, even lighting on the face and avoid
Haze and sunflare can easily happen with back light. They “raccoon eyes” from overhead sun.
are the result of light streaming directly into your lens.
Having your subject look away from the camera can also
Encourage haze and sunflare by including the sun in your be a great way to minimize the distraction of the mid-
frame or placing the sun directly behind your subject. day sun.
Avoid haze and sunflare by keeping the sun out of your Avoid bright blown-out highlights and deep shadows on
frame and placing it slightly to the left or right of your the face. Not only are they distracting, but they are hard
subject instead of directly behind them. to post-process.
CLOUDY SHADE
Cloudy days provide gorgeous even light almost Shade is beautiful even light, too. On a sunny day, a
anytime of day and any location. spot of shade can provide beautiful light and a bit of
variety.
Beware of dull gray skies. Cloudy days give you lots of
gray sky that isn’t very interesting in photos. Keep the When photographing in the shade, place your subject
sky out of photos and take advantage of other beautiful fairly close to the edge of the shade so they are looking
backgrounds you might not otherwise get the most from out toward an area of sunlight. This will help keep
on a super-sunny day. catchlights in the eyes.
As a total contradiction, the exception to the above is Avoid the shade from trees, which is generally splotchy
stormy skies. They can be interesting and dramatic! with bright areas in random places. It is distracting in
photos to have bright patches falling on your subject.
Watch your shutter speed and make sure it doesn’t get
too slow. With limited light on overcast or stormy days, The light in shady areas tends to be blue in color. Adjust
this can be a problem. your white balance to the shade or cloudy setting to fix
this.
manual mode
where to start
making the most of your camera settings
Confused about where to start with your manual settings for different lighting conditions?
Try these guidelines to give you a starting place!
Confused about where to start with your manual settings?
Try these guidelines to give you a starting place!
Bright Sun
BRIGHT SUN ISO 100-200
ISO: 100-200 Aperture: f/12 or lower // aperture f/1.2 or lower // shutter speed 1/100 or faster
Shutter Speed: 1/100 or faster
Cloudy
CLOUDY ISO 400-800 // aperture f/5.6 or lower // shutter speed 1/60 or faster
ISO: 400-800 Aperture: f/5.6 or lower
Shutter Speed: 1/60 or faster
Shade
SHADE ISO 400-800
ISO: 400-800 Aperture: f/5.6 or//lower
aperture f/5.6 or lower // shutter speed 1/80 or faster
Shutter Speed: 1/80 or faster
Window
WINDOW ISO 800-1000 // aperture f/4 or lower // shutter speed 1/80 or faster
ISO: 800-1000 Aperture: f/4 or lower
Shutter Speed: 1/80 or faster
Indoors
INDOORS ISO 1600-3200 // aperture f/4 or lower // shutter speed 1/80 or faster
ISO: 1600-3200 Aperture: f/4 or lower
Shutter Speed: 1/80 or faster
© 2013 Gayle Vehar www.momandcamera.com FOR Pretty Presets www.lightroompresets.com
BONUS: Still not getting the results you want? Multiply your results by combining them!
canon nikon
auto mode This is the mode for when you want to take a picture and not think about a
thing. In this mode the camera does everything for you.
auto no flash This setting still chooses everything for you but won’t pop up the flash.
This is good for places where flash isn’t allowed. However, beware of blurry photos.
portrait modeIn this mode the camera tries to pick an open aperture to throw the
background out of focus. It also softens the skin tones in the photo.
landscape mode This mode chooses a closed(ish) aperture to maximize depth of field.
It is intended for use in daylight. A tripod should be used in low light.
child mode Keeps photos colorful and vivid and skin tones soft. This mode also tries to
choose a fast enough shutter speed to keep children in focus. (Not available on Canon.)
sports mode This mode switches off the flash and the camera chooses fast shutter speeds
to help freeze action.
close-up modeThis mode helps you take close-up photos. Nikon chooses a small aperture;
Canon a wide one. A tripod is recommended.
night portrait mode This setting combines the on-camera flash and a slow shutter speed to
make use of the available light as well as light up the photo with flash.
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