Basic

Photography
Workshop
by
Saurabh Desai

notes on basic fundamental terms and techniques in photography

care@care4nature.org
www.care4nature.org
www.50mm.co.in
ISO

ISO is the sensitivity to light of the sensor or film. The higher the sensitivity, the less time
(shutter speed) or the less amount of light (aperture) needs to hit the sensor for the
correct exposure. It is adjustable in most cameras, in a range of about 200 to 1600. High
end cameras can go way beyond that.

We use ISO to help us achieve what we want to do with the other two sides of exposure;
Aperture and Shutter Speed. You may ask; Why don’t we just use the most sensitive one
and forget about it? Well because the downside of higher ISO is that it increases the
noise or grain in our images. This can sometimes make the image look so bad that it
becomes unusable (or at least un-printable at a decent size).
So our objective is to use the lowest ISO possible, but balancing that to what we want to
achieve.
Shooting outdoors on sunny or even slightly overcast days we can use ISO 100 or 200
with ease. On heavy overcast days we may need to change our ISO to 400. Especially if
we use a small aperture (letting in less light) for shooting a deep depth of field
landscape shot, while still being able to maintain a shutter speed that we can safely
handhold without a tripod.
As we move indoors to a brightly lit room we may need to move up to ISO 800 – 1600 to
take natural light photos without the need for using our flash. As we move to dimly lit
rooms or street scenes, we may need to move up to ISO 3200 or higher (remembering
again that not all cameras can shoot at these higher ISO without excessive noise).

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ISO

Every camera has something called “Base ISO“, which is typically the lowest ISO number
of the sensor that can produce the highest image quality, without adding noise to the
picture. On most of the new Nikon cameras such as Nikon D5100, the base ISO is
typically 200, while most Canon digital cameras have the base ISO of 100. So, optimally,
you should always try to stick to the base ISO to get the highest image quality. However,
it is not always possible to do so, especially when working in low-light conditions.
Typically, ISO numbers start from 100-200 (Base ISO) and increment in value in
geometric progression (power of two). So, the ISO sequence is: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600,
3200, 6400 and etc. The important thing to understand, is that each step between the
numbers effectively doubles the sensitivity of the sensor. So, ISO 200 is twice more
sensitive than ISO 100, while ISO 400 is twice more sensitive than ISO 200. This makes
ISO 400 four times more sensitive to light than ISO 100, and ISO 1600 sixteen times more
sensitive to light than ISO 100, so on and so forth. What does it mean when a sensor is
sixteen times more sensitive to light? It means that it needs sixteen times less time to
capture an image!

ISO Speed Example:

ISO 100 – 1 second
ISO 200 – 1/2 of a second
ISO 400 – 1/4 of a second
ISO 800 – 1/8 of a second
ISO 1600 – 1/16 of a second
ISO 3200 – 1/32 of a second

In the above ISO Speed Example, if your camera sensor needed exactly 1 second to
capture a scene at ISO 100, simply by switching to ISO 800, you can capture the same
scene at 1/8th of a second or at 125 milliseconds! That can mean a world of difference in
photography, since it can help to freeze motion.

When to use low ISO

As we said above, you should always try to stick to the lowest ISO (base ISO) of your
camera, which is typically ISO 100 or 200, whenever possible. When there is plenty of
light, you should always use the lowest ISO, to retain the most detail and to have the
highest image quality. There are some cases where you might want to use low ISO in
dim or dark environments – for example, if you have your camera mounted on a tripod
or sitting on a flat surface.
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ISO

In that case, bear in mind that your camera will most likely need more time to capture
the scene and anything that is moving is probably going to look like a ghost.

When to use high ISO

You should increase the ISO when there is not enough light for the camera to be able to
quickly capture an image. Anytime we shoot indoors without a flash, we set my ISO to a
higher number to be able to freeze motion. Other cases where you might want to
increase ISO are when you need to get ultra-fast shots. But before increasing the ISO,
you should think if it is OK for you to introduce noise to the image.

On many of the newer DSLRs, there is a setting for “Auto ISO”, which works great in
low-light environments. The beauty of this setting, is that you can set the maximum ISO
to a certain number, so when the ISO is automatically increased based on the amount of
light, it does not cross the set barrier. So, if I want to limit the amount of grain in my
pictures, I typically set the maximum ISO to 800.

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SHUTTER SPEED

Simply put, a camera shutter is a curtain in front of the camera sensor that stays closed
until the camera fires. When the camera fires, the shutter opens and fully exposes the
camera sensor to the light that passes through the lens aperture. After the sensor is
done collecting the light, the shutter closes immediately, stopping the light from hitting
the sensor. The button that fires the camera is also called “shutter” or “shutter button”,
because it triggers the shutter to open and close.

SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speed, also known as “exposure time”, stands for the length of time a camera
shutter is open to expose light into the camera sensor. If the shutter speed is fast, it can
help to freeze action completely, as seen in the above photo of the dolphin. If the
shutter speed is slow, it can create an effect called “motion blur”, where moving objects
appear blurred along the direction of the motion. This effect is used quite a bit in
advertisements of cars and motorbikes, where a sense of speed and motion is
communicated to the viewer by intentionally blurring the moving wheels.

Slow shutter speeds are also used to photograph lightnings or other objects at night or
in dim environments with a tripod. Landscape photographers intentionally use slow
shutter speeds to create a sense of motion on rivers and waterfalls, while keeping
everything else in focus.
Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a
second. For example 1/4 means a quarter of a second, while 1/250 means one
two-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second or four milliseconds. Most modern DSLRs can
handle shutter speeds of up to 1/4000th of a second, while some can handle much
higher speeds of 1/8000th of a second and faster. The longest shutter speed on most
DSLRs is typically 30 seconds (without using external remote triggers).
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SHUTTER SPEED
Shutter speed controls how long the light comes through our aperture to our digital
sensor or film. The longer the time, the more light will hit their surface. That is technically
what shutter speed does.
Artistically, shutter speed controls motion. Whether we want to freeze motion or show
motion, shutter speed is the portion of exposure that will control that aspect.
Shutter speeds are expressed in fraction of a second 1/8, 1/125, 1/1000 etc. but in most
modern digital cameras you may not see the 1/ expressed (but they still are fraction).
You most likely see the above expressed as 8, 125, 1000 etc.
The first consideration we have to think about is: can we hand-hold the camera at this
shutter speed and not have the slight movement of the camera show up in our image
making it blurry or less sharp? Most people are able to hand hold a camera in the range
of 1/60th to 1/200th with a normal lens on. When you use telephoto lenses you may
need to use a faster shutter speed.
A common rule of thumb these days is to take your focal length of your lens and shoot
at least as fast as that. If you have a 300mm telephoto lens, your minimum shutter speed
should be 300 (1/300 or 1/320 as is common) If you cannot hand-hold, you must use a
tripod.

Beyond that we can now make an artistic judgment – do we want to stop action, or
show movement? And this is a judgment you need to make. Sometimes we may want to
freeze our subject and keep it sharp and clear. Other times we want some blur on the
subject to give the viewer the impression that the object is moving or is at speed.

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SHUTTER SPEED

In this image of the trolley downtown, in the first example we used a high shutter speed
to stop the trolley as it moved past the buildings (which may be what we want). But
does the viewer really know if the trolley was moving past or just stopped at the station?

In the second example we slowed the shutter speed way down to .3 (3/10th) of a
second. Now the viewer can tell that the trolley is moving at speed past the building.

Again this is the decision you have to make. What do you want to convey? Other
examples of using a high shutter speed to stop action:
Stopping the flight of a jet as it flies by, or a car at high speed. Freezing the swing of the
bat of a baseball player, a high diver in mid arc above the water. Again you would use a
high shutter speed to freeze the movement or action.

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APERTURE

Aperture is a circular opening (somewhat) in our lens that is adjustable from a very small
circle to almost as large as the lens itself. We adjust it to let more or less light hit the
digital sensor or film. Think of window blinds as your aperture, and the wall in your room
opposite the blinds is your sensor or film. As we open the blinds, more light comes
through and we can see the wall behind us get brighter and brighter.

You may say; now wait a minute, why do the largest openings have the smallest
numbers? Well, think of it this way; imagine the number as the bottom number of a
fraction. So if we have f 4 that would be 1/4 and f8 would be 1/8 and 1/4 is larger than
1/8. Okay? Okay.

The Aperture numbers I have above represent “Whole Steps” of light from one to the
next. What is a whole step? A whole step represents the doubling or halving of the light
through the lens. So f1.4 will let in twice as much light as f2.0. f2.0 twice as much light as
f2.8 or we can also say that f2.8 is half as much light as f2.0.

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APERTURE

So we have all these different apertures available to let in different amounts of light.
Why should I care and why should choose one over the other? This is where the artist
side comes in – to help make those decisions. The following are different artistic styles
we can use and the different parts of an image that Aperture effects.

Simply put, aperture is a hole within a lens, through which light travels into the camera
body. It is easier to understand the concept if you just think about our eyes. Every
camera that we know of today is designed like human eyes. The cornea in our eyes is like
the front element of a lens – it gathers all external light, then bends it and passes it to
the iris. Depending on the amount of light, the iris can either expand or shrink,
controlling the size of the pupil, which is a hole that lets the light pass further into the
eye. The pupil is essentially what we refer to as aperture in photography. The amount of
light that enters the retina (which works just like the camera sensor), is limited to the size
of the pupil – the larger the pupil, the more light enters the retina.
So, the easiest way to remember aperture, is by associating it with your pupil. Large
pupil size equals large aperture, while small pupil size equals small aperture.

LENS & APERTURE

Every lens has a limit on how large or how small the aperture can get. If you take a look
at the specifications of your lens, it should say what the maximum (lowest f-number)
and minimum apertures (highest f-number) of your lens are. The maximum aperture of
the lens is much more important than the minimum, because it shows the speed of the
lens. A lens that has an aperture of f/1.2 or f/1.4 as the maximum aperture is considered
to be a fast lens, because it can pass through more light than, for example, a lens with a
maximum aperture of f/4.0. That’s why lenses with large apertures are better suited for
low light photography.
The minimum aperture is not that important, because almost all modern lenses can
provide at least f/16 as the minimum aperture, which is typically more than enough for
everyday photography needs.

There are two types of lenses: “fixed” (also known as “prime”) and “zoom”. While zoom
lenses give you the flexibility to zoom in and out (most point and shoot cameras have
zoom lenses) without having to move closer or away from the subject, fixed or prime
lenses only have one focal length. Due to the complexity of optical design for zoom
lenses, many of the consumer lenses have variable apertures.

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APERTURE

What it means, is that when you are fully zoomed out, the aperture is one number, while
zooming in will increase the f-number to a higher number. For example, the Nikon
18-200mm lens has a variable maximum aperture of f/3.5-f/5.6. When zoomed fully out
at 18mm, the lens has an aperture of f/3.5, while when fully zoomed in at 200mm, the
lens has an aperture of f/5.6. The heavy, professional zoom lenses, on the other hand,
typically have fixed apertures. For example, the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens has the same
maximum aperture of f/2.8 at all focal lengths between 70mm and 200mm.
Why is this important? Because larger maximum aperture means that the lens can pass
through more light, and hence, your camera can capture images faster in low-light
situations. Having a larger maximum aperture also means better ability to isolate
subjects from the background.

DEPTH OF FIELD (DOF)

When we look at an image, there is a part that is in perfect focus and then there are
parts that begin to be out of the range of focus. You can have a small Depth of Field
(DOF) where only your subject is in focus, or you can have a deep Depth of Field where
practically everything is in focus – or really anywhere in between.
Depth of field is determined by three things; aperture (f stop), distance to your subject,
and lens focal length (50mm, 200m etc), with Aperture having a profound effect on DOF.
Let’s see what an image looks like just varying the aperture and leaving alone the other
two parts:

Photographers that shoot portraits usually use larger apertures (low numbers) for a
shallow DOF to highlight and isolate their subjects. Landscape photographers usually
use small apertures to have a very deep DOF, all the way from the foreground to the
background.As usual, there are exceptions to these rules and that is ruled by the
photographer’s artistic ideas and vision.
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METERING & EXPOSURE

Metering options often include partial, evaluative zone or matrix, center-weighted and
spot metering. Each of these have subject lighting conditions for which they excel —
and for which they fail. Understanding these can improve one's photographic intuition
for how a camera measures light.

All in-camera light meters have a fundamental flaw: they can only measure reflected
light. This means the best they can do is guess how much light is actually hitting the
subject.

If all objects reflected the same percentage of incident light, this would work just fine,
however real-world subjects vary greatly in their reflectance. For this reason, in-camera
metering is standardized based on the luminance of light which would be reflected from
an object appearing as middle gray. If the camera is aimed directly at any object lighter
or darker than middle gray, the camera's light meter will incorrectly calculate under or
over-exposure, respectively.

An in-camera light meter can work surprisingly well if object reflectance is sufficiently
diverse throughout the photo. In other words, if there is an even spread varying from
dark to light objects, then the average reflectance will remain roughly middle gray.
Unfortunately, some scenes may have a significant imbalance in subject reflectivity, such
as a photo of a white dove in the snow, or of a black dog sitting on a pile of charcoal. For
such cases the camera may try to create an image with a histogram whose primary peak
is in the midtones, even though it should have instead produced this peak in the
highlights or shadows

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METERING OPTIONS

In order to accurately expose a greater range of subject lighting and reflectance

combinations, most cameras feature several metering options. Each option works by
assigning a weighting to different light regions; those with a higher weighting are
considered more reliable, and thus contribute more to the final exposure calculation.

Center-Weighted

Partial Metering

Spot Metering

Partial and spot areas are roughly 13.5% and 3.8% of the picture area, respectively,
which correspond to settings on the Canon EOS 1D Mark II.
The whitest regions are those which contribute most towards the exposure calculation,
whereas black areas are ignored. Each of the above metering diagrams may also be
located off-center, depending on the metering options and autofocus point used.

Center Weighted Partial Spot

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METERING OPTIONS
More sophisticated algorithms may go beyond just a regional map and include:
evaluative, zone and matrix metering. These are usually the default when your camera is
set to auto exposure. Each generally works by dividing the image up into numerous
sub-sections, where each section is then considered in terms of its relative location, light
intensity or color. The location of the autofocus point and orientation of the camera
(portrait vs. landscape) may also contribute to the calculation.

WHEN TO USE PARTIAL & SPOT METERING

Partial and spot metering give the photographer far more control over the exposure
than any of the other settings, but this also means that these is more difficult to use —
at least initially. They are useful when there is a relatively small object within your scene
which you either need to be perfectly exposed, or know that it will provide the closest
match to middle gray.

One of the most common applications of partial metering is a portrait of someone who
is backlit. Metering off of their face can help avoid making the subject look like an
under-exposed silhouette against the bright background. On the other hand, care
should be taken as the shade of a person's skin may lead to inaccurate exposure if it is
far from neutral gray reflectance — but probably not as inaccurate as what would have
been caused by the backlighting.

Spot metering is used less often because its metering area is very small and thus quite
specific. This can be an advantage when you are unsure of your subject's reflectance and
have a specially designed gray card (or other small object) to meter off of.

Spot and partial metering are also quite useful for performing creative exposures, and
when the ambient lighting is unusual. In the examples to the left and right below, one
could meter off of the diffusely lit foreground tiles, or off of the directly lit stone below
the sky opening:
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METERING OPTIONS
NOTES ON CENTER-WEIGHTED METERING

At one time center-weighted metering was a very common default setting in cameras
because it coped well with a bright sky above a darker landscape. Nowadays, it has more
or less been surpassed in flexibility by evaluative and matrix, and in specificity by partial
and spot metering. On the other hand, the results produced by center-weighted
metering are very predictable, whereas matrix and evaluative metering modes have
complicated algorithms which are harder to predict. For this reason some prefer to use it
as the default metering mode.

EXPOSURE COMPENSATION

Any of the above metering modes can use a feature called exposure compensation (EC).
The metering calculation still works as normal, except the final settings are then
compensated by the EC value. This allows for manual corrections if you observe a
metering mode to be consistently under or over-exposing. Most cameras allow up to 2
stops of exposure compensation; each stop of exposure compensation provides either a
doubling or halving of light compared to what the metering mode would have done
otherwise. A setting of zero means no compensation will be applied (default).

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WHITE BALANCE

White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects
which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white
balance has to take into account the "color temperature" of a light source, which refers
to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. Our eyes are very good at judging
what is white under different light sources, but digital cameras often have great
difficulty with auto white balance (AWB) — and can create unsightly blue, orange, or
even green color casts. Understanding digital white balance can help you avoid these
color casts, thereby improving your photos under a wider range of lighting conditions.

Color temperature describes the spectrum of light which is radiated from a "blackbody"
with that surface temperature. A blackbody is an object which absorbs all incident light
neither reflecting it nor allowing it to pass through. A rough analogue of blackbody
radiation in our day to day experience might be in heating a metal or stone: these are
said to become "red hot" when they attain one temperature, and then "white hot" for
even higher temperatures. Similarly, blackbodies at different temperatures also have
varying color temperatures of "white light." Despite its name, light which may appear
white does not necessarily contain an even distribution of colors across the visible
spectrum:

Relative intensity has been normalized for each temperature (in Kelvins).
Note how 5000 K produces roughly neutral light, whereas 3000 K and 9000 K produce
light spectrums which shift to contain more orange and blue wavelengths, respectively.
As the color temperature rises, the color distribution becomes cooler. This may not seem
intuitive, but results from the fact that shorter wavelengths contain light of higher
energy.

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WHITE BALANCE

Why is color temperature a useful description of light for photographers, if they never
deal with true blackbodies? Fortunately, light sources such as daylight and tungsten
bulbs closely mimic the distribution of light created by blackbodies, although others
such as fluorescent and most commercial lighting depart from blackbodies significantly.
Since photographers never use the term color temperature to refer to a true blackbody
light source, the term is implied to be a "correlated color temperature" with a similarly
colored blackbody. The following table is a rule-of-thumb guide to the correlated color
temperature of some common light sources:

Color
Temperature Light Source
1000-2000 K Candlelight
2500-3500 K Tungsten Bulb (household variety)
3000-4000 K Sunrise/Sunset (clear sky)
4000-5000 K Fluorescent Lamps
5000-5500 K Electronic Flash
5000-6500 K Daylight with Clear Sky (sun overhead)
6500-8000 K Moderately Overcast Sky
9000-10000 K Shade or Heavily Overcast Sky

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WHITE BALANCE
By far the best white balance solution is to photograph using the RAW file format (if your
camera supports them), as these allow you to set the WB *after* the photo has been
taken. RAW files also allow one to set the WB based on a broader range of color tem-
perature and green-magenta shifts.

Performing a white balance with a raw file is quick and easy. You can either adjust the
temperature and green-magenta sliders until color casts are removed, or you can simply
click on a neutral reference within the image (see next section). Even if only one of your
photos contains a neutral reference, you can click on it and then use the resulting WB
settings for the remainder of your photos (assuming the same lighting).

Auto White Balance- Nearly all cameras will have an Auto White Balance setting where
the camera will meter the light and do its best to figure out the proper white balance
automatically. Some cameras are better at this than others.

Pre-Set’s: Next, most all cameras will have a grouping of pre-set White Balances where it
will set the coloring to a particular lighting temperature. Shade, Cloudy, Direct Sun,
Flash, Flourescent Light, etc. all usually have a general light temperature and these pre-
sets are there to match that. Once again, this is a general estimation, but many times it
will get you close to a good white balance.

Many camera makers are very nice in that they order the pre-sets from the lowest tem-
perature (Reddish-Yellow tones) to the Highest Temperature (Blue Tones) so if your
images are a little too yellow, you can try the next setting in order and it will balance a
little more towards the blues and if you are too blue you can try previous settings and it
will balance a little more towards the red-yellows. Usually.

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WHITE BALANCE
If your camera behaves nicely. For info on how to change White Balace pre-sets in your
camera, please consult your owners manual or google “how to change white balance on
(insert your camera model)” Every camera varies.

If you have a super cool camera, it will have a Kelvin White Balance setting where you are
able to set the camera to a specific Kelvin setting. Most cameras won’t have this option,
so feel lucky if you do have it.

Custom White Balance:

Lastly for in-camera white balance adjustment, there is the mode where you manually
meter and set the white balance. This can be done a variety of ways, so let’s give it a
whole paragraph to itself. That will be next.

Post-Production White Balance:

White Balance can often be set or adjusted in post-production depending on how you
shot (jpeg or raw) and on your editing software, although some of the leading editing
software like Lightroom and Aperture can now adjust the white balance on most any
type of file. The how-to’s for this are fairly in-depth so we aren’t going to discuss post-
production editing now. This tutorial is about how to get the best out of your camera.
One note about Raw vs Jpeg, even though jpeg can now be edited for white balance,
the raw files will have a broader range of colors that are captured, giving a better final
image. Yes, the files are much larger, so you have to choose quality or quantity.

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CAMERA MODES

Digital Camera Modes allow photographers to control the parameters of an exposure,

specifically, Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. While certain modes can fully automate
the camera exposure, there are other modes that let the photographer manually control
some or all parameters of the exposure.

Back in the old days, there was no such thing as a camera mode – everything was
manual. Photographers had to manually set the aperture, shutter speed and choose the
right type of film for their cameras. To evaluate the intensity and the amount of light,
they used to carry special light metering devices that measured the light and provided
the exposure information, which they would then use in their cameras. In 1938, Kodak
introduced a film camera with an integrated light meter and in 1962, a Japanese
company called “Topcon” introduced the first SLR camera that measured the light
coming through the lens into the camera. What this meant, was that photographers no
longer needed to carry special light meters with them – the camera would do it for
them. New “Automatic” camera modes started appearing on cameras, which would
evaluate the amount of light that passed through the lens and would automatically pick
the right exposure parameters to produce a properly-exposed picture.
Today, most digital cameras have various types of camera modes that can be used in
different situations. While most point and shoot cameras concentrate on automatic
modes for simplicity’s sake, more advanced cameras feature modes that allow both
automatic and manual exposure control.

Types of Camera Modes

Here are the four main types of camera modes that can be found in most digital cameras
today:
Program (P)
Shutter Priority (Tv) or (S)
Aperture Priority (Av) or (A)
Manual (M)
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CAMERA MODES

Program Mode (P)

In “Program” mode, the camera automatically chooses the Aperture and the Shutter
Speed for you, based on the amount of light that passes through the lens. This is the
mode you want to use for “point and shoot” moments, when you just need to quickly
snap a picture. The camera will try to balance between aperture and shutter speed,
increasing and decreasing the two based on the intensity of light. If you point the
camera to a bright area, the aperture will automatically increase to a bigger number,
while keeping the shutter speed reasonably fast. Pointing the camera to a darker area
will decrease the aperture to a lower number, in order to maintain a reasonably fast
shutter speed. If there is not enough light, the lens aperture will stay at the lowest
number (maximum aperture), while the shutter speed will keep on decreasing until it
reaches proper exposure.

Shutter-Priority Mode (Tv / S)

In “Shutter Priority” mode, you manually set the camera’s shutter speed and the camera
automatically picks the right aperture for you, based on the amount of light that passes
through the lens. This mode is intended to be used when motion needs to be frozen or
intentionally blurred. If there is too much light, the camera will increase the lens
aperture to a higher number, which decreases the amount of light that passes through
the lens. If there is not enough light, the camera will decrease the aperture to the lowest
number, so that more light passes through the lens. So in Shutter Priority mode, the
shutter speed stays the same (what you set it to), while aperture automatically increases
and decreases, based on the amount of light. In addition, there is no control over subject
isolation, because you are letting the camera control the depth of field.
I try not to use this mode either, because there is a risk of getting an overexposed or
underexposed image. Why? Because if the amount of ambient light is not sufficient and I
set the shutter speed to a really high number, my exposure will be limited to the
aperture/speed of my lens. For example, if the maximum aperture of my lens is f/4.0, the
camera will not be able to use a lower aperture than f/4.0 and will still shoot at the fast
shutter speed that I manually set. The result will be an underexposed image. At the same
time, if I use a very slow shutter speed when there is plenty of light, the image will be
overexposed and blown out.

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CAMERA MODES

Aperture Priority (Av)

In “Aperture Priority” mode, you manually set the lens aperture, while the camera
automatically picks the right shutter speed to properly expose the image. You have full
control over subject isolation and you can play with the depth of field, because you can
increase or decrease the lens aperture and let the camera do the math on measuring the
right shutter speed. If there is too much light, the camera will automatically increase the
shutter speed, while if you are in a low-light environment, the camera will decrease the
shutter speed. There is almost no risk of having an overexposed or an underexposed
image, because the shutter speed can go as low as 30 seconds and as fast as
1/4000-1/8000th of a second (depending on the camera), which is more than sufficient
for most lighting situations.
This is the mode that I use 95% of the time, because I have full control over the depth of
field and I know that the image will be properly exposed under normal circumstances.
The metering systems in most modern cameras work very well and I let the camera
calculate and control the shutter speed for me.

Manual Mode (M)

As the name suggests, “Manual” mode stands for a full manual control of Aperture and
Shutter Speed. In this mode, you can manually set both the aperture and the shutter
speed to any value you want – the camera lets you fully take over the exposure controls.
This mode is generally used in situations, where the camera has a hard time figuring out
the correct exposure in extreme lighting situations. For example, if you are
photographing a scene with a very bright area, the camera might incorrectly guess the
exposure and either overexpose or underexpose the rest of the image. In those cases,
you can set your camera to manual mode, then evaluate the amount of light in darker
and brighter areas and override the exposure with your own settings. Manual mode is
also useful for consistency, if you need to make sure that both shutter speed and
aperture stay the same across multiple exposures. For example, to properly stitch a
panorama, all shots that you are trying to put together need to have the same shutter
speed and aperture. Otherwise, some images will be darker, while others are lighter.
Once you set the shutter speed and aperture to the values of your choice in manual
mode, your images will all have consistent exposures.

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CAMERA MODES

ISO

In most DSLR cameras, the ISO does not automatically change in the above camera
modes, so you have to set it manually. If you do not want to manually set the ISO all the
time and have an “Auto ISO” feature in your camera, enable it, then set the maximum ISO
to “800-1600 and your minimum shutter speed to something like 1/200th of a second.
If you notice too much noise, change your maximum ISO to a lower number. If you do
not have an “Auto ISO” feature, then set your ISO to the lowest ISO number and increase
it in low-light situations.

OTHER MODES

Many of the entry-level and semi-professional cameras have other modes such as
“Portrait”, “Landscape”, “Macro”, “Sports” and “Night”, depending on the camera
(professional cameras do NOT have these modes). I won’t go through any of these
modes for three reasons:
They are simply a combination of the above four modes plus some camera-specific
settings
Different cameras have different custom modes and you should not get used to any of
them. If you ever switch to a different camera brand or get a professional camera, you
might get lost, just because you relied too much on a specific custom mode.
All of these custom modes are evil :) Stop using them and learn the four main camera
modes explained in this article.

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100 Tips for Photographers

1. Just because someone has an expensive camera doesn't mean that they're a good
photographer.
2. Always shoot in RAW. Always.
3. Prime lenses help you learn to be a better photographer.
4. Photo editing is an art in itself
5. The rule of thirds works 99% of the time.
6. Macro photography isn't for everybody.
7. UV filters work just as well as lens caps.
8. Go outside & shoot photos rather than spending hours a day on photography forums.
9. Capture the beauty in the mundane and you have a winning photograph.
10. Film isn't better than digital.
11. Digital isn't better than film.
12. There is no "magic" camera or lens.
13. Better lenses don't give you better photos.
14. Spend less time looking at other people's work and more time shooting your own.
15. Don't take your DSLR to parties.
16. Girls dig photographers.
17. Making your photos b/w doesn't automatically make them "artsy"
18. People will always discredit your work if you tell them you "photoshop" your images.
Rather, tell them that you process them in the "digital darkroom".
19. You don't need to take a photo of everything.
20. Have at least 2 backups of all your images. Like they say in war, two is one, one is
none.
21. Ditch the neck strap and get a handstrap.
22. Get closer when taking your photos, they often turn out better.
23. Be a part of a scene while taking a photo; not a voyeur.
24. Taking a photo crouched often make your photos look more interesting.
25. Worry less about technical aspects and focus more on compositional aspects of
photography.
26. Tape up any logos on your camera with black gaffers tape- it brings a lot less
attention to you.
27. Always underexpose by 2/3rds of a stop when shooting in broad daylight.
28. The more photos you take, the better you get.
29. Don't be afraid to take several photos of the same scene at different exposures,
angles, or apertures.
30. Only show your best photos.
31. A point-and-shoot is still a camera.

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100 Tips for Photographers
32. Join an online photography forum.
33. Critique the works of others.
34. Think before you shoot.
35. A good photo shouldn't require explanation (although background information
often adds to an image). *
36. Alcohol and photography do not mix well.
37. Draw inspiration from other photographers but never worship them.
38. Grain is beautiful.
39. Ditch the photo backpack and get a messenger bag. It makes getting your lenses
and camera a whole lot easier.
40. Simplicity is key.
41. The definition of photography is: "painting with light." Use light in your favor.
42. Find your style of photography and stick with it.
43. Having a second monitor is the best thing ever for photo processing.
44. Silver EFEX pro is the best b/w converter.
45. Carry your camera with you everywhere. Everywhere.
46. Never let photography get in the way of enjoying life.
47. Don't pamper your camera. Use and abuse it.
48. Take straight photos.
49. Shoot with confidence.
50. Photography and juxtaposition are best friends.
51. Print out your photos big. They will make you happy.
52. Give your photos to friends.
53. Give them to strangers.
54. Don't forget to frame them.
55. Costco prints are cheap and look great.
56. Go out and take photos with (a) friend(s).
57. Join a photo club or start one for yourself.
58. Photos make great presents.
59. Taking photos of strangers is thrilling.
60. Candid>Posed.
61. Natural light is the best light.
62. 35mm (on full frame) is the best "walk-around" focal length.
63. Don't be afraid to bump up your ISO when necessary.
64. You don't need to always bring a tripod with you everywhere you go (hell, I don't
even own one).
65. It is always better to underexpose than overexpose.
66. Shooting photos of homeless people in an attempt to be "artsy" is exploitation.
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100 Tips for Photographers
67. You will find the best photo opportunities in the least likely situations.
68. Photos are always more interesting with the human element included.
69. You can't "photoshop" bad images into good ones.
70. Nowadays everybody is a photographer.
71. You don't need to fly to Paris to get good photos; the best photo opportunities are in
your backyard.
72. People with DSLRS who shoot portraits with their grip pointed downwards look like
morons.
73. Cameras as tools, not toys.
74. In terms of composition, photography and painting aren't much different.
75. Photography isn't a hobby- it's a lifestyle.
76. Make photos, not excuses.
77. Be original in your photography. Don't try to copy the style of others.
78. The best photographs tell stories that begs the viewer for more.
79. Any cameras but black ones draw too much attention.
80. The more gear you carry around with you the less you will enjoy photography.
81. Good self-portraits are harder to take than they seem.
82. Laughter always draws out peoples' true character in a photograph.
83. Don't look suspicious when taking photos- blend in with the environment.
84. Landscape photography can become dull after a while.
85. Have fun while taking photos.
86. Never delete any of your photos.
87. Be respectful when taking photos of people or places.
88. When taking candid photos of people in the street, it is easier to use a wide-angle
than a telephoto lens.
89. Travel and photography are the perfect pair.
90. Learn how to read a histogram.
91. A noisy photo is better than a blurry one.
92. Don't be afraid to take photos in the rain.
93. Learn how to enjoy the moment, rather than relentlessly trying to capture the
perfect picture of it.
94. Never take photos on an empty stomach.
95. You will discover a lot about yourself through your photography.
96. Never hoard your photographic insight- share it with the world.
97. Never stop taking photos
98. Photography is more than simply taking photos, it is a philosophy of life
99. Capture the decisive moment
100. Write your own list.
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