i dont know what im doing

[A.J. Simpson]

i feel i dont know where to start in learning my camera and settings. I go back and forth reading my manual. I think i have an idea and some what understanding on the 11 shooting modes on my camera. Though i know what im wanting in a picture and most often get it. But i read, and look at others photos and i can see what i like or dont like. Guess i feel like im not understanding something. Does anyone else feel anything like this or have ever felt this way? I need some encouragement i guess, and need to know that worse comes to worse i can always shoot in "M" or Auto right???? Do the pros ever use their Auto mode in a portrait? What makes a pro a pro? Thanks for any thoughts...let me have it, take it easy though. lol

[janikphoto]

It's fine that it seems overwhelming at first. It will take time and lots of practice... hopefully, you will have plenty of both. I shoot in Manual 99% of the time. As a pro, you probably know what to expect just as good - if not better - than the camera's computer brain does. I would hesitate to use auto mode much at all, especially in a portrait setting. Why? Simply because most full auto modes are designed to give you a great snapshot. My portraits tend to have a shallow depth of field and a wide range of contrast from dark to light... not things that are found in snapshots and not things that full auto tries to do.

[texkam]

Sometimes YouTube can be helpful.

[Dobick]

sometimes it helps to slow down and shoot pictures of coke cans or beer cans. If you drink alcohol, go get a six pack of your favorite beer on a day off. Now go outside and set those 5 bottles or cans up on a picnic table (five because you are gonna open one and drink it while using the others as subjects) in a diagonal across the table. You are outside with plenty of light, and you have your favorite lens on the camera. Now -- set the camera in manual mode. Start with any combination of setting. Shoot a picture. Look at the back of the camera. Is it dark? Is it white? does it look right? Lets assume it looks good. Ok now adjust your shutter speed. Move it one direction one or two clicks, and take a picture. Do the same thing two or three more times and pay attention to whether the image gets lighter or darker. Now go back the other direction. You should notice that if the image was getting darker the first direction that it is now getting lighter the opposite direction.

Alright -- now lets move on to aperture. Do the same thing that you did with shutter speed. Move it one direction one or two clicks and take a picture. Look at it on the lcd, and then repeat. Keep going until you reach the limits of the aperture on the lens. It should work in much the same way that the shutter speed did. In fact you should notice that the differences are much the same per light and dark.

Let me save you some time and tell you that adjusting the ISO will do the same as the other two (shutter and aperture)

Now here comes the kicker. They are all interrelated in a very neat and equivalent "exposure triangle" If you move the shutter speed faster by one click, and you open the aperture by one click, you will produce the same exposure given the same amount of light. Move both of them in the same direction and you will double the effect. Move all three in the same direction and you will triple the effect.

When the camera is in auto mode it is "looking" at the scene (by way of an internal meter) and making all of the decisions on the three settings (ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) When you are in manual mode, you get to make those decisions.

Your camera should have metering modes, which simply put is you telling the cameras internal meter how much of the image to look at to determine the proper exposure. Some of the common ones are spot, evaluative, center-weighted. Each of them looks at a different portion of the image to give you metering feedback (ie the little needle at the bottom/side of the viewfinder that says whether you are over/under exposing the image based on the meter mode)

When you are in manual mode, you take the camera, half press the shutter, and the needle will move either up or down or might stay right at 0. If you are shooting a nice colorful scene full of darks and lights, then you should aim for 0. So that will mean that if it is +1 then you will want to increase the shutter speed, or maybe you want to close the aperture, or maybe do a combination of one click on the shutter, and two clicks on the aperture.

All of this is to say, that the first thing you need to get a handle on is exposure. Once you have a handle on exposure, then you can quickly develop from there.

Sorry for the long winded post. I just realized that I was trying to sum up in a single post what many books have devoted multiple chapters to. So if you headed out to shoot those beers, you probably need to send someone to the store and get another 6 about right now (don't try to drive after drinking)

[Carl Stone]

Originally Posted by Dobick

sometimes it helps to slow down and shoot pictures of coke cans or beer cans. If you drink alcohol, go get a six pack of your favorite beer on a day off. Now go outside and set those 5 bottles or cans up on a picnic table (five because you are gonna open one and drink it while using the others as subjects) in a diagonal across the table. You are outside with plenty of light, and you have your favorite lens on the camera. Now -- set the camera in manual mode. Start with any combination of setting. Shoot a picture. Look at the back of the camera. Is it dark? Is it white? does it look right? Lets assume it looks good. Ok now adjust your shutter speed. Move it one direction one or two clicks, and take a picture. Do the same thing two or three more times and pay attention to whether the image gets lighter or darker. Now go back the other direction. You should notice that if the image was getting darker the first direction that it is now getting lighter the opposite direction.

Alright -- now lets move on to aperture. Do the same thing that you did with shutter speed. Move it one direction one or two clicks and take a picture. Look at it on the lcd, and then repeat. Keep going until you reach the limits of the aperture on the lens. It should work in much the same way that the shutter speed did. In fact you should notice that the differences are much the same per light and dark.

Let me save you some time and tell you that adjusting the ISO will do the same as the other two (shutter and aperture)

Now here comes the kicker. They are all interrelated in a very neat and equivalent "exposure triangle" If you move the shutter speed faster by one click, and you open the aperture by one click, you will produce the same exposure given the same amount of light. Move both of them in the same direction and you will double the effect. Move all three in the same direction and you will triple the effect.

When the camera is in auto mode it is "looking" at the scene (by way of an internal meter) and making all of the decisions on the three settings (ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) When you are in manual mode, you get to make those decisions.

Your camera should have metering modes, which simply put is you telling the cameras internal meter how much of the image to look at to determine the proper exposure. Some of the common ones are spot, evaluative, center-weighted. Each of them looks at a different portion of the image to give you metering feedback (ie the little needle at the bottom/side of the viewfinder that says whether you are over/under exposing the image based on the meter mode)

When you are in manual mode, you take the camera, half press the shutter, and the needle will move either up or down or might stay right at 0. If you are shooting a nice colorful scene full of darks and lights, then you should aim for 0. So that will mean that if it is +1 then you will want to increase the shutter speed, or maybe you want to close the aperture, or maybe do a combination of one click on the shutter, and two clicks on the aperture.

All of this is to say, that the first thing you need to get a handle on is exposure. Once you have a handle on exposure, then you can quickly develop from there.

Sorry for the long winded post. I just realized that I was trying to sum up in a single post what many books have devoted multiple chapters to. So if you headed out to shoot those beers, you probably need to send someone to the store and get another 6 about right now (don't try to drive after drinking)

Actually, that's a fairly quick walk through basic photography, and I think you hit the high spots very well. Those experiments should provide the way to enlightenment, and on to an even higher level if he does the same exercises under other various light conditions too. Pretty soon a pattern of camera/lens behavior will emerge that will enable him to make his own decisions, taking control of the images away from camera automation, and putting it in the hands of the photographer.

Thankfully, digital provides instant feedback, and avoids the added costs of film development, which helps to put the photographer on the fast track to improvement.

[L Stegall]

AJ, I think one of the best reference books you can buy to learn how to really use your camera is Bryan Peterson's book called Understanding Exposure. Your manual is great for telling you how your specific camera works, but what I like about Peterson's book is that explains, in non-technical terms, how to consistently set your aperture, shutter speed and ISO to get the look you want. Once you really gain an understanding of how those all work together, whether you choose to shoot in M, AV, TV will be an easy decision (and you can forget all those "auto" modes). Peterson has some other very good books and I recommend those as well, but the exposure book, to me, is the building block for all the rest. Have fun and happy shooting!

[brewercm]

I also always put my preview of the picture into histogram mode. Using this you can easily tell if your exposures will be way off or where you want it. I decide the depth of field i want for a particular picture and adjust others from there. At least that's what I'm doing at this point of my learning to use the camera's functionality.

If I'm off base on this someone let me know as I may be doing things wrong also.

[A.J. Simpson]

wow! i must say this is the first time i have ever seen so many people pitch in to help some one on here. Then again, i dont get on here to often. Thanks for everything to everyone! Im starting to understand more. I feel with the practice i can get some where. Thanks

[bryanlindsey]

Originally Posted by A.J. Simpson

i feel i dont know where to start in learning my camera and settings... Guess i feel like im not understanding something.

That hasn't stopped most of US...

[picman]

This might help:
Aperture, shutter and ISO value | SLR Camera Simulator