Settings and Adjustments
Generally speaking, camera settings are the same. You have your shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. Knowing how to use these is crucial to taking good photos but learning to use them can be complicated and take lots of practice. Most photographers don't learn how to use these fully until they've had years of practice. So don't be discouraged if you can't learn how to use them in a year.
Using ISO isn't very hard at all, it's learning how to adjust it to the scenery that's hard. On your camera there should be an ISO setting option to adjust it click on it and either turn the little dial in front of the shutter button or use the arrow buttons to the right or left of the screen. Then look through the eye hole and take the picture, look at it and make any adjustment to the picture. For adjusting the ISO the higher the number the brighter the picture. Most cameras have a max ISO of 6400 and a minimum of 100 which is plenty of lighting settings.
Using aperture is for slightly more advanced photographers and not all cameras have it. What it does is blurs the background and slightly adjusts the lighting. If you want to focus on one subject and not have much of a background then turn your aperture down to 5.2 or less. If you want to see more of the background than turn it up to 8.9 or more. The aperture should be an option on the settings screen. After you found it then click on it and either turn the dial or use the arrows. (To see where the buttons and dials are usually placed see the bold letters above in using ISO.)
Using the shutter speed is pretty easy and nearly all cameras have it. To adjust the shutter speed you usually don't even have to click on it in setting. Usually cameras have a default setting so that when you turn the dial or use the arrow buttons it changes the shutter speed automatically. Turning up the shutter speed makes the photo darker and increases the speed of the shutter. That means when you take a picture of a fast moving object it won't be a blur, but it will be a clear photo. It's like taking a picture of a propeller and having a low shutter speed. The propeller will look like a blurry circle where as if you had a high shutter speed it would look like the propeller wasn't moving. For more information on taking photos of fast moving objects visit the tips page and scroll towards the bottom. (It's just above the moon picture.) It's also handy for small lighting adjustments.
Using ISO isn't very hard at all, it's learning how to adjust it to the scenery that's hard. On your camera there should be an ISO setting option to adjust it click on it and either turn the little dial in front of the shutter button or use the arrow buttons to the right or left of the screen. Then look through the eye hole and take the picture, look at it and make any adjustment to the picture. For adjusting the ISO the higher the number the brighter the picture. Most cameras have a max ISO of 6400 and a minimum of 100 which is plenty of lighting settings.
Using aperture is for slightly more advanced photographers and not all cameras have it. What it does is blurs the background and slightly adjusts the lighting. If you want to focus on one subject and not have much of a background then turn your aperture down to 5.2 or less. If you want to see more of the background than turn it up to 8.9 or more. The aperture should be an option on the settings screen. After you found it then click on it and either turn the dial or use the arrows. (To see where the buttons and dials are usually placed see the bold letters above in using ISO.)
Using the shutter speed is pretty easy and nearly all cameras have it. To adjust the shutter speed you usually don't even have to click on it in setting. Usually cameras have a default setting so that when you turn the dial or use the arrow buttons it changes the shutter speed automatically. Turning up the shutter speed makes the photo darker and increases the speed of the shutter. That means when you take a picture of a fast moving object it won't be a blur, but it will be a clear photo. It's like taking a picture of a propeller and having a low shutter speed. The propeller will look like a blurry circle where as if you had a high shutter speed it would look like the propeller wasn't moving. For more information on taking photos of fast moving objects visit the tips page and scroll towards the bottom. (It's just above the moon picture.) It's also handy for small lighting adjustments.
Changing Lenses
Swapping lenses on your camera usually isn't too hard but it needs to be done properly. First off, if it's raining don't even try to swap the lenses as a single drop of rain can ruin or damage your camera. To swap lenses place your camera on a table or floor lens up. Then press the little button next to the lens and gently twist counter clockwise. (Be sure to have your other lens ready to swap.) Then take off the lens and place cover over the bottom, and then put the other lens on the camera matching the red dot or white square on the lens to the other red dot or white square.
See the red dot in the picture? Align that with the red dot on your camera, then twist clockwise until you hear a click. When you're doing this make sure not to leave a lens or your camera without a cap on otherwise that camera or lens could be ruined forever. After you put the other lens back in your ready to go.
Flashes
Using flashes is pretty easy, it's finding them that can be hard. To mount a big flash on your camera you need to get a flash made by the same company as your camera. If you look on your camera then you'll probably notice a little platform on the top of your camera that has a few little silver circles. That's the flash mount and each company uses a different pattern for the flash hookup. For example, if you get two cameras from two different companies and look at the flash mount, you'll notice the the little silver dots are in different spots. If you get a Nikon camera but get a canon flash it won't work because the hookup is different and the flash won't get power. Some flashes you have to charge separately and others the camera uses it's own battery to charge it. After you have found the flash you like and works for your camera, hook it up, wait for it to charge, and then take the picture. Some cameras have a small built in flash and you just turn on the flash, but for professional photos you're gonna want the big flash.
I hope you understand how to use cameras better now and if you have any other questions email me at h.b.photography@outlook.com. DON'T forget the h DOT b DOT photography otherwise the email will go to someone else.
-Hudson Bittle
I hope you understand how to use cameras better now and if you have any other questions email me at h.b.photography@outlook.com. DON'T forget the h DOT b DOT photography otherwise the email will go to someone else.
-Hudson Bittle