Lesson 2- Know Your Camera

photography tips, camera tips, learn photography

I start this off with one assumption, that is you already have a camera. It does not matter what make it is (it can be a Canon DSLR or it can be a Polaroid Point & Shoot) as long as its capable of taking photos.

Most digital cameras today have different modes which you can access by turning a dial wheel. 

A typical Mode Dial on a camera

The most common modes are

1. Auto - here the camera selects the settings which it thinks is the best. I have seen that most of the people use this setting and while it's definitely less work to take pics using Auto, you will always be constrained by the choices the camera makes on your behalf. 
2. Night/Beach/Portrait/Sports/Profiles/Etc - these are pre-programmed settings which are designed for different light conditions and different types of subjects. Generally, you can get better results than Auto if you select the correct profile.
3. Macro Mode - if you want to photograph an object which is very small you need to switch to the macro mode. Macro mode will automatically select aperture settings that will make you focus on objects quite close to the lense so that you can get quite close to the object and snap it up.
4. Programmed Mode - this is quite similar to Auto mode, but the difference is that you have some control over some of the settings (eg: flash,white balance etc). 
5. Aperture Control - here you get to select the size of the aperture and the camera selects the rest of the settings. Generally aperture sizes change from f-2.6 to f-22, depending on your camera model you will have a certain range available. We will discuss this in more detail later, but simply put, the aperture controls how much light get in to the camera. Larger f numbers result in a smaller amount of light and vice versa.
6. Shutter Speed Control - in this mode you control the speed of the shutter. Faster speeds (eg:1/200 s, 1/1000 s) enable you to freeze action  while longer speeds (eg:5 s, 10 s ) give the photo a sense of movement.
7. Manual Control - this mode gives you the most flexibility. You have access to most of the settings and on most camera models you can change the aperture and the shutter speed independent of each other. Manual mode is the hardest to master but once you master it, it will give you the best results.

So go ahead and experiment with the different settings on your camera. Remember, a camera with its different modes is like a swiss army knife. It can do so many different tasks, but you need to know what each mode is good for.

Man and the Mist