Capturing beautiful moments is one of the most easiest things ever, a little child even know how to do it. But how to take a photo that actually works is the worth understanding. Having a digital camera with lots of megapixel is not enough, there are many things to photography. This guide illustrates the world of photography for anyone to simply understand.
Light is a photographer's best friend. The more light you have, the better your image will be. A camera captures light by exposing its image sensor. The light captured determines the image. There are three ways of controlling the amount of light captured : Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO.
The key to a good exposure is to strike the right balance between these parameters. For this reason their functions and limitations have to be understood.
Flash - Boosts shutter speed
Tripod - Captures ambient light
The dial usually has scene modes which are presets for specific scenes. Once you have learnt how to manipulate the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the scene modes become completely unnecessary. There is also an auto mode, in which the camera makes all the decisions. The mode is useful for beginners, but they are often unreliable in difficult shooting conditions.
Light is a photographer's best friend. The more light you have, the better your image will be. A camera captures light by exposing its image sensor. The light captured determines the image. There are three ways of controlling the amount of light captured : Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO.
The key to a good exposure is to strike the right balance between these parameters. For this reason their functions and limitations have to be understood.
Sensor :
The heart of all digital cameras is the image sensor. Given identical technology and shooting condition, larger sensors would always outperform smaller sensors. Sensor size is a far more important factor than megapixels tend to perform worse as they absorb less light.Aperture :
Aperture is a hole in the lens which controls how much light goes through to the sensor. It is represented by a focal length ratio, therefore f/8 is a smaller than f/2. Larger aperture allows more light to go through. In addition, aperture controls the depth of field, which determines how much of the image is in focus. This effect is only notice in cameras with larger sensors.Shutter speed :
When the curtains covering the sensor opens, the sensor is exposed. The curtains then shut after a period of time to finish the exposure. Shutter speed refers to the length of time the sensor is exposed. Shutter speed typically rangers from 1/4000 seconds to 30 seconds long. It mainly deals with motion. High shutter speed freezes motion while low shutter speed blurs it. High shutter speed is generally desirable as the image appears the sharpest, but it requires a lot of light to produce a good exposure. Low shutter speed produces various motion blurs from unsteady hand to moving objects, but it lets in more light so it is easier to create a good exposure. There are two ways of getting a good exposure consistently in low light.Flash - Boosts shutter speed
Tripod - Captures ambient light
ISO :
Is a standardized setting for sensor sensitivity. It typically ranges from 100 to 3200 in compact cameras, and can go up to 12800 or more is new DSLR. Cameras with larger sensors tend to have better high ISO performance. The higher the ISO, the brighter the image, but at the expense of noise and details. Noise are random blotches of color generated due to sensor heat. Lower ISO is recommended for cleaner images with maximum details. Different cameras have different ISO performances. Typically compact cameras are good at up to ISO 1600 while a DSLR is good at up to ISO 6400.Control :
Different camera employ different control schemes to adjust shooting parameters, but the most important is the control dial. The dial lets you select your shooting modes, the most important of which are: Aperture and Shutter speed priority, program, manual.The dial usually has scene modes which are presets for specific scenes. Once you have learnt how to manipulate the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the scene modes become completely unnecessary. There is also an auto mode, in which the camera makes all the decisions. The mode is useful for beginners, but they are often unreliable in difficult shooting conditions.
