
In the robot photo (top right), I focused on the fingertip and shot at f/2 to minimize depth of field. To draw attention to a particular part of the picture, though, choose a wide aperture (one with a low number), such as f/2.8 or below. That maximizes depth of field so that everything from the trees in the foreground to the iconic cliff in the distance shows up in focus. For landscape shots, like the one of Yosemite's Half Dome on the opening page, put your camera on a tripod and select a very small aperture (one with a high number), say, f/22. The size of the aperture is called the f-stop and shows up as a number displayed on top of the camera or on the rear screen.įull auto favors middle-of-the-road apertures such as f/5.6, but you're going to want to play with the extremes. Depending on what model you own, you'll use either a dial or buttons to adjust the size of the aperture-the hole in the lens that controls the rate at which light passes through to the sensor. Set the mode dial to A (or Av in Canon cameras).
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Knowing how to harness its aperture and shutter controls, flash intensity, light metering and ISO will help bring your photography skills up to the level of your gear.įOR PORTRAITS, LANDSCAPES, CLOSEUPS, LOW-LIGHT SHOTS Shooting professional-looking photos takes more than a fancy digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR).

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To plot a more creative course, you need to learn the basics of manual control. Full auto, though, is like a GPS unit that tells you to take I-80 every time. Taking a picture manually is like going on a road trip from New York to San Francisco-you can take many routes. For any given scene, there are dozens of combinations of these settings that will produce a correct exposure-but each alters the style of the photograph. To achieve the latter, sometimes you have to say goodbye to your friend Full Auto.Įxposure is determined by three key settings-aperture, shutter speed and sensitivity to light, or ISO-as well as by how the camera meters light and how intensely the flash is fired.

The reason, explains photography instructor Bryan Peterson, lies in appreciating the difference between a "correct" exposure, meaning one that's well-lighted and not blurry, and a "creatively correct" exposure, meaning that you actually like how the picture looks. Yet amateur DSLR photos often look no better than shots from a run-of-the-mill point-and-shoot. The latest digital SLR cameras employ sophisticated light sensors and composition-analyzing algorithms to routinely nail correct exposures in full auto mode.
