SAY GOODBYE TO AUTO

Are you one of those people that has a great camera, but always shoots on AUTO?

That sucks! You're missing out on so many different ways to capture a moment and hours of free fun.

  

Coming up... 3 simple steps to get you off Auto.

Step 1: Turn that dial

You can do it! Turn that dial from Auto to M for Manual.

That's it. Step one done!

 

Step 2: Get to know your shutter

 

The number that looks like a fraction or has  ”  next to it - that's shutter speed. It denotes time.

Think of it as a shutter on a window:

"It's pretty dark here" = open the shutter for longer to let in more light. Longer would be anything under 1/60 ie 1/40, 1/30 etc.
 

"There's plenty of light here" = open the shutter for a short amount of time to let in less light. Short is anything over 1/250 ie 1/500; 1/1000 etc.

                                                                           

Shutter speed also freezes or blurs motion, but worry about that later. For now, pick a static object and take lots of shots from 1/60 up to 1/1000. See how it affects the lighting?

 

Step 3: Play with your f-stop

 

The f-number - that's the aperture.

F-stop is like the pupil of your eye - if it’s dark, your pupil goes bigger to let in lots of light. If it’s bright, your pupil goes smaller to let in less light. This is how I remember which setting to use:
If I need a small pupil = big number (like f5.6; 8; 11 and up)
If I need a bigger pupil = small number (like f1.4; 2; 2.8 and up). 

Aperture also allows you to achieve the fun stuff, like blur backgrounds, so play around. Once again pick a static object and take lots of shots from f1.4 to f22. See how it affects the light and the sharpness/bluriness?

Your shutter speed and aperture work together to create a variety of effects.  

There's so much more to to learn, but for now, go play!

Disclaimer: I'm by no means a pro, just an enthusiast who's sharing. 

Pic credits: Nikon website