For a very long time, I have wanted to teach people the creative side of making images. This is a much harder undertaking than teaching the technical side of photography. Many courses, books, workshops, and so on will tell you all about shutter speeds, apertures and so on. The conventional wisdom seems to be to learn the “basics” first, then try to master the creative side of the craft.

This was logical back in the days of film. If you did not set the exposure correctly{{1}} you would not get an image at all. Now, however, cameras are much MUCH more sophisticated. Auto exposure and auto focus can get you a very good technical image. I believe that now, the more important first steps are to learn the creative aspects of picture making. As you progress in making better images, you will want to learn how to use the tools more effectively.

Imagine this as an analogy. You want to learn woodworking, and you hope to someday make some great furniture. While it could be argued that you should start off with the best tools, in a way, this is a waste{{2}}. you will not be able to tell the difference between a five dollar hammer from the local hardware store and a $200 hammer ordered from a specialty on line store. As a beginner, you are still working out how to shape the wood, how to make strong and precise joints, etc.

So where does that leave us? Let me give you all the technical advice you will need (until you decide you need more…)

  1. Use auto-exposure. Let your camera do most of the heavy lifting. There will be times where the camera will not nail the exposure (fewer times than you might think, and getting fewer with each iteration of camera), but look at these shots and try to figure out why the exposure is off. If the image is too bright (over exposed), next time you are in a similar situation, use the cameras exposure compensation (read your manual, most cameras have this feature, although sometimes it is buried in menus) to underexpose slightly. Conversely, if an image is too dark, use the exposure compensation to over expose.
  2. Building on the point above, if the background of your shot is much lighter or darker than your subject, use a spot meter (if your camera has that feature) or point the camera at something more evenly lit, hold down the shutter button halfway, and recompose to take the photo (be careful with distances though, see below)
  3. Use auto-focus. for the same reasons as #1. If your camera is having a tough time focusing, point the camera at something at a similar distance, hold the shutter button halfway down, and recompose to take the photo.
  4. If you are shooting in low light, make sure your shutter speed doesn’t get too slow. {{3}} Generally try to keep the shutter speed faster (shorter) than 1/60
  5. Using a higher ISO setting, such as 400, gives you more flexibility. Many modern cameras will automatically set the ISO for you as well. Using a low ISO is generally only important if you are making BIG prints, and even then, only if you want a specific effect.

That is pretty much it. One big advantage of digital cameras is the LCD screen on the back of the camera. You can review an image immediately after you have taken it. If you don’t like it, you can re shoot it right away. Which leads to the biggest point of this lesson:

Don’t be afraid to experiment Try different settings and approaches. I will talk about this much more in upcoming lessons, but remember, if you try something and it doesn’t work, the worst thing that has happened is you learned something. I will say it again:

DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT

this will eventually link to the next lesson in the series

[[1]]Of course there is debate on the term correct exposure, and when you should over expose, when you should under expose, and whether you should compensate when developing the film. Thank goodness digital all but eliminated a lot of these concerns.[[1]]

[[2]]Starting off with good quality tools is always a good idea, but there is the issue of diminishing returns. That is, again, as a beginner, you will probably not notice a real difference between using a top of the line SLR and a good quality compact camera. And you can use the extra couple of grand you save to buy some good photo books, or take a workshop (or send me a donation…..)[[2]]

[[3]]Shutter speeds are generally fractions of a second. 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, etc. Some cameras omit the “1/” and only show 500, 250, 125…[[3]]

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