Photography: a Guardian masterclass

Photography

Basic camera techniques

The Guardian's head of photography explains how to take creative control of your
camera settings
Roger Tooth

Fri 16 Nov 2012 23.33 GMTFirst published on Fri 16 Nov 2012 23.33 GMT

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 The devastated beachfront at Meulaboh, Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: Dan Chung for the
Guardian

Cameras come in lots of different shapes and sizes, but they all have a few basic things
in common: a lens to focus on your subject, a housing (with a handle to hold it), and a
mechanism to record the image. In most cameras these days, that mechanism is likely to
be an electronic sensor to record the photograph digitally. (In this guide we are leaving
film behind as a somewhat fond memory.) It can be more difficult to override the
automatic settings on cheaper models, which might leave you feeling that you are not
completely in control of the final image. For this chapter, we are going to assume your
camera has manual settings as well as the "programme" modes.

Lens lengths
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If your camera comes with a zoom lens, as most do, explore the different focal lengths
and the effect each creates. Start with the wide-angle setting and notice any distortions
and how it gives a slightly different reality from your own vision. Most news pictures are
now shot using wider lenses; indeed, an extra-wide lens has become the default for most
photojournalists. Take a look at Dan Chung's picture (main image) of the devastation
left by the Asian tsunami in 2004 to see how the extreme wide-angle lens emphasises
the scale of the disaster.

Shoot some pictures and get comfortable with the wide settings before trying the other
end of the scale, the telephoto. This lens "telescopes" the scene in front of the
camera. Counterintuitively, this is a really nice way of shooting a landscape, as the
different parts of the scene become stacked or compressed, often resulting in a
patterned or painterly effect, as in Denis Thorpe's image of Hebden Bridge (below). A
telephoto is also a good lens to use for close-up portraiture, giving a more flattering,
slightly flattened perspective.
 Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, 1978. Photograph: Denis Thorpe for the Guardian
Newsroom

Focus
Most cameras have automatic focusing systems, but you should be aware of where the
camera is focused. The simplest way is to use the centre-weighted option: pre-focus on
your subject by holding the shutter release button halfway down, then frame the picture
exactly as you would like before depressing the button completely.

Keep an eye on the viewfinder to check the focus. Practise this technique, because many
photographs you shoot won't have the subject in the centre of the frame or at the front.
When shooting a close-up of a face, focus on the eye nearest the camera.

ISO
On my compact, the left-hand wheel sets the ISO rating: this regulates how sensitive the
camera will be to light coming in to the lens. You might have heard film described as
"fast" and "slow" – the faster the film (and the higher the ISO number) the more light-
sensitive it is. Helpfully, digital cameras also use these numbers to describe the
sensitivity of their sensors. An average setting for shooting in daylight would be 100,
while indoor settings should be 400 to 800.

Try not to go higher than 1,600, or you will introduce too much "noise" or grain to your
images. As a general rule, keep the ISO as low as possible.

Pre-programmed settings
There is another wheel on most digital SLRs that selects the various exposure
programmes the camera will run. There are normally automatic settings for different
sorts of photography (such as portraits, landscapes and fast-moving subjects) but why
don't we explore what's going on inside that box of tricks?

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Let's focus (sorry) on three of the settings: A (aperture priority), S (shutter priority) and
M (manual). Aperture priority (sometimes called AV or aperture value) allows you to set
the aperture, leaving the camera to select an appropriate shutter speed. Changing the
aperture not only affects the level of light reaching the sensor but also the photograph's
depth of field (the distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in
focus).

Shutter priority mode (S) allows you to choose a specific shutter speed and tells the
camera to control the aperture. The shutter is the small, metal curtain that opens and
closes to help control the quantity of light hitting the sensor. The longer it stays open,
the more light is let in.

Manual (M) provides the greatest level of control over the final image, by allowing you
to set both shutter speed and aperture, depending on the lighting conditions and the
effect you want to achieve.

Depth of field
By changing the aperture setting on your lens you can take control over the depth of
field in your picture. The smaller the aperture, the more you get in focus. Setting a wider
aperture enables you to soften the background or foreground in your image. The longer
the focal length of the lens, the more marked the effect.

 Portobello beach, Edinburgh. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod

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Take a look at Murdo MacLeod's photograph above of a sunbathing couple on

Portobello beach, Edinburgh (above). He's used a 24mm wide-angle lens, which has
given him a helping hand with the depth of field, but he has still used a small aperture of
f/13 to ensure that the bulk of the scene is in focus. Note that f/13 isn't an option on the
barrel of our old lens. This is because electronic digital cameras can set the lens iris to
any size and are not governed by crude mechanical click-stops.

It's very common in portraiture, almost a visual cliche these days, but more and more
news photographers are shooting "wide-open" (with a wide-open aperture) to isolate the
subject from a busy background. A shallow depth of field helps tone down "noisy" or
distracting colours and shapes in the background.
 Christmas in a Christian neighborhood in Islamabad, Pakistan. Photograph:
Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Associated Press chief photographer Muhammed Muheisen uses this technique to draw
your eye to the young Pakistani girl and her gun, despite the strong shapes of the man
and bicycle (left). If you find this sort of shallow focus effect appealing, you could use the
aperture priority mode on your camera to force it to use a wide setting; it will then
automatically adjust the shutter speed to obtain the best exposure for the lighting
conditions. But you might find you want to use a slow shutter speed as well, to introduce
some movement, as in Muheisen's second image, for example (below).

 A Palestinian girl in an alley of Al-Amari refugee camp, Ramallah. Photograph:

Muhammed Muheisen/AP

In this case you would have to make the camera less light-sensitive by changing the ISO
rating to a lower value. This explains how the three settings are related.

Light
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There is something arresting about Muheisen's pictures, and it isn't just his subjects: it's
the soft quality of the daylight. MacLeod's couple on the beach in the scorching sunshine
is great, but bright light is difficult to handle. Soft light at the beginning and end of the
day often gives the best results. The sun is lower and more directional too, giving more
modelling to your subjects.
It's often best to "shoot against the light" or into the sun to avoid a flat, mundane result
during the day. With so much light directed at the camera, you'll want to set the
exposure for the subject, so open the lens one or two stops (or use the exposure
compensation settings on your camera).

 St. George's Square, Liverpool, 1990. Photograph: Denis Thorpe

The other way to approach this is to go for a silhouette. In this case you need a strong
shape in your subject and a clean background. Simply expose for the background and
the subject will be completely underexposed, as shown left in Denis Thorpe's image of St
George's Place, Liverpool (left).

Shooting in low light brings its own problems, but they are simple to overcome.
If there's not enough light to achieve a decent exposure, open the lens as far as possible
(which will give you a shallow depth of field, remember). When you can't go any wider,
you will have to use longer and longer shutter speeds. You could alleviate this by dialling
in a higher ISO, making the camera more light-sensitive, but that introduces graininess
and "noise" patterns which may lead to poor quality.

Realistically, you are left with the slow shutter-speed option. Most people with a steady
hand can hold a camera without getting much noticeable "camera shake" down to about
1/30th of a second. If you want or need to use a longer shutter speed than that, the
camera needs to be supported on a tripod, or basically anything firm and inanimate.
Low-light or night photography is now perfectly possible.

If you have a moving subject, there will be some blur. You can stop this by introducing
flash, but beware: flashes don't travel far. Flashguns, built-in or otherwise, are of
very limited use as a sole light source, but there are more creative ways to use them.
  A good example of making use of the atmospheric "available" light Photograph:
Christopher Thomond

A good alternative technique, giving professional-looking results, is to set your camera

on a slow shutter speed to make use of some of the atmospheric "available" light. Make
sure your camera is mounted firmly and there are no wobbles, then use your flash to
illuminate the subject, like Chris Thomond's superb schoolboy picture (above). Chris
used a flashgun located away from the camera, but an on-camera flash will
give a similar, cleaned-up, slightly surreal result.

Finally, the great thing about digital cameras is that they have no ongoing costs, such as
film and developing. You can experiment over and over again and immediately see the
results – for free – so tweak as you shoot.

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HOME → PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS

Introduction to Photography: The Universal

Language
 What you need to know about photography. Why you need to
know it.
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BY SPENCER COX COMMENTS ARE CLOSED

LAST UPDATED ON APRIL 11, 2020

This introduction to photography is written for beginners, with several tips and suggestions to
take your skills as far as possible. However, writing an introduction to photography is like
writing an introduction to words; as amazing and important as it is, photography can be almost
 limitlessly complex. What separates inspiring photographs from ordinary ones, and how can you
improve the quality of your own work? This article lays a foundation to answer to those
questions and more.

Table of Contents
 What Is Photography?
 A Brief History of Photography and the People Who Made It Succeed
o
 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
 Louis Daguerre
 Alfred Stieglitz
 Dorothea Lange
 Ansel Adams
 What Camera Do You Need for Photography?
 At This Point, What Other Camera Gear and Accessories Do You Need?
 The Three Fundamental Camera Settings You Should Know
 The First Steps on Your Photographic Journey
 Photography FAQ

What Is Photography?
Photography is the art of capturing light with a camera, usually via a digital sensor or film, to
create an image. With the right camera equipment, you can even photograph wavelengths of light
invisible to the human eye, including UV, infrared, and radio.

The first permanent photograph was captured in 1826 (some sources say 1827) by
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in France. It shows the roof of a building lit by the sun. You can see it
reproduced below:
  TOP ARTICLES2/5READ MORECanon R6 vs Nikon Z6 vs Panasonic S1 vs Sony A7 III
“View from the Window at Le Gras” by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
We’ve come a long way since then.
Image by NASA (public domain)
The purpose of this article is to introduce the past and present worlds of photography. You will
also find some important tips to help you take better photos along the way.

A Brief History of Photography and the People Who Made It

Succeed
Color photography started to become popular and accessible with the release of Eastman
Kodak’s “Kodachrome” film in the 1930s. Before that, almost all photos were monochromatic –
although a handful of photographers, toeing the line between chemists and alchemists, had been
using specialized techniques to capture color images for decades before. You’ll find
some fascinating galleries of photos from the 1800s or early 1900s captured in full color, worth
exploring if you have not seen them already.
These scientist-magicians, the first color photographers, are hardly alone in pushing the
boundaries of one of the world’s newest art forms. The history of photography has always been a
history of people – artists and inventors who steered the field into the modern era.

So, below, you’ll find a brief introduction to some of photography’s most important names.
Their discoveries, creations, ideas, and photographs shape our own pictures to this day, subtly or
not. Although this is just a brief bird’s-eye view, these nonetheless are people you should know
before you step into the technical side of photography:

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce

 Invention: The first permanent photograph (“View from the Window at Le Gras,” shown
earlier)
 Where: France, 1826
 Impact: Cameras had already existed for centuries before this, but they had one major
flaw: You couldn’t record a photo with them! They simply projected light onto a separate
surface – one which artists used to create realistic paintings, but not strictly photographs.
Niépce solved this problem by coating a pewter plate with, essentially, asphalt, which grew
harder when exposed to light. By washing the plate with lavender oil, he was able to fix the
hardened substance permanently to the plate.
 Quote: “The discovery I have made, and which I call Heliography, consists in
reproducing spontaneously, by the action of light, with gradations of tints from black to
white, the images received in the camera obscura.” Mic drop.

Louis Daguerre

 Invention: The Daguerreotype (first commercial photographic material)

 Where: France, 1839
 Impact: Daguerreotypes are images fixed directly to a heavily polished sheet of silver-
plated copper. This invention is what really made photography a practical reality – although
it was still just an expensive curiosity to many people at this point. If you’ve never seen
daguerreotypes in person, you might be surprised to know just how sharp they are.
 Quote: “I have seized the light. I have arrested its flight.”
 A daguerreotype
of Louis Daguerre. Today, this is known as daguerreoception
Alfred Stieglitz

 Genre: Portraiture and documentary

 Where: United States, late 1800s through mid 1900s
 Impact: Alfred Stieglitz was a photographer, but, more importantly, he was one of the
first influential members of the art community to take photography seriously as a creative
medium. He believed that photographs could express the artist’s vision just as well as
paintings or music – in other words, that photographers could be artists. Today’s perception
of photography as an art form owes a lot to Stieglitz.
 Quote: “In photography, there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than
reality.”

Dorothea Lange

 Genre: Portrait photography

 Where: United States, 1930s
 Impact: One of the most prominent documentary photographers of all time, and the
photographer behind one of the most influential images of all time (shown below), is
Dorothea Lange. If you’ve ever seen photos from the Great Depression, you most likely
have seen some of her work. Her photos shaped the field of documentary photography and
showed the camera’s potential for power more than almost anyone else in history.
 Quote: “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”
 “Migrant Mother,”
Dorothea Lange’s most famous photograph
Ansel Adams

 Genre: Landscape photography

 Where: United States
 When: 1920s to 1960s (for most of his work)
 Impact: Ansel Adams is perhaps the most famous photographer in history, which is
remarkable because he mainly took pictures of landscapes and natural scenes. (Typically,
famous photographers have tended to photograph people instead.) Ansel Adams helped
 usher in an era of realism in landscape photography, and he was an early champion of the
environmentalism and preservation movements in the United States.
 Quote: “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.”

“The Tetons and the Snake River,” by Ansel Adams. Public domain

What Camera Do You Need for Photography?
Apple became the world’s first trillion dollar company in 2018 largely because of the iPhone –
and what it replaced.

Alarm clocks. Flashlights. Calculators. MP3 players. Landline phones. GPSs. Audio recorders.

Cameras.

Many people today believe that their phone is good enough for most photography, and they have
no need to buy a separate camera. And you know what? They’re not wrong. For most people out
there, a dedicated camera is overkill.

Phones are better than dedicated cameras for most people’s needs. They’re quicker and easier to
use, not to mention their seamless integration with social media. It only makes sense to get a
dedicated camera if your phone isn’t good enough for the photos you want (like photographing
sports or low-light environments) or if you’re specifically interested in photography as a hobby.

That advice may sound crazy coming from a photographer, but it’s true. If you have any camera
at all, especially a cell phone camera, you have what you need in order to take great photos. And
if you have a more advanced camera, like a DSLR or mirrorless camera, what more is there to
say? This is the guide for you – it’s time to learn photography.

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BEGINNER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography for Beginners: A

Complete Guide
 by Josh Dunlop
A- A+
DOWNLOAD AS   PDF 
Related course: Photography for Beginners

Cameras are complicated. I was frustrated with my first DSLR. I just couldn’t

capture what I saw through my viewfinder. It took a ton of trial and error.

When I managed to work it all out, I started taking some pretty spectacular
images. In this post, I will share with you everything that I’ve learned
from my mistakes.
Infographic
As beginner photographers, we tend to be visual learners. And it’s my job to
make beginning photography as easy as possible for you.

So I thought to myself, “What better way to help beginner photographers

learn how to use their cameras, than by creating an infographic?” And that’s
exactly what I did.

I collaborated with an illustrator friend of mine, and together we made these

images. The following are something that will make understanding exposure,
and how cameras work, a whole lot easier!
Check out what we came up with below:
Let’s dive into more depth…

Exposure
For those beginning photography, exposure is key to capturing a great image.

Learning how exposure works will help you to take control of your camera
and take better photos. Aperture, shutter speed, ISO are the elements
that combine to create an exposure.

As you’ll soon learn, these elements have an effect on more than just the
exposure. They also cause alterations in depth of field, motion blur,
and digital noise.

Once you understand how each one works, you can start diving into manual
mode. This is where you take control back from your camera.

The exposure triangle is a great way to remember the three settings. When
combined, they control the amount of light captured from any given scene.

This will help you to understand that changing one setting will necessitate a
change in the others. That is if you are photographing the same scene with the
same exact lighting conditions.
Read here for all the information you need on the exposure triangle.

Aperture
Exposure happens in three steps. We will start with the aperture. This is the
hole inside the lens, through which the light passes.

It’s similar to the pupil of your eye: the wider the aperture, the more light is
allowed in and vice versa. Simple? Not quite.
As the aperture widens, the f/number gets lower and more light is allowed
into the camera. This is great for low light but be aware that it’s going to
make the depth of field very shallow – not ideal when taking landscapes.

So there’s a bit of give and take and I go into full detail about that in this
post. The aperture is the preferred setting to set first, as it directly influences
how much of your scene is in focus. But, if you are looking to create motion
blur, then it is second to the shutter speed.

Exposure will be much easier if you can memorize the f/stop scale.

The scale is as follows: f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22.

Shutter Speed
Once the light has passed through the aperture of the lens, it reaches the
shutter. Now you need to decide how much of that light you’re going to allow
into the camera.

Ordinarily, you only want a very small fraction of a second (for example
1/250) to prevent motion blur. However, different shutter speeds
complement different situations.
Anything from really fast (1/4000) for sports photography to really slow (30
seconds) for night photography. It all depends on what you’re shooting and
how much light you have available to you.

Knowing how your shutter speed works is a key element in the basics of

photography.

ISO
Once the light has passed through the aperture and been filtered by the shutter
speed, it reaches the sensor. This is where we decide how to set the ISO.

As you turn the ISO number up, you increase the exposure. But, at the same
time, the image quality decreases. There will be more digital noise or “grain”.

So you have to decide upon your priorities in terms of exposure vs grain.

For example, I would reduce the image quality if it meant that I could prevent
motion blur in my photo. There’s no possible way to fix that in post-
production (yet, at least).

Exposure Summary
Once you’ve understood aperture, shutter speed and ISO, you need to learn
how each of these elements of exposure work together.

For all those basics of photography, exposure is the most important.

If you don’t have this down, composition and framing become a moot point
in beginner photography.
In this post, you will learn about the ‘stop’ based system for measuring
exposure. But, more importantly, how to prioritize the aperture, shutter speed,
and ISO for the best photo.

Every time.

Understanding Your Camera

Metering Modes
Digital photography for beginners can be confusing. Exposure isn’t as simple
as learning about aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. You also have to learn
about how your camera looks at light.
Metering modes are there to tell your camera how you want it to look at a
scene.

The photo below was taken on spot metering mode but, if you were to take
the same photo using evaluative mode, you would end up with a completely
different exposure.

This is also covered in my free video training. If you’re looking for an article
that explains digital, including Canon, metering modes, here it is.

Understanding this basic photography point may just be the key

to understanding why your photos are coming out underexposed
or overexposed.

Histograms
The histogram shows you a mathematical review of an exposure after the
photo has been taken. It essentially tells you how evenly exposed a photo is.
LCD screens aren’t very good at showing you this information through their
display of the image. This is because they are affected by the ambient
lighting conditions you’re in and the brightness of the screen itself.

That’s why the histogram is such a powerful tool to utilize in beginning

photography correctly.

Shooting Modes
Full-Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority or Manual
Mode. How do you work out which one you should be using?

There’s also a lot of misconceptions about which mode to use under which

conditions. On top of a lot of bias towards not using manual mode.

When you understand what exactly each mode does, the one that will be
suitable for your situation becomes a lot clearer. This is also covered in
my free video training.
Depth of Field
When you’re shooting in low light, you invariably have to widen your
aperture to allow enough light into the lens. But this has one rather a major
side effect. A shallow depth of field.

This can be used very creatively (often to excess) but it’s not the only
possibility. There are many situations, such as landscapes, where you’ll want
to be using a narrower aperture so that the whole scene remains in focus.

This tutorial walks you through everything you need to know about choosing
the right aperture (and therefore the depth of field) for the right situation.

When it comes to covering all of the basics of photography, depth of field is

very important.
White Balance
White balance is something I wish I’d learned more about much sooner than I
did. I look back on some photos now and wonder what I was thinking.
The white balance changes the color cast of the entire photo. It is responsible
for the overall warmth. It can determine whether your photo appears blue or
orange, cold or warm.

Auto white balance doesn’t tend to do a particularly good job, particularly

with tungsten light. The sooner you learn about this basic photography idea,
the more accurate your photos will look.

This is also covered in my free video training.

Focal Length
Have you ever wondered what the ‘mm’ on your lens actually means? Or
why people use longer focal lengths for portraits?

It’s all discussed in this tutorial. The focal length affects more than just the
‘zoom’. It also influences the perspective.

I cover which focal length you would want to use in different situations. As
well as their possible side effects.

It’s a really worthy read and one of my favorite tutorials to date.

Crop Factor
A lot of you may not realize but, unless you spend about $2000 on your
camera, you’re more than likely to be shooting on a crop sensor.

This means that your sensor is much smaller than professional SLR cameras,
essentially cropping your image. The crop factor has a range of effects on
your photos.

It creates a narrower viewing angle and will influence your lens purchases in

the future. For those beginner photographers, research what lenses will help
your field of photography first.
Polarizing Filters
Polarizing filters only allow light into the lens from a certain direction. This
results in the removal of glare and reflections from non-metallic objects.
Water and glass are the most affected, as well as haze from the sky. Cutting
out these reflections and anomalies will make for more naturally saturated
colors.

Not only does this look great but it cannot be replicated in post-production,
hence it’s so important to understand.

How to Take Professionally Sharp Images

For beginning photography, I will walk you through the 10 step process of
taking professionally sharp photos.

It covers everything from choosing the right aperture and shutter speed
to shooting in RAW.
It’s pretty easy to make just a few small mistakes which will result in less
sharp images. That’s why we cover all ten, in order of importance.

The Nifty Fifty

What can I say about the nifty fifty? What’s not to love?

For those of you who are beginner photographers, when I talk about the nifty
fifty, I’m referring to the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. This can be picked up very
cheap for most digital SLRs.

It’s a great introduction to buying better quality lenses and an excellent way

of getting to grips with aperture.
The article linked is a review and guide. I wrote it because I recommend this
lens as the first upgrade for every beginner photographer to make.

It’s easy to use and, for the price, will yield some excellent results.
Composition
It’s important to understand exposure. But, if you can’t get to grips with basic
composition, you’ll struggle to take really good photos.

I’m not saying that you have to follow every compositional rule. But it helps
to learn these rules so they can help guide you in taking better photos.

Rule of Thirds
This is probably the first compositional rule that any beginner photographer
comes across. And that’s for a very good reason: it’s simple and it works.
The basic premise is that you divide your camera’s frame into thirds. By
planting key objects on these lines, the composition of the image works
better.

This is a tool that consistently works, but it is easy to overuse it. If you’ve not
learned much about photography yet, it’s a great way of dramatically
improving your photos.

It will help to make them more interesting.

Visual Weight
Visual weight differs in size or weight as we know it. It’s all about what
we’re drawn to when we look at a photo.
When you understand visual weight, you’ll start to understand how people
look at photos and how you can position certain elements in a frame to direct
the viewer’s attention to where you want them to look.

It’s not so much a tool or a rule, but an understanding.

Triangles
Shapes are very important in Photography. Triangles are in almost everything
we see in one way or another, it’s just a case of distinguishing and knowing
what to do with them.

Triangles make great compositional tools as they’re easy to make and

manipulate, and are remarkably common. These are a great way to use the
simplest and most basic photography compositions.

They are also perfect for combining different compositional techniques.

These include lines and paths, to create a more interesting part of a
photograph.

You can even use them to make a photo feel more stable or unstable.
Eye-Lines
If you take photos of people, you’re taking photos with eye lines. It’s
important to understand the effect that eye lines have on how we view a
photo.
Eye-lines are the direction your subject’s eyes are pointed in. The negative
space in front of the subject’s face is known as ‘lead room‘.

These have the ability to focus our attention on a particular part of the photo.
They also produce tension and other photographic elements.

Although they’re not physical lines, they can be used as such to produce
different elements. These will help make triangles and vertical lines.

Balance
Balance in a photo affects how we feel when we look at it. An unbalanced
photo can make us feel uneasy, whereas a balanced photo will make us feel
more relaxed.
It really doesn’t matter whether you choose to make the photo balanced or
unbalanced. But you should understand why you’ve chosen one or the other.

Both affect your photos in different ways.

Again, it’s one of those situations where the more you know, the easier it will
be to produce the desired effect.

So that’s a brief introduction to digital photography for beginners.

Of course, there’s tons more you can learn about photography and I would
encourage you to go and explore for yourself in my tutorial archive.

In the meantime, if you’re looking to get started with some free premium
training for photographers, check out this video.
 Want to get ahead of the beginner pack? Check out our new post about
awesome photography facts next!

Table of Contents
 Infographic
 Exposure
o Aperture
o Shutter Speed
o ISO
o Exposure Summary

 Understanding Your Camera

o Metering Modes
o Histograms
o Shooting Modes
o Depth of Field
o White Balance
o Focal Length
o Crop Factor
o Polarizing Filters
o How to Take Professionally Sharp Images
o The Nifty Fifty

 Composition
o Rule of Thirds
o Visual Weight
o Triangles
o Eye-Lines
o Balance

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 My Camera Composition Editing

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Here are 3 of the 7 steps we uncover in this 21 minute video:

3 Focus Modes
Easily the most common reason for poor focus and blurry
images
Focus Selection Points 
Leaving your camera on its default settings will produce blurry
results

Shutter Speed
Post processing won’t fix a blurry image from a slow shutter
Where should we send the video?
At This Point, What Other Camera Gear and Accessories Do
You Need?
Camera. If you buy a dedicated camera (rather than a phone), pick one with interchangeable
lenses so that you can try out different types of photography more easily. Read reviews, but don’t
obsess over them, because everything available today is pretty much equally good as its
competition. Find a nice deal and move on.

Lenses. This is where it counts. For everyday photography, start with a standard zoom lens like a
24-70mm or 18-55mm. For portrait photography, pick a prime lens (one that doesn’t zoom) at
35mm, 50mm, or 85mm. For sports, go with a telephoto lens. For macro photography, get a
dedicated macro lens. And so on. Lenses matter more than any other piece of equipment because
they determine what photos you can take in the first place.

Post-processing software. One way or another, you need to edit your photos. It’s ok to start
with software already on your computer, or software that comes with your camera. But in the
long run, a dedicated program will do a better job. Adobe sells Lightroom and Photoshop as a
bundle for $10/month, or you can buy standalone software from another company if you prefer;
there are tons of options. Whatever you pick, stick with it for a while, and you’ll learn it quite
well.

Everything else is optional, but can be very helpful:

1. A tripod. A landscape photographer’s best friend. See our comprehensive tripod article.

2. Bags. Get a shoulder bag for street photography, a rolling bag for studio photography, a
technical hiking backpack for landscape photography, and so on.
3. Memory cards. Choose something in the 32-64 GB range to start. Get a fast card
(measured in MB/second) if you shoot bursts of photos, since your camera’s memory will
clear faster.
4. Extra Batteries. Get at least one spare battery to start, preferably two. Off-brand
batteries are usually cheaper, although they may not last as long or maintain compatibility
with future cameras.
5. Polarizing filter. This is a big one, especially for landscape photographers. Don’t get a
cheap polarizer or it will harm your image quality. We recommend the B+W Kaesemann
filter (of the same thread size as your lens). See our polarizing filter article too.
6. Flash. Flashes can be expensive, and you might need to buy a separate transmitter and
receiver if you want to use your flash off-camera.
7. Better computer monitor. Ideally, you’d get an IPS monitor for editing photos (which
we’ve also written an article about).
8. Cleaning kit. The top item is a microfiber cloth to keep the front of your lens clean. Also
get a rocket blower to remove dust from your camera sensor more easily.
9. Other equipment. There are countless photography accessories available, from remote
shutter releases to GPS attachments to printers and more. Don’t worry about these at first;
you’ll realize over time if you need one.
The Three Fundamental Camera Settings You Should Know
Your camera has dozens of buttons and menu options. If you pick the wrong camera settings, it’s
possible that your photo won’t turn out the way you want. How do you make sense of all these
options? And how do you do it quickly in the field?

It’s not easy, but it’s easier than you might think. In fact, most of the menu options are things
you’ll only set one time, then rarely or never touch again. Only a handful of settings need to be
changed frequently, and that’s what the rest of this Photography Basics guide covers.
The three most important settings are called shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. All three of them
control the brightness of your photo, although they do so in different ways. In other words, each
brings its own “side effects” to an image. So, it’s a bit of an art to know exactly how to balance
all three for a given photo.

1. Shutter speed: The amount of time your camera sensor is exposed to the world while
taking a picture. Chapter 2: Shutter Speed
2. Aperture: Represents a “pupil” in your lens that can open and close to let in different
amounts of light. Chapter 3: Aperture
3. ISO: Technically a bit more complex, but similar to the sensitivity of film for taking
pictures in different lighting conditions. Chapter 4: ISO
Equipment: Nikon D800E + 20mm f/1.8 lens. Camera settings: 20 second shutter speed, f/2.2
aperture, ISO 3200

The First Steps on Your Photographic Journey

In photography, the technical and the creative go hand in hand.

Remember the Ansel Adams quote from earlier? There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a
fuzzy concept. If the idea behind a photo is weak, using the right camera settings won’t make it
better.
At the same time, camera settings are some of the most important tools you have at your
disposal. In a way, every technical choice is really an artistic choice in disguise. These
settings are worth learning. Your understanding of photography will improve tenfold when you
understand how camera settings work.

So, the next few chapters of this guide will cover the most important camera settings: shutter
speed, aperture, and ISO. Then, we’ll dive into the deep end of composition. This is how photos
are made.

Photography FAQ
If you have any additional questions, or you are looking for a quick answer to your question, we
put together a small FAQ section related to photography below:

What is the purpose of photography?

The purpose of photography can vary depending on what the photographer is trying to achieve. For
example, documentary and news photographers capture images for the purpose of providing detailed
account of actual events, while hobbyist photographers aim to capture life moments with their families
and friends.

What are the types of photography?

There are many different types of photography, such as landscape, macro, wildlife, portrait, documentary,
fashion, travel and event photography. To see the complete list of types of photography, please refer
to this article.

What do you need for photography?

To start taking pictures, all you need is a camera, which can be anything from a basic smartphone to an
advanced DSLR or a mirrorless camera. However, photography equipment is not all that important –
light, subject, emotion and composition are all critical elements of a successful photograph.

What is the most common type of photography

There are a number of photography genres that are very popular today. These include portrait, landscape,
architecture, fashion, food, sports, wildlife, macro, street, event and documentary photography.

What equipment do I need as a beginner photographer?

If you are just starting out in photography, all you need is a camera that you are comfortable with. The
rest of photography equipment is going to be based on your needs. For example, if you want to do
landscape photography, you will need a number of different lenses, a tripod and filters. For portrait
photography, you will need to invest in a good portrait lens and potentially some lighting equipment.

What is the oldest photograph?

The oldest photograph, “View from the Window at Le Gras”, was captured by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
in 1826 or 1827. It was captured using a technique known as heliography.

Who took the first selfie?

 The first photographic portrait ever taken was a self-portrait, or a “selfie”. It was captured in 1839 by
Robert Cornelius, an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia.

What is a genre in photography?

A photography “genre” is a type of photography, such as landscape photography, portrait photography,
wildlife photography, etc.

How can I learn photography?

You can learn photography from many books and online resources. A lot of information related to
photography can be obtained for free in the forms of articles and videos. This article is a part of
photography basics series, which is provided by Photography Life for free to everyone.

What makes a great photo?

A great photograph should have good light, subject, and composition – the three elements that matter the
most in photography. The photographer should have a strong vision, then express it in the most effective
way possible, as explained in this article.

What are the three basic camera settings?

The three basic camera settings are: aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

What is the best type of photography?

Every photography genre has its own appeal. Some people like some genres of photography more than
others.
Take me to Chapter 3: Shutter Speed
1. Photography Basics Introduction
2. What is Photography? (You are here)
3. Shutter Speed
4. Aperture
5. F-Stop
6. ISO
7. Composition
8. Metering
9. Camera Modes
10. Focusing
11. Flash
12. Camera Settings
13. How to Take Sharp Pictures
14. Photography Tips for Beginners
15. Photography Ideas

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FILED UNDER: PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALSTAGGED WITH: TIPS FOR
BEGINNERS, PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS, PHOTOGRAPHY BASICS

About Spencer Cox
Spencer Cox is a landscape and nature photographer who has gained international recognition
and awards for his photography. He has been displayed in galleries worldwide, including the
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and exhibitions in London, Malta, Siena, and Beijing.
To view more of his work, visit his website or follow him on Instagram.
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