Comments on: Learn to Stop Taking Photos in Automatic Mode – Tips for DSLR Photography

By: Darlene

Darlene — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:04:45 +0000

Hi Luke

I teach photography and have been doing it for about 25 years professionally. I’d like to add a couple things if you don’t mind:

- in your definitions you mention for aperture: “A bigger opening allows in more light” which is 100% correct but I’d like to add that most beginners have a hard time understanding which is bigger and which is smaller. The smaller the number (f1.8) the BIGGER the opening is, and vice versa – the bigger the number (f22) the smaller the opening. It’s inverse to what seems intuitive and opposite to how the Depth of Field works which is: smaller number (f1.8), little depth of field or small amount in focus. Bigger number (f22), larger depth of field or lost in focus.

- I’d add about shutter speed that it controls the motion in the photo. As faster shutter speed will freeze motion or moving objects such as 1/5ooth of a second or faster. A slow shutter speed will blur moving objects such as 1/15th and slower. You can use this to create a certain look such as a misty look to a waterfall (using a 2-5 second exposure time) or freezing a race car on the track. You can also do a technique called panning using a slower shutter speed like 1/30th and moving the camera to follow the subject which results in the background blurring instead of the subject.

- what is the minimum shutter speed one should use for hand holding the camera? I suggest 1/focal length of your lens. So for a 200mm lens, shoot at 1/200th or faster to make sure you don’t get blurry images

- Re: “starting with L series lenses” of course those are great lens but they are also very pricey things to buy and many beginners can’t afford that much. If you can’t afford the top lenses it’s okay to look at others or even off market brands such as Tamron and Sigma. Do your own research and read reviews before you buy, and ideally buy at a camera store where the staff is knowledgeable.

- re: cropping too tightly: great point. I’d also add the converse is true that most beginners I teach try to get too much in the photo and they don’t get close enough to get to the subject, to actually see it and present it well. So my tip is to get closer, and don’t include too much stuff that doesn’t contribute to your image.

Cheers
Darlene

By: Fredrik Hertzberg

Fredrik Hertzberg — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:01:08 +0000

I decided to start playing around with aperature first. Still getting the hang of it but that combined with not cropping to closely has really improved my pictures. I plan to play around with other stuff later.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:16:22 +0000

Really enjoyed the article because it reminded me of the learning curve I experienced when I really began focusing (bad pun) on taking better pictures. To lessen the learning curve I personally worked with just one aspect you mention, aperture for example, and ran through dozens, more like hundreds, of pics changing nothing but aperture, until I understood what to expect every time. Then I moved on to film speed, experimenting with fast and slow, same process, until I knew what to expect. You get the idea…it took a few months, until I went through all variables at least once and then again and then began combining them and it didn’t take long until the pictures starting really taking themselves, all based on what I wanted to convey – it may have taken 20 or so almost identical shots to get what I was really looking for but it was worth it when I got it right. For anybody who really loves photography and stunning visuals, keep shooting and don’t be afraid to learn the basic ‘rules’ and then do everything your own way and make it yours.