By understanding how to change the settings manually on a camera, one can understand how to take the photos they want. ISO, shutter speed, and aperture all work together to affect how much light the camera takes in when a photo is taken.
ISO is how sensitive the camera is to light intake. The higher number your ISO is, the more light it will take in. For example, an ISO of 6400 will take in much more light than an ISO of 200.
Shutter speed controls how long it takes the lens to close when a photo is being taken. The shutter speed stops are measured in fractions of a second. A faster shutter speed, like 1/1000, will take in less light but stop the motion in the photo. A slower shutter speed, like 1/30, will allow the camera to take in more light, but anything moving may be blurred.
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Stopped / Lens (mm): 18 / ISO: 6400 /
Aperture: 3.5 / Shutter: 1/200 |
Aperture is how much light the camera lets in by changing the opening of the lens. It is measured in fractions of a diameter. A smaller number as a denominator, like f1/2.8 or f1/3.5, is a larger opening that will allow more light in. This will also have a narrower depth of field, meaning that subjects nearby will be in focus and the background will be blurred. A larger number in the denominator, like 1/32, is a small opening that will allow less light in. This will provide a wider depth of field, which means that both the subjects and background will be in focus.
These three controls work together in order to adjust the overall light intake of the camera. You can assess if your photo will be properly lit by paying attention to the meter in your camera. This can be seen through the viewfinder. The best way to meter is to find something to meter off of in the environment that you are shooting photos that is as close to 18% gray as possible — not light, but not dark, either. You should aim to get as close to 0 as possible on the meter. It is better to use the available light rather than artificial light, like a flash.
Reciprocity is when you adjust one setting, you must adjust another in an equal number of stops in the opposite direction in order to retain the light meter that is desired. For example, say that you take a photo at ISO 400, with an aperture of f4, and a shutter speed of 1/60. If you wanted a shutter speed of 1/25, that is 4 lower stops away. You would then have to change to aperture to go up four stops, to f6.3. Keeping the changes equal will allow the amount of light that the camera takes in to stay the same, so that you do not have to re-meter every time you take a photo.
By knowing what camera controls are and understanding how to change them for your surroundings, you will know how to take properly lit photos.
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