Basic Equipment You'll Need
You can do photography with even the simplest of cameras, but the principles that I'd like to teach are for people who want to learn to use a DSLR camera, a micro four-thirds camera, or at least a camera that allows the photographer to adjust the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Even some pocket cameras have this functionality.
Now that you have your camera, it is time to learn exposure.
Exposure–the most basic element of photography
When photographers talk about “exposure,” we simply mean the brightness or darkness of a photo. It seems simple enough to take a photo that is correctly exposed (has the proper brightness or darkness), but in reality it can be quite the trick.
To help get the right exposure with your camera settings – you can download this Camera
Settings Cheat Sheet guide.
If you're reading this Photo Basics series, it probably means that you currently shoot on
the “Green mode” of your camera–or the automatic setting. That means the camera
entirely controls the exposure of the picture. When you shoot on automatic mode,
your camera selects an aperture setting, an ISO setting, a shutter speed, and a host
of other settings for you.
Automatic can be handy, but it also seriously limits your creative ability to make a
beautiful picture.
Want proof that automatic isn't the best way to shoot? Check out the picture below.
On the left, the picture was taken entirely in automatic mode on a Canon Rebel DSLR.
That might look okay to you… until you see the picture on the right. Same sunset.
Same camera. The pictures were taken only seconds apart. The difference? The
picture on the right was taken using manual exposure.
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO PICTURES IS THAT ONE WAS SHOT WITH AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE,
AND THE OTHER WAS SHOT USING CREATIVE EXPOSURE.
Which photo do you prefer? Probably the picture on the right! By choosing a creatively dark exposure, the rich colors in the sunset were allowed to shine through.
However, technically, the photo on the left is “correct,” and the photo on the right is “incorrect.” The camera saw through the lens and tried to expose the bird so that it wouldn't become a shadow. To me, the photo was not about exposing the bird properly, but exposing the sunset properly. The bird was just a nice shape to include in the foreground. This is exactly why you must learn exposure–because sometimes the “scientifically correct” exposure is not the best exposure to make the photo look how you want it to.
