You’ve bought your first camera and now you are ready to take amazing pictures, right? Well, not exactly.

Taking the shots you want may seem as simple as getting a DSLR or mirrorless camera and using it, but that’s not the case. In order to take the shots you want and be able to consistently execute on your ideas, you have to get to know your camera and understand its capabilities. DSLRs have many settings and features that can help you get a variety of shots. Starting off shooting in Scene Intelligent Auto isn’t a bad thing, mainly because it can help you just get out there, get shots, and practice the composition of your pictures. However, if you really want to take it to the next level and be able to take shots you’ve wanted, shooting in manual is the way to go. In manual mode (the M on the dial), you can change all the settings yourself for any given situation. This can allow you to get shots from long exposures to action shots and give you a better feel for your camera’s capabilities. With that said let’s get you taking some amazing pictures.

1) Camera Modes

The first step in understanding your camera is knowing the features it provides. Regardless of what camera you buy, most will have a dial with various mode. The most used option, Scene Intelligent Auto, essentially allows the camera to choose the settings for the user as it sees fit, so all the user has to do is click the button. Likewise, in Program mode (P), the camera will adjust the aperture and shutter speed for you based on the amount of light coming through the lens. This can be used in point and shoot situations where you may not much time to change the settings and need to take the shot. You can also use this if you aren’t entirely comfortable with changing the aperture and shutter speed on your own (I will talk about aperture, shutter speed, and iso a little later). Another mode is Shutter-Priority (Tv) or (S). This allows the user to set the shutter speed and, like Program mode, will set the aperture based on the light coming into the lens. Similarly, Aperture-Priority (Av) or (A) will basically do the same but vice versa. Now the mode I would recommend, even if you are totally clueless, is Manual mode (M). Manual mode allows you to adjust all the settings on your own, depending on what you desire to shoot. Even if you don’t understand what all the settings mean or do, I feel that the best way to learn is to just play around with it. You may not get the perfect shot when you’re starting, but it’ll teach you how to use what setting and allow you to learn on your own. Pushing yourself into a situation that you’re not comfortable with can prove to be very useful since it forces you to learn. The first day I got my camera, I went to Greenville downtow to try long exposures and capture light trails, but there was a learning curve. The image on the left, with my previous logo, was my first ever attempt doing a long exposure and using a camera. Eventhough I am happy with the how the image turned out, it took me awhile to become comfortable with the process and required a lot of practice to improve my technique for future shots. On the right is a picture from Chinatown in Washington D.C., and personally, I think that this picture is much better in composition and due to the way I set up my camera’s settings. If I played around with the shutter speed, aperture, iso, and the overall composition a little more on my first try, I think that the picture would have turned out even better.

2) The Exposure Triangle

The exposure triangle is the relationship between the three elements that will determine the exposure of your picture. Shutter speed, aperture, and iso all affect one another and it’s important to understand why and how. I’ll go into a little detail about each one, but I found it helpful to watch videos because it makes it a little easier to understand, so I’ll have some linked below. Let’s start with shutter speed. Determining and choosing the right shutter speed for your picture is important. When changing the shutter speed as you go towards the right and into the fractions like 1/40, you’re making the shutter speed faster. If we only focus on the shutter speed, this would mean that there will be less light in your picture as you make the speed faster. Having a fast shutter speed can be useful when taking shots involving action like sports, dance events, and cars in motions. On the other hand, as you go into the bigger numbers, towards the left side of the adjuster, your shutter will stay open for longer. This, as you may have guessed, means that more light is being captured and your image will be more exposed. Longer shutter speeds can be used for taking long exposures, like the pictures above or to get a smooth flowing waterfall. Additionally, in order to balance the shutter speed, you’ll need to adjust your aperture. Aperture, also know as f-stop, controls how much light is being let into you lens by the aperture ring. The settings work a little differently, in that the lower the number means more light is being let in and the higher the value the less light will be let in. Balancing between your shutter speed and aperture will properly allow you to expose your picture and give you more room to play around with your composition. Finally, the iso refers to your camera’s sensitivity to light. The iso will be a numeric value like 150, and the lower the number, the less sensitive your camera will be to light and vice versa. The only thing to consider, especially when taking photos in low light, is that the higher your iso goes, the larger chance of image coming out with gain and/or noise. In order to fix this issue, you have to balance these three elements. The video below will help you understand how to balance them.

3) Focus

Another major component in learning to use your camera is the focus. Whether you use manual or autofocus, this can make or break your image. If you take a really cool shot and your picture ends up out of focus, then you can hardly ever fix it and/or use it. Manual focus is pretty simple to use, but you have to adjust it each time to ensure the subject is in focus. On the lens, you need to change the switch from AF to MF, and it’ll be in manual focus. To adjust the focus, you just move the focus ring on the lens until the image becomes sharp. Auto focus is also simple but has different “modes.” Depending on your camera, you can use between 1 point AF, Zone AF, Large Zone AF or 45 pt AF (which can differ from camera to camera). This essentially allows you to choose how much of the picture you want the camera to try to autofocus on. With 1 point AF, you could focus on a person’s eye when taking a portrait or the person’s whole face with Zone AF. Large Zone and 45 pt AF can be useful for images with bigger subjects, such as landscapes or cityscapes. Once you play around with it for a while, you’ll build your preferences for what you like to use in different situations.

There are many other camera settings that can be useful in different scenarios and to learn more about them watch the video linked below.

Knowing the ins and outs of your camera and its capabilities can set you up for success. This understanding can allow you to figure out what settings you prefer under certain circumstances and leaves you with one less thing to worry about. Once you understand your camera and its settings, it becomes second nature, and the only thing you’ll need to think about is the actual composition of the photograph. I recommend starting in manual mode because you’ll never have to transition into it. Also, starting off choosing your own settings will give you an opportunity to play with the settings until you are comfortable. Failing is part of the process, and being able to correct your mistakes by changing the settings is the best way to learn. The exposure triangle is super important to understand. It will play a significant role in every picture you take, so make sure to comfortable with how the three elements work, and you’ll be taking some amazing shots, but remember to keep them in focus.

Share some of your pictures down below!

TL;DR

You’ve bought a DSLR and want to take some cools shots but don’t really know where to start. You need to start by understanding the different settings and modes your camera offers you. Learning about the different modes, how to understand the exposure triangle, and learning to keep your images in focus is important if you want to start taking amazing pictures.