Camera

Shutter Speed

Exposure time - length of time when shutter is open and exposed to light.

• 1/4000 will freeze fast movement
• 1/250 portraits, will freeze walking people
• 1/150 general wildlife
• 1/125 general landscapes

Aperature

Opening in camera lens that is able to limit the amount of light passing through the lens and hitting the camera sensor.

• f-stop = aperature size; small f-stop = large aperature
• f/1.4 very large, bright, small depth of field, nothing in focus
• f/22 very small, dark, large depth of field, everything in focus
• For blurry background, use low f-stop

ISO Speed

How quickly the camera reacts to light and records an image.

• Low speed works great with lots of light
• High speed works better when dull or dark
• Higher the ISO, the noisier the photos. Generally keep low ISO (100-400)

Recipes

Portraits

1. Shutter Speed 1/250 to freeze walking people
2. Aperature 2.8 to blur background
3. ISO 100-400 to reduce noise for bright scenes
4. Focus mode - autofocus single point
5. Drive mode - single shot

Other info

• Shutter Speed at least 1/200th handheld or 1/15th on tripod (faster when photographing kids)
• Aperature f/2 to f/4 for single subject, f/5.6 to f/8 for groups
• ISO 800 if dark scene

Backlit Subjects

1. Shutter Speed: 1/100 to 1/640
2. Aperature: f/2.8 to f/5.6
3. ISO: 100-200 (lower bc of strong light)

Other info

• Combine wider apertures (from F/1.8 to F/5.6) with fast shutter speeds to get a significantly overexposed image (if you don’t want to create silhouettes) and a very sharp figure.
• Use the exposure dial for a better creational effect. By overexposing a little (2/3 of a stop to start), it will darken the subject, giving your subject more detail. By underexposing, a silhouette will be created, which works great in many cases.
• Use a hood to prevent annoying flares, depends on the sun's position