Beyond Auto Mode: A Guide to Taking Control of Your Photography

By Jennifer Bebb

Take full advantage of your dSLR camera, and do it withconfidence

Many people buy dSLR cameras for their flexibility, but findthemselves so intimidated by all the options and controls that theyrarely venture beyond the automatic mode. With a friendly tone andclear, understandable instruction, photographer and educator JenBebb introduces you to every mode and setting on your sophisticateddSLR. After thoroughly explaining shutter speed, aperture, depth offield, ISO, and basic composition, she offers direction on whateach camera mode does and when it should be used. You'll gain theconfidence to use the entire feature set you paid for.

• Beginning dSLR users are often intimidated by the scene,semi-automatic, and fully manual modes on their cameras; this guidegently explains each mode and setting
• Uses a conversational tone and liberal examples to define andexplain basic concepts including shutter speed, aperture, ISO,depth of field, and composition
• Covers how each camera mode works and when to consider usingit
• Helps those new to dSLR photography to gain confidence andbegin taking advantage of all the flexibility a dSLR offers

Written by a professional photographer who is also known for herskill as an instructor, Beyond Auto Mode encourages new andless experienced dSLR users to take the next step toward creativecontrol.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Mar 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781118239988

Book preview

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PART 1: UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE

It seems so simple at first—buy a camera and start taking pictures. The better the camera, so the assumption goes, the better the pictures. For something so popular, though, good photography requires much more than a good camera.

In the previous section, The Quick Start Guide to Manual Mode, you learned about the exposure triangle—the three elements (ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) required to make a well-exposed photograph. You were also introduced to some technical terms like stop and f/stop, as well as overexposure and underexposure. It was a crash course in the basics of making images.

Just as with anything in life, though, the most basic information can take you only so far. The next few chapters provide the details to fill in the blanks and answer questions you may have after reading the Quick Start Guide. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 cover the points of the exposure triangle while Chapters 4 and 5 take you on a journey of how to see and use light.

At this point I want to encourage you to be patient with yourself. You’ll grasp some of these concepts easily, while others will take you longer to master. Personally, I found the best way to understand each concept was to make pictures and study them. With your digital camera, you are able to check, and correct, your results immediately by viewing each image on your LCD screen.

If possible, keep your camera nearby while you read this book. As you work through each chapter, make images of what is in front of you, practicing each concept in turn. Before you know it, you will find yourself thinking of more than one element at a time, making exposure decisions more quickly and getting your exposure right more often.

There are so many considerations that go into the making of an image, so keep it simple right now. If you are reading Chapter 2, ISO, focus on that element and make images that show you the effect of ISO on your exposure. If you are working through Chapters 4 and 5 on light, keep watch for how different lighting scenarios affect your exposure choices. You have plenty of time to put it all together as we move forward. For now, take one step at a time, knowing all the pieces you are learning individually will fit together seamlessly for you, very soon.

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Chapter 1: SHUTTER SPEED

The amount of light coming into your camera determines whether your image is bright or dark. When you take a picture, you hear a click from your camera—that’s your shutter in action.

The best way to learn about photography is with a camera in your hands, so go on, try it now—grab your camera and take a picture. It doesn’t matter what you take a picture of, I want you to listen for that clicking noise. Hear it? Was it fast (click) or slow (clu...click)? If the click was fast you have a fast shutter speed, and if it was slow you have a slow shutter speed.

In most situations, you want to hear that fast click. Shooting fast is like freezing time, letting in just a moment. This is especially important if your subject is moving. Conversely, shooting slow lets in more light. Sometimes this causes blur if your subject is moving, but if everything is still it works well in a darker setting.

Be mindful of your shutter speed in low-light situations—sometimes you can be the cause of blur. If the shutter is too slow, you may not be able to hold the camera steady and that can result in a blurry, or soft, image.

FIGURE 1-1 In the exposure triangle, shutter speed controls motion blur.

WHAT SHUTTER SPEED MEANS

Simply put, the shutter speed is how fast your shutter opens and closes when you push the shutter button. A fast shutter speed means your shutter opens and closes quickly, letting in less light. A slower shutter speed means your shutter opens and closes slowly and, therefore, lets in more light.

We measure shutter speed in seconds. A faster shutter speed has a lower number, while a slower shutter speed has a higher number. This can be confusing at first because when we look at our cameras, often shutter speed is expressed as 30, 60, or 250 rather than the correct expression, which would be 1/30, 1/60, or 1/250.

For example, a fast shutter speed is measured as 1/1000 while a slow shutter speed is 1/60. The faster shutter speed (click) is actually letting in less light than the slower shutter speed (clu...click). In other words, the bigger the denominator (second number) in the fraction (and, therefore, the smaller the number), the shorter the time your shutter is open. That means the photo is made quicker, but can sometimes be too dark.

As you move from one stop to the next, it is referred to as stopping up or stopping down the shutter speed. A movement from 1/500 to 1/1000, for example, is stopping down (letting in less light) while a move from 1/500 to 1/250 is stopping up (letting in more light).

It’s a balancing act to find the right shutter speed and ensure your image is sharp. This requires practice and taking the time to get to know what happens at each speed.

It’s obvious that a really slow shutter (such as 1/15 of a second) will likely result in blur, especially if your subject is moving or you’re holding the camera in your hands. But it’s what happens in the 1/60 to 1/250 range that you will struggle with the most. Within that range you can see motion blur, or you might make a perfectly sharp image. At 1/60, your shutter actually sounds fast, so you won’t have the clu...click sound alerting you to the potential for blur. If your subject is moving, 1/60 is too slow, but if your subject is still and there is plenty of light, 1/60 will do the job. Keep a close eye on the light levels and the movement of your subject when you are working between 1/60 and 1/250—even with a shutter as fast as 1/250 you can get motion blur if your subject is moving quickly

Reviews for Beyond Auto Mode

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Just didn't do much for me. Maybe if I'd had more education in these fields.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gould's fourth essays volume, which includes some real crackers. The title essay is a great read, for example. As usual, though, some have aged better than others.

[nmele_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting essays, as always, about how science works, evolution and natural history. Reading these essays is a pleasure, tinged with regret that Stephen Jay Gould is no longer writing them.

[psiloiordinary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is another collection of essays loosely based around evolutionary biology (with some inevitable baseball references).This is what the author is best at. He like language and uses it in his own verbose and slightly pompous manner but once again we can see that he doesn't seem to have a nasty bone in his body.Having now seen him talk on you tube I can picture him reading the book to me, slightly out of breath, fiddling with his glasses dramatically and pausing for effect quite often. This only helps the enjoyment all the more. Some of the material covered is getting old now (1987) so bear that in mind, but I particularly enjoyed some of the "period" references e.g. the dino-killing impact theory.If you haven't read Gould then this might be a decent place to start - if you have read him then this is a cracking example of him in the medium he does best.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love Gould, as usual. I can never remember which essays are in which - this is neither one of his first ones, where he's somewhat more accepting of standard stories, nor one of his later ones where his cancer becomes a frequent player, so I have no idea which of his stories are in here. But I enjoyed them! Not the first time I've read this one, either. He always makes me think, even on multiple re-reading.