I love photography. I like to capture as much of the moment and the experience as possible during my trips. I’ve never taken any classes, but I use just a handful of hints to capture cool looking pictures! I can share those with you!
I use a D610 Nikon digital SLR camera. I have 2 lenses I use with this setup: a Nikon 85mm f/1.4G lens and a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G Zoom lens. SLRs are not for everyone, unfortunately, as they require you to 1) carry a camera with you, 2) carry a slightly large camera+lens combo that now you have to pack carefully, and 3) lenses are not cheap. However, the images you can capture are definitely all worth it!
Here I offer a few tips on existing modes on DSLRs. However, I encourage you to use manual mode, if possible. This will give you most control over the exposure, which is the amount of light captured.
First, the Basics!
I won’t bore you with all the technical details. There are examples of images and settings just after this section on basics. Feel free to take a look at the examples, and then come back to reviewing the basics. I’ve tried to minimize this section to just a few, building block topics that I feel can get you taking nice pictures, fast. Lets get started!
You can primarily use the following modes when shooting pictures:
- Manual Mode. This is basically “expert mode”. It allows you to control all the settings on your camera
- Aperture Priority Mode. In this mode, you can adjust the Aperture yourself, and let the camera handle everything else
- Shutter Priority Mode. On the other hand, on this mode, you can adjust the Shutter Speed, and let the camera handle everything else
Aperture: Blurred Background or Sharp Landscape?
This setting controls the amount of light reaching the sensor and it affects the “depth of field.”
| Wider Aperture | Smaller “f” numbers: f/2.2, f/1.8, f/1.4 | Adds more blur to the background (or foreground): See “Blurring the Background” below |
| Narrower Aperture | Larger “f” numbers: f/16, f/22, etc. | Makes image sharper by reducing the blur on the background (or foreground): See “Landscapes” below |
Shutter Speed: Control motion blur, and shoot at night
Shutter speeds refers to how quickly the shutter opens and closes on the camera to expose the image. It also controls the amount of light that reaches the sensor, but has a different effect than aperture.
| Fast shutter speed | Usually, a very small fraction of a second: 1/1000 sec., or 1/2000 sec., etc. | Helps freeze movement, hence eliminating motion blur and producing sharper images. Helpful when shooting sports or action shots. Allows a slower exposure time, hence less light reaches the sensor. |
| Slower shutter speed | Usually, 1/15 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., etc. | Helps take pictures under darker conditions, as it allows for more light to reach the sensor. However, during the longer exposure, movement will get blurred. Generally, you would need to use a tripod for longer (slower shutter) exposures. See “Blur effect” example |
ISO Setting: Remember buying film?
This is the sensitivity of the sensor. Remember when you used to buy “Kodak 400 speed film”? 😊 It’s basically the same thing…
| Low ISO setting | Ex., ISO-200, ISO-100, etc. | Allows for brighter, more vivid colors and less noise on your shot. However, you will require more light available to reach the right exposure. In a sunny day, shoot away with a low ISO setting! |
| High ISO setting | Ex., ISO-1600, ISO-3200, etc. | Allows you to shoot in darker conditions even when using a faster shutter speed. This is helpful when you’re taking pictures under darker light conditions, and you don’t have a tripod. However, a higher ISO will generate more grainy, noisy shots. |
Other settings
There’s other settings like white balancing and exposure compensation, which we can leave for another blog.
Blurring the Background
This effect is accomplished by using a shallow depth of field. This in turn is accomplished by using a wide aperture. The first thing you need is a lens that can support a wide aperture. Generally, being able to go down to f2.8 and lower (i.e., f2.0, etc) will help generate the more dramatic blur effects.
Once you have a lens that supports wider apertures, you need to be able to set your camera accordingly. I shoot all my images in raw mode to control lighting, depth of field, color, etc. However, all DSLRs have a mode called “Aperture Priority”. Use this to manually set the aperture setting, but have the camera automatically set everything else for you. Easy stuff!
Blur Effect
Blur can be used to enhance an image. Most of the time, people don’t like blurry images. However, if used strategically, it can give another dimension to your pictures.
Blur is an effect of movement vs. shutter speed. If an object is moving too fast, and you have a slow shutter speed (speed at which you expose the sensor), then you will get blurring in your image. A fast shutter speed reduces the amount of blur (freezes movement), while a slow shutter speed will increase the amount of blur.
The image of the waterfall used a slow shutter speed to cause the effect of blur in the water. I also used a tripod to ensure that the static, non-moving objects came out sharp and without blur. As this was a sunny day, I had to play with the aperture as well (very small aperture to allow minimal light, such as f22). Shutter speed was around 1-2 seconds. It’s impossible to get any sharpness even on static objects without a tripod!
You can use “Shutter Priority” mode to adjust the shutter speed only, and have the camera control the rest of the parameters. For more advanced images, you may need to go into manual mode and play with the aperture and ISO settings yourself.
Awesome Night Shots
One word here: tripod! If you combine a slow shutter speed with a tripod, you’ll easily get beautiful night shots.
At night, there’s a lack of light. To compensate the exposure, you need a very long shutter speed (often times more than 1 second). If you fix your camera to a tripod, you’ll get sharp images with your long exposures.
I took the image of the tunnel using my tripod. I sat the camera on it, exposed for ~5 seconds. If the lights come out too bright, you can play with the aperture (make it something like f18 or f20), and shoot away!
Landscapes
Landscape photography is easy. A few things to consider is the ISO setting and aperture. Generally, I like to shoot with a low ISO rating to make the colors pop as much as possible. ISO100 and ISO200 are my favorite, if there’s enough light. The aperture needs to be small, in the f18 range or higher (i.e., f11, f16, etc.). This smaller aperture (or larger f-number) will make your images very sharp.
Again, you can use “Aperture Priority” mode if you don’t want to venture to manual mode.
Please feel free to drop a few comments or questions on any other information you’d like to see from the pictures in our blog! Share your photography tips too!
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