The “M” On Your Camera Mode Dial
A participant in the Introduction to Photography commented that the “M” on the mode dial on her DSLR no longer meant “mystery” to her.
Beyond what it really means, which is manual exposure mode, I hope it also means…
more fun…
more creativity…
marvelous pictures…
meaningful photographs…
mindful compositions…
etc…
Thank you Alicia.
Take the mystery out of the using the “M” (manual exposure) mode [...]
Why You Should Learn To Work Your Camera In Manual Mode
By working your camera in manual mode…
you’ll create thoughtfully composed photographs that will take your photography beyond point and shoot.
you’ll get a good understanding of the basics of photography.
you’ll become a better photographer
your pictures will come out the way you want them to.
you’ll rely on your mind, instead of a machine, to make your pictures.
I [...]
How (Exposure) Times Have Changed
Today we make photographs with exposures in fractions of seconds.
The first photograph, created in 1826 by Joseph-Nicephore Niepce, required an 8 hour exposure.
Read more here.
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Deciding And Decisive
Until you press the shutter release to make an exposure you are a deciding photographer.
When you press the shutter release to make an exposure you are a decisive photographer.
If you are unsure of yourself and continue to make decisions, your pictures are produced from a place of uncertainty. Your work can become diluted if you [...]
It All Comes Down To Metering And Exposure
Imagine that you’re looking through the viewfinder of your camera.
You’ve framed the content of your photograph perfectly, you’ve put a lot of effort and thought into this photograph.
Your subject is just where it should be, the light is perfect, this picture is going to be AMAZING!!
You press the shutter release to make your exposure when everything is [...]
To Make Better Photographs, You’ve Got To Start Somewhere
If you want to go beyond point and shoot photography you’ve got to start somewhere.
Getting to know your camera and learning a few basic things about photography will get you off to a good start.
Simply learning the following three things will get you on the path to working your camera in manual mode and will [...]
Taking Responsibility For Your Photography
You are ultimately responsible for your photography, but you can choose to be totally responsible for your photograph or partially responsible for your photograph.
If you work your camera in an automatic exposure mode you are responsible for working your camera in auto exposure mode.
In automatic exposure mode you have chosen to have your camera pick your [...]
Photographing What You See And Photographing How You See
There’s photographing WHAT you see and then there’s photographing HOW you see .
It’s easy to create a photograph based on what you see.
Photographing what you see involves getting an average exposure for what you see and framing it.
Anyone could photograph what they see with a point and shoot camera while working in an automatic exposure [...]
When You Make A Picture
When you make a picture in an auto mode your camera will get you an average exposure based on whatever you are metering. Your picture may be good enough in terms of exposure but is probably lacking in the very thing that takes a picture beyond good enough; you, the photographer, are what’s lacking.
When you make a [...]
The Importance Of Exposure
I don’t think the importance of exposure could be overstated as an element of photographic composition
If you put all of your effort into framing and all of the other elements of composition and you miss the mark on your exposure, all of your other efforts are diminished because your picture is too bright or too dark.
Once you learn [...]
You Get What You Give
If you give your photography the thought process that involves working your camera in fully manual exposure mode you’ll get a photograph that is thoughtfully composed and reflects you, the photographer.
If you give your photography the thought process that involves an automatic exposure mode you’ll get a photograph that lacks thoughtful composition and reflects your camera, a [...]
Taking Versus Making
When you work your camera in an automatic exposure mode you are taking pictures.
In an automatic exposure mode your camera picks an aperture, a shutter speed and an ISO for you, so you TAKE what you get as a photograph.
When you work your camera in fully manual exposure mode you are making pictures.
In fully manual [...]
The Exposure Mode Dial On Your Camera
Your mode dial is usually found on top of your camera and is usually filled with letters and icons that allow you to pick how you want to make an exposure.
On a lot of cameras there are a lot of exposure modes to pick from.
Here are a few modes that I’m familiar with and a [...]
Starting To Learn Photography
You’ve got to start somewhere.
The place to start is to learn how to work your camera, preferably in fully manual mode.
Learn to set your exposure by setting your ISO,aperture and shutter speed.
Learn to focus by learning how to use the focusing modes on your camera
Learn to evaluate and measure light by learning to use the [...]
Overexposure, Underexposure And The Right Exposure
Exposure is subjective.
Overexposure is when your picture seems to bright to you.
Underexposure is when your picture seems to dark to you.
The right exposure is whatever you think the best exposure for your specific picture should be.
I think of overexposure and underexposure as negative terms when describing a picture. It means I missed the mark when [...]
Open Photography Forums – Monthly Fine Tuning
[ February 24, 2013; 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. March 24, 2013; 10:00 am; April 21, 2013; 10:00 am; May 19, 2013; 10:00 am; June 23, 2013; 10:00 am; ] “Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”Jim Rohn
If you consider yourself to be a photographer, you’re a visual communicator.
Communicating effectively through a camera requires an understanding of [...]
What Should We Pay to Improve Our Photography?
What do we need to pay to create GOOD photographs and yet cost us nothing out of our pockets?
Are You Ready For The Darkroom?
My personal experience in learning photography has led me to believe that, before you venture into the darkroom, it makes more sense to learn the basics of photography first so you could produce properly exposed negatives. Without properly exposed negatives you’ve got nothing, to work with in the darkroom.
Some Thoughts On Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is a part of exposure.
You can set your shutter speed to vary the amount of light that falls onto your light sensitive material of choice.
Longer/slower shutter speed = more exposure = brighter picture
Shorter/faster shutter speed = less exposure = darker picture
Sometimes when I give a review during my photography classes, photographers get the shutter speeds [...]
I’m Not Paying Attention To The Composition Of My Photograph
When we begin to learn about the craft of photography we may begin to think that that we are no longer paying attention to composition.
Instead of simply framing what we want in our picture we’re now thinking about focusing, metering, exposure and more.
While attentively framing what we want in our photograph (content) is important, framing and the placement of content [...]
The Three Things You Mainly Do With Your Camera To Create A Photograph
As a photographer I think that there are three things that you mainly do with your camera to create a photograph.
You focus light (focusing), you measure light (metering) and you let a specific amount of light fall onto light sensitive material (making an exposure).
If you’ve been working your camera in an automatic mode your camera has been doing all [...]
Your Photography, It’s All About You.
Your photograph should be all about what you want as a photographer, not about what your camera does in auto-mode.
If you’ve been working your camera in an automatic mode your camera has been composing pictures for you. Beyond the basic framing of the content of your photograph, you’ve been left out (on some level) of the most important [...]
What Your Camera’s Light Meter Does
Your camera meter measures the intensity (brightness) of light. Nothing more, nothing less.
This measurement of light is expressed as…
Do You Use Your Camera Meter Thoughtfully?
Our meter allows us evaluate what we’re photographing, while our chosen exposure based on our metering allows us to get the visual information that we want in our picture.
