before anyone reads any further, i just want to say that the following info provided isn’t technically, well – technical. it’s my broke down layman’s interpretation of what i’ve learned from photography.
some might read this and be like – “thats wrong!” or something across those lines. well to those that think they might gripe about it, don’t read it. like i said, this is my interpretation of photography – not the officious pro specs and rules…
a common question i get asked is how did i learn how to take pictures? how did i learn photography? how did i learn how to use that big black camera i got?
i didnt take any classes, couldn’t really afford it. so i had to research the freebies. we’ll start with the interwebs. you’ll be amazed at how much information there is about photography on the net. there’s tons of people out there willing to help you understand all the basics.
i took notes when i was trying to understand everything. i’ve compiled information from random sources off the interweb, and as much as i’d like to give credit to those places – i can’t really remember where i got them all from. but since they were free in the first place, i’ve put it here for others to try learning from too.
not my picture, just a borrowed shot to illustrate
we’ll start with what you typically see on the camera dial and go over the standard little picture/icons. this isn’t anything official, this is just my own experience and opinions expressed here.
AUTO mode sucks - this means you’re letting the camera think for you. some folks need and want that. the problem is cameras are easily fooled by silly things like exposure and white balance and stuff like that. so colors might be wrong, or something comes out too dark or too bright, etc… it’s always best to use AUTO as a last and final option imo.
face icon – meant for portrait photographs
running man - high speed sports images; will adjust shutter speed to freeze action
mountain - i never used this option, but my logical guess is that its meant for landscapes and stuff
sunset - pictures at dusk; camera will probably adjust to higher ISO and maybe incorporate flash
person w/star - night shots; most likely meant to snap shots of people in dark settings – not to capture the stars at night, etc.
camera on tripod - video footage
MANUAL mode - also known as PSAM, MSAP, MAPS or whatever combination there is.
program mode - depending on the camera, program mode typically allows you to control a few things about your pics: ISO value, WB (white balance), & the flash. the camera will still do a majority of the thinking for you. even though this is still allows the camera to do some thinking for you – this is still the right step to getting away from full auto mode.
shutter priority - you get to control more stuff for your pics: ISO value, WB (white balance), flash, and SHUTTER SPEED. the camera will adjust aperture for you.
aperture priority - you get to control: ISO value, WB (white balance), flash, and the APERTURE. the camera will adjust shutter speed for you.
manual - you get the whole sha-bang. you control it all; ISO, WB, flash, aperture, shutter speed, etc.
Continue reading ‘photography – my take’
during the winter when its crappy to be outside i tend to watch a lot of tv. i know – tv is bad. but there’s some good stuff out there. 
