You asked so you shall receive. š Let me start off by stating – I’m in no way a professional photographer! I fell in love with photography last year, and I’m REALLY ENJOYING IT! It was actually my NYE resolution for 2018 to figure out how to use my DSLR camera- one resolution I’m happy I followed through with.
I started with taking my camera out of the bag and leaving it on my kitchen counter. This forced me to see it daily and remind myself to pick it up and play around with it. You have to start somewhere…
Looking back at the images I first took make me giggle now. They were way over exposed, out of focus, and just not very good at all.
I did my homework: I watched countless you tube videos and read the instruction manual forwards and backwards. However, I still clearly had NO IDEA what I was doing! I really needed some guidance and one-on-one instruction feedback.
Enter: Snapshots and My Thoughts. Ailee is a blogger and professional photographer here in the Houston area. One day I noticed online that she offers a photography class to the public. I instantly sent her a message asking for more info and signed up in one of the last spots! This class was hands down THE BEST thing I could have done! I learned sooo much in such a short amount of time, and walked away feeling more confident behind the lens. Mind you, I still had a lot of practicing to do – but I felt like I better understanding how to shoot in manual mode and also edit.
Check out Ailee’s photography class HERE.
Manual Mode
Speaking of manual mode… That is your first step. Switch your DSLR camera to manual. It is a little M image on the top circle dial. This setting lets YOU be in charge of the camera. In other words, all the settings are chosen by you and not the camera. (AKA- A: automatic mode). There are lots of other modes on the camera. However, I prefer shooting in manual.
Shooting in manual mode also lets you achieve the bokeh effect (blurry background) that give your images a depth of field and really make them pop!
NOTE: Before I continue, please know I shoot with a Canon DSLR camera. The location of settings and the way you read the meter are slightly different between a Nikon and Canon.
Vocabulary
Before I begin, there are three key terms you need to be familiar with.
ISO- is how dark or light your image is. The higher the number the brighter the shot. However, the larger the number, the more amount of grain your image will produce. You want to try to keep your ISO as low as you can. The other two pieces of the triangle will help you with that.
- When shooting indoors with less light you will have to bump up your ISO setting. I change my ISO before bumping down my shutter speed so I don’t compromise my clarity of an image due to a low shutter.
Aperture or F-Stop – This allows you to create a depth of field. (basically gives you bokeh, a creamy/blurry background) Think of aperture like a circle aka your lens ;). When the aperture is set to a small/low number it’s OPEN for lots of light to come in. As you change your aperture to a higher number, your lens becomes more closed and allows less light.
- With aperture, it is important to remember how many people are in frame and what plain level they are located on. This effects what aperture setting you can use.* To explain further, if you have multiple subjects located on different levels… you need to bump up your aperture to a larger number to make sure everyone is in focus. (The higher the aperture the less bokeh the background will have.)
Shutter Speed- how fast your shutter closes to capture the shot. The longer the speed the more light is allowed in.
- I personally do not recommend going below 200 or 250 shutter speed setting. The lower the shutter speed- the longer the camera flap takes to come down. Therefore, more room for error. The smallest movement while the shutter takes to close can make your image appear blurry. Even if you think you’re steady- when you press the button to capture, you move the camera ever so slightly.
- Another tip to consider when capturing images of children…Often times little ones won’t sit still for long. Therefore, I try not to shoot my kids with a low shutter speed. I usually try to shoot around 500 to be safe with them.
View this image here for reference to where these three camera settings are located on your canon screen.
Tools
Camera Body
The Cannon Rebel Series is an excellent camera to use when you first start exploring Manual Mode. It’s beginner friendly, and doesn’t come with the heavy price tag of a more professional grade camera body. If you own any series of this camera – you are all set! If you do not, there are local photography stores that allow you to rent equipment from! I’ve rented a few items from a local shop here in Houston: Photo Rental Source .
Please note: since I do not use a Nikon or Sony DSLR camera; I have no recommendations on what cameras are best for beginners.
Lets talk Lenses
Okay, as I mentioned above to achieve the bokeh effect ( a creamy/blurry background) you need a prime lens. This is a “fixed lens” that you can’t zoom in and out. You have to move your body closer or further away from the subject to get the desired shot.
There is a range of quality lenses, and the professional grade ones are VERY costly. I would only recommend investing in these lenses if you really fall in love with photography, or want to take your passion to a professional business level.
If you’re just starting out and want better overall images or your babies, family, blog, whatever the case may be – you can still achieve great images with a less expensive lens.
The canon 50mm 1.8 lens is an excellent lens to start out with. It’s reasonably priced and also produces great images. Shop the 50 mm lens here.
There are lots of lens equipment choices out there, but the 3 sizes that are most common to use. The 35 mm, 50 mm, and the 85 mm.
THE 35 MM LENS
The 35 mm lens allows for more of the image to fit into frame. Shop here and here for a budget friendly lens choices. (I linked two different 35 mm lenses. Both work great, but one has a lower f-stop than the other)
Example of 35 mm image:
50 MM LENS
The 50 mm lens is a portrait style lens (in my opinion, most popular used lens)
Example of 50 mm picture:
(These images below were shot on my new 50 mm lens. It is totally an invest price, but will last forever.)
THE 85 MM LENS
The 85 mm lens is used for up close shots. Think baby toes, wedding rings, etc.
I’ve never shot a 85 mm lens so I don’t have an example of it.
More Examples:
Up until January 2019 I shot with a very basic model of the 50 mm lens. It was a little over $100 and it was an excellent lens to start with!
Below are images taken with that 50 mm lens linked above.
CROP SENSOR WARNING
Please know if you are shooting with a camera body with a CROP SENSOR – DO NOT purchase a 50 mm lens! It will crop/zoom your images way too close, and you have to shoot VERY far from your subject to get your desired shot. Just trust me on this – I had this issue and it was VERY frustrating! The details behind what a crop sensor is exactly are boring and I won’t go down that rabbit hole. LOL If you are unsure if your camera has a crop sensor- do some research on it before you purchase a lens.
**If you have a cropped sensor camera body and want a more portrait style image like a 50 mm – I suggest purchasing a 35 mm lens. It will appear to look exactly like a 50 mm on your camera body. Again, you can shop it here or here.
Reading the Camera
Now that you know the tools you need…lets talk how to read the camera meter. If you look into your camera you will see a meter at the bottom of the frame. In some cameras you need to click down the “picture taking button” halfway to see it appear. This meter is VERY important when shooting in manual mode. As a photographer, it lets you know if your image is under or over exposed. * I’m speaking to cannon camera owners here* The dial will move to the left if the shot is under exposed and to the right if it is over exposed. The “perfectly balanced shot” is when the meter dial is centered in the middle. The meter will hop around forward and back depending on the light shifting/changing – so its important you keep your eye on it.
So how can you get the meter to be balanced in the middle? Well, there are a lot of components that come into play. Remember the vocabulary from above? ISO, Aperture/F-Stop, and Shutter speed. These three factors are the key to the perfect shot. Think of them as a triangle; they all have to be balanced to achieve the shot. If you change one component you have to adjust another. This can be tricky at first and the reason why shooting in manual takes LOTS of practice. However, once you get the hang of it, shooting in manual is SO MUCH FUN!
Try not to get frustrated and remember everyone starts at the beginning! When I first started shooting in manual mode; I was shooting wayyyy too over exposed! After I shot a picture I would look at the back of the camera and I would think, “Yay! It’s nice and bright!” Then, when I got it to my computer to edit, I quickly realized how difficult it was to edit an image that was too “blown out” – in other words lost its true color and detail. I like my images to be brighter than how they come out from the camera. Therefore, I edit in Lightroom to achieve the right look. I suggest getting a subscription to Adobe Lightroom. Editing is an important step to making your images look their best. Again, I highly suggest taking Ailee’s photography course because she goes over the basics of Lightroom during the class.
Download HERE: Lightroom
Putting It All Together
Once you understand what these three pieces of the triangle are, you can manually change your camera settings! All three components will work together and create a balanced shot allowing you to play around with your camera to practice!
If you are currently confused, and I totally understand if you are! Don’t worry!! Manual photography is challenging and takes A LOT of practice! The only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice. I also suggest watching this you tube video by Jana Williams. When I first started doing photography research I got a tip to watch her videos. After I watched this particular one, I felt like I had a better understanding of manual mode. Click here to watch.
I hope you found this information above to be is helpful. There is much more to learn and explore when it comes to photography. However, I didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much information. LOL
If you are in the Houston area, I highly encourage you to take Ailee’s class! She provides a packet full of important information, works with you in person, and then introduces you to Lightroom with an editing session. Plus she is so sweet and fun to spend the afternoon with!
ENJOY FRIENDS and please leave a comment below with any questions you may have!