Table of contents for Master Your Camera In 4 Weeks in Master Your Camera In 4 Weeks

Putting your camera phone down and picking up a high-spec camera can be a daunting prospect for anyone. DSLRs can appear terribly over-complicated in order to meet the needs of photographers of varying levels. What the beginner photographer really needs is a no-nonsense guide to the most important features on their camera written by experts. Master Your Camera in 4 Weeks aims to take you on a photographic adventure, from unboxing your camera to pursuing more creative endeavours. This book will take you from complete beginner to a skilled camera user in just four weeks. Learn how to compose your images, understand shutter speed, aperture, ISO and more. At the end of each week take on eight simple and practical tasks to help hone your skills, and then once you…

01 FOCUSING RING Most modern lenses have advanced autofocus systems that are capable of locking onto subjects. While you can change the focus to manual with a switch on the side of most lenses, some can only be used with manual focus – think macro or ‘creative’ lenses. Turning the focus ring on your lens adjusts the focus. On a zoom lens, there’s also find a zoom ring closest to the body of the camera. 02 FOCAL LENGTH When you choose a new lens, the first thing to consider is the focal length. This is number in millimeters that tells you whether the lens is a wide-angle or telephoto (zoom) lens. While a zoom lens with a large focal length enables you to get close to faraway subjects, a wider…

Your camera’s instruction manual might not seem the most interesting read, but it will prove very handy if you ever get stuck, so make sure it’s always in your kit bag. If you’re unsure where to find certain features or your camera is doing something you weren’t expecting, the manual will most likely provide a solution. You can also download a digital version of your camera’s manual from the manufacturer’s website. You’ll notice, too, that your camera comes with free software that will help you to organise and edit your shots, and it’s a good idea to install this right away. Simply insert the disc into your computer and follow the on-screen instructions. Keep the software running smoothly by downloading regular updates from your camera manufacturer’s website.…

1 RIGHT HAND When you move the camera around, your right arm will immediately come up. Keep it as steady as possible. 2 SHUTTER AT THE TOP Turn the camera anti-clockwise so that the shutter button is at the top, as shown. Don’t turn it the other way around, because you’ll get your arms in a twist and find it much harder to shoot. 3 THUMB With your hands and arms in this position your thumb can be used to press the buttons on the back panel when you want to adjust the camera settings. 4 LEFT ARM TUCKED IN Keep your left arm tucked into your body for stability – in this position it’s far more stable than it would be pointing out to the side.…

One of the biggest advantages of owning an SLR is that you can change the lens, which opens up a whole new world of opportunities for the creative photographer. Lenses come in a huge array of sizes (or focal lengths) that cover a range of viewing angles, from super wide to very long zooms. Whichever lens you use, it will be made up of a few components that work together to help you compose the scene you see through the viewfinder. Some lenses have a fixed focal length, but most – including the kit lens you may have bought with your camera – enable you to zoom in. The numbers printed on your lens show you its focal length. Take a standard zoom lens. At its widest focal length it…

Once you’ve taken a few photos, don’t let them languish on your memory card. By downloading them to your computer, you can sort, check and edit, then save your images to your hard drive. Once downloaded, you can delete the images from your memory card, freeing up precious space so you can head out and shoot more. It helps if you devise a filing system from the start, so that your images are easy to find at a later date. Try putting them in folders labelled with the date they were taken, their subject, or even both. There are different ways to get your images on your computer. The first is to connect your camera to your computer using the USB cable that came in the box. The second is…

The main benefit of the SLR design is that the viewfinder image is created using the same lens as the one used to make the final image, providing an accurate preview. Many photographers prefer an optical VF as the image can often be sharper, with more lifelike colours than an electrical model. Conversely however, the EVF gives a better preview of how the scene will look once it has been captured, and many can adapt to lighting conditions to provide an easier view in low light. Both models offer a display of shooting settings, but an EVF can also show a virtual horizon.…

FULLY AUTOMATIC This is marked on the mode dial by a green rectangle. Fully automatic selects all your camera settings for you. This sounds great, but you’ll come up against limitations. Your camera may not always be accurate, and in low light, the flash will always engage regardless of whether you want it to. Plus, you as the photographer have no creative input to the final result. It’s best to use the fully automatic mode until you get comfortable using your camera, and then progress to the creative modes. CREATIVE AUTO MODE The creative auto mode has been designed so that the user can alter certain camera settings without having to get too technical. Marked on the mode dial as CA, this setting is one of the most flexible and…

As we’ve explained on the previous pages, autofocus is brilliant for beginners. If you’re trying to master a new SLR camera, by leaving your camera to focus accurately on your subject, you’re left free to focus (no pun intended!) on other things, such as positioning and composition. You now know how to get started – ensure the switch on your lens barrel is set to AF, then actuate focus by half-pressing the shutter-release button and wait for the beep. As with all things, however, there are ways to get more from this feature, and things you should watch out for, as we explain here. AUTOFOCUS GRID Your camera has a grid of autofocus points built in – you can see them as you look through the viewfinder. The number of…

Back in the days before digital, film came in a variety of different speeds. The ‘faster’ the film, the more sensitive it was to light – allowing you to use faster shutter speeds than with ‘slower’ film. Using these higher-sensitivity film emulsions was useful for moving subjects – and particularly so in low light. This film speed was measured using a number of different scales – with two of the best known, the American ASA and German DIN scales, eventually being brought together to give us the standardised ISO system. Digital cameras, of course, do not use film – but the same ISO scale is now used to measure the camera’s sensitivity to light. Although the camera’s imaging chip cannot be changed to suit the subject (unlike film), its sensitivity…

Lots of photographers are scared of grain, and deliberately avoid using high-ISO settings. But often the grain is nowhere near as noticeable as you might think. In this exercise, you are going to find out for yourself which settings you think give acceptable-looking results with your own DSLR. STEP 1 Ensure that ISO Expansion is enabled in your Custom Functions (if available). STEP 2 Set up a still life near a window indoors in daylight. Pick a subject with a good range of colours, detail and a decent expanse of black (we arranged some pencils on a black velvet jacket). STEP 3 With you camera on an tripod (to rule out the effects of camera shake), take a series of shots at all the full-stop ISO settings your camera offers…

A major benefit of using a DSLR is that you can choose from a variety of lenses suited to particular photographic situations, and the main determining factor in picking a certain lens is its focal length. Focal length is measured in millimetres, with 35-50mm roughly equalling your field of vision. Lenses with focal lengths of less than 35mm are known as wide-angle lenses and enable you to fit more into your scene, so are good for landscape shots. Lenses with larger focal lengths, around 70mm and upwards, are telephoto lenses and will magnify your subjects, and are good for close-up portraits, sports and wildlife photography. When we talk about the focal length of lenses, what we’re really talking about is the ‘angle of view’ you can see through your DSLR’s…

Capturing the moment isn’t easy, especially if you’re photographing some sort of high-speed sporting event. To increase your chances of getting a good image, you can change the drive mode on your DSLR to fire off a succession of shots. The drive mode button on your camera is marked by a stack of boxes, and is on the back panel. If you have a more advanced model, the button may be on the top panel of your DSLR. READY, STEADY, SHOOT Match the drive mode to the subject matter for more successful photoshoots SINGLE SHOT The first setting on the list is Single Shot, which you’ll use the majority of the time. Your camera will take one photo when you press the shutter release. To take another shot, release your…

STEP 1 Gently press the trigger but of your DSLR, this brings the metering system to life, giving you an exposure readout in the viewfinder and on the LCD screen. STEP 2 Point the camera at the subject or area of the scene that you want to take a meter reading from. Press the star key on the back of the SLR to lock this exposure reading. STEP 3 A green star appears in the viewfinder to show the Exposure Lock is activated. Now re-frame your shot and take your picture using the meter reading that you have saved. STEP 4 If you want to cancel the Exposure Lock, and not use the saved meter reading, press the button to the right of the star button once. The green star…

1 LENS BRUSH Using a soft-bristled brush means you can get rid of unwanted debris without having to touch the glass with your hands. Look for a pen-shaped design, as this will be easier to store in your pocket or camera bag. Shake off leftover dust from the brush, hold the lens at a downwards angle, and gently brush the glass. 2 DUST BLOWER Manually blowing air is a low-contact way to eliminate dust from the front of your lens. A blower can also be used to clear the lens contacts (the gold bits at the back of the lens). Keep a blower in your camera bag when you’re shooting outdoors, and use it regularly to eliminate environmental dust. 3 MICROFIBRE CLOTH It’s best to use a cloth for cleaning…

You will hopefully be feeling pretty pleased with your quick progress so far and be keen to put your new knowledge to the test. At the end of week two you’ll now also know… HOW TO KEEP YOUR SENSOR AND LENSES IN THE BEST CONDITION Now that you’ll be going out on daily photographic adventures, it’s essential that you know how to keep your lenses and sensor blemish free, and protect your kit from accidental damage. HOW TO COMPOSE AND FRAME FOR THE BEST RESULTS Separate yourself from quick amateur snaps by taking the time to consider your compositions. Use the rule of thirds for perfectly balanced imagery and make sure you are always mindful of distracting background elements. HOW TO ILLUMINATE YOUR IMAGERY WITH FLASH Although often flash isn’t…

MANUAL EXPOSURE It’s always a bit frustrating when your camera doesn’t see the same image as you do. Although you may have already moved from full auto to the camera’s semi-automatic modes (Program, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority), in these modes the camera is still responsible for some of the exposure decisions. If you want complete control over how your images look, take the leap into Manual mode. MEASURING EXPOSURE We haven’t talk about how light is measured by your camera meter yet, which is in units called ‘stops’. You need to understand what a stop of light is to understand the exposure triangle (so here goes). A stop is the doubling or halving of the amount of light making up an exposure. When you add a stop of light…

1 REVIEW YOUR IMAGES Start off by pressing the Review button on the back of the camera – the one with the blue arrow in a square that you use to review the pictures you have just shot. 2 CHANGE THE DISPLAY Your camera has several ways of displaying the pictures you have shot. To change the display mode, press the Disp or Info button (some models have one, some the other). 3 KEEP LOOKING Keep pressing this button until the white luminance histogram appears alongside the picture. Other information will also be shown – such as exposure setting and file size. 4 TWO GRAPHS Recent models offer a second histogram display mode (press the Disp/Info key again). This gives separate graphs for red, green and blue (RGB) colour channels.…

1.TURN ON VIDEO MODE Most HD video DSLRs have a separate control or mode setting for switching the camera into its video-shooting mode. 2. SELECT SYSTEM In the Menu, switch Video System to PAL for Europe or NTSC for North America. This also dictates the range of frame rates that will be available. 3. CHOOSE QUALITY The Movie Rec Size option sets resolution quality and frame rate – but will also dictate the maximum length of each clip you can record. 4. SET YOUR FOCUS Autofocus modes vary from SLR to SLR. It’s best to set your focus before recording, and use the option that disables AF as you record.…

Regardless of how advanced modern camera technology becomes, the fundamental components of the image making process remain the same. Light travels the same path in every camera – it enters the lens, passes through the aperture diaphragm and is focused onto the sensor, once the shutter has opened. A combination of aperture diameter, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity controls the brightness of the final image. Mastering how to control aperture and understanding how this setting influences the appearance of your images are critical skills if you are to create successful photographs. WHAT IS THE APERTURE? The aperture itself is simply an opening that permits light to pass through the lens and into the camera body. This is formed by the placement of a series of movable, interlocking blades which slide…

1 PICK THE RIGHT LENS The best lenses for portraiture are in the 85mm to 120mm range. However using a lens up to a 200mm focal length compresses perspective, making it easier to blur the background. Try to make sure there is good separation between the subject and background objects. 2 USE APERTURE PRIORITY MODE To simplify the process, switch the camera to aperture priority mode, so that you can control the f-stop while the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed. This will guarantee you are able to select the best aperture setting for your image and maintain a good exposure. 3 SET THE WIDEST APERTURE To make the most of the shallow DOF effect, select the widest f-stop available on your lens. A 70-200mm f2.8 lens was used here,…

Whether we’re discussing an analogue SLR or digital SLR, there’s one thing these camera bodies have in common, and that’s the shutter. It’s a physical barrier between the outside world and the film or image sensor, respectively. It’s designed to block light coming in through the lens until exposure, when we press the shutter release button, at which point it exposes the sensor to the light for a period of time determined by the photographer. This period of exposure time is also referred to as the shutter speed. Shutter speed sits at one corner of the exposure triangle alongside aperture and ISO to determine the exposure of a photograph. It requires a careful balance between shutter speed, aperture and ISO in order to get a correctly exposed – and visible…

1 PHOTOMERGE In Photoshop, head to File>Automate>Photomerge. Click Browse, then highlight your images and click OK. Click OK in the next window that appears, and Photoshop will automatically merge your light trail images together. 2 TRY CHANGING BLEND MODES If you’re not using Photoshop or want to try another method, open two or more images in one document in your editing software. Then change the top layer/s blending modes to Lighten in order to reveal multiple light trails in one image. 3 CROP YOUR SHOT After you’ve merged files, there are often gaps on the edge of the frame. To remove these, select the crop tool and drag the transform controls at the edges closer into the image. 4 MERGE ALL LAYERS Merge all layers to one single layer by…

HOW TO SHOOT IN MANUAL MODE Take full control of your camera and all of it’s settings in order to shoot your most impressive imagery yet. HOW TO USE YOUR HISTOGRAM Check that you have taken a decent exposure by checking your camera’s histogram. It will show you if you’ve clipped highlights or shadows and avoid a blown out image. HOW TO USE YOUR DSLR FOR VIDEO You can put all of the knowledge that you have learnt so far to good use by shooting some moving pictures, practice your compositional skills as well as shooting in Manual mode. WHAT APERTURE IS AND HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR IMAGERY Aperture lets you control how much light enters your camera, allowing you to perfect depth of field and exposure. WHAT SHUTTER SPEED…

1 USE A STURDY TRIPOD Set your camera on a sturdy tripod on level ground to keep the camera still during the exposure. Anything else in the frame will now render sharp and clear, and anything moving will become blurred. 2 FOCUS ON THE SCENE Engage Live view and zoom in on the back screen so you can see the environment clearly. Engage manual focus and adjust the focus ring on the lens until everything is sharp. Then try not to nudge the ring for the rest of the shoot. 3 ADD A FILTER Use a neutral density filter to darken the scene enough to allow for a longer shutter speed. We used a six-stop neutral density filter, which should be more than enough to allow for a long exposure.…

Getting a new camera – or even picking up an old one for the first time in a while – can feel like a daunting process. It can hard to know where to start with all the buttons, settings and techniques on modern models. That’s why in this book, we’re going to be showing you how to take full control of your camera – in just four weeks. That means being able to shoot landscapes, portraits and travel shots with ease and enjoyment. Once you fully understand how your camera works, as well as what it can do, shooting should become so much more intuitive and fun. We’ll be talking about switching to manual mode and controlling all the camera settings yourself, how to expose your scenes effectively, and later…

01 NEUTRAL DENSITY (ND) FILTER An ND filter allows you to darken, reduce and therefore limit the amount of light that can enter your camera. The best time to use an ND is to create long exposures when the light is otherwise too bright to allow you to do that. An ND filter would also be useful if you wanted to use a wide aperture and blur out the background without overexposing the photo 02 TRIPOD A sturdy tripod will be carried, rather than going in your camera bag. It’s one of the most common bits of photography kit, offering stability to your photos. With your camera mounted on a sturdy tripod base, you’ll be able to get more creative with composition, and to use settings such as long exposures…

1 LAY OUT THE STRAP Take the strap out of the box and lay it down on a flat surface in front of the camera body. Make sure the writing on the strap is facing upwards and is the right way around. 2 PLACE IN THE LOOP Grab the small end of the strap and thread it underneath and through the bar on the side of the camera body. Pull about 10cms of the strap through the bar. 3 ADJUST THE BUCKLE Grip the plastic buckle and pull out a few inches of the strap to make a loop. The next step can be a bit fiddly, so ensure you pull out enough slack now to make the next stage easier. 4 PULL IT TIGHT Carefully thread the end of…

1 MENU BUTTONS AND CONTROLS On the back panel of your DSLR, you should see a Menu button. Press it and you’ll gain access to all your camera’s most useful features and functions. Your camera will also have a Display or Info button, and Set or OK controls that enable you to find and select features. The control buttons on the back panel (usually on the right-hand side in easy reach of your right thumb) can be used to navigate through the menu system, making it quick and easy to make changes to settings on the fly. 2 CAMERA SETTINGS OR SHOOTING MENU Your camera’s menu system will be divided into categories – how many depends on the make of camera you own, but the basics on a Canon camera,…

1 MENU BUTTON Use the Menu button to access your camera’s numerous features and functions. 2 VIEWFINDER The image seen through the lens is reflected from the camera’s internal mirror up to the viewfinder, where you can carefully frame your shot. This is what sets DSLRs apart from other cameras, because you see exactly what the lens sees. 3 LCD SCREEN The LCD screen has multiple uses, with some offering touchscreen control of menu settings and some simply enabling you to look at images and menu options or get a real-time view in Live View as you shoot. Some models come with a vari-angled screen, so you can twist it away from the camera body if you want to shoot from unusual angles. 4 BACK PANEL CONTROL On the right-hand…

Your DSLR allows you to record your stills images in two different file types – RAW or JPEG. But if you switch between the two using your SLR’s Quality menu you will see a wide range of different options. S or M, pieces of pie, staircase icons – what does all this mean? JPEG is the world’s most popular digital image format – and has the huge advantage that these files can be opened by a myriad of different computer programs with no effort or conversion. Named after the Joint Photographic Experts Group that produced it, the JPEG also has the advantage that the file size is completely scalable. Images can be compressed so that the file size is smaller – a property that is particularly useful on the web,…

1 BREATHING Breathe out as you take the photo – you’ll move around far more if you hold your breath. Practise makes perfect here. You’ll be amazed at the effect that controlled breathing has on your shots. 2 ELBOWS If you have a surface area in front of you, lean your elbows onto it to keep yourself as steady as possible. 3 ARMS Another good way to keep your camera sturdy is by bracing yourself against something solid and immovable, such as a tree, wall or car. 4 LEGS Place your feet a little apart so that you’re balanced. If you’re leaning in to take a shot, move one foot forward to create a body position that remains stable.…

1 DO THE TWIST Put your left hand out and place the lens in this hand. To zoom in to a subject you need to twist the main barrel of your lens. This is the moving part that’s situated closest to the camera body. There are numbers marked just above the moving barrel, and these numbers dictate how close or distant the lens is to your subject. So, for example, at the widest angle, our lens will be in this position, at a focal length of 18mm. 2 GET SOME FOCUS To focus your lens you need to twist the front ring on the lens barrel. If you’re in the manual focus mode it moves freely. By moving it you can select the exact point in the image you want…

Your DSLR comes with free image-editing software. Install this first by inserting the CD and following the on-screen instructions, or by downloading the software from your camera manufacturer’s website. Next, use the USB connection cable that came with your camera to physically link your DSLR and your computer. The small end plugs into your camera’s USB connection point around the side. Once connected, turn your camera on. Your computer should recognise your camera and open a program to download your images. Make a new folder on your hard drive and export all of your images into it. Name your folder – with the date, for example – so your images are easy to find later. Then disconnect the cable once you’ve finished downloading everything.…

1 THE IMAGE Through the finder you can see the scene. The mirror in front of the sensor enables this to happen. When Live View is engaged, the mirror is flipped out of the way, making the viewfinder temporarily unusable. 2 SYMBOLS The symbols on the left-hand side of the screen vary depending on what feature or button is engaged. For example, if you pop the flash then a lightning symbol will appear. In this example the star button on the back of the camera is being held down. 3 CAMERA SETTINGS In the middle of the screen, starting on the left is the shutter speed setting followed by the aperture. We then have the exposure compensation scale in the middle. When the needle is right in the centre of…

At its most basic, a camera is a light tight box, into which light is only permitted via a tightly controlled path. Camera design has changed surprisingly little since the dawn of photography, only in the modern age has a digital sensor been introduced, in place of a frame of film. Light enters the front element of the lens, passes through the aperture diaphragm and is focused on the location of the sensor chip. Once the shutter release button is pressed, the shutter curtain opens and light is able to contact the sensor surface. The sensor itself is where the pixels are found and these photo-detectors recognise and convert light into a digital signal, which is used to construct the image. There are various types of camera, the most popular…

The sensor at the heart of your digital camera is what makes the images you shoot. While traditional film worked by a chemical reaction, a digital sensor captures and converts light into an electrical signal. Most new photographers are aware of what a pixel (picture element) is, but these points of light and colour in the final image correspond to the arrangement of microscopic photo-detectors on the sensor surface. A sensor pixel is like a small bucket, into which falls photons – the components of a beam of light. The shutter opens for the exposure, the pixels fill with photons and, once the shutter has closed, the camera’s processing systems scan the sensor and read how many are in each pixel. For every photon an electron is generated, which is…

CLOSE-UP MODE When shooting subject matter at close range, switch to the close-up mode. There are many subjects that work well for this type of photography. They include flowers, small fruit, and abstracts of household objects. If you want to take a step further look for insects in the garden or practice food photography. PORTRAIT MODE When you want to take a portrait, put your camera into the portrait mode. With this setting, your camera will blur out the background and adjust the tones in the image to smooth the skin and enhance the hair. Like with all the scene modes, you can fine-tune the mode options. To do this, press the Q button and use the back-panel multi-controller to navigate the settings. Press the Set button to select. SPORTS…

For those new to DSLRs, ‘white balance’ can be the one control that is completely new to them. The focusing modes, ISO setting, exposure options, drive facilities – and so on – are much the same as those found on the film SLRs that many of us once used. Up until the arrival of digital cameras, white balance would only have been familiar to those who delved into the advanced settings of a video camcorder. White balance, or WB, is necessary because light does not just vary in brightness, but also in colour. Each light source has its own individual colour or ‘colour temperature’ – which as you move through the visible spectrum can vary from red to blue. Human vision is very good at compensating for this, so that…

WHAT THE L IS THIS? Some top SLRs, such as the EOS 5D Mk II (above), have an ‘L’ or Low ISO setting, which is equivalent to ISO50 – and is half as sensitive to light to the lowest ISO100 setting found on most cameras. This option is loved by landscape photographers, as the lower sensitivity makes it easier to capture blur in moving water. ISO204,800 RECORD BREAKER! The maximum ISO setting varies from model to model. Some recent DSLRs have an even higher maximum than ISO12,800. Canon’s high-octane EOS-1D X (left) can shoot at a staggering ISO204,800. Top ISO speeds have gradually increased over the years. Back in 1995, Canon’s EOS DCS 1 had a top sensitivity setting of just ISO100!…

When you change your focal length you’re changing the angle of view. So, at a short focal length of 18mm you can fit more of your subject in your frame compared to using a long focal length of 200mm from the same spot. But focal length is much more than a simple cropping tool, and has other creative effects on your picture. Zooming also has an indirect effect on perspective – as telephotos are used from further away from a subject than telephotos. Wide-angles, therefore, make foreground objects look larger, and telephotos tend to compress objects at different distances so that they look closer together. Focal length also affects depth of field, a great creative tool that determines how much of your scene is in sharp. STEP 1 Take three…

So far on your new photographic journey you should know how to use your camera in the most basic of ways and be on your way to understanding some more complex photographic theory that will help you to shoot impressive imagery. You should now know how to set up your DSLR, be familiar with the menu system, how to hold the camera correctly and how to shoot your first picture. You’ll also know… HOW LENSES AND DIFFERENT FOCAL LENGTHS CAN AFFECT THE IMAGES THAT YOU SHOOT Landscapes lend themselves to wide angle lenses, portraits are most flattering with an 85mm lens, macro lenses allow you to get close to subjects and it’s best to go super-telephoto for capturing the best bird and wildlife imagery. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FILE FORMATS…

There’s no one-size fits all when it comes to photography hardware, and the same is certainly true of camera settings. Cameras use different modes in order to give the photographer more, or less control over the aperture, shutter speed and ISO (among some other settings). This enables the photographer to either concentrate fully on the composition and creative choice of framing, snapping photos at the right point in time. This also gives the photographer full technical control over how the resulting image looks, including depth of field and motion blur or sharpness. Here we’ll look at when you would want to use each of the Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority and Manual modes, and how each mode can save time, make important changes to photos or ultimately introduce potential problems, each depending…

STEP 1 Press the Metering Mode button on your camera – symbolised by an eye-shaped icon in a rectangle. On some recent models this is accessed using the Quick Menu button. STEP 2 You will have either three or four metering modes. The four symbols above (from left to right) represent Evaluative, Partial, Spot and Centre-weighted options. STEP 3 Use the Main Dial (or the right and left cursor keys at the back of the camera) to cycle through the options and switch from one metering mode to the next. STEP 4 On some models you will need to press the central Set button on the back of the camera in order to confirm the change you have made to the metering mode. THE 18% RULE Each metering mode assumes…

1 LOUPE-THE-LOUPE To check if there are any particles on your sensor, you can invest in a sensor loupe, which costs about £100. Placing this over the lens mount, this will give you a magnified look at the mirror and the sensor – some also possess LED lights to give an illuminated look inside the camera, making it easier to spot foreign objects. 2 BLUE SKY THINKING Another option to check for particulates on your sensor is to go outside with your camera on a sunny day. Set your aperture to f/22 and take a photograph of a bright blue. Now review the image, zooming in and checking around the frame – this will reveal any sensor spots that need to be dealt with. 3 AUTO-CLEAN Some cameras have a…

01 AVOID DUST AND DIRT Environmental elements such as grit and sand can play havoc with both the outside and inside of your camera. It’s not possible to completely eliminate these, but it’s easy to minimise their effect. For a start, try to avoid switching your camera lenses in strong winds. When your camera is exposed, this is where dust and sand can be blown in. If you have to change your lens outside, try sheltering the sensor with your body (or even changing it inside a carrier bag) and facing away from the direction of the wind. If seascapes are your thing, be wary of sand getting anywhere near your lenses – there’s nothing more abrasive! A simple camera cover can help to offer protection. 02 INVEST IN A…

1 LEVEL YOUR HORIZON We’ve used the Straighten tool in Photoshop CC to draw along the horizon of the water for a perfectly level shot. Photoshop will do this automatically if double-clicked, but it doesn’t always do so perfectly. 2 CROP IN We wanted to evoke the rule of thirds to improve compositional structure, so we’ve cropped in on the image to allow the top and bottom third lines to sit along the top and bottom of the sea stack. 3 BOOST SHADOWS We’ve increased the shadow brightness in the image to reveal detail in the darker rocks and foreground. This helps to balance visual weight from the bright sunrise all the way through to the darker areas of the image. 4 DROP IN A GRADUATED FILTER Introducing a graduated…

Using flash usually gives you nicely exposed foregrounds, but the backgrounds can often appear to dark or too dark. Shoot at night, and a cityscape or a living room can look too dark – lacking the details you can see with your naked eye. Outdoors during the day, blue skies can end up looking bleached white in your fill-flash shots. The answer to both problems is to use exposure compensation… 1 SHOOT A PORTRAIT INDOORS Try shooting a portrait indoors after dark (or on a lit street outdoors). Shoot with your built-in flash (or hotshoe flash if you have one) with the Exposure Mode set to Av. Shutter speeds may be slow – if so use a tripod, if possible, or increase the ISO to around 800, to avoid the…

CREATIVE COMPOSITION Look for releftive surfaces like glass and puddles and experiment with creative composition • Try to shoot a lesser seen angle of something mundane or a familiar landscape. • Play with expected formats, try a 45 degree angle or use a portrait format where you may expect landscape, and vice versa! • If shooting a subject use a shallow depth of field to knock out a busy background. WHITE BALANCE EDITING White balance levels are sometimes correct while shooting but often you may need to edit after • Many photo editing software have drop down menus to change the white balance options as on a camera; i.e. ‘cloudy’, ‘tungsten’, ‘fluorescent’. • Colour cast can also be removed; you will be given a dropper tool to select an area…

1 TURN ON LIVE VIEW You will need a recent DSLR that offers Live View. And you need to turn Live View on. 2 ENABLE IT Press the Menu and find the Live View function options. Live View is preset to Disable. Enable, then press Set. 3 ACTIVATE To use Live View, and see the image on the LCD, press the Live View or Set button (depending on your camera model). 4 ALTER DISPLAY OPTIONS As with the Review button, Live View gives different display options. Press Info or Disp to scroll through them. 5 LOOK FOR THE GRAPH Keep pressing the Info/Disp button until you see the histogram superimposed over the image on the LCD at the back of the camera.…

SHOT LENGTH It pays to keep each shot short (see Your Assignment, opposite) but with some events this is not possible. With a concert, you probably need to record the whole thing, not just a few seconds. But set quality to 1080p or 720p, and the maximum shot length is 12 minutes. Switch to VGA to get a maximum shot duration of around 24 minutes. GET A CINEMA LOOK To give your pictures a cinematographic look, you need to use a 1080p or 720p quality setting – as that will give you the widescreen aspect ratio. But also set the frame rate to 24fps – as this will match that of Hollywood movies and other big-budget pictures shot on real film, and make your results look more arty. SLO-MO A…

1 WIDE OPEN DEPTH Here the aperture was set to f4 and the lens focused on a central subject. Since the aperture was at the widest available f-stop, DOF is greatly reduced, blurring the scene closer to and further from the camera position. 2 MID-RANGE APERTURE For this shot the lens was stopped down to f11. This has significantly increased DOF as more objects are covered by the zone of focus. Since DOF is always greater in front of than behind the subject, the foreground is sharper. 3 STOPPED DOWN For the final shot f22 was used, extending DOF to cover the entire frame and resulting in a much sharper image overall. While f16 would have produced less diffraction, the close distance between lens and subject required a very narrow…

Limiting DOF can be a great way to make an artistic shot out of any subject. Find something you want to study, ensure there is a good distance from the background, set the widest possible f-stop and focus the lens as close as you can. Try using a macro lens or the macro ‘mode’ on your kit lens to get closer – the shorter the working distance between the lens and subject, the easier it is to blur your background.…

01 CAMERA TYPE With so many camera options, which is for you? DSLRs are still the most popular – from beginners to pros – as they typically have larger sensors, plus a comprehensive range of compatible lenses and accessories. They can be bulky, though. Mirrorless cameras share many features with a DSLR in a smaller, lighter body, but the disadvantage is that their sensors are often comparably smaller than those in DSLRs. 02 SENSOR SIZE The size of a camera sensor determines how much light it uses to create an image. This is why, in general, larger sensor provide the best lowlight noise performance and background blur (bokeh). DSLR cameras come with either full-frame or crop-frame sensors. If you’re starting out, a smaller (more affordable) crop-frame sensor should be ample…

1 INSERT THE BATTERY Without power your DSLR is useless. So step one in getting started is to insert a fully charged battery. Your DSLR comes provided with a Lithium-ion battery and charger. When the light stops flashing, your battery is charged. A spare battery can come in handy. If you want a backup, check the battery type. Find the code written on the battery body, it’s usually letters and a number. 2 GET THE RIGHT MEMORY CARD Next we need to insert the correct memory card. Most DSLRs take either an SD-type card (SD, SDHC, SDXC) or a CompactFlash card. Some take both. CompactFlash cards are bigger than SD cards. You should also consider the capacity of the memory card, and the writing speed. For beginners we recommend an…

1 NECK STRAP ATTACHMENT POINTS Thread your neck strap through these small attachment points so you can hang your DSLR securely around your neck. 2 CONNECTION POINTS On the side of your DSLR, you’ll find a rubber flap that covers the camera’s connection points. These can be used to connect your camera directly to a computer or TV screen for instant storage or large-screen viewing. 3 TRIPOD MOUNT Flip the camera over and you’ll see a small threaded hole. This enables you to attach your camera to a tripod. You’ll also find the battery compartment and memory card slot here (although some are positioned on the camera’s side panel). 4 MEMORY CARD FLAP Insert the correct memory card and your images will be recorded and saved as you shoot them.…

You may think there’s only one way to do it, but in fact the way you hold your camera can have an instant effect on the quality of the pictures you take, and it’s amazing how many photographers get it wrong. Here, we’ll show you how to manoeuvre the camera, control the buttons comfortably, and minimise the chance of introducing the kind of camera shake that will make it impossible to keep your shots sharp. By placing your feet, arms, legs and hands in the right position, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to get great results – plus you’ll really look the part! 1 RIGHT HAND The right hand should be used to grip the camera body. Curl your fingers around the camera’s rubber (or textured)…

1 CONNECT ARM AND KNEE Bring your arm up and place your elbow on your knee to connect your leg and arm together. This creates a braced position so you don’t move around. 2 RAISE A LEG By coming down into a crouching position and bringing your leg up, you can turn your body into a human tripod that supports your camera effectively. 3 TAKE A MAT When shooting outdoors in this body position, you might get a wet or dirty knee. Take a mat or a plastic bag to kneel on so that you don’t ruin your clothes. 4 CORE STRENGTH Try to keep the core of your body still. If you’re steady through your centre, you’ll find it easier to control your limbs.…

Once you’ve familiarised yourself with your new camera and set it up to suit the way you shoot, you’ll be keen to head out and start taking pictures. But if you’re completely new to SLR photography, it’s worth taking a few test shots in the comfort of your own home before you head out into the great outdoors. That way you can be sure that you’re comfortable with holding your camera, zooming your lens in and out, and getting the focus right, rather than fiddling around on location and missing the perfect shot. To take an image, you need to press the shutter-release button, which is found on the right-hand side of your camera at the front. The shape of the camera has been designed so that you can comfortably…

When you want to compose a photo there are two ways to do this on your DSLR. First, you can look through the viewfinder, or option two, engage the Live View feature and see the scene on the LCD screen instead. Each method comes in handy in different shooting scenarios. Most photographers find the optical viewfinder to be much more useful for a couple of reasons. First, in bright light distracting reflections can make the LCD screen hard to view. But more importantly it’s easier to keep the camera steady by holding it up to your eye rather than right out in front of you.…

1 ENGAGE LIVE VIEW Press the Live View button on the back panel to engage the feature. You’ll hear your camera click. This is the mirror inside the camera flipping up out of the way of the sensor, making the optical viewfinder temporarily unusable. 2 COMPOSE THE IMAGE You’ll find it much easier to compose your image if you engage the grid line feature. Head into the main camera menu to select it. Most photographers use the thirds grid because it can help when composing a shot. 3 MAIN IMAGE On the screen we can see live what’s in front of the camera’s lens. The image on the screen will adjust with the ambient light settings, so we can see what’s going on. When we adjust camera settings it will…

As previously discussed, in a DSLR camera, the reflex mirror must move out of the light path to allow the sensor to be exposed. Since the mirror is a large physical component, which moves rapidly, it can send vibrations through the camera. At longer shutter speeds this reduces sharpness through motion blur. It also generates noise, which can startle wildlife or interrupt an event. Try locking the mirror in the up position once your image is composed. Select this in the camera menu or on the mode dial, press the shutter button to lock the mirror up, then again to make the exposure. KNOW YOUR KIT What’s inside your camera? 1 PRISM The component of a DSLR which creates the viewfinder image. Professional cameras often use a Pentaprism, which is…

As the size of the sensor is decreased, less of the projected scene can be included in the frame. This has a similar effect to cropping the image later in software or zooming in, using a zoom lens. This is a disadvantage for landscape photographers, who value wide-angle perspectives, but is beneficial for sport and wildlife shooters, who get an increased effective focal length, allowing a closer view of their subject without buying a more expensive, longer lens. Different sensor formats have varying crop factors. APS-C sensors have a magnification of approximately 1.5x, so a 16mm lens will give the same image as a 24mm lens on a Full Frame or 35mm film camera. Meanwhile, professional medium format cameras have a larger than Full Frame sensor, giving a wider view…

1 SWITCH TO PROGRAM MODE To enter program mode, turn the mode dial around to P and frame up the scene. When you half press the shutter-release button, your camera will set both the shutter speed and the aperture, according to how light or dark the scene is. But unlike the fully automatic mode where you can’t alter the camera settings, in program mode you have more options to play with. 2 ALTER THE EXPOSURE VALUES If you’re not happy with the settings your camera selected, you can alter the combination of shutter speed and aperture using the command dial. You’ll notice it changes both the aperture and shutter speed to match the light conditions. 3 ADJUST THE ISO You can also alter the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor in…

STEP 1 A Custom Function lets you choose between full-stop or one-third-stop steps between each ISO setting. Using the full stop scale means you can make big changes quicker! STEP 2 Some DSLRs offer an Auto ISO setting that sets the ISO sensitivity for you. This is ideal for handheld shooting… STEP 3 A recent feature on EOS models is the ability to set the maximum ISO used by Auto ISO in the Menu options. This is good for avoiding unexpected grainy pictures. STEP 4 Your SLRs topmost ISO setting (or settings) may be labelled H (High) – and only be accessed by enabling the ‘ISO Expansion’ option in your camera’s Custom Functions. THE FULL FRAME ADVANTAGE The bigger the sensor that your camera uses, the less noise that you…

STEP 2 Lay your camera on its back on a soft surface, such as a jacket or kit bag, to protect your rear LCD, and so you’ll have both hands free to switch lenses. STEP 1 Don’t do this in a dusty atmosphere. Ideally, switch lenses indoors or sheltered from the wind to avoid dust or dirt reaching your camera’s sensor. STEP 3 Have your new lens within reach to minimise the amount of time your DSLR’s innards are open to the elements to stop dust getting in. STEP 4 Use your left hand to press down on the Lens Release Button, use your right hand to turn your lens in an anti-clockwise direction and pull clear. STEP 5 Put the lens down to one side. Remove the dust cap…

STILL LIFE BEGINNINGS Gather a collection of items from your home, it’s time to experiment with still life photography • Find a solid, non-distracting, background to shoot on. • Keep it simple and use natural light from a window or table lamp to light your shot adequately. • Work on your composition. Try a mix of heights and textures to keep the image interesting. NATURALLY LIT PORTRAITURE Natural light is everywhere. Practice using natural light in a portrait • Grab a subject and get outside! Different times of day and weather conditions will result in differing kinds of light. Light in the middle a sunny day is going to be intense and direct with strong shadows. • Light can also be reflected naturally on objects around us. Colourful walls and…

We’ve all been there – you’re reviewing images and you see a dot, mark or smudge all over your shots. Usually it’s a simple solution: just whip out a lens cloth and give the front (and possibly rear) element of your lens a quick clean. Sometimes, though, even after you clean your lens there are still marks that appear on your images. This occurs when dirt or dust particles land on the sensor of your camera. This can easily happen when you change lenses, as particulates can float in when the sensor is exposed. It’s especially risky when you’re shooting somewhere like a beach, where there’s lots of sand blowing around, and if you’re using a camera and lens combo that isn’t weather-sealed, dirt can easily creep inside your body…

Once you’ve been using your camera lenses for a few weeks, there’s a good chance that you will have accumulated some dust, not to mention the odd fingerprint, on the front element. Your delicate lens can be prone to spots and smears, and this potentially gets worse if you’ve been outdoors in harsh weather. Dust and dirt might be a normal sign of use, but showing your lenses some TLC on a regular basis will both improve image quality and avoid real damage further down the line. Fortunately, it’s easy to keep your lenses in top condition. As well as removing marks on the front of your lens with a specialist cloth, you should also keep the back (the part that mounts onto the camera body) clear. If you’re worried…

When we first get started in photography, it can be a dizzying prospect. The jargon tends to get in the way for the beginner, and a long list of numbers, letters and acronyms may put many amateurs off. But in reality, because of the plethora of automatic and semi-automatic modes now available in digital photography, even a newbie can pick up a camera and get a halfway decent snap. Transforming these into fully fledged photographs requires some decent photography theory though, and none are more important than composition and framing. To help construct our photographs, we use techniques that first break down the frame into constituent parts. We do this by carving up space on the vertical Y axis, the horizontal X axis and by splitting up a scene into…

There is a time and a place for flash. It will often kill the atmosphere at a party, so is best avoided. But conversely can be the essential ingredient for a successful shot – in daylight or in the dark. The secret to success is to use the built-in flash on most SLRs with caution. The key to getting good results is often a matter of exposure – ensuring you use settings that make the flash look as natural as possible. Using flash adds an extra complication to the usual problems of exposing an image correctly. You not only have to judiciously choose the shutter speed and the aperture and set the ISO to suit the occasion, the flash power must also be fed simultaneously into the exposure equation. A…

Video on DSLRs is like Marmite – some people love it and others hate it. Whatever you think, this feature is here to stay. But when you do try it out, you’ll discover that there are a lot of new things that you have to think about, including the camera settings themselves. The first thing to understand are the formats. Canon EOS SLRs record videos in a variation of the Quicktime (.MOV) format, known as H.264. Like with stills, you will change this to a different format to edit your footage, and to another format again when it comes to saving your blockbuster. But there are some options to choose from at the recording stage. An EOS with HD offers a choice of two or three different resolutions. ‘Full HD’…

1 SET UP A TRIPOD In order to ensure that you can accurately assess sharpness as influenced by the aperture, set up your camera on a tripod. Compose your image and turn off image stabilisation, as this can actually cause loss of sharpness. 2 FOCUS THE LENS Use autofocus or manually focus on your main subject. Try using live view mode, so you can preview the image on the rear LCD screen and zoom in while you focus, ensuring the lens is correctly set to render the subject sharp. 3 SET F22 In aperture priority mode (rotate the camera mode dial until it is in the ‘A’ or ‘Av’ position) use the command dial to set the aperture to f22. Use the rear LCD or the top plate LCD if…

While it is logical to use a wide aperture when ambient lighting is at low levels, there are occasions when stopping down can have creative uses. When photographing a night-time street scene, even when shooting at ISO 6400 and an aperture of f1.4, handheld images are still likely to suffer from camera shake. A better option is to use a tripod, permitting any shutter speed. Once you are free from handheld constraints, lower the ISO for better quality and consider using f16, which will turn points of light, such as street lights, into creative starburst effects. This is a popular technique among travel and architecture photographers as it adds extra interest and depth. Try f11 first, for better sharpness, then incrementally increase the f-number to strengthen the effect. The longer…

FREEZE A SUBJECT IN MOTION We recommend a speed of around 1/2000 sec. Keep both eyes open as you shoot with a telephoto lens and maintain a fast shutter speed. LONG SHUTTER LIGHT TRAILS Set a long shutter speed of around 10 seconds, ISO100 and an aperture with a suitable exposure. Snap when traffic passes in front of the camera. BLUR PEOPLE MOVING Use a neutral density filter to block the light entering your lens and dial down your shutter speed to something as slow as 30 seconds or one minute. PREVENTING CAMERA SHAKE With a lens at 50mm focal length, don’t use any shutter speed slower than 1/50 sec. When using a tripod, use the self-timer to delay the exposure.…

Modern cameras are incredibly sophisticated – they effectively have microcomputers inside them that can automate every aspect of the photographic process. However, much like driving an automatic car, there are some situations where auto just doesn’t quite cut it, and there are also situations where going manual is simply more fun! When it comes to manual focusing, you are taking complete control of the point of focus in your image. Unlike pure autofocus (where the camera picks what it thinks it likely your desired subject in a given frame) or direct input autofocus (where you tap the LCD screen or move a focus point with a joystick), manual focus sees you manipulate the plane of focus by turning the focus ring on your lens. This will ‘telescope’ the plane of…

1 ENABLE MANUAL FOCUS Tell your camera that you are manually focusing, otherwise it will keep autofocusing! Some lenses have a switch on the side, some require you to ‘shotgun’ the focus ring back, and sometimes you need to tell the camera directly through the menus. 2 STAY STABLE When you’re learning to manual focus, we recommend starting with a stationary target – try a macro subject, like flowers or still life – and use a tripod to keep the camera steady so you only have to worry about focusing. 3 USE LIVE VIEW Live View is something of a revelation for manual focusing. The large, backlit LCD screen makes it much easier to pinpoint your focus, especially in low-light situations where an optical viewfinder can be too dark to…

Exposure time refers to the length of time that an image sensor of cell of film is expose to light. Anything that moves during the exposure is captured in motion, thereby looking blurred in the photo. The longer the exposure time, and the more motion there is in the photo the greater the blur. We can use long exposures to remove distractions in busy environments, such as pedestrians walking through a busy street. But we can also use it as a creative device to unearth hidden beauty that is otherwise impossible to see with the naked eye. Take a seascape, for example. We never see the water still, because of its salinity it never freezes, and waves constantly crash onto shorelines. However, using a long exposure of several seconds or…