Using your camera's basic exposure controls does not have to be a challenge. Here's how to use the aperture priority and shutter priority modes to take better photographs.
When you use the aperture mode, you control how large the lens opening is. With a small lens opening, you can have a very sharp focus on one object in your picture, but objects that are not the same distance from the camera will not be as sharp. That's because of what's called depth of field. In other words, at what distance away from the camera are objects in sharp focus. If the lens opening (aperture) is small, you have a narrow depth of field. If you're photographing a flower, you may only want objects 12" to 15" to be in focus to get a super-sharp image of the flower.
If the aperture opening is larger, objects up close and not so close to the camera can both stay in focus (greater depth of field). At a large aperture opening, you might have objects in focus from 3" to as far as you can see. To compensate for adjusting the aperture, when you increase or decrease the aperture, your digital camera will adjust the shutter speed up or down.
A small aperture and a slow shutter speed is great if you're taking a close-up of a flower and want it to be extra-sharp. But if you're photographing a moving object, you must have your shutter speed set fast enough to stop the motion. This needs to be at least 1/125th of a second if you are following the motion with your camera. This will put the object in motion in focus but blur the background. If you are holding the camera still and shooting a scene with motion in it, you probably need your shutter speed to be anywhere from 1/250th to 1/1000th. When the shutter speed is increased, there will be less time for light to come through the lens, so the lens opening (the aperture) must be larger to compensate. You can control the shutter speed in the shutter priority mode. Then the camera will adjust the aperture to match.
The best way to learn about how to use your camera's aperture priority and shutter priority modes is to practice when you're not under pressure. Don't wait until you've traveled to an exotic garden to learn to photograph flowers or until you're at a racing event to learn to freeze motion with a fast shutter speed. Practice controlling depth of field by having a friend hold up a sign with the settings you're using. Take several photos with different setting. Then study the photos to see the results. If you're going to a race, practice photographing cars on the highway, but put your friend in the foreground with a sign again showing your camera settings. This will give you a quick, practical education.
When you use the aperture mode, you control how large the lens opening is. With a small lens opening, you can have a very sharp focus on one object in your picture, but objects that are not the same distance from the camera will not be as sharp. That's because of what's called depth of field. In other words, at what distance away from the camera are objects in sharp focus. If the lens opening (aperture) is small, you have a narrow depth of field. If you're photographing a flower, you may only want objects 12" to 15" to be in focus to get a super-sharp image of the flower.
If the aperture opening is larger, objects up close and not so close to the camera can both stay in focus (greater depth of field). At a large aperture opening, you might have objects in focus from 3" to as far as you can see. To compensate for adjusting the aperture, when you increase or decrease the aperture, your digital camera will adjust the shutter speed up or down.
A small aperture and a slow shutter speed is great if you're taking a close-up of a flower and want it to be extra-sharp. But if you're photographing a moving object, you must have your shutter speed set fast enough to stop the motion. This needs to be at least 1/125th of a second if you are following the motion with your camera. This will put the object in motion in focus but blur the background. If you are holding the camera still and shooting a scene with motion in it, you probably need your shutter speed to be anywhere from 1/250th to 1/1000th. When the shutter speed is increased, there will be less time for light to come through the lens, so the lens opening (the aperture) must be larger to compensate. You can control the shutter speed in the shutter priority mode. Then the camera will adjust the aperture to match.
The best way to learn about how to use your camera's aperture priority and shutter priority modes is to practice when you're not under pressure. Don't wait until you've traveled to an exotic garden to learn to photograph flowers or until you're at a racing event to learn to freeze motion with a fast shutter speed. Practice controlling depth of field by having a friend hold up a sign with the settings you're using. Take several photos with different setting. Then study the photos to see the results. If you're going to a race, practice photographing cars on the highway, but put your friend in the foreground with a sign again showing your camera settings. This will give you a quick, practical education.
