Ahh, putting your DSLR on Manual...its not scary once you know the fundamentals. But instead of launching into theory and lots of technical details, I'll dive into this quick and dirty Get Started guide. Your goal is to learn to set the camera's exposure controls manually and obtain a photo with a reasonably good exposure. You should be outdoors in the daytime, cloudy or not, and choose a reasonably stationary subject to photograph. For some of the settings discussed, you will need to refer to your camera's manual to learn how to vary the settings. It is well worth your trouble to learn this stuff!
First a couple of brief definitions:
Over-exposed -- your photo looks too bright, washed out. Too much light has been collected.
Under-exposed -- your photo is too dark. Not enough light has been collected.
Depth of Field -- a shallow depth of field means objects far away from your subject are blurry. A greater depth of field means that more of the objects in the scene are in focus, from near to far.
OK here we go in 360 words or less!
1. Set your camera into Manual mode, usually designated M on a selection dial.
2. Select your ISO. I generally start at ISO 100 since it introduces the least amount of noise.
3. Select your aperture. This is referred to as an f stop, designated as f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, etc. A lower numbered f/stop allows more light to reach your camera's sensor. The smaller the f number, the shallower your depth of field. For a landscape shot, select a higher number. For a flower close-up, select a lower number.
4. Look at the exposure meter built into your camera. It will form a reading indicating the exposure based on the available light, your ISO setting, your f stop setting, and your shutter speed. If it shows over-exposure, increase your shutter speed. If it shows under-exposure, decrease your shutter speed. Note that your shutter speed needs to be faster than 1/60 second to help reduce camera shake. Otherwise, use a tripod.
5. Frame your subject, focus with care, and take the shot.
If you can't get a reasonable shutter speed setting, such as when there is not enough light available for your chosen f stop, increase the ISO and try again. Note that going much above ISO 800 will start to introduce some noise into your photo. You can also vary the aperture: lower f stops allow more light to reach the sensor. Watch your LCD display after the shot to get an indication as to whether the exposure was good. Moving clouds cause the light to change rapidly, so be ready to modify your shutter speed as that happens.
This method is not to be confused with aperture priority. It is similar, but when you switch your camera into aperture priority you are not only giving it control of your shutter speed, but also your ISO setting. You need to maintain control over all three of the main settings for exposure: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
That's it! Quick and dirty. In future posts I'll explain the details behind each setting, and talk about photographing non-stationary subjects. But for now -- practice!
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