Need help from the photography enthusiasts..

[needalatte74]

I'm leaving on an Alaska cruise in less than 2 weeks.

 

Its time to get away of the automatic settings on my digital camera. What an opportunity for me to get creative and take some beautiful shots, but I'm scared to death of messing with things like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.

 

I have a Sony digital point & shoot with a 10X optical zoom. I've ordered a 1.7X (58mm (I think)) telephoto lens attachment. I've found the settings on my camera but even after reading a bunch of articles, I can't understand how things like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed relate to one another and what you should and should not do.

 

Anyone interested in giving me a crash course in what I can do with this baby? Please remember that you're talking to someone that is just starting out..

 

Thanks a bunch :D

[newlaxfan]

Okay, hopefully I answer some of your questions ... !

 

ISO

 

In the 'old' days of film, you would buy film with a certain ISO (or ASA) rating. You would use 100 if the photos were going to be shot outside on a bright sunny day. 400 was good to use indoors with a flash. 800 or higher was good to use at situations with dim lighting and perhaps high ceilings i.e. where your flash wouldn't be as useful. (These are just guidelines, by the way, and not written in stone.) Ideally you'd use the lowest number ISO/ASA as the higher numbers would give grainier photos.

 

Fast forward to the digital age. We still use the same guidelines. Use the lowest ISO possible, as you'll get less 'noise' in your photos. (Noise shows up as flecks of colour that shouldn't be there. If it's really bad, your photos will look speckled.)

 

Most cameras do good jobs with an ISO up to and including 400. After that, the results can really vary!

 

 

APERTURE

 

Aperture refers to the size of the shutter opening. You would use a lower number aperture/f-stop if you want a short depth of field e.g. in a portrait, or if you have a distracting background. The lower number gives you a blurred-looking background. The same effect is accomplished by putting your camera on the portrait setting.

 

If you want the whole photo in focus, then put the aperture on a high number. That's essentially what happens if you put the camera on its landscape setting.

 

Also, you can possibly get away without using flash if you can set your aperture to a low enough number e.g. 1.8 or 2.8. Most point & shoots don't have this ability though.

 

 

SHUTTER SPEED

 

This is just what it sounds like. It adjusts the speed of the shutter i.e. how long the shutter is open to allow light into the camera.

 

If you are taking an action shot and want to freeze the action, you need a faster shutter to eliminate the blur. If you want blur (e.g. a waterfall photo, to show the water cascading as a path rather than as droplets), then you need a slower shutter speed.

 

If you're shooting in dim light, you want to have the shutter open as long as possible (without compromising the photo) to allow as much light in as possible. If you're trying to shoot pics of fireworks, for instance, you might find you need to have the shutter open for several seconds. Use a tripod for that!

 

Most casual photographers need a shutter speed at a minimum of 1/60. Anything slower than that results in camera shake showing up in the photos.

 

Another guideline if you're setting your shutter speed is that the speed should at least match the zoom you're using. If, for instance, you're using a 200 mm zoom, your speed should be at least 1/200. Again, this reduces the impact of camera shake.

 

 

What I would suggest doing is trying to use the aperture priority or shutter priority features on your camera, and letting the camera take care of the rest of the decision-making. That will give you a chance to see how the different factors work together.

 

Good luck!