VOL 1 - The Exposure Triangle
So you want to learn to use your camera in Manual mode! That is AWESOME! Welcome to the first installment of Manual Mode Mondays! Each week I will share a tip for using your camera in manual mode, so that you can move your dial off of “Auto” and start making images that YOU really want!
The first thing you need to learn about manual mode is what controls you have and how you can change them. The most important controls of your camera in manual mode are ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed. These three controls make up the exposure triangle.
There are SO many great articles out there that explain what these are and I’ll give a few resources I think are great:
https://fstoppers.com/education/exposure-triangle-understanding-how-aperture-shutter-speed-and-iso-work-together-72878
https://photographylife.com/what-is-exposure-triangle
https://www.photographytalk.com/beginner-photography-tips/the-exposure-triangle-explained
At a basic level, here’s a summary -
ISO - This setting helps your camera know how much or how little light you have when you’re taking a picture. Make your ISO low (100) when you have a lot of light, and make it high when you have less light (6400)
Shutter Speed - This setting tells your camera how fast to open and close the shutter. For things that are stationary use a slow shutter speed (1/125th of a second) for things that are moving fast, use a faster shutter speed (1/4000 of a second).
Aperture - This setting tells your camera how wide to open the shutter. This is how you can get those creamy blurred backgrounds - you tell your camera what your “depth of field” is. The wider your shutter opens the blurrier the background and foreground. The smaller the shutter opening, the more in focus everything is.
If you can become familiar with these three things and how they work together you are well on your way to using manual mode on your camera!