Get a little naughty

Get a little naughty

These can be some great additions to the wedding album. The photographer can click as many candid shots as the couple goes absolutely crazy and makes some fun, naughty, mischievous gestures.

Just like the poses above, these can either be planned or simply left for the moment to unfold naturally.

The first kiss

This is something new that is catching up among Indian couples, and is clearly inspired by western weddings. Capturing the couple’s first kiss can be a tricky task. The picture must look very romantic without appearing vulgar at all. For this, the photographer must be alert to click just at the right moment.

The dance of love

The dance of love

Y-This pose is soon getting very popular among brides and grooms. Capturing the perfect moments as the couple dances, shows the real talent of the photographer.

The romantic hug

The romantic hug

The hug is one of the most romantic and cute-looking wedding poses that a couple can have in their wedding album. It can either be a simple warm hug or the groom could hold the bride from the back.

The classic sitting pose

The classic sitting pose

This is a must-have in any wedding album. The bride and the groom sit close to each other, and can choose a pose they love the most. It can be the bride resting her head on the groom’s shoulder, both holding hands, looking into each other’s eyes, or simply facing the camera with a smile.

Manual Mode in DSLR Camera is considered to be an out-of-this-world setting that many people never ever think of trying it. I have come across many people who own DSLR Camera for many years but never tried. Most popular reason being that it requires them to have technical know-how of Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO settings which has a steep learning curve.

If this reasoning rings a bell even for you, let us tackle it right here right now. You will see yourself playing  around with Manual Mode like never before within matter of few minutes.

I have used images of Canon Rebel T3i DSLR camera settings in this article. Most of the Canon DSLRs probably have very similar settings. If you are a Nikon DSLR owner, please read DSLR Basics: 8 Easy Steps to Learn Manual Mode for Nikon DSLR Cameras.

If you follow these steps exactly the way I describe, you will never have to switch back to Auto mode.

Want to learn photography? Download Beginner’s Guide to Photography.

Step 1: Pick up your Camera and Start the Timer

This is the most important step. If you are just reading it in your office, or a restaurant, or a coffee shop, then no matter what, you will never learn it. If you do not have access to camera right now, then stop it here. Go back home, pick up your camera and then follow the next steps.

Start the timer now. Let us see how much time you will take to understand the manual mode.

Step 2: Turn the Mode dial to point to M which means Manual Mode

Rotate the mode dial, which is usually at the top right hand side, to point to M . Some of the models may have the mode dial at the top left hand side.

photography tips

tep 3: Point the Camera where you find good light

This is very important step. Do not ignore this step. Turn on the camera if you have not done it already and point it towards a subject/object which has sufficient amount of light. Keep the camera on a stable surface to make sure the composition does not change.

Step 4: Check the Important Camera Settings

Press the disp button which will display current settings in the LCD.

Press the display button to get Camera settings on the LCD screen. Image shown is for Canon Rebel T3i DSLR .

Note: After a few seconds LCD screen display turns off, press disp button to get it back.

You will see too many settings there. As of now, we are interested only in Aperture (F number) and ISO.

Image on the left shows the Aperture value which is circled in red. Images on the right shows the ISO value which is circled in red.

If you have never before touched the manual mode, then you should see F number to be very small like f/2.8, f/3.5, or f5.6.  If not, press Q (Quick Mode) button then traverse to aperture setting with F number. Turn the top dial towards your left until there is no change in F number.

Press on Quick mode button and use the right arrow to move to Aperture setting (the F number). Choose the minimum Aperture value for your lens.

If ISO value is 100, which is the least value, then you are good. Otherwise, press Q button then traverse to aperture setting with ISO number. Turn the top dial towards your left until you get the lowest ISO number usually 100.

‘ Press on Quick mode button and use the right arrow to move to ISO setting. Choose the minimum ISO settings possible.

Step 5: Check the Camera Metering indicator

Check the camera metering indicator which displays a dotted line with -3 and +3 on either side of the line.

Camera Metering mode which indicates if there is enough light or too much light. Left image indicates that there is less light (underexposure) and the right image indicates that there is more light (overexposure)

If you half-press the shutter button, you will also notice a blinking indicator either to the -3 side or to the +3 side of the dotted line. It is fine whichever way it is currently pointing to since you will learn in few minutes to deal with it.

Learn about Camera Metering Modes to achieve proper exposure under all conditions.

Step 6: Press the Shutter button

Press the shutter button. I mean it…just do it.

This is an important aspect of learning. Take action, make mistakes, learn from mistakes. If you learn only the right way of doing things, as the time passes, you will be scared to test anything else.

Now let us talk about the picture you took.

You are probably not impressed with what you got. May be it is not what you expected? Let us analyze it then.

Is it very dark? then it is underexposed, because of less light hitting the sensor. It means the meter indicator was towards -3.

If the picture is bright or washed out, then it is overexposed, because of too much light hitting the sensor. It means the meter indicator was pointing towards? you know that.

You might already have solved the problem in your head now. Have you? you know what to do, isn’t it? Do it.

Step 7: Achieving the Proper Exposure

Press the disp button again to get back to the settings on the LCD screen.

If the picture was underexposed or the arrow is pointing towards -3, then turn the main dial towards your left (counter-clockwise direction).

The main dial which is used to change Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO get the perfect exposure.

As you turn it left, you will notice that the blinking indicator below the dotted line comes closer towards center. Keep turning the dial in counter-clockwise direction until the blinking indicator hits the center (0 marking) of the dotted line.

Image on the left shows that there is very less light, which means the resulting photograph will be underexposed. Image on the right shows the proper exposure.

If the picture was overexposed or the arrow is pointing towards +, then turn the dial, towards your right (clockwise direction).

As you turn it right, you will notice that the blinking indicator below the dotted line comes closer towards center. Keep turning the dial in clockwise direction until the blinking indicator hits the center (0 marking) of the dotted line.

Image on the left shows that there is too much light, which means the resulting photograph will be overexposed. Image on the right shows the proper exposure.

In Steps 6 and 7, you changed the Shutter Speed to achieve the proper exposure. Shutter speed is represented in seconds. Generally it will be in fraction of seconds like 1/30 or 1/60 all the way upto 1/4000 or 1/8000.

In all possibilities, you should get the arrow to point to center unless you have chosen a subject which is way too dark or way too bright.

Step 8: Make your very first Photograph using Manual Mode!

Press the shutter button now. Did you get the picture what you were longing for?!

Congratulations! on your very first photograph using manual mode. You have taken control of your camera, there is no turning back from here.

Stop the timer now. How much time did you take to learn? Was it hard to learn?

Want to get more simple photography tips like this? Download Beginner’s Guide to Photography.

Did you enjoy this article? Do you want to know about some other concept that is haunting you from a long time? Let me know in your comments.

Related Posts

• DSLR Basics: 8 Easy Steps to Learn Manual Mode for Nikon DSLR Cameras
• 7 Reasons Why Professional Photographers Use Manual Mode
• DSLR Basics: Understanding Camera Metering Modes
• Photography Basics – Depth-of-Field (DOF) [Part VI]

How to photograph moving objects

by yash mewade

OK so you've grasped the idea of how to take a good photo with your digital SLR camera, and now want to know how to photograph moving objects. Whether you are photographing an object such as moving water or a car driving past you, or a subject as in a person, child or animal, the camera technique and settings are basically the same.

The main camera setting you need to take notice of when shooting moving objects is the shutter speed. This is best done by putting your camera on shutter priority and looking through your rear viewfinder, pressing your shutter button half way down, then look along the edges of the inner screen for a number that resembles either a fraction such as 1/125 (maybe not that exactly but a fraction nethertheless) or for more recent cameras just a plain number like 125 that changes when you turn the main dial. If you see a plain number then that number in reality refers to a fraction, so for example 125 refers to 1/125th of a second etc. If you are a beginner and are unsure how to change your cameras shutter speed, then I recommend looking in your trusty camera manual ;)

It's important to understand that when it comes to photographing moving subjects every situation is unique. No one can tell you exactly what shutter speed to use. However there are guidelines as to what speeds you should start with, then change it up or down from there depending on the result. Here is what I've found from personal experience with different subjects.

How to photograph moving water

When photographing water and I want to slow down the movement I always start with a shutter speed of 1/8th of a second. I'll take a few test shots, look at the results then slow down from there, trying 1/4, 1/2 and so forth until I see the result I'm after.

The reason why it's a matter of experimentation is because no two situations will have the exact same available light. For instance you could have a similar scene to my forest above, however your lighting situation could be sunnier or darker than when I shot this image with a shutter speed of 80 full seconds. As I said, start with 1/8th of a second then adjust your settings from there.

If on the otherhand you want to freeze motion like this water drop below, then I recommend starting with a much faster shutter speed of 1/160th of a second, check the results then change it to a faster fraction if needed. For this image below I ended up being happy with 1/200th of a second. Not as fast as you'd think.

How to photograph moving people

Now lets move on to people. When photographing moving people I recommend starting at 1/125th of a second for walkers if you want to capture them in sharp focus. If on the otherhand the aim is to blur the person walking then set a slower shutter speed starting your experiment with 1/30 second.

If you are photographing a marathon or people running and you want to capture the person in sharp focus, then begin with a shutter speed of 1/ 250 sec and adjust from there. To blur a running person start with 1/60th of a second. Use similar camera settings when photographing children on the move.

How to photograph a moving car

To capture a racing car in sharp focus start with 1/1300 sec. Chances are though you'll want to show movement when photographing a moving car. To blur a moving car travelling at 30 mph set a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second. If the car is travelling at 70 mph then setting a speed of 1/250th of a second will result in moderate movement or blur.

You may also be interested in this post: How to photograph car light trails.

However the best car action shots usually incorportate a photography technique called panning which we'll discuss next.

Shutter speed settings for panning

Panning is another way to show intentional movement. Panning with the moving object will result in background blur while the object itself stays in sharp focus. For panning I recommend starting with 1/60th of a second shutter speed. If you are a beginner I don't recommend going any slower than 1/60th of a second. Panning at 1/60th of a second is much easier than panning at a slower speed of 1/4th of a second.

As you can see by the image below 1/60 second is a perfect camera setting for panning with a horse. Note, when you pan with a horse, you'll still see movement in the animals legs or the jockies up and down movement.

If you want to blur the actual horse, set 1/30th sec for a trotting horse or 1/125 sec for a galloping horse. If you want to photograph a moving horse in sharp focus, set 1/800 sec.

There you have it, all I know about photographing moving objects. Remember to experiment with both fast and slow shutter speeds, or try a bit of panning. But most of all have fun with your photography.