Master your camera with this handy quick start guide from Digital Photographer!
Get to grips with common photographic terms
Aperture
Affects the amount of your image that will be in focus – the depth of field. If you use a wide aperture of say f2, only parts of your image will be in focus, and if you use a narrow aperture of say f11 more of your image will be in focus.
White Balance
Affected by the ambient light, the white balance can be altered to ensure a natural colour result. Using the wrong white balance can give your image an unwanted colour cast.
ISO
Refers to how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light and affects the visible grain or ‘noise’ in a photo.
Shutter speed
Fast speeds freeze action while longer ones blur any motion.
Exposure
A balanced exposure has detail in light and shadow areas alike.
Exposure compensation
Adjusts the tonal range of your photo, lighter or darker.
Drive mode
Continuous or Burst mode, single shot and self-timer.
Metering
Refers to the way the camera reads the light in the scene.
Megapixels
Number of pixels on the sensor, in millions.
Camera icons explained
If you are using a DSLR or Compact System Camera (CSC) then there will usually be a mode dial on the top. No matter what camera you are using the icons for setting the camera to shoot in different conditions and for basic operations are usually universal.
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