
Owning a DSLR or a mirrorless camera is only fun when you know manual photography. You have a lot of creative space to explore and you can tweak the settings to get different kinds of pictures.
However, learning manual photography is an experience in itself. There is a lot of trial and error until you finally master the skill. There are some basics that you must learn about so that you can begin your manual photography journey! But first, you need to know the difference between a DSLR and a mirrorless camera.
The Difference Between DSLR and Mirrorless Camera
If you are a professional photographer, then you obviously know the difference between the two (you can skip this). Therefore, this section is for the ones that don’t know.
For the longest time, the photography industry was dominated by DSLR cameras. Canon and Nikon were the two biggest companies behind the production of DSLR cameras. They manufactured Crop Sensor (relatively cheaper) and Full Frame cameras (a bit pricier) along with a vast catalog of camera lenses. As the name states, a crop sensor has a relatively smaller camera sensor while a full-frame camera has a bigger sensor.
However, as years passed, Sony emerged as the big gun when it created mirrorless cameras, the kind that removed the mirror in the camera shutter entirely. This made the camera more silent than before while taking a picture, as opposed to a camera with a mirror in the shutter.
However, one thing that both DSLRs and mirrorless cameras have in common is an integrated Wi-Fi feature. You can transfer your images to other devices such as your smartphone or computer over a Wi-Fi connection. I’ve always relied on Spectrum Internet for seamless media transfer whenever I have to edit or transfer photos, and it has never let me down!
Now coming towards the basics of manual photography, here are some concepts you must understand before you begin.
The Shutter Speed
This is the rate of the fraction of a second your shutter opens and then closes to capture an image. You can also capture objects in motion if you set the shutter speed just right. For instance, if you are trying to take a picture of someone running, your shutter speed must be high, somewhere around 1/800.
However, do keep in mind that the higher your shutter speed is, the less light falls into shutter, resulting in darker images. This is where you balance out the shutter speed with the ISO (we’ll get to the ISO later).
If you set the shutter speed to low, say 1/160 or 1/200, your pictures appears brighter but you won’t be able to capture motion. Similarly, this also makes your image prone to blurring or shaking, which is why you need to keep your camera stable at a lower shutter speed.
The ISO Sensitivity
The ISO sensitivity is the amount of light that falls into your sensor to either brighten your pictures or darken them. Remember, you set the ISO according to the lighting conditions in your environment.
For instance, I find it convenient to set my camera’s ISO at 100 when I’m shooting outdoors with my 50mm portrait lens. If I take the ISO above 100, it makes the images unusually bright. On top of that, I set the shutter speed between 1/800 and 1/1000 to get the perfect image.
You can also use an external flash gun on your camera to optimize your lighting condition, but that’s a little technical so we’ll leave that one out for now.
The Aperture
The aperture settings depend entirely on the lens that you are using with your camera. The aperture is commonly called the “F Stop” of your lens. You can see it on the lens model as well. For instance, I personally use the Canon 50mm 1.8 lens, where the 1.8 denotes the maximum aperture level for the lens.
The lower the aperture number, the wider it opens. A wide aperture leads to a blurred background, making it perfect for portrait photography. However, during landscape photography (such as mountains), you need to have a higher aperture to take sharper pictures with minimal blur.
Also keep in mind that the lesser your aperture is, the brighter your picture is going to be, making it a crucial part of the “photography pyramid” consisting of your shutter speed, ISO, and aperture.
One Last Bonus Tip
If you really wish to make the most out of indoor portrait photography, then invest in a good external flash gun. You’ll have to learn with time about how you can bounce the flash’s light off walls to create the perfect lighting for yourself!