As digital camera technology continues to improve and expand, more and more people are finding a passion for photography.
Many photographers learn the craft by buying a camera — used or new — and experimenting with various settings and features. Others prefer to learn the basics in photography classes, in-person or online.
Whichever method you choose, it helps to have a foundation of understanding in the basics of photography. Start by reading articles (like this photography for beginners guide) and watching tutorials online to help you learn.
Beginner photographers can learn at home, using books and online resources full of photography tips. Or, you can invest in a beginner photography class or workshop to get started.
If you’re interested in taking a photography for beginners course, check out local community centers and art centers. Sometimes even the local library will offer classes in popular activities like photography.
In the meantime, we’ll introduce some of the basics of photography now to help take you from just playing around to the Ansel Adams zone.
While learning photography for beginners, you’ll come across many common terms that may feel complicated or confusing. We’ll break them down one by one, to help you understand how the camera works (and how to adapt settings to change the look of your photos).
The first three terms that we’ll tackle are ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. These terms represent the foundation of photography.
ISO refers to the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor to light. If you’ve ever tried film photography, you may remember ISO. That’s because it was also called film speed.
Digital ISO works in a similar way to film speed. Essentially, the lower the ISO number (100, for example, is a low ISO), the less sensitive your sensor or film will be to light. The higher your ISO (1,600 and above), the more sensitive your sensor or film.
One important consideration when selecting an ISO is noise or grain. In film photography, high ISO films result in grainy images. In digital photography, higher ISOs also produce grain. To avoid grain and noise in images, it helps to use the lowest ISO possible by adjusting other settings to compensate.
We’ll talk more about how ISO relates to other settings when we discuss exposure in a bit.
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time the camera’s shutter stays open when making an image. It can be anything from the tiniest fraction of a second to 30 seconds or longer.
Shutter speed often represents fractions of seconds, so some cameras show your shutter speed as a fraction. When you look in the viewfinder or on your digital camera’s LCD screen, you may see the shutter speed listed as something like 1/100 or 1/500. The smaller the fraction, the faster the shutter speed.
For example, 1/60 is slower than 1/250 but 1/60 is faster than 1/25.
What if your shutter speed doesn’t appear as a fraction? Some cameras don’t show the full fraction, they simply show the denominator, or the bottom number of the fraction. If you have one of these cameras, then when you see 250, you’ll know that it means 1/250.
Full seconds are denoted with quotation marks. So when you see 2”, that shutter speed represents two full seconds.
Shutter speed is especially important because the longer the shutter is open, the more light is allowed to reach the sensor or film. If your shutter speed is too long and too much light passes through, you may overexpose your image. If it’s too short and not enough light passes through, you may underexpose your image.
Aperture refers to the opening of the camera’s lens. By adjusting the lens aperture, you are physically increasing and decreasing the size of the opening. A lens aperture consists of several triangular or wedge-shaped blades. They can twist together to make a smaller opening or twist apart to make a larger one.
Aperture is a very important concept to understand, because it affects two different variables in your resulting photographs. We already know that aperture determines how much light can pass through to the sensor. A wider aperture means more light gets through. A narrower aperture means less light gets through.
Depth of field is another important concept that relates to aperture. At wider apertures, the depth of field will be shallow. This means only a portion of the image will be in focus while the rest of the image is blurred. Narrower apertures produce greater depth of field, so more of the image will be in focus.
Exposure refers to the amount of light that is able to reach the image sensor or film. Proper exposure is determined by the balance of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Because each of those elements affects how much light reaches the sensor, you can balance one setting by adjusting another.
For example, if you wanted to have a very fast shutter speed (which would limit how much light the sensor receives), you could make your aperture wider to compensate and add more light. If you didn’t want to widen the aperture because of the loss of depth of field, you could increase your ISO to make the sensor more sensitive to light.
When reading about photography, you’ll often see ISO, aperture, and shutter speed listed as the “exposure triangle.” This term refers to how all three camera settings are interrelated and work together to achieve proper exposure.
The concept of exposure is often intimidating to many beginner photographers learning to use their digital cameras. But with some practice adjusting the camera settings and seeing how your images change, you’ll get the hang of it — and start taking better photos — in no time.
Sometimes you’ll hear aperture referred to as the F stop. Just like shutter speed is often measured in fractions and ISO is measured in whole numbers, aperture has its own measurement system.
The aperture setting is denoted like this: f/#. A wide aperture has a low number and a narrow aperture has a high number. For example, f/2.8 is a wide aperture while f/22 is a narrow aperture.
Remember, the wider the aperture, the shallower your depth of field. For a very shallow depth of field, you’ll want an aperture between f/1.8 and f/4. For a deep depth of field, you’ll want an aperture between f/11 and f/22.
Now that we’ve covered the basic elements of photography, let’s address camera settings and some of the techniques involved in making a photograph.
How do we know what the correct exposure is for a scene we want to photograph? Modern digital options like DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras have built-in metering systems that measure the light and make settings recommendations for achieving proper exposure. Even point-and-shoot cameras are capable of metering.
Whether you’re doing portrait photography or landscape photography, when you point your camera at a scene or subject, the camera evaluates the scene for areas of brightness and shadow.
When you shoot in fully-automatic modes, this metering happens without your knowledge. You point the camera and click the shutter, and the camera adjusts the settings for a perfect exposure. When you shoot in a manual mode, the camera lets you manually adjust one of the settings while it takes care of the rest for the perfect photograph.
Most beginner digital cameras have a lot of automatic settings. They work well and allow you to take good photos, but they won’t help you build your photography skills. Let’s focus on the manual modes.
This camera mode lets you set the aperture manually, while the camera selects the best ISO and shutter speed to achieve proper exposure.
This camera mode lets you set the shutter speed manually while the camera selects the best ISO and aperture.
You select the aperture and shutter speed. The camera won’t help you select which settings to use, so this mode is best used by more experienced photographers.
Shutter priority mode is ideal when finding the right shutter speed is the most important consideration for getting your shot. For example, if you want to do a long exposure for motion-blur in waterfalls or other moving subjects, shutter priority will let you manually select the best shutter speed.
Aperture priority mode is great when depth-of-field is your biggest concern. For instance, a shallow depth of field is important for portrait photography. So in that case, you would select a wide-open aperture and let the camera worry about shutter speed.
White balance refers to the way the camera captures color. Different sources of light have different color casts. Indoor lighting can be tinted blue or yellow, midday sunlight is neutral, and late afternoon sun has an orange cast. You can set your white balance to match the lighting conditions so your shot has more natural color.
Choosing your first camera can be overwhelming. From Nikon to Canon, there are so many competing brands with a variety of models to choose from. The most important considerations for a new photographer often come down to budget and functionality.
Research the camera models in your budget range, and compare products to see which features you love. Ideally, your first camera should give you some room to grow as a photographer, so make sure it offers manual modes and plenty of compatible lenses and accessories for the future. If you have other photography hobbyists in your life, ask them what they love or hate about their cameras.
You can also check out our list of the best cameras for beginners to find the best camera for you.
To get started, you’ll need a camera, at least one lens, a camera battery or two, and a memory card. Most cameras come with a few necessary accessories like camera straps and sometimes even tripods.
The beauty of DSLR and mirrorless camera systems is that they’re expandable. You don’t need to buy everything right now. You can upgrade and get new camera gear like lenses and accessories when you’re ready.
Want to learn photography faster? Try an online photography school, or get a one-on-one photography tutor. Working with a knowledgeable instructor can jump you over the beginner zone fast. A photography tutor can answer questions and find new ways to explain techniques in a way that fits your learning style.
If you’d prefer to start by tinkering on your own, try watching tutorials on YouTube or reading specialized posts to expand your knowledge in a variety of topics.
Photography is a very broad discipline. Over time and with experimentation, you’ll learn whether one type of photography appeals to you more than others. Or maybe you’ll discover you love the variety of shooting different things each day.
As you learn and practice, here are just a few of the types of photography you can explore:
Photo editing and post processing are their own art form. Editing takes a lot of practice to reach perfection. Once you feel comfortable with the basic principles of photography, you can import your photos into Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, or other editing software, and begin to develop your images into a more finished product.
Because many editing software products are quite complex, it will take time for you to get the hang of using one. Fortunately, there are just as many resources available both online and in person to help beginner photographers learn photo editing.
Start by following along with tutorials — Adobe hosts a lot of them. With some dedicated practice, you’ll be on your way to creating Annie Liebovitz-level work before you know it!
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