Camera Basics

It’s super important that you get to know your camera well. We’re going to review some basics that you may already be familiar with–but let’s cover them just in case! Knowing the basics will ensure your success.

I strongly encourage you to read your camera manual and always keep it in your camera bag–you never know when you’ll need it! Also, watch some YouTube videos about your specific camera model. Most cameras are very similar, but each is unique, so make sure you know the basics before moving into the manual mode module. 

Parts of a camera

Let’s explore your camera. If you have a good understanding of your camera and how it works, you’ll be able to take much better photographs. 

Camera body: it has a viewing screen, a place to put your lens - there’s a mirror inside there (or maybe not, if it’s mirrorless). You should NEVER touch that. It also has an on/off button, and a dial to control your settings (manual, auto, etc). If you take your lens off, you should sit the camera upright, not on its back to prevent dust and dirt from collecting on your mirror and sensors. 

Lens: This focuses the image onto the recording surface in your camera; they have an autofocus button and a stabilizer button. You need to know how to correctly put lenses on and take them off. Match up the white or red dots. Never force a lens on. Please don’t touch the glass of your lens with your hands. When your lens needs to be cleaned, you’ll use a special lens cleaner with a very soft paper. Anything you’d use to clean eyeglasses. Never spray cleaner directly onto your lens. 

On/Off Button: Remember to always turn your camera off while not using it to save your batteries (batteries are expensive to replace!) and turn it off when switching your lenses. 

Shutter: When you want to take a picture, you press your shutter button. It has two levels… press in slightly to focus, and then all the way down to release your shutter and capture your image. 

Viewfinder: this is where you look to see the image you want to capture. You can also view your light meter, settings, and more here.

Display screen: you can see your image that you captured here. You can toggle back and forth to see other photos you have taken.

Trash Can: If you want to delete an image, open it, and press the trash can button. 

Mode wheel: 

Manual - total control (this is your goal, use this exclusively!)

Aperture priority: you choose the f-stop and the camera figures out the shutter speed and ISO.

Shutter priority: you set the shutter speed and the camera figures out the aperture and ISO.             

Auto - no control, camera does it all 

Memory Card: Where you store your photos in camera. 

Diopter Adjustment: Use this to adjust the viewfinder to your vision. The diopter adjustment knob works as a lens switching from near to far focus. It does not affect the focus circuitry of the camera as it is after the auto-focus mechanism. It only affects how your eye sees the image. 

Light meter + Histogram: One of the biggest challenges new photographers face is creating a properly exposed image. Luckily for us, our fancy cameras have an internal light meter built in to guide our choices. We don't want our images to be over-exposed (having too much light), or under-exposed (not enough light). So, using your light meter or histogram will help you to determine if you have created a properly exposed image. 

I prefer to use my light meter. If your arrow is in the center of the meter (0), that is what the camera assumes is a balanced exposure. If the arrow is to the left of center (in the negative), your image will be darker. If the arrow is to the right of center (in the positive), your image will be brighter. 

When you look at your histogram, you will see how the highlights and shadows are distributed within the image, determining how well exposed your photo is. 

Auto-Focus: The only auto-tool you’ll use in this class. Set your lens to “auto-focus.” I use auto-focus most of the time. Auto-focus is especially great for photographing moving subjects. When I am shooting landscapes, some stills, or macro, I will sometimes manually focus. Manual focus is helpful for night photography or in low-light situations. There are two additional features to help make auto-focusing more accurate:

Focus area: This setting helps your camera determine the area that it will focus on within a scene. Think of it as a focusing strategy which helps your camera decide what and how to track your subject while keeping it in focus. 

Focal point: is the point of focus on the main subject. In camera, you can adjust a single point to focus on your subject, creating the sharpest photo possible. When you look through your viewfinder, you will notice a red dot or square–that is your focal point.