A Guide for Aspiring Photographers

Taking up photography as a pastime can be a wonderful idea when you retire. It will give you the perfect opportunity to soak in the beauty of everything around you.

The introduction of smartphones and sophisticated digital cameras has made it a breeze to capture a pleasing image. The computers embedded in these devices automatically make the necessary tweaks to get a satisfactory photo.

What if you want to capture a darker image? It can be challenging to take a dark image with a smartphone camera. What if you want to take a picture of the moon? Have you found it difficult to obtain a well-exposed photo of the moon with your camera?

Difficulties can arise due to the fact that the applications in your phone or camera already have a preconceived notion of what a “good” image looks like. However, if you understand the basics, you can perform these modifications yourself without requiring any software!

This is how the settings on a camera affect your photography:

ISO: Have you ever observed that some of the photos taken during the night are grainy? This is because of the ISO setting. A higher ISO number will brighten the image; however, it will give a grainy quality to the photograph. It is advised to keep the ISO as low as possible if you desire a clear picture. If you want a grainy image, then you should increase the ISO. [1]

Shutter Speed: When you snap a photo, the camera’s lens opens up to let light in and then closes again. The longer the lens is open, the more light will be added to the photo.

The time the lens is left open is measured in seconds. So, lower numbers (e.g., 1/25) will give the photo less time to absorb the light, and it will come out darker. On the other hand, larger numbers (i.e., 1/10 or 1) will let more light in and make the image brighter.[2]

Aperture/f-stop: When taking pictures, the camera’s lens is adjusted to a particular size. The more open the lens is, the greater the amount of light that can be let in. This is known as the aperture size or f-stop. A smaller f-stop number implies a bigger aperture and more light. For example, f/2.8 allows more light than f/5.6.[3]

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