Share your experience!
Hi all,
I'm Stacey, i'm 25 and have been taking photos on my Sony Z1 for ages now. I've just been given the A58 as a gift today it's come with the standard lens and I was just wondering if anyone had any tips as this is my first camea of this sort and i'm totally new to shooting with anything like this. I've got the basic point and shoot but curious about the manual modes.
Thanks
S
Stepping outside of the comfort zone is actually quite a daunting task especially when the camera does not really tell you what settings you are always going to change.
The first thing I would honestly recommend is a book because good reading always goes in hand with a new skill. The book is called Understanding Exposure by Brian peterson and gives you a real good insight into imaging and taking the "right" photo.
When stepping into the more creative modes, the three laws apply. You have your aperture, shutter speed and your ISO/sensitivity. When all three are combined, you get an exposure in the form of your photo. Changing one of those settings will in turn affect the final exposure. Apologies if this is basic but best to cover it incase anyone else is wondering.
Aperture
It is the hole inside the lens. Similar to your eye. It has a number of blades which expand and contract which in turn allows more or less light into the camera. Allowing more light into the camera by selecting a large aperture (low F/ number) will mean your shutter speed will be faster and also you can obtain an out of focus background. If you use a small apature (high F/ number), you will be using a slower shutter speed as less light is entering the camera and also results in more being in focus so less background blur. Having the control over the depth will help you take better photos overall ranging from landscapes to portraits.
Shutter speed
Self explanatory really. Controlling your shutter speed is handy since you can get creative with minimal effort. Not only will a good shutter speed make sure your photos are sharp, but the slower shutter speeds may help you find a passion for light trails or panning. Always try and keep an eye on your shutter speed. A good tip I found was make sure your shutter speed is equal or faster than the lens you are using. For example, if you are using a lens that is zoomed in at 50mm, make sure your shutter speed is 1/50sec or faster. That should help to compensate for camera shake.
ISO
This is how sensitive the sensor inside the camera is. Having this control is great since you can always make sure the shots you take are sharp no matter how light or dark it is without always having to resort to using the flash. During the day, since there is a lot of light, the ISO can usually be set to low since the shutter speed will be good enough for most photography. In lower light, you will want to bump it up to make the camera more sensitive to light. The trade off is digital noise or graining. Usually this cannot be seen until you start zooming in but do not panic, that is just the nature of photography even since the film days.
To really start pushing the boundaries of your camera and skill. Try out some experiements around the house and next time you head outdoors for some photography. Below are some modes which I usual on a regular basis.
Av Mode
This is aperture priority mode. The camera hands over the control of the aperture to you allowing you to stay in control over the depth of field in your photos. It will then in turn select the suitable shutter speed for the right photo. This is a great mode and I find this handy on a day to day basis just ensure your shutter speed is fast enough, if it is not then you can either use a larger aperture or increase the ISO. Here is an example photo taken in AV mode,
Tv Mode
This is the opposite of Av mode in short. You have control of your shutter speed and the camera now controls the aperture. This is great when you are trying to capture different things over a period of a day or want to ensure that every photo you take has frozen motion for example. You can get creative with this also by capturing motion but may need to practice since it can be a bit tricky. If you find your photos are too dark, slow your shutter speed, raise the ISO or use a wider aperture. If the photos are too light, try the opposite. Heres an example photo in Tv mode.
Manual mode
Well this gives you control of everything. Honestly this takes more practice and in my experience, it can be a little too fiddly for everyday life. Manual mode is great for things like taking photos of the moon or if you are working with flashes in a studio. The camera wont really do much other than wait for you to pick the settings and press the button.
Try the modes out at home. For Av mode, setup some objects and eperiment with depth and what you want in focus. You will find that after a while your shots will start to feel "more creative" and then can take that practice into the real world. For Tv mode, you could try to capture a fozen droplet from a tap with a high shutter speed or try a slower shutter speed on something like a waterfall (may need the help of a tripod).
Sorry if that is a lot of info but hopefully enough to get you going. Feel free to ask anything