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So you’ve got yourself a new DSLR camera! Congratulations, there’s a whole world of photography possibilities that’s going to open up to you But you might be wondering, as you open the box and peruse the lengthy manual, how best to get the most out of your new camera.
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Yes, I’m here to help I had been shooting with an SLR camera since 1993, starting with a film Canon camera, and then with several Canon digital SLR (DSLR) cameras as digital film began to change.
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I have been shooting professionally since 2010, and I also teach an online photography course. I feel fortunate to be able to help people all over the world get more out of their cameras
In today’s post, I’m going to break down the main features of your DSLR camera in simple terms, and give you all the useful tips you need to get the most out of it.
This guide is written specifically to help a new DSLR camera owner, but it is applicable to you with a mirrorless camera as well. However, if you have a mirrorless camera, you may want to read my guide to using a mirrorless camera, which will be more applicable. I also have a guide to using a point and shoot camera
This post assumes no prior knowledge of cameras or photography, and will hopefully help you understand the features available to you, and get you out and about shooting great photos quickly.
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However, please don’t be discouraged if it takes a while to master some concepts of photography Photography is a skill that takes time to master, and many principles of photography are not necessarily obvious or intuitive. With time and patience, it will become second nature!
I appreciate that the world of photography jargon can be a bit overwhelming, so I’m going to start with the basics.
A digital single lens reflex, or DSLR camera, is a digital camera with an internal mirror and prism system. This system is used to direct light from the lens to the viewfinder to compose the image you see.
All digital cameras work the same way First, light is collected and focused by a lens, and then captured by a digital sensor. The sensor saves that light information to an image file that you can view and edit
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The difference between a DSLR camera and other cameras on the market today is that a DSLR has this mirror and prism system that is used to send light to the viewfinder.
If you take a DSLR off the lens and look inside the lens mount, you’ll see the mirror sitting at a 45-degree angle. It is simply reflecting light towards the optical viewfinder
When you press the shutter button, the mirror will fly inside the camera, outside the sensor The light will then go to the sensor to record the image Because of this, when you take a photo with a DSLR camera, the viewfinder goes dark when you press the shutter button. The mirror no longer reflects light, and the viewfinder goes dark
There are other differences between a DSLR camera and other types of cameras available, which are covered in more detail in my post on DSLR cameras.
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I would also add here that DSLR cameras have largely replaced SLR cameras with the advent of digital sensors The main difference is that they have a digital sensor inside them rather than a roll of film However, the prism and mirror system is a key part of the design
When you first take your new DSLR camera out of its box, you’re going to notice that it has a lot of buttons and dials. And these can certainly be overwhelming Which is probably why I teach photography that they just leave the camera on auto and hope for the best
For the most part, on a modern DSLR camera, Auto mode will actually do a pretty good job in 80% of situations
However, this also means that there are going to be times (let’s say 20%) that if you leave everything up to the camera you’re not going to get the shot you want.
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Because of this, learning how to use your camera to its full potential, and taking full control, should definitely be your ultimate goal.
Don’t worry if it takes you a while, or if you don’t understand everything at once As I mentioned in this post, photography is complex and learning how a camera works is a process that takes time and practice.
A good start is reading a post like this one, but consult your manual for your camera model If your camera doesn’t come with a manual, you can usually find relevant information by searching online
Here’s an overview of the key controls on your DSLR camera Note that different camera models will have slightly different controls, but the majority will have the following options
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The mode dial is the first dial you want to look for This is a dial that tells the camera how much control you want over its various settings To change the mode, you just rotate the dial
Most mode dials have a variety of options, including an “Auto” mode for fully automatic and an “M” mode for full manual.
They’ll also often include a variety of scene modes, which are automatic modes where you tell the camera what kind of shooting you’re shooting, say a landscape or a portrait.
Between automatic and manual mode there will usually also be a number of other modes that bridge the gap between fully automatic and fully manual, and these modes, especially the last two, I recommend you familiarize yourself with and start using. . These are as follows
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Some photographers will tell you that you need to shoot in manual mode to have full control over your photos Personally I don’t agree The key is to understand what the different modes are and how different settings on your camera affect your shots.
As long as you’re comfortable with it, and you understand how changing aperture, shutter speed and ISO will affect your shot, that’s the key.
If you’re confused about how these three elements, known as the exposure triangle, work together in photography, we’ve got a comprehensive guide to the exposure triangle to help you out.
I recommend reading my guide to depth of field in photography, which explains it in more detail. You might also consider signing up for my online photography course, which covers the exposure triangle and much more in detail.
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Once you understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, it’s up to you whether to shoot in manual, shutter priority, or aperture priority. It will likely come down to personal preference and the scene you are shooting There is no “right” option
As a rule of thumb, I find aperture priority works well for most of my photography because it lets me control depth of field, which is a key compositional technique.
For portrait and landscape work, this is usually more important to me than controlling motion – when I’m doing landscape I want to capture movement.
For any scene involving motion, such as action photography, Shutter Priority is often the most useful mode. This lets me control whether I freeze the subject with a fast shutter speed, or show some movement with a slow shutter speed.
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When a scene has particularly challenging lighting, or depth of field and motion are key considerations for both composition, I’ll shoot in manual. This is mostly for situations like fireworks photography, northern lights photos or any long exposure photography. It happens
Almost every camera out there, including smartphones, will have some form of exposure compensation feature It lets you quickly brighten or darken the image by increasing or decreasing exposure compensation
Exposure compensation is either a dedicated button or dial on the camera, or is easily accessible through the camera’s menu system.
As an explanation of the name, when you take a photo, the process that the camera goes through is actually known as an exposure The sensor inside the camera is “exposed” to light It’s a throwback to the days of film photography, when exposing the chemicals in the film to light caused it to react.
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No matter what mode your camera is in, it will always consider the lighting of the scene It uses this to calculate the correct settings so as to get an image that is neither too bright nor too dark, known as a properly exposed image.
In a DSLR camera,
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