DSLR Guide

DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex. It is a camera with one lens and a mirror which reflects the light, where pictures are recorded on a digital card instead of film.

Exposure

• the amount of light a digital camera’s sensor captures when a photo is taken.

• too much light results in a washed out photo (overexposed).

• too little light results in a too dark photo (underexposed).

• a camera’s aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings directly affect exposure and allow you to control how the photo will look.

Overexposed:

Underexposed:

Aperture

• size of the lens opening.

• a low f-stop number allows in more light, which gives a shallow depth of field and an out of focus background and foreground.

• a high f-stop number allows in less light, so has a wider depth of field, giving a sharp foreground, mid ground and background.

Large Aperture (f22):

Small Aperture (f2.8):

Shutter Speed

• controls how long the shutter opens to expose the image sensor to light.

• a short shutter speed means the shutter is open for a very short amount of time. This allows less light to get to the image sensor and means a photo can capture a fast-moving object.

• a long shutter speed means the shutter is open for longer. Therefore more light can reach the image sensor and photos taken of a moving object will be blurred.

Long Shutter Speed (1sec):

Short Shutter Speed (1/6000)

ISO

• how sensitive the image sensor is to light.

• the higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor, and the brighter the image will be.

• the lower the ISO, the less light will come in and the darker the image will be.

• using a high ISO in low light will produce a grainy image, so it is best to use the lowest ISO possible, and adjust the brightness of the photo using other elements such as Aperture and Shutter Speed.

High ISO (6400):

Low ISO (100):