Dozuki How to Adjust Camera Settings This guide demonstrates how to adjust camera settings. Written By: Dozuki System 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 1 of 10
INTRODUCTION This guide demonstrates how to adjust camera settings. Knowing your camera (and what its settings actually change) is one of the best ways to capture the essence of what is being documented. Your goal should be to capture images that can be taken directly from the camera and put onto a guide, without any post-processing involved. Even though that's extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to accomplish, below you'll find a great starting point: a simple overview of the most basic camera functions. 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 2 of 10
Step 1 The Photography Triforce Shutter speed, f-stop, and ISO all affect how well the final image is exposed. They are also interrelated: decreasing the f-stop value or increasing ISO will allow for a faster shutter speed. You'll want to adjust these settings depending on the light you have available in order to obtain the best possible image. Beware of the Blurries! Generally speaking, one should not shoot a hand-held image with a shutter speed slower than 1/40 of a second. A grainy (high-iso) image is much more usable than one that is blurry. Now, let's explore each of these camera functions individually. 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 3 of 10
Step 2 Shutter speed Adjusting the shutter speed will allow more or less light to expose the image. In these example images, ISO and f-stop settings remained constant, but shutter speed was adjusted as follows: Image 1: 1/200 second shutter speed Image 2: 1/60 second shutter speed Image 3: 1/10 second shutter speed The slower the shutter speed, the more light is allowed into the camera. However, the slower the shutter speed, the higher the chance that the image will be blurry. All of these photos were taken with a tripod and remote-fire software, so blurriness was minimized during slower exposures. 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 4 of 10
Step 3 f-stop Every camera lens has a multi-bladed diaphragm called the aperture that opens to different diameters to let more or less light into the camera. A measure of that diameter is called the "fstop." Here's a quick rundown on what the f-stop setting on your camera will do to your photos. Image 1: f-stop of 3.2. Notice how the Canon camera in the background is out of focus. Image 2: f-stop of 8. The Canon camera is now more in focus, as are parts of the ruler. Image 3: f-stop of 16. The Canon camera is now mostly in focus. So why not shoot at f/16 all the time? Two costs: image quality (higher f-stop settings result in less-sharp images overall), and shutter speed. Higher f-stop settings require a longer exposure to capture the same amount of light, increasing the chance that your photo is blurry. 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 5 of 10
Step 4 ISO ISO is a measure of a camera's sensitivity to light, and should be kept at the lowest possible value. High ISO values lead to very grainy pictures, but allow you to increase shutter speed. Image 1: ISO 100 setting Image 2: ISO 6400 setting 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 6 of 10
Step 5 White balance White balance affects the color of the image. Leaving it on "Automatic" generally works well, but sometimes you'll need to change it if the camera is unable to discern the appropriate balance. Image 1: Automatic white balance setting Image 2: Incandescent white balance setting Image 3: Fluorescent white balance setting 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 7 of 10
Step 6 Aperture Priority Mode Most "pro" cameras have an Aperture Priority shooting mode, denoted by an A or Av on the mode dial. It's quite easy to take photos in this mode, since all you have to worry about is the ISO and f-stop settings the camera will figure out exposure for you. How it works: the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed to keep the exposure constant, while the f-stop and ISO settings can be modified based on the amount of light available in the environment. One small caveat: if the ISO and f- stop settings are not adjusted properly, the shutter speed may fall below 1/40 of a second. This may inhibit taking crisp, hand-held shots with the camera. 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 8 of 10
Step 7 Exposure Compensation Exposure compensation is an easy way to adjust the camera's shutter speed while using Aperture Priority mode to achieve a brighter or darker image. For a given aperture, a negative EV will set a shorter shutter speed and make the picture darker. A positive EV will keep the shutter open a little longer, allowing in more light and making the picture brighter. In the example images, the EV setting was changed from 0 to +1, which will make all subsequent shots a bit brighter than before. This comes at the expense of a slower shutter speed. 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 9 of 10
Step 8 Additional Resources How to Take Great Photos How to Post-Process Pictures Camera Operating Instructions Even more "How-To" guides This document was last generated on 2017-08-22 03:37:30 AM. 2017 www.dozuki.com/ Page 10 of 10