How to Use a DSLR Camera????

What Does DSLR Mean?

DSLR means Digital Single Lens Reflex camera.Digital means that the camera shoots digitally, rather than using film.Single Lens means that it uses one single lens for viewing and shooting. The other type of camera would be a Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera, which lets you view through a top lens and shoot through a second, bottom, lens.


Shooting Mode Options
We're going to start with the basics on this board, so I'm going to walk you through the most important shooting modes and how best to use them.

Each brand of camera (Nikon & Canon being the two most common & popular) will have slightly different options on the shooting dial. But the basic, most important functions, are the same between most cameras.


Full Automatic Mode
Full Automatic Mode is indicated by the open green rectangle.

The idea with this mode is that the camera senses the lighting conditions and all other aspects of picture taking, and then automatically adjusts all its settings to fit the situation.

To be totally honest, I don't usually love this mode. It often triggers the flash to come on (not a good thing for quality photos), and it often has trouble with fast-moving subjects...they turn out blurry.  


Portrait Mode
The Portrait Mode is indicated by a drawing of a person's face or profile. That's because usually you take a portrait of someone's face!

A great portrait is focused in only on your subject's face, showing the detail of their eyes (most important!), skin tone, hair, etc. It really focuses in on these things, while blurring out the background.

Think about it like this - a great portrait doesn't have the background equally as in focus as the subject's face. You want all the attention to be on the person's face.
When using the Portrait Mode, be sure your subject is well lit. Harsh sun is not great as it will create unflattering shadows. Soft light (in early morning or late afternoon, for example) is great.

If there's not enough light, your camera will want to use the flash which is a portrait no-no! That harsh lighting is no good for color or quality. 
Last but not least, your portrait model will need to be still. This setting does not handle movement well - it creates blurriness in the final image.


Landscape Mode
Landscape Mode is indicated by a picture of mountains on your camera. That's because if you're taking a picture of mountains (like this example image) you should probably be using the Landscape Mode!

• This mode is also great for taking pictures of far away things or anytime you want to capture "the big picture" of a large scene where you'd like all aspects to be in focus.
• When you use Landscape Mode, a few things happen.  
• The blues and greens will be more vivid in your images.
• The camera will adjust its settings so that most of the image is in focus. This is very different from Portrait Mode, where you wanted only the subject's face (nothing else) to be in focus.
• This mode tends to do OK with moving subjects, but it's not the best. 

Close Up Mode
Close Up Mode is indicated by a flower, usually a tulip. That's because flowers are a common subject for close-ups.

When you use Close Up Mode, your camera will adjust itself so that only a very small amount of the picture is in focus and all the rest is blurred out.  Excellent for flowers, bugs, dew drops, and any sort of still life type shot where you want to capture & highlight all that lovely close-up detail.

Fun fact - that blurriness is called "bokeh"

Some tips for using the Close Up Mode:

• Make sure you've got adequate lighting.
• Hold your hands as still as you possibly can. Try holding your breath. Or try stabilizing your camera on a ledge. A tripod, if you've got one, would be great here too.
• Don't even try to use this mode on fast moving subjects like babies and animals. You'll get a super blurry picture.

Sports Mode
Sports Mode is indicated by a running guy. He's about to sprint super fast, and this is the mode to use to capture him!

In Sports Mode, your camera adjusts its shutter speed to be as fast as possible.  That means it does its very best to capture an image of a very short moment in time - SNAP! By snapping its shutter as fast as possible, your camera is "freezing" objects as best it can.

This mode is great for kids, animals, sporting events, or capturing anything that's fast moving.  

This mode also enables you to take pictures very quickly, one after another, creating a sort of stop-action feel when you look through your photographs.


Manual Mode
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Manual Mode is indicated on your camera by the letter M.
Manual Mode is class level 201 stuff, but it is well worth learning. When shooting in Manual Mode, you are able to control every aspect of your photography in order to create the best possible picture.

What can you adjust when you're shooting in Manual Mode?

• Adjust the ISO to adjust your camera's sensitivity to light.
• Adjust the Aperture, also known as the F-Stop, to adjust how much of an image is in focus. Just a little (like in Close Up Mode) or a lot (like in Outdoor Mode)
• Adjust the Shutter Speed, which changes how quickly your camera snaps the picture. A fast shutter speed will capture a fast moving object but requires more light. A slow shutter speed can operate in lower light conditions but requires a very steady hand. 
• Adjust the Focus manually to be sure your camera is focusing in on the correct area. 

its all about Balance

When you're shooting in Manual Mode, one of the main things to keep in mind is that you're creating a balance between the three key camera settings in order to create the style of photo you want while working with the lighting conditions you currently have.

There are three pillars of photography to learn about: ISO Speed, Aperture and Shutter Speed.

• ISO is your camera's sensitivity to light. If you set the ISO number higher, your camera will be more sensitive to light, which means you'll be able to work in lower light conditions. But set it too high, and you'll create undesirable graininess in your photos.
• Aperture determines how much of the picture is in focus, but also impacts light. A low F-Stop number lets in lots of light while also creating lots of blurriness in the background. A high F-Stop number lets in much less light and causes everything to be in focus.
• Shutter Speed determines how quickly your camera snaps the picture. Slow shutter speed lets in more light (because the shutter closes slowly) and fast shutter speed lets in less light.
• You've got to balance these three things to give your camera enough light, while also creating the effect you're after!

Understand ISO

First things first - the ISO number indicates how sensitive your camera is to available light.

The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera. 

This article has some great, in-depth ISO information as well as example images that demonstrate the learnings.

I'll give you the high points here

• The main reason to adjust ISO is when you're shooting in low-light conditions. You will need a higher ISO number here because you want your camera to make use of what little light is available.
• If you go much above 200 ISO, you will begin to introduce graininess into your pictures, which is not desirable. See this article for great examples of what that looks like.

Understanding Aperture

The Aperture is the circular mechanism inside your camera that opens and closes when a picture is taken. This is the setting where you choose how much of the photo is in focus, and how much is blurry. 

This article by the Pioneer Woman contains a great, in-depth explanation of the Aperture and how it works. She's very good at explaining things in layman's terms and has tons of other photography tutorials if you like her style!

High Points:

• You can set the aperture to close very tightly when you take a picture. This is a large F-Stop number, such as  F22, and creates a photo where lots is in focus.
• You can also set the aperture to remain very open. This would be a small F-Stop number, such as F1.4, and creates a photo where a small amount is in focus and the rest is blurry.
• As with all Manual Mode settings, you'll need to balance your camera's need for light with the settings to create your desired effect. Low F-Stop lets in lots of light, High F-Stop doesn’t let in very much light. Got it? 

Understanding Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time the camera's shutter is open, when taking a picture. This is measured in seconds, or more usually, fractions of seconds.

1/1000 is a very fast shutter speed, and will "freeze" a fast moving object.
1/20 is a very slow shutter speed. Any moving object shot with this shutter speed would appear blurry.
30 is a very very slow shutter speed.  It means when you take a picture, the camera opens its shutter for a full thirty seconds!  You'd use this setting to take a picture of the dark starry night sky, for example. And you'd need a tripod!
Rule of Thumb: If you set shutter speed to anything lower than 1/60, you'll need a tripod. 1/60 is where blurriness begins to occur due to shaking hands. Humans just aren't able to hold still enough to take a clear picture below 1/60.


As for light & balance: fast shutter speeds don't let in much light, so you have to manage this by balancing your other three settings. Slow shutter speeds let in much more light, so they are great for low light conditions, but you have to manage this against the shakiness/blurriness you might create with a slow shutter speed



The last part of shooting in Manual Mode is learning about manual focus. You don't have to manually focus when you're in Manual Mode (oftentimes auto focus works just fine) but there are some situations where manual focus is best!

First, take a look at my image for this learning. See the little switch on the lens that says AF | MF? That's how you switch between Auto Focus (AF) and Manual Focus (MF). Once you're in MF mode, you twist the grooved moveable ring on your camera to adjust the focal point.

This article outlines five situations where manual focus is best.  I wholeheartedly agree with this advice, and will give you the five situations here. Read through the article to learn more about the thoughts behind each one.

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• Macro Work (IE super close-ups)
• Low Light
• Portraits
• Shooting Through Glass or Wire Fences
• Fast Action