1. The Magic of Digital
Photography
TAKING PICTURES USING THE CAMERA’S
MANUAL SETTINGS

2. Snapping a Picture
 You adjust the lens of the camera to focus the light bouncing off the subject
onto the digital sensor.
 When you press the shutter release, the shutter opens for the amount of time
you’ve set, allowing the light to hit the digital sensor.

3. The Exposure Triangle
ISO
Shutter
Aperture
Speed

4. ISO Speed (ISO)
ISO speed refers to how
sensitive the digital sensor
is to light.
A higher number is a
“faster” ISO, as it is more
sensitive to light than a
lower number.
HOWEVER, there is a
tradeoff when using faster
ISO. Though it allows you
to take a picture with less
light, or to more easily
capture motion, the end
result will look grainier.

5. Shutter Speed
Shutter speed refers to
how long the shutter is
open when you take a
picture.
The longer the shutter is
open, the more light that
reaches the digital sensor.
A fast shutter speed can
capture action, while a
shutter speed slower than
1/60th of a second will
produce blur if any part of
your subject is moving.

6. Slow Shutter Speed f 22, 1/13th

7. Fast Shutter Speed f 4, 1/1500th

8. Aperture (f-stop)
The aperture controls the
amount of light passing
through the camera lens.
The size of the opening
is measured in f-stops.
The smaller the f-stop
number, the larger the
opening.
Each f-stop lets in ½ the
amount of light as the
number below it, and
twice as much light as
the number above it.
Image courtesy of: http://web.uvic.ca/ail/techniques/phototechniques.html

9. Depth of Field
 Refers to the amount of picture that is in focus.
 Shallow depth of field has a small range of focus
 Larger depth of field has a wide range of focus
 Is determined partly by the aperture setting.
 The smaller the aperture, the larger the depth of field.

10. Shallow Depth of Field f 3.2, 1/40th

11. Large Depth of Field f 20, 1/200th, 200 ISO

14. Viewing
Shutter Speed
and Aperture
Press the shutter button
halfway down so that you
can see the current values.

15. Why might the photo be
overexposed?
Aperture is open
too wide
Shutter is open too
long
ISO is too fast
OR any
combination of the
above
Overexposed

16. Why might the photo be
underexposed?
Aperture is not
open wide enough
Shutter is not
open long enough
ISO is too slow
OR any
combination of
the above
Underexposed

17. Correct Exposure