It’s so easy to set your camera in auto mode and snap away. But in manual mode, you can capture what YOU think is important and not what your CAMERA thinks is important.
The exposure triangle consists of 3 things and the goal is to get your light meter to ZERO:
- aperture (the f-stop — what allows you to get depth of field)
- lower number = more blur (for example, f1.8 will probably only have one eye of a human subject’s face in focus)
- lower number = more light
- tip — your number should be at least the same as the people in your shot (4 people, no less than f4.0)
- shutter speed (the amount of time your shutter is open and letting in light)
- shutter speed is a number written like 1/(your number) — that means the shutter is open for 1/(your number) of a second.
- tip — try not to go lower than 1/125 when shooting people
- ISO (the sensitivity of your camera’s “film” or it’s light gathering ability)
- higher ISO = less light
How do you shoot in manual mode?
- Set your aperture first by how much you want in focus.
- Set your shutter speed depending on your subject and available light.
- It your light meter isn’t already at zero, change the ISO.