[quote=HSTEELE]
can you or anyone suggest a a forum or web page where i might be able to learn a little more about ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture opening??
There are a ton of resources out there, heres a basic one:
http://www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=45There is an author named Scott Kelby who puts out some great stuff on photography fundamentals and post-editing techniques. Hes really easy to follow and he knows his stuff! If you purchase one of his books, do so on Amazon, its a lot cheaper than Barnes and Noble:
http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelby/e/B000APPRO4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1318960390&sr=8-2You have a good eye and a natural awareness of composition. Thats the stuff thats tough to learn, everything else is VERY learnable. The thing that separates amatures from pros is that pros are able to capture good images consistently. They are able to be consistent through knowledge of the technical components of photography and knowing their camera
Rebels are great beginner cameras and simple to use. As you gain a clearer understanding of all the technical stuff youll eventually out-grow it an upgrade to a D series which will give you more functionality, and theyre easier to control which will make you a better and faster shooter. You dont need to worry about that now.
Do you know how to use your cameras light meter? Thats the first step in shooting manually. Youd be surprised how many people do not know how to use it, so dont be embarrassed if you dont.
Heres a quick description of the primary functions:
Aperture controls depth of field, lower setting like f2.8 will create the blurred background effect. Higher settings, (above f11) will increase the depth of field, making the fore and background more clear. Portrait photographers especially fashion photogs like to shoot at wide open f-stops (like f2.8) to get that blurred effect.
Shutter speed a couple of basic uses. Higher speeds like 1/800 will freeze frame. Imagine a waterfall, if you want to capture the droplets of water suspended in air, you would shoot at 1/800 or higher. If you want to blur the water in order to show motion you would shoot at a lower setting like 1/60. You should never hand-hold anything below 1/60 because you will blur your image inadvertently due to camera shake. Anything below 1/60 should be on a tripod.
Shutter speed also controls ambient light. Imagine shooting a flower. If you want the background ambient light to be darker, you shoot at a higher setting like 1/250. If you want the background ambient light to be lighter, you shoot at 1/80 or below. If your subject is moving try to keep that shutter above 1/125, depending on how fast the subject moves. Butterflies no less than 1/500, preferably 1/1000 or higher.
Now
theres gonna be a range you have to work with as shutter speed and aperture work cohesively. If you want to shoot at a higher aperture like f11, youre gonna have to slow down your shutter. If you want to shoot at a higher shutter speed, then youll have to compensate by opening your aperture. There is no go-to setting because all of this is dependent on the available light source
so what if you want to use settings outside the range that is available to you? Thats where ISO comes in. You bump your ISO up from 100 to say 400 to increase your range. ISO controls your light sensor. So why dont we just shoot at higher ISOs so that we are not limited? Because you sacrifice graininess. ISOs above 400 will create grain and digital artifacts on your image. Any images shot above 400 will require post editing procedures to smooth them out.
Rule of thumb is to shoot at the lowest ISO you can. I love Photoshop, been using it since 1992, but I try to get every image as close as possible when I take the picture and only use Photoshop to compensate for when I couldnt get it just right'.
A lot of street photographers shoot at higher ISOs on purpose because they like that grainy look. They are an exception to the rule.
These are the guidelines for out-door, available-light photography. When you purchase additional lighting or shoot in-studio using off-camera strobes, the rules change. But tackle that when the time comes!
The best way to learn all this stuff is to just shoot a lot, critique your own work and shoot with other, more advanced photographers when you can. Its amazing how much we can learn from each other!
Good shooting!