Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

We could spend a few more pages guessing the why of that

Physical health challenges
Mental health challenges
Time challenges from demands made by others in his/her life
Learning disability

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

It's really pretty easy. Simply put, the longer your shutter is open, the more light is exposed to the sensor and the lighter you picture will be. On the other hand, if you open up the aperture, the larger the opening will allow more light to the sensor and causing the picture to be lighter. The last of the three changes you can make to affect exposure is ISO. The higher the number, the lighter your picture will be if all other setting stay still...

Longer shutter=lighter pic
open aperture more=lighter pic
higher ISO=lighter pic

Do the opposite to darken a pic.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Most anything you’ll need to know about exposure settings ought to be clearly described in your user’s manual.

sennamonster Loc: fort wayne, IN

how i miss match needle

srt101fan

I'll make a few assumptions. I'll assume that your post is serious. I also assume that you are not referring to problems with the image quality you are getting (sharpness, exposure, noise, etc). I also assume that after 3 years of "studying" you have a basic knowledge of shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings - what they do and why they are important (if you don't, you are not ready to use the camera in anything other than the fully automatic modes!).

So I'll assume you know the basics (the "exposure triangle") and that your problem is deciding which of the D5600 shooting modes (Auto, M, P, A, S, scene modes, etc) you should use. Reminds me of being on the Charles Bridge in Prague with my new D5300 camera and, even after having read the manual, being essentially clueless on how to set up the camera to capture the beautiful sights before me.....

I'm going to suggest something that will make some of our UHH friends gag, yell and boo: Try setting your D5600 to "M" on the dial (Manual) and turning on "Auto ISO" in the menus. With this semi-automatic setting, you select the shutter speed (based on your need to stop fast action and/or minimize camera shake) and aperture (based on your desire to control depth of field). The camera then selects an ISO value to give you the "correct exposure".

I think that this shooting mode, M + Auto ISO, is a great way to shoot and also to learn. You will learn, for example that depending on your shutter and aperture settings, you can get over or under exposures because the camera has a limited ISO range. In that case you have to change your shutter and/or aperture setting. You will also learn how you feel about noise and other effects of shooting at high ISO values.

If you go that route, M + Auto ISO, like shooting in any semi-auto mode, at times you have to add another setting - "Exposure Compensation". You can select that on the Information Screen of your camera.

So, I suggest you try M + Auto ISO + Exposure Compensation (when needed). Good luck!

A. T.

Go to YouTube and type in, "the Angry Photographer".......he has a potty mouth at times but I don't know of ANYONE who is more knowledgeable about Nikon DSLRs and Nikkor lenses. As he puts it, "you'll learn more from shooting and failing than from any classroom or book." Of course you need to become very familiar with your DSLR but that will come if you get out there and shoot every day.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

time for honesty: I learned photography using film and a 35mm slr. I learned how to set the shutter speed and f/stop (the f/stop was actually manually set on the lens). When I started digital photography I set the camera to manual mode, adjusted my shutter speed and then looked for the f/stop ring on the lens. THERE WASN'T ONE! I did not know how to set the aperture even after reading the manual. I shot in auto mode for a year. I finally looked up how to set the aperture on Youtube. I am a visual learner and I immediately got the point! Ever since I predominantly shoot in manual mode; when I'm out hiking I'll set the camera to auto mode in case I need a quick shot. After getting it I will change to manual mode and finess the photo.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Sometimes you have to know the information before reading about it sinks in. Try taking your camera and favorite lens and go out and just shoot. Then look at your results and find out how much you do or do not know. This isn't brain surgery, nobody gets injured. Many of the uneducated think photography is as complicated as golf! It isn't. There are two factors to remember. 1.). Everyone takes a bad photography at one time or another. 2.). The worst photograph ever made was the work of someone whose mother loved them.

gouldopfl

I have some memory issues. I take a small notebook with me with settings I have used in the past as a starting point.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

ISO aperture and shutter speed are like 3 glasses of water . the water in the 3 glasses adds up to 3 pints.
if you take the water out of one and divide it up between the other two, as long as you still have 3 pints , your good
Dump some of on the floor and now you not so good. .

same with camera settings if you add shutter speed you need to open the aperture or increase ISO so you havethe same amount of light, dont make the correct change and its like dumping some of the water on the floor.

still lost? of course you are. so take a pic in automatic.... look at the data of the pic ISO AP and Speed.
now go to manual, duplicate those numbers and take a pic. , now begin changing those numbers and see what happens. suddenly ding ding ding , you'll get it.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Head on over to Amazon (if they have it back online after this mornings outage) and buy a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". It's the best book I've seen covering "how cameras work"... not just exposure, but in general.

Ahh... I see Amazon is working: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=understanding+exposure&qid=1623174347&sr=8-1

Peterson's book will cover the "big picture", but you still need to apply the info to your particular camera. I'm not a fan of the "Dummies" books for cameras... but I've found the ones for computers, networks, etc. useful. I just looked and see that there's a D5600 guide book for the D5600 written by David Busch. I'm familiar with other books by him and found them good. Maybe it would be better than the "Dummies" book: https://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs-Nikon-Digital-Photography/dp/1681982625/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Nikon+D5600&qid=1623174411&s=books&sr=1-2

There are some other D5600 guides, but I'm unfamiliar with them and their authors, so can't say if they're good too. Read the reviews. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Nikon+D5600&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Some people just don't learn well reading books. You might take a class... in person or online.

I hesitate to suggest Youtube, because it would take many, many videos to cover such an extensive subject. Plus, anyone can post a video on Youtube... some are good... some ain't.

Another thing that can help is join a photography group that does outings. You might find local groups on Meetup.com. With a group, you can go out and learn with other people. Might even find someone willing to mentor you a little. They may also have critique sessions for the artistic side of photography and coffees just to chat and trade stories.

You didn't mention the D5600 user manual... Which I hope Nikon provided with the camera and would be good to carry with you when out shooting. If not provided with the manual, go to the Nikon website, download a copy and maybe put that PDF on your phone. This way you'll have it to reference in the field, if needed.

All that said, don't beat up on yourself. Cameras are quite complex and take time to learn to use well. In the meantime, there's a lot of automation in a D5600 that can help.

Once you've learned to use a D5600, you will be able to use most any modern camera. Other Nikon will likely be pretty similar, while other brands may have different control layout and labels on things... But they all work essentially the same way.

glinder46 Loc: Memphis, TN

Having started my Photographic journey way back. I was used to the Zone System for my b/w and did my own darkroom work. I went from an SRT-101 to a Mamiya RB to a 4x5. Then I got burned out and quit taking pictures for a long time. I started back with a Nikon D-850, and let me tell you it was like I was just starting out again. You have to take the plunge and emerge yourself in taking pictures with different settings. Don't get waterlogged with external programs until you get decent photographs then you can push on further. I could do a lot in the dark room to manipulate the negatives and it took time, lots of time to learn. Keep that in mind it takes time but you also have to make the effort to shoot, evaluate and shoot again.

Good Luck

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

If you're taking landscapes set the camera to A - Aperture mode and choose f/8 as the aperture, leave the camera to choose ISO and shutter speed.

If you're shooting action - sports/motor racing etc. set the camera to S - Shutter mode and choose 1/500sec as the shutter speed, leave the camera to choose ISO and aperture.

If you're shooting people either individuals or groups or ... then set the camera to iA -intelligent Auto it will pop up the built in flash and choose ISO, aperture and shutter speed for you.

For all three you can then concentrate on composition, framing etc to get the shot you're looking for.

kavitykid Loc: Maryland

Could not agree more that Bryan Peterson's books are a great place to start. Back in the film days John Shaw's books were my starting point and helped me understand the principals of Photography. I have a number of Bryan's books and have taken a workshop with him. If you are into wildlife I also reccomend Steve Perry. All terrific teachers.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Can we assume you understand exposure and the need to get it right? And can we assume you understand how aperture and shutter speed affect exposure? If the answer to both is "yes" I suggest finding out about depth of field (DOF) and running the camera in aperture priority (A) mode to get a feel for how aperture (f-stop) affects DOF. Distance to the focus point and focal length both affect DOF as well so you'll have to familiarise yourself with that connection. Typically it's the main subject that's used to get a focus lock, and when that's the case, distance to main subject = distance to focus point.

When you feel like you understand the connection between aperture and DOF, find out about how fast the shutter speed needs to be to avoid motion blur or camera shake. For moving subjects the speed of the movement determines the shutter speed requirements. For very slow or stationary subjects the shutter speed requirements are determined by the need to avoid camera shake, and that varies depending on what focal length you're using (i.e. how much zoom) - the greater the focal length the faster the shutter speed needs to be. The usual rule of thumb for hand-held shots is that the minimum shutter speed is the inverse of the focal length - e.g. if focal length = 100mm, shutter speed needs to be 1/100 sec or faster. Obviously if you're using a tripod, camera shake isn't an issue, but subject movement may still be a factor. To get a handle on shutter speed run your camera in Shutter priority (S) mode.

That leaves ISO. As a general rule you want ISO to be as low as possible, but the main priorities are getting sufficient depth of field (f-stop sufficiently high) and having the shutter speed sufficiently fast. Since you also want ISO to be as low as possible you don't want the f-stop to be any higher than it needs to be and you don't want the shutter speed to be faster than it needs to be. Insufficient DOF and motion blur/camera shake have the greatest potential to spoil a shot so they are the most important ones to get right. That leaves ISO as the lowest priority. Your camera is quite good so you should be fine with ISOs up to 3200. Going higher than that will mean you'll have increasingly more noise to deal with in post processing, but ISO noise has to be quite bad before it ruins a shot.

When you get that far you should be able to determine when sufficient DOF is a main priority and when sufficiently fast shutter speed is the main priority. ISO noise can usually be worked on in post processing but insufficient DOF and excessive motion blur/camera shake can easily ruin a shot so they are usually the main priorities. When you have a handle on these subjects there's a lot to be said for running your camera in M+AutoISO mode. If you're at ISO 100 and the exposure is still too high, the usual answer is to increase the shutter speed.