Mastering aperture and shutter settings are key if you want to take truly original photographs. Automatic settings can do a job for you - but therein lies the problem. The camera is doing the job, and will interpret the picture the way it sees it. For you to apply the digital photography tricks you want, you need to control your camera. The benefits don't stop there though. You will discover that as you start exerting more influence over the final image, your confidence as a photographer will grow too. Firstly, locate the manual mode on your camera, usually shown as the letter 'M' on your settings wheel. This will enable you to adjust the shutter and aperture settings. How long the shutter stays open dictates how much light gets in - in simple terms, the longer it is open, the more light gets through, and affects how light or dark your image looks. Whilst the shutter is controlling how long the hole that lets light in is open, aperture influences how big that hole is in the first place. Not surprisingly, the bigger the hole, the more light. Apertures are read in 'f' numbers, such as f/4, f/11 etc. Maybe surprisingly, the higher the 'f' number, the smaller the hole - so f/11 lets in less light than f/4. Sounds confusing - but you'll soon get your head round it once you've started doing things manually for a while. So how do you use shutter and aperture for your digital photography tricks? Well, they sound initially to both be performing a similar job - dictating the amount of light coming into the camera. Whilst this is true, aperture also dictates the depth of field. This means that by varying the aperture reading, you change which parts of your picture are in, or out of, focus. A high f reading of, say f/22, lets in less light, but gives you a picture with a high depth of field - which means you get more of the picture in focus. If you want to focus on just your main subject (as in a portrait, for example) you could choose a low reading, such as f/3.5. Altering the shutter speed can affect how clear your image is - that is to say the movement aspect of your photograph. For example, to take sports photographs you would need to use a fast shutter speed, taking a landscape at dusk would require a slow shutter setting - to allow enough light in. In summary, a slow shutter speed refers to leaving the shutter open for a long time - such as 1/30 of a second. A fast shutter speed means the shutter is only open for a short time - like 1/250 second, or more. Mastering manual settings when you are used to automatic can be challenging at first. The joy of digital is that it encourages experimentation. It is a good idea to go out, take some shots, and then review the results at home. See what worked, what didn't and learn from your mistakes. A suitable photography course would guide you until you have the confidence to use manual almost automatically to perform your digital photography tricks.
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