Explore those settings - tips for good Photography - Have a very Happy Christmas!

Want to take more interesting pictures?

Want your images to stand out?

If you get a camera for Christmas or already have one, then spend some time exploring the automatic settings; or even try to get to grips with the manual controls if you want to be more creative and have pictures that make people go 'Wow' when they see them.

One camera I have, a Nikon D90, has 9 different possible settings other than fully automatic. My wife's Panasonic DMC-FZ38 has 11, and sub-settings include a setting especially for taking pictures of food!

 
Where to start? One setting which I use a lot is called 'aperture priority', usually indicated by an 'A' on your cameras controls. The aperture is a hole in the lens the size of which can be altered which allows a controlled amount of light into the camera.  If I want the background or foreground really blurred, like in these two pictures, I use a large aperture. Aperture is prefixed with the letter 'f' - so f2.8 is a large aperture with a strong blur, whereas f22 is a small aperture which will leave almost everything in focus. Professional photographers use low 'f' numbers all the time to make portraits 'pop', or for special effects.

Why not have a go? Christmas decorations and lights look really cool at f2.8. Read the manual for the camera and take control.

Have a very Merry Christmas, and happy photo taking.

Richard