Photography
Basic Camera Features

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Regardless of the type of camera (digital or film) there are features to cameras that allow the photographer to adjust the light and, therefore, the image that is taken by the camera.

Many cameras are called "point and shoot". These cameras allow the photographer to just point the camera at the subject and snap the picture. They automatically adjust the parameters of the camera to take a good picture.

As you learn more about cameras and photography, you will want to try different settings to get different effects on the photo. At this point you will either need to put your "point and shoot" camera into manual mode or get a camera with more sophisticated features. All of these features become inter-related and it's how you combine them that make your photo special and unique.

Some of the camera features that allow the photographer to alter the photo include:

Focus - Of course you want your picture in focus…or do you? A great way to make your subject stand out is to adjust the focus. You can have your subject in focus and other parts of the picture out of focus. Also, it might be need on a fast moving car to have the car blur in your photo to give the picture the feeling of speed.

Aperture of the lens - The aperture is how big the hole is that the light goes through. You can adjust this in many cameras. The aperture for a camera is usually adjusted by an f-stop. The lower the f-stop the bigger the hole. A wide aperture can be good when you want a fast shutter speed, but have a low light photo. The aperture setting determines the depth of field or how much of the photo is in focus. A big aperture will cause a narrow depth of field. So you can focus the camera in on your subject and the background of the photo will be out of focus.

Shutter speed - This camera adjustment changes how long the camera exposes the recording material to light. To capture fast moving objects clearly you need a fast shutter speed. For example, if a car is racing by you and you use a slow shutter speed the car will move by while the shutter is open causing it to blur. The background will be in focus. If you use a fast shutter speed, both the car and the background will be in focus. A neat trick to try is to use a slow shutter speed and then pan, or move, your camera along with the car. If you do it right, the car will be in focus and the background will be blurred creating a very cool photo.

Focal length - This is how far away from the camera that the camera can have its point of focus.

Type of camera lens - Some cameras allow you to add on different lenses from the one that the camera came with. These include telephoto lens, wide angle lens, zoom lens and more. These camera lenses can create all sorts of cool effects that will allow you alter your photos.

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