I get this question a lot. J how do you practice? I have a simple exercise you can do that I wish I learned sooner.
First off you need to learn about the photography triangle. This is iso, shutter speed, and aperture or sometimes called f stop. All three of this things have very different effects on your image and are all equally important to get the look you are going for in camera. Second you need to always shoot in raw.
ISO
ISO is your camera sensors sensitivity. The lower the number less sensitive your sensor is. Meaning it needs more light to capture an image. Also means the “cleaner” your image will be. The higher the number the more sensitive your sensor is. Meaning the less light you need to capture an image. This also results in more noise being introduced to your image.
Shutter Speed
Your shutter speed is how long light is allowed to hit your sensor. The longer your shutter is open the more light you allow in. Causing your image to be brighter and brighter. The longer it is open the more chance you will have for blur. The faster your shutter speed the less amount of light you allow to hit your sensor. Which can cause your image to get darker and darker. If fast enough will stop motion.
Aperture/f stop
The higher your f stop number is the smaller the lens opening is. Allowing less light in and also making your images sharper with a larger focal plane. The lower the number is, or wide open, the more light you allow in. This will also make your focal plane smaller. This also always you to get beautiful bokeh balls.
Now that you know the basics of shooting in manual let’s get into how to practice. The first thing lets just set your iso to auto. Depending on your camera the level you can go is different. Now that is one step you do not have to mess with for now. Your camera should have an exposure meter. now move the shutter speed and the f stop till the line is in the middle for what your camera thinks is “perfect exposure. The first goal is to learn to adjust these two things putting the exposure line in the middle. Once you have a feel for adjusting those two things up and down we can start the meal practice.
The real practice to grab an object and set it down any where in your house. Now WITH OUT using your exposure meter guess what shutter speed and f stop you need for perfect exposure. Put those settings into your camera and with out looking at the meter take a picture. Is it under exposed or over exposed? Now guess what you need to change to get a better exposure. Put those settings in your camera and take the image again. Do this till your have “perfect” exposure. It does not matter how many tries it takes. This is the practice of learning how to see light and how the exposure triangle works. If you want to level up your practice take your iso off of auto. To contuse your practice start to move the image around your house. Changing the light that is on your subject. Also changing the color temperature of your light. Now when you take your camera out on the town or to a photoshoot you can start to see the light on your subjects and read it for proper exposures.
The next level of practice is to now take in how each setting effects the image. Do you want to take a portrait of your subject? Now you will want to open up your aperture for separation. This will effect your shutter speed and iso. Are you taking shots of the kiddos baseball game? You will need faster shutter speed to stop motion. How do you need to adjust your f stop and iso? Are you taking a beautiful landscape? Adjust your iso for a cleaner image. Now adjust everything else to match the exposure you are looking for.
You can do many things to practice. There are many ways to practice. This is a simple but effect exercise to learn how your camera works and how each change effects your image. The main thing is to keep shooting. You can do this exercise any where always. Learn to see light. Learn to read light. Use your camera as the tool that captures what you see!
Peace
J
uncommonsight 