New to photography.

[TheGuy]

Well as some may know I just picked up a 60d. Where do I start? Lol I took a few pictures of my tank in auto mode and they look terrible! Far too bright. Can anyone point me in the right direction, I have read the intro thing about each thing and what it does but its just confusing lol

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[Geniusdudekiran]

Starting out in Program and using EV to adjust brightness (not sure what buttons on Canon) is the best way for beginners to shoot in my opinion. As you learn more about Manual, slowly start edging into it. Oftentimes however I still use Program just fine, and all I get from my photos are compliments.

[TheGuy]

I just did a bunch of this and that and idk.... it will take a good while

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[GraphicGr8s]

Manual mode. Start with an ISO of 400. Shutter speed 125 and see where your meter tells you to set the aperture. Take the shot. Too bright close the lens a stop. (higher number) to dark open her up. That's a starting point to work from. For aquarium shots I wouldn't go below 125. If you have to open the lens too much to get the shot then increase ISO a bit.

[Nubster]

Auto mode sucks. Forget it's even on your camera. P mode is not much better. Forget it as well.

Go with A, S, or M. A mode is aperture. You control aperture to get a desired depth of field, camera chooses shutter speed to get a proper exposure. S is shutter. You control shutter and the camera controls aperture. M is manual. You control everything. There's no point baby stepping it using A or P mode. Just jump in and learn by doing. It's digital. Mess up, delete and try again.

Check out some books. Bryan Peterson has some really good ones. Also, there's lots of decent videos on youtube.

[TheGuy]

When I go into some modes and messed with the iso it would wash out some plants and some not so. Just a matter of adjusting lenses, as iso is only the amount of light correct? Well has to do with

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[Nubster]

Yeah, ISO only affects light, but at a cost. Too high ISO and you get noise or grain in the picture which often times is undesirable. Unless you want grain, always go with the lowest ISO you can to get the shutter speed you need. I don't know how well your camera handles high ISO, but most DSLR's made within the past couple years handle ISO up to around 1600 well.

Aperture affects light and depth of field (DOF) which is how much of the picture is in focus from front to back otherwise how deep the focus it. The smaller the aperture number, the wider open the lens is which lets more light in, but causes shallower DOF. For example, I have a lens that is an f/1.4. I can get a person's eyes in focus, but their eyebrows would be out of focus. If you stop down, which means close the opening of the lens, you let in less light but you increase DOF. So now, lets say you are at f/4. Now the person's whole face in is focus. But since there's less light, the shutter speed is decreased.

Shutter speed doesn't effect how much light is coming in but how long the sensor is exposed to light. The slower the shutter speed, the longer the sensor is exposed. Generally, unless you're steady as a rock, if you are hand-holding you want to try to stay above 1/60 of a second to reduce or eliminate camera shake. Some people can go lower than that, but 1/60 is a good guideline. Of course try slower and see how it works for you. If you are trying to stop movement, I personally like to start at 1/125 or 1/160 and go from there. Sometimes you need even faster but for tank shots, that should be plenty.

If you have a tripod or a solid surface to set the camera to take the shot, really, none of this matters much. You can set ISO to the lowest, choose any aperture for your desired DOF, and shutter speed doesn't matter because there won't be any camera shake, so if you need a really long shutter speed, say several seconds, no big deal. Use a shutter remote or the camera's timer function to take the shot to prevent any movement of the camera that could be caused by pressing the shutter button.

It turns into balancing act.

[TheGuy]

Thanks alot man I appreciate it. Now I just must find which buttons are aperture and all that. I have only found iso

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[houseofcards]

As recommended I would definitely get a book or you can go the youtube route. Take your time and learn one thing at a time until it sticks. People who step up to a SLR and take a pic with the green box will be sorely disappointed. BTW I have a 60D and love it. So if you have any questions, just let me know.

[Nubster]

Originally Posted by TheGuy

Thanks alot man I appreciate it. Now I just must find which buttons are aperture and all that. I have only found iso

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The manual is a great resource of information

[TheGuy]

Lol yeah thanks, its just so much to read lol and thanks houseofcards

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[GraphicGr8s]

ISO is the sensitivity of the sensor. In film it is the "speed" of the film. Shutter is duration of time light hits the sensor. Aperture is ho much light is hitting the sensor.

[zdnet]

Originally Posted by TheGuy

Lol yeah thanks, its just so much to read lol and thanks houseofcards

Since someone here also has a 60D, if you upload the problem photos along with a description of how you captured them, may be you will get some 60D-specific recommendations on avoiding the problems. That can save you some readings.

[Nubster]

But there's no substitute for learning how to operate your camera. It's all good and well to know what you did wrong with a picture, but the OP doesn't even know how to make setting changes on his camera (not picking on you OP...we've all been new to cameras and DSLR's so we feel your pain).

[zdnet]

Originally Posted by Nubster

But there's no substitute for learning how to operate your camera.

Agreed!

Originally Posted by Nubster

It's all good and well to know what you did wrong with a picture, but the OP doesn't even know how to make setting changes on his camera

Thus, someone who has the same model of the camera can be a great help in getting the OP to find his way around while getting better photos.