I am a big fan of using as little flash as possible. I like natural lighting as a portrait photographer, but when fill flash is needed it's nice to have the ability to turn the flash on or off.

I personally shoot everything in RAW because I like playing around with all of the editing options with professional photo editing software like Photoshop and Lightroom.

The focal length of a lens is the distance at which every light ray incident on the lens converges (ideally) in a single point. By placing your sensor (or film) at the focal length, you obtain the sharpest image possible. Every lens has its own focal length that depends on the manufacturing process.

A-DEP is a fully automatic mode, meaning that it will also pick the shutter speed for you too. I've heard of a few photographers who get frustrated with using A-DEP in low light situations. The camera may pick a slow enough shutter speed to get you the desired depth of field, but also give you some image blur from  a small amount of camera movement during exposure.

Focal lengthof mirror formula

This is a popular digital camera setting in sports photography. Different sports or activities will require different shutter speeds to "freeze" the action.

Manual ISO setting. You set the ISO number and decide how much light (how sensitive it is) your camera sensor needs for a good exposure when you're using one of the "creative modes" we've already talked about. Here's a detailed artilce on understand how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together, along with a video explanation: Understanding Exposure.

Look at the difference in the two photo below. I used the shutter priority setting for these two photo of water running my my kitchen sink. In the blurry photo of the running water, I set the camera on a one second exposure and it determined the right aperture to get the right exposure.

This simple diagram and explanation will help you take better photos. How Cameras Work. Easy way to understand shutter speed and f/stop.

Program mode is an automatic mode but it gives you control over several things. Technically I think you would really define it as a semi-automatic mode.

Probably the most widely used mode of all digital camera setting. The automatic mode has your camera decide on just about everything for you. It's that "set it and forget it" mentality that permeates our society because we're always looking for shortcuts.

What isfocal lengthoflens

Still hungry for knowledge? Try our other lens tools, such as the thin lens equation calculator, Lensmaker's equation calculator, or the Snell's law calculator 💎

When you're in too much of a hurry to put any thought into the photographic process you can turn to either one of these modes for the quick snapshot. "Just set it, and forget it."

🔍 Thanks to our lens focal length calculator, you may also find the magnification — it allows us to measure how the size of an object changes when transferred to photography.

3. In addition to the definition of aperture priority, you can learn other photography definitions here: Photography Definitions.

Focal length describes the distance between the rear principal point and the sensor — in other words, it's the space starting from the center of the lens to the point where the light rays converge in the focal point (to form a sharp picture on a surface of a digital sensor, or 35mm film).

A shutter priority setting also make perfect sense to use when you want to stop the action. Use a high shutter speed for sports photograph (like Photographing Kids Soccer Games) and wildlife photography. I played around with my shutter priority settings while photographing a bike race.  You may be interested in how I controlled the amount of motion blur in these Bike Race Pictures.

Simple tips that will improve your beach photos. Advice on the best lens, camera settings and more on how to take great beach shots plus beach photography tips for portraits.

If you don't know a good starting point for setting your aperture and shutter speeds, shoot a trial photo with your camera on Auto mode.

These photos were taken inside a castle in Bunratty Ireland. Almost all of the light was coming through the castle window. This castle does not allow any flash photography because of the fragile artwork hanging from its towering walls.

Shutter priority mode is indicated by an "S" or sometimes  "Tv" (for time value). With shutter priority, you choose the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture.

Macro mode allows you to get good photos when photographing things close-up. Tripods are almost always a necessity when shooting macro photos. Manual focus, if available is, much better to use with macro photography. Accurate focusing is critical because there is such limited depth of field at close distances.

That includes aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus method, and color balance.  It is generally a good safe setting in most situations,  but learning the other modes will advance your photography to a new level.

Typically the setting you make include the use of flash, the setting of the ISO, and exposure compensation (adjusting to make lighter or darker). You make those settings and then the camera takes over and decides the rest.

Auto ISO Simple Guide. Questions and answers on when to use AUTO ISO and when not to use it. How you can use it to improve your photography.

Our lens equation calculator has a straightforward structure; fill in at least three fields in order to acquire results.

With beach scenes or snow scenes where most of the photograph is light or white,  the camera exposure system initially may expose it a little too dark. You may want to compensate and overexpose by one f-stop.

Lensformula

One of the increasingly asked questions that came up in a Basic Digital Photography course I taught was: what is A-DEP. The letters stand for Auto Depth-of-field. It's a relatively new kid on the block in terms of digital camera settings.  In A-DEP mode, you instruct the camera which parts of your photo that you want to be in sharp focus.

Most cameras are programmed to read a scene as typical and give a good average exposure. There are instances though, because of the unique subject matter, this will result in a bad exposure. You can "tweak" by adding exposure (making it brighter) or subtracting exposure (making it darker).

You want sharper photos so you need to know which gives you sharper and better photos. Article reveals a surprising suggestion.

The image formed on the sensor or film. Typical image sizes (diagonal measurement) are: 3.6, 4.8, 5.8, 6.4, 8.8, 12.8 mm.

As the name implies, use this for photographing individual or small groups of people. This setting will set the camera to have a reduced depth of field, keep everyone in reasonably sharp focus, and let the background go blurry.

Once you've gotten a better understanding of how to use camera settings, you'll be looking for more inspiration on how to get creative with your photography.

View some of Bruce's photos on Instagram.   Visit the Facebook Page. Watch him on YouTube.  Bruce runs photo workshops for kids and adults, and provides one-on-one photography coaching.

The photo below show how different the color temperature is between the electric lights of the castle and the natural daylight coming in through the window.

Notice what settings your camera choose for that photo, switch back to manual mode and then set your camera to those settings.

Holding the camera very steady is important because the shutter speed may be a little slower to get a properly exposed photograph. You will want to avoid any motion blur so a tripod is always a good idea, particularly if you are not shooting a bright scene.

Macro is one of the instances where I  highly recommend using the optical viewfinder to focus manually. Unfortunately many of the newer cameras only have an LCD screen to use.

Lens focal length equationexample

Use this camera mode to "freeze" the action. Your camera will use a high ISO setting and a high shutter speed to minimize blur from fast moving athletes or balls.

Automatic (and the newest camera setting, A-DEP) and Program camera settings are thought to make all of the decisions for you but there are differences between these two modes.

In the article below, we'll teach you how to find the focal length, discover the lens equation, and talk about a few essential principles of photography and lens choice.

p.s.  Individual cameras may have slight variations on these digital camera settings, such as snow scene mode, fireworks mode, or sunset mode where it's use becomes obvious by its name. Check with your camera manual to be sure.

The reasons are sometimes complicated, so the specific details are a good subject for an in-depth article on the subject, but here are the basic advantages of setting your digital camera on RAW.

What isfocal lengthoflensClass 10

Sports. Wildlife. Action Photos. Any time you want to freeze the action with a fast shutter speed or have intentional motion blur by using a slow shutter speed.

Focal lengthof convexlens

For more sophisticated use and understanding of shooting in a manual setting, here is a link to an article by a professional photographer on using manual mode:  Manual Camera Setting.

You, the photographer, have to be aware of this and you might have to bring in a tripod for better sharpness with those slower shutter speeds.

1. When I am shooting portraits. I use a wide open (small f-stop number) to have my subject in focus and my background be blurry.

Aperture is the size of the opening that the light travels through to hit the sensor inside your camera. You set that and the camera will set the shutter speed to give you the best photo exposure. This is my favorite digital camera setting and I use this setting primarily in two photography situations:

Landscapes. Portrait Photography. Any time you want to be able to set the f/stop to a certain number and control the depth of field.

When shooting close ups, the regular viewfinder may not give you a perfectly accurate view of what you are actually taking a picture of. Start by checking your camera instructions to see what the closest distance is that you can get to your subject.

Your the camera will then pick the best f/stop (aperture)  to give you the best solution for the focus points and the rigth depth of field.

Let's jump right in. Some of the camera settings make all the decisions for you and some make some of the desired settings. This article will give you a breakdown on your options and how you can get your camera to perform like a finely tuned race car.

Some photographers want to know what shutter speed to use for outdoor portraits. I just updated that post here: Best Shutter Speed For Outdoor Portraits.

It's usually desirable to have a large range of things in focus for landscape photography. This camera setting prioritizes a large depth of field and using a small aperture.

In order to copy the lens magnification calculator, you'll need the following equation (take a closer look — it may also serve as an image distance formula!):

This camera function is usually not included on the camera's main setting dial. Some cameras have a separate adjustment on top of the camera.

2. I use a small aperture when I am doing landscape photography. I want to be sure that things close to the camera AND things that are far away from the camera are in focus. Using a high f-stop number like f-16 or higher gives us a large depth of field.

This is a popular digital camera setting when photographing waterfalls, fireworks and similar time exposure photographs where the longer length of exposure has a dramatic effect on the final photograph.

Finding focal length is an easy and very much-needed ability; follow our simple guide to find all the details of these calculations!

Since I grew up using film cameras, before the programmed settings above were available, I prefer the settings described below.  Aperture and shutter priority modes are really semi-automatic in that once you make a setting then the camera automatically calculates the correct exposure.

Taking a picture of an object from a distance might be challenging — we'll help you find the right focal length to create an image that perfectly fits your camera's sensor size. 📷

The focal length calculator is a simple tool that facilitates the process of computing the magnification, focal length, and angle of view.

Focal lengthformula for convexlens

Understanding the different settings for your digital camera and when you should use them will help you become a better photographer. As with all of the topics covered on this web site, enjoy the learning process. It takes time, but remember that time does fly when you're having fun.

The camera was mounted to a tripod so that both photos would be in the exact same position. The second photo was taken of the hallway without me in the photo.

What is raw mode? RAW is a file format that captures all image data recorded by the sensor when you take a photo. Rather than have your camera decide how to process the data into a regular viewable jpg image, you have to process the image with software on your computer.

This makes it easier for you to get your camera to perform like the brilliant computer it was designed to be. Digital camera functions are very sophisticated and it can be confusing on where to start when you have so many options.

Let's recap. The proper use of your digital camera settings enables you to take take advantage of an incredible piece of technology and create some breathtaking images.

If you choose a daylight setting, the electric lights will come out very yellow-orange. If you choose a tungsten color setting, the daylight through the window would be very blue. You can see it's subjective and it's up to you to decide the effect you want to achieve with this particular camera setting. For a better understanding of color balance you can read my post on color temperature.

Lens focal length equationderivation

With scenes that have almost all dark colors and background with a few small light areas, you may want to underexpose a little. The camera may accidentally overexpose it initially.

In the second photo I set the shutter speed to 1/200 of a second to freeze" the action. The camera decided on the right aperture to get the right photo exposure.

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What is the bulb exposure mode setting and tips on how to use it. 6 examples of when you should use the "B" bulb setting on your camera for breathtaking photos

This photo was done by combining 2 exposures. The self-timer mode was used, set at 10 seconds, to give me enough time to position myself with the frame in the first photo.

🖼️ Thanks to the focal length, we're able to calculate the angle of view — this variable informs us of the amount of the scene that will be captured. The wider the angle, the more of the scene can be transferred to a sensor, and be visible in the photograph. Thanks to the angle of view option, we don't really need an additional field of view calculator — we have everything ready!

This is one of the really unique digital camera settings to use. Night mode will have a slow shutter speed to create the right exposure and will use the flash as well.

Bruce is the publisher of this website. He is the author of the book "Improve Your Photography Instantly."  Read more on Bruce on his Bio Page. He's been known as The Traveling Photographer ever since 1994. Read more about this website.

The focal length of a lens with magnification 0.00553x at 10 m is 55 mm. To find this result, use the following formula:

It also gives you the most chances for screwing up the exposure. ;-) Using the LCD monitor to check your exposure is a good idea.

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With multiple meanings and false definitions. Find out what is bokeh in photography. It's a simple way to improve your photos by controlling the out of focus areas of your subject. How to get the best bokeh effect

Or ....learn how the concept of focal length is fundamental when we need to calculate parameters like the camera field of view!

My goal is to provide you with useful information that can improve your photography. Sometimes I recommend products that I believe will help you. You've got to use the equipment properly and apply your own skills.  I have used many of these products or very similar ones personally. There are simply too many (millions) for one person to try them all. I base my recommendations on my personal experiences with photography equipment since 1969-Yes, I'm that old, the usefulness of the product, and other photographers' feedback.

With AUTO-ISO you get to set the aperture to get the right depth of field and you get to sets the shutter speed to freeze to blur the action. The camera then sets the right ISO to give you a good exposure. Here's more on the reasons why you should definitely consider setting your Camera ISO on AUTO.

Auto ISO is really not a camera mode. It's more of a setting, but I recently (I was way passed due) just discovered how incredibly powerful it is, particularly when used with your camera set for Manual mode.

In other words, it will favor your camera to focus on the subject closer to the camera and will allow the background to be less focused.

Higher ISO settings are another way to stop motion blur because your camera can use a higher shutter speed and still have enough light to get a good exposure.

With other camera it's often found within the menu you view on your screen on the back of your camera. With a professional DSLR it can be found in a variety of places. I use this function quite a bit.

The lens that makes objects appear small will have a small magnification — on the other hand, the lens that magnifies the picture will have a big magnification.

Don't worry about the low value of the magnification: we are not talking about the zoom but the ratio between the actual height of your subject and the height of it on your sensor: no surprise; it's so small!

Here's a quick comparison of how setting the white balance affects your photograph. Whether you set color balance in your camera's menu, or whether you set it afterwards when shooting in RAW mode like I do, you can see what a dramatic difference there is.

FACT: RAW mode is one of the digital camera settings that the majority of snapshot shooters won't and probably shouldn't use.

Without you giving the camera any specific requirements, the camera is evaluating the scene, guessing what it is and making the decision based on complex mathematical algorithms. Fully automatic mode is great when you're in a hurry and you want a strong likelihood that your photo will come out fine.

Sports mode is needed for action photos, but also helpful for high speed photography is situations where you have have lots of light.

New cameras with bigger sensors make the use of higher ISO settings. That means you can avoid using flash in darker situations without the huge loss in quality with sensors made just a few years ago. Program mode varies with each camera model and needs an entire article dedicated to it so look for that one to be coming soon.

Just remember that if you don't like the photo you get with Auto White Balance, you have the option of changing it. Both the AWB and the pre-set color balance settings that are programmed into your camera's do a pretty good job, most of the time.

It changes the timing on when the flash fires during the long exposure for a better effect.  You can get some really cool photos in night mode.  It is a lot of fun to play around and experiment, combining blur from movement and sharpness created by the quick burst from the flash.