as a photographer i often get “how do i” type inquiries and questions from people regarding basic camera control. i thought it would be a practical and appreciated use of blogspace to write a short miniseries on camera basics for all that are interested. i realize the majority of people use point-and-shoot cameras (or even iphones and other cell phones) to take casual photos. entry-level dslr cameras are also becoming more common (nikon D3000, canon rebel XS, etc…), so these posts will be written accordingly. those of you with the aforementioned dslr’s that use them in automatic mode all the time are only using a small part of your camera’s capability. even with the simplest camera, a basic understanding of how the camera works will allow you to use it in ways you hadn’t before and can open up new photo possibilities.

we’ll walk through shutter speed, aperture, ISO, flash, white balance, dynamic range, exposure blending and HDR techniques, focal length, and resolution basics. i’ll dedicate a post to each topic and try to get one out each day. i promise to try not to make it too nerdy, although as an electrical engineer by degree it will probably be very difficult for me.

keep me in check. just leave me a mean-spirited comment reprimanding me for talking about bits and logic levels and analog-to-digital converters if it gets out of hand.

feel free to fire off any questions about any of the content along the way. i hope this series helps you guys out. stay tuned…

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