ETA: Just fixed the link to the article below!
Tilly (11) has had her Canon Rebel xti for about six weeks now. She has played with it (completely in auto) and become familiar with using it. Since school has started up, I am now teaching her how to shoot in manuel. {Note: when I say manuel, I mean manual settings, not manual focus. The majority of pro photographers still use auto-focus...the camera is simply faster than the human eye...}
Tilly loves photography, and has a desire to take better photos. In fact, outside earlier this week, Tilly kept asking, "why do your photos look better than mine?" and the answer was simple: I was shooting manual - therefore controlling the image. Tilly was shooting in auto and letting camera choose for her.
I should probably have an outline, a plan. Some semi-organized way to teach her (and you) about taking better photos....keep in mind though, I have never taken a photography class- so I don't even know what the "normal" order of teaching things is. I am simply working with Tilly to improve her knowledge...and sharing that information with you.
Yesterday for school, I had Tilly read this article. I put my 50mm 1.8 lens on her camera, and had her set it at AE (aperture priority- this allows the photographer to choose the aperture- but the camera sets the shutter speed and ISO). I asked Tilly, "what does aperture mean?" and her answer was "it controls how much light goes into the camera". Not bad...aperture also controls depth of field (how much of the photo is in focus). If you are new to all of this, go ahead and click on the links to learn more.
I showed Tilly how to adjust her aperture and told her to set it at 3.2. Then I sent her outside to take photos of the same object. One from close up, and one from a distance.
Tilly was thrilled this photo- look at all of that creamy
bokeh!
But she was shocked to her next photo:
What happened? She didn't change her aperture. All she did was back up a few steps to get the entire water bottle in the photo. The bokeh is gone, the focus was missed. It's an ugly snapshot...
If you haven't already, read the link on depth of field. It explains how depth of field is like a triangle...it's not just about setting the aperture on your camera, it's also about the distance from you subject, your subject's distance from the background, and sometimes the angle at which your shooting.
I am such a hands-on learner, that it's the only way I can teach Tilly. I wanted her to experience the difference herself, rather than have me try to explain it.
Next I told Tilly to go outside (still in aperture priority set at 3.2) and take a picture of a person. Here's what she came in with:
This was obviously taken in full sunlight...ugh. She must have noticed right away, because this was the next photo on her camera:
All she did her was have Avi step into the shade and turn about 90 degrees. A little underexposed, but a much better photo.
Next I asked her to back up and take a full body photo (same settings) and she came back with this:
Notice how much of the background is in focus now? But she did an excellent job of keeping her subject in focus.
And that was lesson #1 for Tilly. I hope you learned a few things along with Tilly. If you have a DSLR and shoot in full auto, switch it over to aperture priority and give it a whirl...Tilly is already thrilled with the new look of her photos, and this was just her first "lesson".