THE THREE ELEMENTS NEEDED TO TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH IN MANUAL MODE WITH A DIGITAL CAMERA.

ISO Settings How sensitive your sensor is to light. The more light you have the smaller the number you set on your camera. ISO (International Standards Organization) 100 is great for a sunny day and 800 for a cloud day. 3200 for an inside shot. I set the ISO every time I enter a new lighting condition. The lower the ISO, the better because when you go to high, you can get grain and noise. Unwanted color particles in the shadow areas of your image.

Aperture "The size of the lens opening through which light passes". Also called F- stops; they refer to the series found on the lens as a sequence of numbers, such as F- 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, and 16. The thing that trips people up is that F2.8 is actually a LARGER opening than f11 because the numbers represent fractions. i.e. 1/2.8 is larger than 1/11. When the size of the aperture is larger, i.e. 2.8 you are letting in more light than f11. increased, the designated number is lower. The Aperture setting effects DEPTH OF FIELD which I can't wait to discuss in the next article.

Shutter speed The calibrated length of time of exposure or that the shutter is opened. Shutter speed controls the amount of light that reaches the sensor when you press the shutter down. Like the aperture it is a variable that is controlled by you if you are using manual mode. Shutter speed is a bit more intuitive that Aperture in that its represented by numbers and time. 1/3oth of.a second, 1/6oth of a second, etc. If you want to do a long exposure meaning that your shutter is opened a long time you would need a tripod to make sure you didn't move the camera. I suggest not shooting slower than 1/60th of a second without a tripod to avoid a blurry Image. Experiment!