Technical Knowledge

Technical knowledge also matters, and a lot. Some people have great and expensive cameras, but they don’t know how to use them. I remember taking some pictures in Guilin, China using a setting called aperture mode in my camera. I was shooting when another man with a very nice and expensive equipment approached me and told me with a concerned and surprised tone, “Your camera is on A mode (aperture mode). Why don’t you set it on automatic mode?” This man probably didn’t use other modes than the automatic mode in his camera. And if you buy an expensive camera to shoot on automatic mode, it is as if you were buying a vehicle and use it only for trips around the block. Automatic mode is letting your camera making automatic adjustments for you. On the other hand using other modes, settings, and/or buttons is about expanding your possibilities so you can take pictures that are different than the average automatic shot. You will learn about camera modes in this book.

If you have a camera, learn the basics to begin with so you know how to get the most out of your camera. Learn about camera modes, exposure settings, lenses and even your camera parts so you can do a lot more. In this book I will be teaching you that, don’t skip that part. You don’t need to master all details, but a good photographer at least knows how to use the main features of his or her camera as well as basic vocabulary. Learn it so you will know what you are capable of doing with your camera.