The craze of photography has seen a tremendous rise with the introduction of social media. Nowadays, a huge number of youth aspire to become professional photographers because the demand in the market is high.

Multiple courses are available for professional photography, but they’re very expensive, and not everybody can afford it. These courses teach you the basics of photography but there are loads of things which you can learn on your own.

In this post, we will write about a few of the terms and features of a camera and its functions. These will help you to build up your photography foundation. We will explain various types of lens, exposure modes, camera modes, the importance of white balance, metering modes, and many more.

To click outstanding photographs it is crucial that you understand every feature of the camera properly. Now, you might be thinking why is this important?

Taking photographs is all about adjusting your camera lens as per the lighting conditions around. To adjust your camera as per the lighting available, you need to understand which type of lens will be able to capture the appropriate amount of light.

For example, in layman’s terms, we all must have used a mobile camera to click pictures. Did you ever notice there are various features like ISO, white balance, exposure, etc in manual settings? Normally, we click these pictures in auto mode, and most of the time it fails to capture the perfect picture.

 Also, when we try to click in night mode in broad daylight, the pictures come out to be whitish. This is why you need to understand how different camera features react as per the lighting conditions around the subject.

So, without wasting further time, check out the various camera hacks which you can use to get the perfect picture. 

The first step in photography is to select the right kind of lens. The selection of the lens depends on various factors like the type of lighting conditions, type of subject, etc. When we talk about subjects, we mean different  kinds of photography such as landscape photography, portrait photography, wedding photography, and many more.  

Ultra-wide Angle Lens

The Ultra wide-angle lens is known for its greater angle of view. This lens offers an angle of view of over 90 degrees. This lens is perfect when you are trying to capture a wide area. For landscape photography, this lens is a perfect fit. The basic principle of this lens is that it makes the subject look closer than they appear.

Standard Lens

The standard lens is also known as a normal lens. This lens tries to match the image as similar to what our eyes see. In a nutshell, using this type of lens allows you to capture natural pictures.

This type of lens has an angle of view of 50 to 55 degrees which is similar to the human eye. Hence, if you are looking to capture pictures as your eyes see, then a standard lens is the perfect fit.

Super Telephoto Lens

Super Telephoto Lens is also known as a zoom lens or prime lens. These lenses are used to click images where the subject is far away. The combination of many lenses helps the subject to magnify and we get a closer image of the subject.  

Wide Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses are normally used to capture wide images like landscapes, architecture, and many more. 

Telephoto Lens

The telephoto lens has a focal length of 60mm. This lens is used to capture a subject that is far away. 

Filter Thread

Filter threads are a threaded section in front of the lens which can be used to attach various accessories. The common types of filter threads are 52mm, 72mm, 77mm, and 82mm.

Zoom Ring

Zoom rings assist in the motorized zoom options. It changes the focal length when you shoot.  

Focusing Ring

The focusing ring allows you to adjust the lens in order to make the subject move further or closer.

The exposure triangle basically consists of 3 elements: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.  These elements are the main components that are responsible for the exposure effect of a photograph. 

As per experts, these 3 components should be in proper balance in order to achieve the perfect image. These 3 components must be adjusted separately and can be balanced out accordingly.

Aperture: The First side of the exposure triangle

Aperture is the perfect side of the exposure triangle and it is responsible for the speed at which a camera opens its lens.   The more lens opens, the more light enters the camera. This means that the exposure of the image will be more.

Similarly, if the aperture is narrower, then less light will enter the camera. Hence, the exposure of the image will be also less. 

Shutter Speed: The second side of the exposure triangle

Shutter speed refers to the length of time in relation to the shutter of the camera. The longer the shutter of the camera remains open, the more light will enter the sensor of the camera. Hence, this directly affects the exposure of the image.

The longer the shutter speed, the more will be the final exposure. Similarly, if the shutter speed is less, the exposure will also be less.

ISO: Third side of the exposure triangle

ISO is the third element of the exposure triangle. ISO is one of the most important parts of the entire element that affect exposure. 

In a nutshell, ISO refers to the light amplification when clicking an image with the camera. ISO basically makes the image brighter, hence balancing out shutter speed and aperture. 

When we use any type of camera, DSLR, or smartphones, we do see many camera mode options. These camera modes are pre-installed settings that are programmed with a certain shutter speed and aperture. 

Hence, as per lighting conditions, you can select your mode and then click the best version of the subject. Some of the famous camera modes are:

Program Mode

In the program mode, the camera programs itself as per the amount of light that passes through the lens. In this mode, the shutter speed and aperture is adjusted as per the lighting conditions which are surrounding the subject.

This mode can be used when you want to click pictures quickly. Hence, in this mode, you can “point and shoot” as you do not need to set the features manually. 

In layman’s words, this mode can be pre-installed in the camera and can be used without adjusting the features of the camera manually. 

If you want to click a picture where there is ample light, this mode adjusts the aperture to a high number as well as makes the shutter speed faster. 

Hence, with this mode, the camera captures the appropriate amount of light which gives clarity to the image. 

Shutter-Priority Mode

In the “Shutter-Priority” mode, you can manually set the shutter speed of the camera and as per the lighting conditions, the camera will automatically set the right aperture. 

This mode is used when you want to click the image of the subject which is in motion. Due to this mode, when the subject which is in motion is captured, it appears to be frozen and not in motion. 

Also, this mode is used when you want to blur the background or a particular point. So, when there is a lot of light the camera increases the aperture and this allows less light to enter the lens. 

Similarly, when there is low light, the camera reduces the aperture, hence more light allowed to enter the lens of the camera.     

Aperture-Priority Mode

In this mode, you can adjust the aperture manually, and the camera will adjust the shutter speed as per the aperture set by you.

This mode is used to ensure that the image which is clicked is properly exposed.

In this mode, when there is too much light, the camera increases the shutter speed, similarly, with low light, the camera reduces the shutter speed.

This mode is the most preferred mode by photographers as the image quality is exposed properly. 

Manual Mode

As the name suggests, in this mode you can manually set the aperture and shutter speed. This mode allows you to take complete control of the entire exposure. 

Photographers use this mode when the camera has difficulty in judging the correct exposure in extreme lighting conditions. 

White balance in photography refers to the adjustment of colors in order to get a more natural-looking image. In this white balance feature, it basically gets rid of color casts to match the natural look of the subject. In other ways, it tries to match the image to what we see with our eyes.

Normally, tube lights, LED, emit other colors apart from pure white. Our eyes cannot pick up these colors, but camera lenses have the ability to pick with every spectrum.

In comparison to the human brain, the pictures which our brain gets from the eyes are automatically adjusted and hence we see natural colors.

But when it comes to cameras, it only picks up the color spectrum and temperature as per the lighting conditions around the subject. Hence what we see and what we click differs in terms of color temperature.

For example, if you are a skier, you would realize that after putting on ski goggles which might be tinted yellow, at first you will find that the snow appears to be yellowish.

After wearing it for a certain period of time, our brain normally processes the image, and then we find that the snow appears to be white.

This change in color from artificial to natural is only possible due to the processing power of the brain. But when it comes to the camera, without proper white balance the pictures would turn up to be tinted as per the light spectrum.

So, from here we can conclude that digital cameras use white balance features to adjust the color temperature of the subject. Hence, white balance is really important to get a more natural-looking image.

 The white balance can be adjusted as per the lighting conditions. White balance is more useful while clicking pictures under artificial lighting like LEDs and tubes.

In the world of photography, the concept of Metering Mode refers to the ability of a camera to analyze exposure. Exposure plays a critical role in determining the quality of the image captured within an environment that offers various light conditions.

The metering mode is especially useful when a professional photographer works in a condition that has limited lighting facilities. There are various forms of metering that a photographer must take into consideration. Some of them have been highlighted below:

• Spot Meter - This form of metering allows an individual to measure only a limited section present in a scene which usually tends to be the very center of the scene. This, however, is a default setting that can be adjusted by the professional using the camera concerned. It helps the user to focus on a particular scene even if the light sources around it are either over or underwhelming. With the assistance of a spot meter, you can now calculate and analyze exposure automatically.
• Partial Metering - As compared to spot metering, partial metering allows an individual to focus the exposure around a comparatively larger area which usually tends to cover 10-15 percent of the entire frame. Thus partial metering creates an ideal environment where images of tiny objects can be captured with complete ease and convenience that may be around the edges of the frame.
• Centre Metering - This type of metering can focus on 60-80% of the frame concerned. As the name suggests, center metering is the best option to consider when the photographer wishes to focus on objects that are present in the very center of the frame or scene.
• Evaluating Metering - This form of metering is generally utilized when the photographer wishes to focus exposure on the entire frame. With the assistance of evaluating metering, you can analyze a series of objects that are scattered around a scene.

Exposure plays a vital role as it helps the photographer concerned to adjust the light capacity, either natural or artificial within an environment.

All the cameras present in the market are equipped with exposure adjustment settings to capture top quality images.

The primary objective of the exposure compensation setting is to control the brightness so that the end-product does not end up looking too bright or extremely dark.

Exposure compensation can be effectively achieved with the help of a dial or a specific button equipped in a camera. The compensation set helps to overturn and adjust exposure such that if an environment has limited light sources, then the image captured will be able to reflect light from the surrounding sources making it ideal for viewing. 

However, issues related to over and underexposure can be experienced when surrounded by challenging lighting set up.

Exposure compensation can be implemented by scanning any of the camera modes present to use a defined camera meter so that basic requirements in terms of aperture, shutter, and program modes can be augmented as per the requirement of the photographer.

Once the best camera mode is selected, the exposure compensation setting can be effectively implemented. To identify and practice exposure compensation, an individual must explore all the settings provided in order to gain more knowledge about the device.

Every independent camera has distinct exposure compensation settings that can only be debunked after complete dissection of settings installed.

Most of the modern cameras allocate a separate button at the top of the camera that helps in exposure compensation Therefore, do not be afraid to try out different settings present in your camera so that optimum exposure can be established at the time of clicking pictures.

Megapixels can be defined as variables that measure the size of a specific image captured with the help of a camera. Megapixels are used to measure the resolution of different cameras. Megapixels help to identify the pixels present in the sensor of a particular camera.

Devices equipped with higher megapixels generally produce more refined and premium quality images. Capturing larger images can become easier if a camera has higher megapixel content present.

Generally, 1 megapixel produces an image that contains 1200 pixels in width and 900 pixels in height. These pixels play a vital role when an individual wish to zoom in and out of a particular scene. Therefore, if a device captures high-quality images even after zooming to its maximum potential then it is equipped with superior megapixel properties.

A pixel is the smallest point in a raster image, in digital imaging. It can be thought of as the most basic unit of measuring image dimensions. Each pixel holds a certain color value in an image, and a group of pixels adds up to an object in that particular image.

Megapixel refers to a million pixels (10^9 pixels) which are usually used to express the resolution of modern image sensors. In other words, the greater the megapixel count, the better will be the detailing and quality of the image captured.

The difference in megapixels can be easily determined by comparing an image captured by two different cameras that possess 3 and 30 megapixels respectively. The picture captured by a 3-megapixel camera tends to distort when enlarged.

On the other hand, the same image captured by a 30-megapixel camera holds a higher definition and is clearer to the eye. Thus, it can be safely concluded that megapixels play a vital role in determining the quality of the image captured by a camera.

Gaining the required knowledge is only one side of the coin which every professional, as well as an aspiring photographer, must take into consideration. Applying the said knowledge and developing defined skills is the other side of the spectrum that requires equal consideration as well.

Photography is an art that cannot be taught. However, there are certain standards and measure that can be utilized to improve the quality of images captured by a photography enthusiast:

1. Use the rule of thirds: The rule of thirds is a fundamental standard that every photographer must acknowledge. Knowing the intersection points and zeroing-on the horizon with either the bottom or top line of the image will greatly elevate the quality of the picture captured.

2. Use plain backgrounds: Relying on basic backgrounds will help to elevate the quality of the image. This not only helps to amplify the clarity of the image but also gives it a more natural aura.

3. Avoid using flash indoors: Understanding the use of flashlights within a confined environment is critical as it may disrupt the natural lighting of the scene. Therefore, try to limit the use of flash, especially while capturing images indoors.

4. Focus on lights: Lights perhaps play the most important role in photography. Therefore, it is imperative that an aspiring photographer understands the exposure and light levels required to capture a perfect image.

5. Avoid shaking the camera: Know your angles and hold your camera adequately to avoid issues related to shaking of the camera.

6. Choose the right ISO: ISO is an essential element that determines the brightness level of an image. Make sure that the ISO of your camera is established at an adequate level as per the surrounding and conditions.

7. Understand the range of your Flash: While using flash, be sure to know the range of the artificial light such that perfect light is reflected.

8. Use of exposure triangle to perfection: Exposure triangle in the form of aperture, ISO, and shutter must be adjusted to perfection to capture a surreal image.

9. Focusing on the subject of the image: Adequate focus should be maintained on the subject of a particular scene.

Conclusion