Introduction to SLR photography skills (simple tutorial for beginners of SLR cameras)

SLR cameras are not very friendly to many non-photographers, because taking pictures with them is much more complicated than taking pictures with mobile phones. This has become the entry threshold for many beginners who want to step into the ranks of photographers.

In fact, you may think that the starting point of learning to use SLR is too high. Just like enough paper, it will break when you poke it. In addition, there is no big technical difficulty. You just need to read this article patiently and pick up the SLR in your hand, and you and I will be suddenly enlightened.

Understand SLR cameras

Let's get familiar with your SLR camera first. You need to know it well in order to control it better. This is a prerequisite. SLR cameras are mainly divided into two parts, the body and the lens.

The camera body is the main part used to operate the camera to shoot, image, store and preview photos. Comprises a core photosensitive element, a mechanical shutter, a control key, a preview screen, an optical observation system, an independent phase focusing system and the like.

The lens is a component specially used to collect light, and the light enters the camera body through the lens. If you want to take pictures, you should not only take the camera body, but also let the light pass through the lens. The lens mainly includes a lens, an autofocus motor, a zoom/focus operating device, a manual/autofocus switch, a mechanical aperture blade and an electronic contact connected with the fuselage.

The camera body and lens are connected and fixed by a standard camera bayonet. Each brand of camera has its own lens mount specifications, such as C SLR is ef mount and N SLR is F mount.

How to take pictures with SLR

We can summarize the whole process of SLR photography into five steps: metering, setting exposure, composition, focusing and shooting.

In fact, taking photos with a mobile phone usually requires this process. Mobile phones are more automated, and the above processes are all done unconsciously. When you want to get high-quality, personalized and creative photos, the camera can let you control the whole process and let you really take your own photos. Let's break down these steps one by one. If it's convenient for you, pick up the camera and follow my explanation. It will be faster to get started.

Photometric determination

Speaking of photometry, you may not quite understand what photometry is. In fact, in the vernacular, if you want the brightness of the photos taken by the camera to be the same as that seen by your eyes, you need the camera to detect the ambient light and determine a standard of exposure brightness, thus guiding you to set exposure parameters. For example, when cooking, it is necessary to predict whether to fry or simmer before firing. Only after a clear judgment can the temperature be adjusted. Photometry is the prediction of light intensity before the camera takes pictures.

In the past, there were no old cameras without automatic metering function. You either set the exposure parameters blindly by experience, or you have to use a special exposure meter to detect the light. The exposure meter gives you a suggested exposure parameter value that you can set from the camera. Now all cameras have automatic metering function, and there are many metering modes. You only need to press the shutter button for half a time, and the camera will start the automatic metering function. Aim at the object you want to shoot so that it is in the center of the viewfinder, and the camera will automatically measure the light of the object.

SLR has a convenient graphic reference tool-exposure ruler. We can refer to this ruler to set specific exposure parameters. Generally, the exposure scale can be clearly observed in the bottom row of the optical eyepiece of your SLR camera.

So what do you think of this ruler? What kind of logo is the correct exposure? You just need to remember that when the cursor is in the middle of the exposure scale, it is the correct exposure state of the photo in most cases. That is to say, in the state shown in the above figure, the left and right exposures are incorrect. At this time, you can press the shutter button to shoot, and there will be no obvious overexposure or underexposure in the photos taken. When the cursor is tilted to quot-quot；; ; Side, which proves that the photo will be underexposed at this time:

When the cursor points to the quot side, it proves that the photo will be overexposed at this time:

But, I said quot. Generally speaking. In some extreme cases, it is impossible to completely believe that the cursor in the middle is the standard for correct exposure. What happened? That is to say, when the measured object is white or black, we should use quot white plus black minus quot at this time, that is, for white objects, keep the cursor within the relative overexposure photometric range, so that the photographed object will be exposed normally, otherwise it will be dark, and the opposite is true for black objects. Only by keeping the exposure scale within the photometric range of relative underexposure can the subject be exposed normally. Don't think about why, just remember this principle. To explore its principle, you can search for quot photography plus black minus quot in the title, and there will be a very clear answer.

Of course, SLR has several metering modes, such as evaluation metering, central focusing metering and spot metering. But don't think so complicated. You only need to grasp one principle, that is, you can completely trust the camera's initial automatic metering performance. Just choose evaluation photometry, which can give you a relatively correct exposure reference in most cases. When shooting scenes in Gao Fancha and scenes requiring fine exposure, spot metering can be selected.

Set exposure

The first step in taking pictures is photometry. When you get a hint from the light gauge, you need to set exposure parameters. By setting reasonable exposure parameters, the exposure of SLR can be relatively accurate, and the light of the shooting scene can be well restored. There are several exposure settings, such as program exposure, aperture priority, shutter priority and full manual, which correspond to P, A, T and M files on the exposure mode dial at the top of the camera.

P is equivalent to the automatic transmission of driving. You don't need to decide any exposure parameters. The camera will give you the corresponding aperture, shutter speed and sensitivity parameters according to the photometric results. M is equivalent to the manual gear for driving. No matter what parameters you need to set manually, the camera will not provide them to you. A and t are semi-automatic gears. You can set the aperture or shutter speed yourself, and other parameters are automatically given by the camera.

Before setting exposure, you need to choose a suitable exposure mode gear. What is the right gear? You just have to grasp these principles: when taking portraits and still lives, the aperture is given priority; When shooting moving people or things, the shutter speed should be t first; When taking landscape commemorative photos, P priority should be P priority; In the case of shooting in complex light environment or having a flash, manual M is preferred occasionally.

After selecting the exposure mode, how to set the exposure parameters? It's simple. Use the thumbwheel on the camera to set parameters. For a simple example, if you use semi-automatic A gear, that is, aperture priority mode, you can set the aperture size manually at this time. When a large aperture is used, the camera can get more light, and at the same time, it can shoot a shallow depth of field effect with clear focus and blurred Jiao Wai background. Using a small aperture will reduce the amount of light entering, and at the same time the blur effect will become smaller, resulting in a large depth of field effect. You just need to turn the main wheel on the camera with your finger, and the aperture value in the viewfinder will change with the rotation of your wheel. The larger the value, the smaller the aperture, and the smaller the value, the larger the aperture.

Don't underestimate the thumbwheel on the fuselage. They all play an important role. Set parameters and select focus. They shoulder all kinds of important tasks of taking pictures.

If M manual exposure is used, each thumbwheel on the fuselage is responsible for an exposure parameter, such as setting the shutter speed of the front thumbwheel, the aperture value of the rear thumbwheel and the sensitivity of the rear thumbwheel. If there are not so many dials, you can also use the combination of shortcut keys and dials to set parameters. For example, the N SLR can hold down the Fn key with the left hand and directly set the iso sensitivity by turning the wheel with the right hand.

C SLR is operated with the right hand. Press the iso key on the top of the machine with your index finger, and turn the thumbwheel with your thumb to adjust the sensitivity.

In fact, exposure setting is not only a step to determine the brightness of photos, but also involves depth of field and motion blur. As mentioned earlier, the depth

Motion blur is closely related to shutter speed. A slow shutter speed will increase the amount of light, but at the same time, it will also make the moving objects leave tracks and make the photos look blurred. On the contrary, a fast shutter speed will solidify the moment of motion, making it more realistic, but it will also reduce the amount of light entering.

When setting exposure, we should fully consider the above factors and set exposure parameter values that meet the shooting requirements.

composition

After the exposure setting is completed, you need to observe the viewfinder carefully to complete the composition process. Even when shooting with a mobile phone, composition is a key step. Proper composition will make the photos look more artistic. Failing the composition will give people a bad impression. I don't want to see this picture again. But there is no absolute standard for what is a good composition and what is a bad composition. We can refer to the works of some successful photographers to appreciate the exquisiteness of composition. In fact, composition has certain rules. The following is a brief introduction to several composition rules. Not much to say, just look at the picture:

1. Three-point composition

As the name implies, it is to divide the photo composition space into three parts: upper, middle and lower, so as to make it evenly distributed and achieve a balanced composition. This method is often used to take landscape photos.

2. Centripetal synthesis method

All the line elements are gathered in the center of the picture, forming a great visual impact, which is the centripetal composition method.

3.s-shaped composition method

Winding lines, similar to S-shaped composition, are often used to shoot scenic films such as streams, rivers and paths.

4. Golden section synthesis method

Put people or main objects in the golden section of the picture to achieve the most comfortable visual effect.

5. Symmetric synthesis method

Use reflection, symmetric identical elements, etc. As a method of balanced composition.

There are many rules in composition, and the answers can be found in headline search, such as edge composition, radial composition, diagonal composition, frame composition, color contrast composition, minimalist composition and so on. If you need to shoot more, practice more and observe more, you will gradually improve the level of photographic composition.

Focus (attention)

Focusing is an indispensable key step in SLR photography, because without proper focusing, you will win. I can't take a clear picture of this object. SLR cameras can take beautiful blur effects because of their large photosensitive elements, especially in the case of large aperture and long focal length. If there is no subject in focus, then this photo is scrap iron. So how do you concentrate?

Focusing is divided into two steps, one is to select the focus point, and the other is to press the shutter half.

When shooting with a SLR camera, focusing depends on the camera's independent phase focusing system. Through the optical viewfinder, we can see that there is a focus mark in the viewfinder:

These points are the focus, and the small square framed on the focus is the focus we choose. We can use the single-point focusing method, use the cross button on the back of the camera, select the focus point up, down, left and right, or use the focus rocker on the back of a relatively high-end SLR camera to select the focus point.

You only need to select the focus point on the object that needs to be focused, and then press the shutter half to complete the automatic focusing of the camera.

After the camera autofocus is completed, it will make a dripping sound, and a dot will appear in the viewfinder as a focus prompt.

We can also use camera multi-point autofocus instead of single-point autofocus, and let the camera choose the focus subject for us to automatically complete focusing. This method is suitable for capturing moving objects, especially the continuous focusing mode of SLR cameras. Since we're here, let's talk about single focus and continuous focus. SLR cameras can choose these two focusing methods. When we shoot a relatively still object, it is most appropriate to choose a single focus. If we shoot a moving object, the focal length will change with the movement, so it is more appropriate to use continuous focusing.

Of course, we can also use manual focusing. Turn the A/M switch on the lens to the M position, and the autofocus system of the camera has failed. We can focus manually by screwing the focus ring on the lens and observing the focus prompt in the viewfinder. Manual focusing is a good method when the contrast of the subject is small and it is difficult to focus automatically, or when the focusing distance needs to be fixed.

shoot

After all the above processes are completed, in the last step, you only need to press the shutter button completely to complete the shooting of a photo.

After the shooting, we can look back and forth through the screen on the back of the camera to see how the photos were taken.

Have you learned to take pictures with a SLR?

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