How do novice photographers set up SLR cameras?

Many beginners often wonder what kind of camera they should use to get the best results. Although there are no fixed camera setting rules in every shooting environment, I noticed that every camera I use has some settings that are common to all brands of cameras on the market. These are the "basic" settings I set at the beginning-once I have finished, I seldom visit them again. In addition, there are some special camera modes that make the process of shooting images easier or faster, especially for people who have just started shooting. Let's browse these common camera settings in more detail!

Camera settings

First, let's review some camera settings that are suitable for any modern digital camera. You should be able to find all the settings specified below because they are more or less common among different camera brands and models:

Image quality: RAW

Original record: lossless compression (if available)

White balance: automatic

Optimized Calibration/Picture Style/Creative Style/Movie Simulation: Standard

Color space: sRGB

Long exposure noise reduction: On

High ISO noise reduction: off

Active D-Lighting/DRO, HDR, lens correction (dark angle control, color difference control, distortion control, etc. ): off.

These are the most important camera settings. First of all, you always choose the correct file format, namely RAW. If you choose the RAW compression setting, always choose lossless compression, as explained here, because it will reduce the space occupied by RAW files. Although things like picture controls are not important to RAW images (they only affect the way images are displayed on the camera LCD), it is best to stick to the standard configuration file and not adjust any other settings, such as sharpening, contrast and saturation. Because this setting is only important when shooting in JPEG format. Like color space and white balance, you don't have to worry about them when shooting RAW, because you can change them later. Unless you know what you are doing, I will keep the "long exposure noise reduction" function on, because long exposure will affect your RAW image-it can reduce the noise you see in the image (although it will take twice as long as usual).

Once the above settings are set in the camera, you can start important things when taking pictures.

Best camera shooting mode

Although some photographers think it is best to shoot in manual mode in order to have complete control of your camera, I don't agree with this. Considering how incredible it is for modern cameras to properly measure scenes and expose a theme, there is no reason to shoot in manual mode, so why not use semi-automatic camera mode?

For example, I personally rely on the aperture priority mode of my camera 90% of the time because it performs very well. I not only control the aperture of the camera, but also control the brightness of the image I want to appear. If the image taken by my camera is brighter than I want, I just need to use the exposure compensation button to adjust the exposure and set it to:

Optimal autofocus mode

You should always make sure that you shoot in the best autofocus mode according to what you shoot. For example, if shooting a static subject, you may want to use the single-area focusing mode (also known as "single-area autofocus", "single autofocus" or simply "autofocus -S"), while if shooting a subject, you may want to switch to the continuous/artificial intelligence servo focusing mode because you may want the camera to actively track the subject.

For the convenience of beginners, camera manufacturers sometimes provide mixed mode, which automatically switches between single-area focusing mode and continuous shooting/artificial intelligence servo focusing mode according to whether the subject is still or moving. This hybrid mode is called "AF-A" in Nikon and "AI Focus AF" in Canon cameras. If you find it difficult to switch between AF-S and AF-C, it is difficult to achieve the default autofocus mode.

Some cameras also have an "autofocus" mode, which looks at the whole scene and tries to focus on the nearest theme or the theme that the camera thinks is important. For most beginners, I suggest avoiding this mode, because moving the focus to the position that the camera should pay attention to can better control the focus position of the camera.

Optimal metering mode

Although your camera may have many different metering modes, such as spot metering, center-weighted metering and matrix/evaluation metering, in most cases, it is best to use matrix/evaluation metering by default, because it will consider the whole scene and usually do a better job in revealing the theme.

Optimum lens aperture

The lens aperture not only affects the distance between the subject and the foreground and background, but also affects the amount of light actually passed by the lens, so you must choose the aperture carefully in a given situation. In addition, the aperture will affect the clarity and depth of field of the image, so it is very important to choose the aperture that is most suitable for the subject and shooting environment. If you want to take pictures in low light and avoid camera shake, it is best to take pictures with the maximum aperture that the lens can provide, so that the camera can receive as much light as possible. For example, shoot with a 35mm f/ 1.8 lens, in which case it may be necessary to keep the aperture at f/ 1.8. However, if you stand in a beautiful overlooking place and want to take a sharp picture of the whole landscape, please adjust the aperture of the lens to the best state such as f/5.6.

Aperture is usually related to the degree of separation between your subject and the background, but this is only one of its many functions. In the above example, you can see the possible differences in images when shooting with a large aperture like f/2.8 and a small aperture like f/8.0.

Optimum ISO setting

When it comes to camera ISO, it is always better to shoot with the lowest ISO, because it will produce the least noise/particles in the image. The last thing you want is that every image looks too noisy, because you set the ISO too high. Although it may be helpful to use noise reduction technology, noise should be avoided first.

However, shooting at the lowest ISO is not always feasible, especially in poor light. In these cases, you need to increase the camera ISO to keep the shutter speed fast enough to avoid blurring caused by accidental camera shake.

Remember, photography is always the balance between aperture, shutter speed and ISO, which is the so-called exposure triangle. I suggest taking some time to understand how these three work and the relationship between them.

image stabilization

Finally, don't forget to use a camera (image stabilizer in the fuselage) or lens to provide image stabilization (also known as anti-shake, shock absorption or vibration compensation). Don't forget to open it when shooting by hand and close it when shooting with a stable tripod. In addition, it is always a good idea to release the shutter for a few seconds before taking a picture to stabilize the camera or lens. This will reduce the possibility of blurring the image.