Relationships are complicated, even with a DSLR

The week of Valentine’s Day I learned a lot about relationships. For my camera, that is.

For the past two weeks, we have been studying our cameras and how to operate them properly. This is an area of study I’ve dabbled in for a number of years, but never really knew exactly what I was doing.

Through exploration and trial and a great deal error, I was able to play with dials and buttons and take the occasional decent photograph while the camera was set to Manual. Most of the time, I switched it back to one of the automatic settings out of frustrations.

But for the past 10 days, I’ve gotten up close and personal with my recently purchased, refurbished Canon T5i. And I’ve quickly developed more than a common interest as a result of my study.

Relationships are often complicated, and it is the relationship among the camera’s settings that I learned the most about this week-and-a-half.

The concept of reciprocity is one every student photographer (and adviser) should know. It sounds difficult, and young journalists may be quick to dismiss it as unnecessary when the camera can do most of the thinking by itself, but with a little experimentation, anyone can learn how to take a photograph with the proper exposure.

This is achieved through correctly figuring the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.

ISO is the sensitivity of the light sensor. Shutter speed controls the duration of light allowed into the camera. Aperture is the diameter of the lens opening.

It’s all about light. And math. Again.

Let’s say I want to take a photo with a shallow depth of field. In order top do that, I have to use an aperture that allows more light into the camera. In order to not overexpose the image, I have to increase the shutter speed to let less light in. The amount of stops I adjust the aperture, I must also adjust the shutter speed.

While I still have much to learn about using my camera, I feel as if I have taken a large step forward in understanding this concept. It seems like such a simple idea, but it is one that many people and student journalists may not understand. 

Several of the students on my newspaper and yearbook staffs have never taken any kind of photography class, and using our equipment (even in an automatic mode) is daunting for them. My hope is I can teach these students what I learned these past two weeks, and I can build their confidence using a DSLR camera.

For those on staff who have their own cameras, I hope they start to turn the dial to “M” and stop letting the camera do all the thinking.

We will be learning and experimenting together, with the hopes of improving our craft and not settling for mediocre photographs.

After all, moving forward is necessary for any good relationship.