When I was a n00b photographer, I spent far too much time trying to figure out how the shutter, aperture and ISO settings were related to each other. I started my photography practice on an analog / film camera. To know how the settings worked with each other – especially when I couldn’t see what the image looked like on the back of the SLR screen – I used to write with a pen in a little diary that I used to carry with me. 35 frames in one film roll, and notes for all 35 frames in the diary. Once the roll was developed at the local photo studio, I would sit down and transfer the settings notes – again by hand – onto the back of each 4×6 inch photo print.
That is how I taught myself.
Now of course, there’s instant feedback at the back of your DSLR’s screen. You can immediately see what the image looks like and you can read the settings and you can adjust accordingly. ( Did you know that this practice of checking the back of the camera after each shot is called “chimping“? )
Last week, I conducted my very first photography related webinar. While the subject specifically pertained to “smartphone” photography, more than a handful of the 20 odd participants also had DSLR related questions. There was a collective “Ooof!” when one of the participants expressed their wish for a simple way to understand how the aperture setting interacted with the shutter speed setting and the ISO setting etc.
That got me thinking. I had not seen anything that would simplify these settings to a layperson. I decided to give it a shot. The idea was to make it so simple that even a child would be able to understand it. The strict rule that I maintained in my head was that I was forbidden to use any technical jargon.
I made it free to download because I think it will be helpful to a lot of people and while the information is quite valuable, I chose to have it spread farther for free instead of putting a high price tag on it and keeping it exclusive.
About 50 people have downloaded the PDF at the time of publishing this blog post. It is in English. And now that I type this sentence, I’m thinking of doing a Hindi version too. That would be cool. Will also make it available to download for free.
Download the FREE PDF by clicking on the item below
I hope you find this useful. It’s like a cheat sheet meant for complete n00bs and people who have a DSLR but don’t quite know what to do with it, etc. Or anyone else who is confused about things like shutter speed / ISO / aperture and light / noise / blurry backgrounds / camera stability, etc.
If you would like to share it with your friends, please send them this link : naina.co/simple where they can download the PDF. Distribution of the PDF / or material from the PDF needs written permission from me. Write to me if you have any questions : n@naina.co is my email address. All Rights Reserved. 2020.