Camera Settings

With a new camera can come questions about settings, capturing light, and more. Read below about setting information and some examples with exif data that may be helpful as learning about using a camera begins.
Camera Modes
When choosing the Camera Modes, the photographer can choose the best settings and achieve the best exposure with the subject being photographed.
Aperture (AV/A)
Aperture is the amount of light that passes through the lens. It is controlled by the f-stop of the lens. A wide open f-stop will create a shallow depth of field while a narrow open f-stop will create a deeper depth of field. The photographer chooses the aperture setting and the camera sets the shutter speed. See images below taken in Aperture Mode.

Nikon Z7ii/Nikkor 70-300mm f/5.6 | 1/8000s | 6400 iso 

Old School Fly In Air Show Ranger, Texas

Nikon DF/Nikkor 28-300mm f/6.0 | 140s | 400 iso 

Rocky Mountain National Park Estes Park, Colorado

Shutter (TV/S)
Shutter is the length of time the shutter is open. It controls how much light is allowed to remain on the sensor. Shutter speeds are written in seconds or fractions of a second. The photographer chooses the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture.​​​​​​​ This setting helps with capturing motion and blur. Some photographers use faster than 1/500 to freeze and image and use slower speeds 1/30 or slower to capture motion or blur. A quick calculation is to set the shutter speed at least double of the mm of the lens to capture sharp focus (Ex: 50mm at 1/125, 70mm at 1/140, or 200mm at 1/400). See images below taken in Shutter Mode.

Nikon df/Nikkor 70-300mm f/18.0 | 2.0s | 1000 iso 

Petit Jean State Park Morrilton, Arkansas

Nikon DF/Nikkor 28-300mm f/22.0 | 1.4s | 200 iso

Rocky Mountain National Park Estes Park, Colorado

Manual (M)
Manual is full manual settings.  The photographer chooses all the in-camera (ISO, Shutter, Aperture) settings. The camera will not make any adjustments in this mode. This is an advanced shooting mode.​​​​​​​ See images below taken in Manual Mode.

Nikon Z7ii/Nikkor 70-300mm f/8.0 | 1/320s | 5000 iso

Total Solar Eclipse Aquilla, Texas

Nikon D80/Nikkor 35mm f/22.0 | 7.8s | 100 iso

Wishes at Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida

Program (P)
Program Mode is the camera automatically selecting shutter speed and aperture. This is a beginner shooting mode. For our photography, it is not a mode we use.
Capturing Light
ISO (iso)
ISO is the level of light receptivity of a digital camera sensor. It is the way to increase the light information captured by the camera sensor. With film, the photographer chooses the iso by the film purchased and used. Low iso allows more light (ex: fireworks work with a low setting of 100-200 and allow more light) and a high iso setting allows less light (ex: a dark ride or darker lit areas)
Exposure (+/-)
Exposure indicates the amount of light that reaches the image sensor​​​​​​​ or film as an image is captured. It depends on the aperture (light) and shutter speed (time) selected. Exposure can be neutral, brighter, or darker and expressed in an integer either in one image or multiple images combining dynamic light (-2, 0, +2).
Flash Off/Soft Lighting
Just a reminder - when using the camera modes and settings, a flash is not needed. The photographer is hand-controlling the light through the camera and lens. Soft box lighting can be helpful at times of dark lighting.
See images below taken with iso, exposure, and flash turned off or use of soft box lighting.

Nikon Z7ii/Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 | 1/500s | 1600 iso (soft box used)

Olympian Lindon Victor at Bolt Garage Fort Worth, Texas

Nikon DF/50mm f/1.8 | 1/250s | 10000 iso

Rainforest Cafe - River Adventure Ride Galveston, Texas

Nikon FG20/Nikkor 20mm Kodak Ektar 100 Film

Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot Center Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida

Hey, Friends! Wanna Cheat Sheet?!
Remember when you were in school and the teacher would let you put any information you could on an index card and use that on the test? We made a Cheat Sheet for you to use when learning camera settings! ​​​​​​​
Thank you for stopping by and reading about using the camera modes and settings. We hope this was helpful to you and if it was pretty, please share! 
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