After 35 years without a camera my sister gave me her old one in June 2019. The hardest thing for me was and still is remembering, I can change the ISO whenever I like! The way I take photos is rather easy I see something I like, frame so it looks like a picture postcard, and click. Easy camera lessons Part 1 (How to hold a camera) The proper way to hold the three most popular cameras this would be first the full sized camera, the pocket and the cell phone cameras. For the full sized camera the right hand is easy as it has a large hand grip, making it easy for the thumb and pointer finger to access all the buttons on the right side of the camera. However, most people have problems with their left hand not knowing where to hold the left side of the camera. The left hand should be held palm up level with the ground in front of you, so you can place the camera lens in the palm of your hand. This makes it easier to focus the camera and makes it easier to reach the buttons on the left side of the camera. Taking a landscape style photo the elbows should be held against your sides as to form a tripod with your body and arms, giving a very steady camera hold to frame your shot. Taking a portrait style photo, your left hand and elbow stay where they are and the right hand rotates the camera so your right hand is almost touching your forehead. This brings your right arm and elbow level with your shoulder giving a steady camera hold for your shot. The pocket camera is held with the left hand between the thumb and the middle finger with the pointer finger on or near the top of the camera, and the thumb and middle finger near the bottom of the camera, just like pinching the camera. The right hand holds the camera the same way, giving your thumb and pointer finger control of the buttons while the left had does the work of holding the camera steady. The elbows will also work the same as you did for the full sized camera to steady for your shot. The most popular camera is the cell phone camera; it’s also the easiest one to hold and use. Pick it up in your left hand and hold it just like holding a glass of water, your right hand controls the buttons. I see most people holding the camera at arm’s length, while this is OK in bright sunlight. In low level light you will start to get blurry photos because of camera shake. It’s always best to use the body and arms to make the tripod for a much steadier shot. End of part one Easy camera lessons Part two (getting off auto-mode) It’s a lot easier then you think, I’m not talking about going full (M) manual mode. That’s only for working in a studio or on a location shoot. You would have lots of time to set everything up, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or more. This is just not practical it you’re trying to take a photo of friends at the beach, or a party, and even harder if you’re trying to get a photo of the family cat, dog or a deer in the wild. (BTY if anyone says you’re not, a real photographer because you’re not in manual mode; just tell them this is not a studio and this not a supermodel shoot. If you were a real photographer you would know that, and then just walk away leaving them to think that over!) And yes please LOL and shake your head as you walk away!) So where do we start, most will tell you to start with (P) mode or program mode. This will get you off auto mode as you will now have control over the ISO and exposure compensation. However, this is very limiting and I don’t think it’s a good place to start. The truth is that’s where i started with my first digital camera. The (S) shutter priority mode is for allowing a subject like water to ether look smooth and flowing or to freeze the motion. This is great for waterfalls, water fountains, rivers, or the hockey game where you want to ether freeze the action or show a little movement in your photo. Most of us have see photos of cars that have a blurry line behind it or a river photo what looks soft and flowing. If you slow the shutter speed down to much you will need a tripod to put your camera on. So, (S) shutter priority mode is just not a good place to start. You don’t need to use shutter priority to get faster or slower shutter speeds, this can also be done with a higher or lower ISO in aperture mode. So the only thing left is (A) aperture mode, this may sound confusing where the Large F number means a small aperture and a small F number means a large aperture. Yes that is confusing; however it doesn’t have to be like that! Let’s change the F number to mean field of view, so that a large F number means a large field of view and a small F number is a small field of view. This is really what the F number is talking about in the first place and it’s much easier to understand. Before I get into this if you ask any pro photographer that is out in the field he/she will tell you “yes my camera is set to (A) aperture mode” This is because it’s the fastest way to get the shot. If you’re looking for an all round ISO one that will let you take photos in most lighting conditions I would go with ether ISO 400 or 800. I’ve used ISO 400 and 800 for sunrise and sunset shots with good quality results. This is much easier than trying to remember all the ISO setting and when to use them from the list below. If you really want to know more about ISO then here you go. ISO is just how sensitive the camera is to the light, just like your eyes, a low number the less sensitive and a high number is more sensitive. Is it a bright sunny day? If yes set your ISO to around 100 to 200 or lower, it’s like you or I putting on sunglasses. Is it a cloudy day? Set your ISO to around 200 to 400, that’s like taking off your sunglasses. Is it sunrise or sunset? Set your ISO to around 400 to 800 kind of like having a keychain flashlight. If it’s very dark and the sun is almost set, or your taking photos around the campfire at night move the ISO up to 800 to 1,600 or more, this is like a larger flashlight. These are just general settings for ISO keep in mind that above ISO 1,600 you are most likely to get digital noise or grain in you photos. It’s always better to use the lowest ISO you can for the best quality photos. However if you have fast changing light say, out in the field going from wooded land to open land and back again ISO 400 or 800 would be the best in these conditions. Easy camera lessons Part three (getting off auto-mode) Now all you have to think about is the F number or field of view. Okay, you’re at the beach having a beach party with friends and family the ISO is set for the light conditions as shown above, now what? I recommend you start with ISO 400 as you will be able to shoot all day without having to worry about changing it. As a matter of fact my camera is set to ISO 400 most of the time when I’m on the move. I would also recommend set the F number to F 8 this is a general setting sometimes called the sweet spot. It doesn’t matter what kind of lens you have such as a fixed lens, telephoto lens, 55 -70 MM zoom lens or even the make and model of the lens. All lenses have this sweet spot, it will give you a field of view that will take close ups and landscape photos with good quality results. Now that’s easier to understand than the aperture getting bigger or smaller and you have taken your first step in getting off auto mode! However, we can do much better than that; you will find that some of the photos have distracting backgrounds you wish were not there. What about that close-ups or the portrait of your friend, or the butterfly on the flower, or the bird in the tree. How do we make them stand out as the main focus of the photo, and do away with that annoying background? Move to a lower F number down to about F 4.5 or lower for a small field of view, this setting will have about 2 to 3 feet that is in focus for the close up and portrait photos, and blur out everything in front and behind the main subject. This will give your photo a nice blurry haze behind your subject while your subject stays in focus, giving your subject a 3D look. If you’re going to the zoo this is also a great setting, if you focus on the animal that’s behind a wire screen or cage you can actually blur the cage so much that it will disappear. Yes if you wanted too you could tell your friends you went on safari instead of the zoo. Landscapes are not as easy as you might think; you don’t just point and shoot. Again I would recommend an ISO of 400 and this time use an F number around F 18 or F 22 for a large field of view. You may notice that sometimes the foreground is blurry this is because cameras focuses with 2/3 being behind the focus point and 1/3 in front of it. So instead of focusing on you subject in the landscape focus about 1/3 of the way into the photo, hold the button in the half way down position, then go back, frame your shot and take the photo. Have you ever tried to take a photo of a bird in flight? Single shot mode here just will not work, set your camera to burst mode. The burst mode will let you take anywhere for 5 to 15 shots very fast before it slows down. I use ISO 400 and an f number of 4.5, this works for most lighting condition, however sometimes the bird’s wingtips are a bit blurry. If this happens I when set my ISO to 800. Remember the higher the ISO the more sensitive to light the camera is, this forces the camera to pick a faster shutter speed and will hopefully freeze the wingtips if not go to ISO for 1,600. BTY this also works for deer or other animals as well. In closing Just remember set you camera to ISO 400 and the F number to F 8, and have fun. You can play with the F number and ISO when you feel you’re ready to experiment. The only advice I have is "don`t over think it. The photo is already there you just have to record it! If you like it others will too."