Most people new to photography find Manual Mode scary.  Keep practicing with it.  You will find you will start trusting yourself and your manual mode more than trusting your camera with the auto settings.  After all you know the look you are after and the camera can't read your mind.....yet.....

Manual Mode
 
This is usually the ‘M’ setting on your camera.  This setting allows you to adjust all the photo settings.
 
This is how I think through a photo when I use the Manual setting if I want to take a portrait or still scene:
 

1. What is the lighting conditions and how big do I want the photo?  Set ISO to match.
2. What depth of field do I want? Do I want a blurry background or a nice crisp scene?  Set f stop to match.
3. I probably don't want any motion blur with portraits or still scene so I then set shutter speed to create no motion blur, and get my exposure correct.
4. Take test shot.
5. Adjust if needed, e.g. photo is too dark or light; change ISO and/or shutter speed to let in more or less light.

If I am taking a night shot or I want to blur motion then I swap steps 2 and 3.
Step 2 will be:  Set a slow shutter speed to create the movement blur I want, or because it is low light in the dark. (I will probably be using a tripod too).
Step 3 will be: Set f.stop to help with correct exposure
Step 5 will be:  Adjust if needed, e.g. photo is too dark or light; change ISO and/or F Stops to get the exposure I want.

MANUAL PHOTO CHALLENGE
Do all the photo challenges again using Manual Mode only!!  You can do it, you know how and practice practice practice.
 

Congrats on completing the photography course for kids and beginners!!

Below is some points to remember.  I type or write each separately, laminate them and hang them each on a key ring to pop into my students camera bags for easy reference.

​ 
PANNING
 
Following the moving subject with your camera, even when you are pushing down the shutter button.
The background will show movement while keeping the subject reasonably clear.
 
FOCUS LOCK
First put subject in centre of photo and push shutter button halfway down to lock in focus, then while still holding down the shutter button you can place the subject where you want in the frame before fully clicking the shutter button.

 
BLURRING BACKGROUND WITH DISTANCE
The further away the subject is from the background, the more blurred the background will be.
The more you have to zoom into a subject the more blurred the background will be.
 
AV SETTING
Aperture Priority
Lets you control the depth of field and the camera will take care of the shutter speed.
The bigger F Stop number
The bigger amount in focus
The bigger amount of light needed.

 
‘S’ OR ‘TV’ SETTING
Allows you to set your shutter speed and the camera will choose the f stop.
A fast shutter speed will freeze movement.
(e.g. 1/250, 250th of a second)
A slow shutter speed, blurs movement (e.g. 0.3”, 3 seconds)
 
ISO
100 – Good for big sized printing; for bright daylight or flash photography
200- For daylight or flash
400- Cloudy day, evening, light indoors.
800 – Indoors
1600 upwards – bad lighting

 
MANUAL – STEPS
What size prints are needed and what are the lighting conditions?
Set ISO to match.
Set f stop. for wanted depth of field.
Set shutter speed.
Take shot and adjust if needed.
 
BULB
When adjusting shutter speed, if you turn the shutter dial to the left as far as it will go it will reach BULB.  A Bulb exposure keeps the shutter open for as long as you hold down the shutter button.

 

ISO
 

• ISO means ‘Imaging Sensor’s Sensitivity to light’.
• The more light you need the higher the ISO setting you will need.
• ISO speeds of 100 or 200 are for sunny outdoors or flash photography.
• ISO speeds of 400 or 800 are for cloudy dark days and evening.
• ISO speed of 1600 or higher is for night or dark indoors.
• The higher the ISO is, the more grainier the photo will appear. (another term is more ‘noise’).  So if you want to print your photo into a large poster, it will look better with less noise, so I would use an ISO up to 400  and try to create more light in otherways if needed.

 


Shutter Speed
 

• Some cameras have a ‘S’ or ‘TV’ shutter priority mode.  This will allow you to choose your shutter speed and the camera will choose your f.stop for you to get the right exposure.
• A shutter speed is measured  in seconds.  An example of a common shutter speed that is quite fast is shown as 1/250 on your camera.  This means 250th of a second.  An example of a slow shutter speed click is 0.3” which 3 seconds.  Some cameras will let you set a shutter speed called BULB or B.  This means the shutter will stay open for as long as you hold the shutter button down.
• A short quick shutter speed will freeze a moving subject in focus, like your sport setting.  A long shutter speed means the camera shutter stays open for longer and more movement and light are captured, this makes any motion blurry.
• You will need a tripod if using a slow shutter speed as it will even pick up any slight hand movement.  
• You may want to use your hand movement to create an interesting pattern or panning effect.
• If you want blurry water in a waterfall or river setting or if there is not much light, you would use a low, slow, shutter speed.
• Don’t think if it’s blurred it’s not a good picture.  Pictures tell stories and sometimes we want our photo to show a sense of movement.

 

SHUTTER SPEED CHALLENGE
You may need a tripod for these challenges. 

If you are finding the photos are too light because you are taking them in the daytime, I will allow you to jump ahead in the lessons here, and switch your camera to manual mode.  Put your ISO to 100, your F.Stop as a high number, and then set your slow shutter speed.
 
Use running water as your subject.  Can be a fountain, a river, a waterfall or even water from a hose or tap and take a photo making the water blurred.
 
Take a photo of a night scene.
 
Take a photo that creates a sense of movement, e.g. waving a flag, ribbons, poi, dancing.

Take a photo while spinning the lens or pulling the lens in and out.

How was this photo taken?  Notice the spinning background.

ANSWER:  Using a flash (2nd curtain sync)  with a slow shutter speed while spinning the lens.

​ From now on the photography lessons require a camera where you are able to change the F.Stops, shutter speeds, ISO's.
If your child does not have one they can still have fun taking the different types of photos in the challenges.


FOCAL LENGTH
Choice of lens dictates how much of a scene you are able to include in a photo.  
This is described in the terms of lens ‘focal length’.  These lengths are written on the side of the lens in millimeters, (mm).
Shorter focal lengths (wide angle lenses) give a wide angle view.
Longer focal lengths (telephoto lenses) give a long narrow view. 
 
Lens Focal Length
Lens Type
Possible Use

Less than 21mm
Extreme wide angle
Architecture

21-35mm
Wide angle
Landscape

35-70mm
Normal
Documentary

70-135mm
Medium Telephoto
Portraiture

135mm-300mm
Telephoto
Sports, Wildlife

 
 
     APERTURE

• The aperture in a camera is like an iris of an eye, widening and narrowing.
• The aperture settings are called ‘F stops’. The smaller the f stop number the larger the aperture opening is.
• Aperture settings will allow more or less light in your photo.
• Aperture setting will also alter the depth of field.  Depth of field is how much of the area from far to near that is in focus.

 
An easier way to remember F stop settings:
      
A big f.stop number means you want a big amount of the picture in focus.  You also need a larger amount of light (because the opening is small, need more light.  You may need to use a flash or a slower shutter speed).   

So Big F stop, Big area in focus, Big amount of light needed.                                      
 
A small f.stop means you want a small amount in focus, more blur around the subject. So Small F stop, Small area in focus, Small amount of light needed.
 

Take note of the background flowers in these photos.  The first photo, the camera is set to f.stop 29.  The photo on the right is f.stop 4.5

Most cameras have a black and white setting.  I put this lesson after the lighting lesson, as black and white photos along with use of lighting can create some beautiful images.  

Black and white is my favourite.  I love the mood it creates, the classic look, I find it nostalgic and cool and warming at the same time.

I usually go into a photo session knowing if I'm doing it as black and white photo shoot, or colour, but sometimes I come across a colour photo and know that it would look awesome in black and white and go with it.  As these lessons are about learning as your playing and experimenting, I tell my class, if they feel they want to go black and white anytime during the whole course, then they can.

Things to consider for black and white photography:

• Black and white can alter the mood and feel of a photo from a colour version.
• You don't have colours to make things stand out.  Be aware of the background and how some colours blend together in black and white.
• A black and white photo needs more of a focal point.  Too many things in an image can make a black and white  picture uninteresting because nothing stands out.  (there are always exceptions, so it doesn't mean you can't experiment with this.)  For instance a street carnival may be an exciting image in colour because it is colourful, but loses it's appeal in black and white.
• Play with lighting.   Black and white photography is great for contrasting  shadow and light.

Facial expressions and textures also stand out in black and white.

PHOTO CHALLENGE
Take 3 different scened photos in colour and after taking the shot in colour, take it again in black and white.  Compare and take note of how each changed.  Did the mood of the photo change?  Did you focus on something different or did you notice different things within the photos?

Lighting can help create really beautiful photos and it can also really mess up a photo!   
Sometimes the lighting is just perfect as it is and you don't have to do anything to it. 
Sometimes you have to change the lighting that is there to get the photo you need. 
Sometimes you have a photo in mind and you create the lighting you want.

NATURAL LIGHTING
Natural light gives a more natural picture, more like how we see it.
There will be a light source side and  a shadow side.
​
Most cameras will have a setting where you can turn off your camera flash on auto modes.  It will usually be a flash symbol with a cross / slash through it. 
If you do this and the subject is in low light you may need a tripod to prevent movement blur.  (Blurring happens in low light because your camera may be using a slow shutter speed.  More on that in later lesson).
 If you don’t have a tripod, balance your camera on books or a bench.  Make sure the camera won’t fall off and will keep still.

PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING
There is lots of lighting equipment to shape the light to create a photo we want.

Camera flashes, external flashes (speedlights or flashes you can take off the camera and use).

Studio lights, (bigger lights than camera flashes that are either provide a flash of light or a constant source of light).  There is also studio lighting you can take outdoors.

Diffusers that you can put onto your camera lighting to diffuse or soften and spread your light.

Reflectors are usually white, silver or gold and bounce light back onto a subject.

PHOTOS OUTSIDE
Light sources:  Sun / moon, water, outside lights, fire, white backgrounds like white walls or snow.

Scenarios you come across with natural lighting.
Portraits
I take mostly portraits, and the worst lighting conditions for me is a bright sunny day.  Why?  The sun is such a strong light source that I have to work around it to get a nice light on the subjects faces.
Have your subject facing the sun and they will be well lit up, but they will be squinting against the sunlight.  Have your subject side on to the sun and they will get weird shadows across their face cast by their nose and hair, one side of their face will be bright and one side in shadow.  Have your subject with the sun at their back they will be silhouetted and the sun can shine directly into your lens and create lens flare.

What I do taking portraits in natural outside light:
For an evenly lit portrait, I prefer a cloudy day. The clouds diffuse or soften and spread the sunlight so there is no harsh shadows.   
If it isn't cloudy, I will try and put my subject in the shade, under a tree or a wall shadow so again the light is diffused.
If I can't find shade then I will be using camera flashes with or without diffusers to fill in the shadow spots, and/or reflectors to try and bounce light back onto their faces on the shady side.

If you don't have camera flashes, diffusers and reflectors?  Try torches or anything that lights up.  For diffusing your light you can use thin cloth, tissues anything you can put over your light that doesn't block it out completely.   Reflector can be a sheet of tin foil or whiteboard, mirrors, even water like a lake that the sun is bouncing off.  Anything white or shiny should work.

If your subject is in front of water it can create a silhouette of the subject, or it make the water too light so you lose the scenery.  This is because water is a reflective light source.  To combat this, I will use a flash to light up the subject, but still have the scenery in its natural lighting.

Landscapes, buildings, scene photography
There are some scenarios I wouldn't want to change the lighting for.  Sunsets and Sunrise, street photography, scenes where I want the scene to be captured exactly how it was, ( e.g. events, street scenes).
Buildings and landscapes are hard to change the lighting with, as you can't move them!  But you can move yourself to get a look you like, be aware of where the shadows fall.  If you want to show off the blue sky in your scene, you are going to have the sun behind or at least to the side of you.

Shadows, Silhouettes, Lens Flare don't have to be a bad thing.
Sometimes I like and want shadows, silhouettes and lens flare in my photos.  Don't think they are bad.  You are the artist and light and shadow are things you can decide what to do with.
​

PHOTOS INSIDE
You can really play with light inside. 
I love using natural light inside in my portraits.  Windows and doorways provide a small focused area of light that I think creates beautiful moody photos.  You can also create silhouettes by using them behind a subject.
Studio lights and camera flashes can be used to create light from specific directions, (or lamps, torches if you don't have those).
Here is some examples and how the lighting was created.

PHOTO CHALLENGE
Two photos, indoors, with 2 different light sources.
Outdoor photos showing one of each of these:

• Evenly lit subject
• Using shadows
• Creating lens flare
• A sunset

ANSWER:  You could put a light behind the subject facing upwards lighting up the wall, or a light to the side lighting up the dark side, or a reflector on the dark side to try and soften the shadow.

Michael aged 15 years playing with torchlight and a boat.

Some cameras have a sports or running man mode.  This setting is for freezing action.  It uses a fast shutter speed.  We will be learning how to change your shutter speed to blur motion in a later lesson.

On sports mode, your subject should still be in sharp focus with minimal if any movement blur.
It captures a moment in time.

Tip for capturing movement:  Push your shutter button just before you think you need to.  A digital camera will always have a slight delay after you push the shutter button to when it takes the photo.  It will take a few practice shots for you to figure out your own camera's response.

Remember when shooting a moving object you may need to follow it with your camera, even while you are clicking the shutter button.  ‘Panning’.
 
 NOW FOR SOME FUN!!
Freezing Action Photo Challenge:
 
Take photos of 3 different movement scenarios and then pick out your best 3 from them all.
IDEAS:
A running or jumping person. Skip rope or trampoline jumping.  Hop scotch.
Flowing water. Colour some water, splatter some paint, water bombs!
A moving car, racing, hotwheels, mountain biking.

Remember we are freezing movement for this lesson.  We will be blurring movement for more fun later.
 

Macro photography is the art of taking close up pictures that often reveals details that you don’t notice from a distance or with the naked eye.
The macro setting on cameras will likely be a flower symbol on the camera dial or screen menu.  If you don't have this, just use your auto mode.
Some cameras / lenses will be able to get closer than others depending on their focal length. (More on focal length in another lesson).  There are special macro lenses you can buy if you find you really like macro photography.

TIPS

•  Make sure that the important part of the subject is in focus.
• The closer you are to the subject,  the smaller  the amount will be in focus, (called a narrow  or shallow depth of field).
• Be aware of what your background is doing, we want the subject to stand out, ( e.g blending colours or too many textures in the background might obscure the object  being photographed.)

 

Take 5 close up photos of 5 different things.  Look for things you may not always notice, like small insects or textures.
Here are some past student examples:

If you have removable camera lenses, try these Macro experiments:
 
FIRST EXPERIMENT – ONE CAMERA LENS

• Turn your lens around and hold it back to front on the camera.  Your lens will now be more macro; you can still take a photo just holding it in place and moving your camera back and forth until your subject is in focus.

 
SECOND EXPERIMENT – TWO CAMERA LENSES

• Turn camera into aperture priority mode (AV).

• The 2 lenses must be set to manual focus.
• Put the longer zoom lens on the camera.  
• Look on the outside of lens to find the focal length settings. Set the zoom on the lens to between 80-100mm focal length and have it focused on infinity ‘8’ symbol or to the left.
• Set the smaller zoom to 50mm focal length and have it also focused to infinity.
• Now with a strong tape, attach the small lens to the longer lens, face to face.  
• Mount your camera on a tripod for stability.
• Find a subject to photograph
• To focus, move the camera in towards the subject, don’t try and focus by turning the lens or using auto focus.
• The front of the lens will need to be about 3-4 cms away from the subject.
• The lenses will now create a more powerful macro lens.

 
 Here is a link to a good 2 lens macro tutorial:   CLICK HERE

The landscape setting on your camera will likely be a hill type picture on the camera setting dial or  screen menu.  This is the setting we are using today.  If your camera does not have this setting, then use the auto mode.
The landscape setting on your camera keeps everything in focus, from near to far.  It also makes greens and blues more vivid and sharp.

TIPS FOR LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

• Even if a landscape is covering a large area, still have a point of interest.  Think about the details, interesting features or perspectives (the height you may take the picture), think about colours, the atmosphere or mood of the photo.
• When using a zoom lens, use the wide angle end, the end that allows you to see the most.  This keeps objects near and far in focus better than the telephoto or close up end.
• Consider whether to take your photo in landscape to get more of the scene or in portrait to get a narrow scene.  What does this mean?  

Taking a photo in landscape means you are viewing the photo with a wide rectangle.  You can also take a photo in portrait, which means you are viewing the photo in a tall narrow rectangle.

EXAMPLES:
​

Choose a scene or place and take 5 different photos that show interesting features of your location.  Maybe its the same location and scene but at different times or in different weather.  

Send me your favourite!!

Portraits are my favourite form of photography.  I love telling stories through photos about people.

A lot of cameras will have a portrait setting.  Some will say portrait on the screen menu, others will show a persons head on the camera setting dial or on the screen menu.  This is the setting we will be using today.  If you do  not have it, then just use the auto mode on your camera.

The portrait setting on your camera makes the human subject stand out.  It also makes flesh tones and hair look softer. More detail about why that is and how you can change this, will be shown in a later lesson.

TIPS FOR TAKING PORTRAITS

• Remember the subject does not have to smiling, looking at the camera.  They do not have to be in the center of the photo, or have their whole body in the photo.
• Great portrait shots show a subject’s personality, not just what they look like.
• Try to avoid full sunlight at this stage of the lessons.  Harsh sunlight can make the subject squint or create harsh shadows on their face.   We will discuss working with light in a later lesson.  If it is a bright sunny day and you want the subject looking at the camera, put then in the shade for even lighting.  
  
• To make the subject stand out, it is nice to have a blurred background.  There are camera settings to help achieve this, which we will learn about later, but for those cameras that don't have advanced settings, here is a trick: 
  

The more distance between the subject and background, the more blurred the background will be.
(Make them stand away from the background). 
The more distance between the photographer and the subject, the more blurred the background will be.
(Back off from your subject and use your zoom on your camera to get in close).

Posed Portraits:  Planning what portraits you would like, what story or feeling you want to convey, and then have some ideas for props poses and face expressions you want to achieve.  One thing you will find out though is that planned photo sessions, never go 100% to plan.  Don't worry, work with what happens.  Some of the best photos can be from happy accidents.
I am not going to tell you any posing rules, I want you to play and  experiment.

Unposed Portraits / Natural Portraits: These portraits are more about taking photos of a subject doing there own thing.  You might be capturing them playing sports or playing.  You may also, set the scene, like a dog with a ball, or a person reading a book, walking along the beach,  but you let the subject do what they would do naturally in that situation.  You may suggest things from time to time, like a direction to look if their hair is blowing on their face and you don't won't that, or they are looking down and you can't see them, but it will mostly be you moving around to get the right shot, rather than posing the subject to suit you.
Natural portraits and can show off their personality and interests.

EXAMPLES OF POSED PORTRAITS

EXAMPLES OF NATURAL PORTRAITS

Have a go at these portrait photography exercises:

CREATE 3 POSED PHOTOS You control the scene and poses and what story you want to tell.
CREATE 1 THEMED PORTRAIT Choose a theme, it might be a colour, a storybook character, a song, whatever you want.  Get some props / costumes together and do a portrait session, then choose your best photo to represent your theme.
Here is a couple of examples:

CREATE 3 NATURAL PORTRAITS  Make sure you have permission to take photos of them first.  Take 3 natural photos of a subject, trying not to change anything, just capturing what happens,

​I would love to see your results!!

Photography is an artform.
 What do you think makes a good piece of artwork?

Here are my thoughts:
Like any good piece of art, a good photo will

• Catch your eye or interest.
• Make a person ponder over it and think about it, even when the photo is no longer in front of them.
• Will evoke an emotional response.

 
Today I will give you some tips and some exercises to help you create interesting photos and have some fun!

Tools for todays lesson: Any camera on auto mode, and your imagination.

TIPS:
Use the best quality image setting your camera can do. 
The better the quality, the bigger you can print out your photos and the more editing you can do to them.
This will take up more space in your camera's file storage, but do not be afraid to delete photos you don't like and keep only the ones you love.

Optical Zoom. When the lens goes in and out on your camera, that is your optical zoom.  This is the good zoom to use.
Some cameras (like on your phone or tablet), use a digital zoom.  You zoom in and out on the screen. It doesn't produce an image quality as good as an optical zoom.  You can still use it, but even better is moving yourself closer or further away to get the image you want.

Do not be afraid to get in close.
You do not need to get the whole of the subject in the photo.  Sometimes it is more interesting when you don't.
When you take a photo of only part of a subject or scene, cutting out all the rest, this is called cropping.  It can also be done in photo editing software.

The subject does not have to be in the center of the photo.
Would the photo below be as interesting if the trampoline jumper was in the center of photo?  By having him on the edge it shows more action.  It is like he his jumping out of the photo.

How do you get your camera to focus on something that is not in the center of a photo?
Some cameras have a 'Focus Lock'.  If you put your subject in the center, then push the shutter button halfway down and keep it there,  it will focus on anything that is that same distance away from your camera.  So I can put my subject in the center, use my focus lock button to lock in the focus distance then move my camera so my subject is on the edge of my photo, then fully push the shutter button down to take the photo.
Some cameras will keep adjusting the focus so long as you keep holding the shutter button halfway down.  This is great for when you are photographing something moving, either coming towards you or going past you.  You can follow a fast motorbike with focus lock and then push fully down to take the shot when you think it looks good. This is called panning.   

Some cameras allow you to focus on different areas of a shot by touching the area on the screen, where you want the camera to focus.

The subject does not have to be smiling or looking at the camera.

 CREATE SOMETHING INTERESTING
1 - Choose 1 thing to photograph.  Take 5 different photos of it.  (Think near, far, up, down, angles).
2- Stand in one place.  You can turn around, but you can't move from that spot.  Take 10 different photos. (Take real notice of what is around you).

3- Photo Scavenger Hunt - Find and take a photo of based on each of these things:

1. Rough
2. Old
   
3. Nature
   
4. Metal
   
5. Smooth
   
6. Words
7. Colourful
8. New
   
9. Lines
   
10. Round
    

And here ends your first lesson!
I would love to see your best shot.