Concerning the above picture, well, I zoomed in all the way (300mm), and since my lens was rated 4.5-5.6, I was stuck with 5.6 as my lowest aperture. So could not go lower for more light. It was too far away for flash to be of any help. So adjusted my ISO film speed higher so that I can get it brighter, but with not too much noise. Shutter speed was set lower to also be brighter, but not introduce motion blur. I also turned on image stabilization. I had no tripod. I took several shots at different settings, and this ended up the best.
Did that mean anything to you? If not, then read on as I try to simplify things.
Also, play with this :
=======================================
SLR Simulator
http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator.html
Pay attenton to brightness as you change the settings. The goal of this SLR sim is to get that arrow in the scale to the middle. That means the brightness and darkness is evened out...(not too bright/not too dark).
But remember, the different settings also have different affects on your picture other than brightness.
=======================================
Below I discuss :.
a. Cheat sheet
Always remember that there are trade-offs : sometimes a setting for more brightness could give you more grain/noise/blurriness; sometimes a setting for more sharpness could introduce dimness. Better cameras can mean lesser trade-offs. Play around with your camera.
=================================================
Cheat sheet
Your subject is too dark?
d. choose a shorter focal length <wider shot> {trade-off is you might have to crop later}
e. use flash <within your rated distance for your flash!> {trade-off is artificial lighting}
non-camera adjustment :
f. re-frame your shot to remove bulbs/lighted signs/bright sky/etc from shot
Your action/movement shot has motion blur :
a. increase your shutter speed
<keep in mind that this makes your image darker, so to give
yourself more light/brightness to play with, do below>
d. choose a shorter focal length {trade-off is you might have to crop later because your shot will be wider}
e. use flash {trade-off is artificial lighting}
f. turn off image stabilization
non-camera adjustment :
g. tell your subject to stop moving
Your still/portrait/group/scenic shot is focused, but soft/fuzzy/blurry :
e. increase your shutter speed {trade-off is darker image}
<keep in mind that b,c,d,e settings could also make the image darker>
non-camera adjustment :
h. use a tripod
=================================================
e.g. - 100, 200, 400, ---------------------> 800, 1600, 3200
low number
darker image
less noise/grain
high number
brighter image
more noise/grain
ISO and Sharpness :
Low numbers give you sharper images for still/set shots. In general, you want the lowest ISO you can to get the best picture possible.
High numbers can be less sharp for still life, depending on the amount of “noise/grain” that is introduced (varies with each camera).
Details : film speed
In film, different film varied in their sensitivity to light, with higher ISO numbered film being able to take pictures in less light, only problem was pictures started looking "grainy-er". Same thing with digital. Better quality cameras introduce less noise at higher speeds.
=================================================
Shutter
e.g. - 500, 200 ---------------------> 25, 2, 1", 3", 5"
high/fast ----------------------------> low/slow
darker brighter
less chance for blur more chance for blur
faster shutter slower shutter
Quick notes :
low number
brighter image
slower shutter
high number
darker image
faster shutter
Shutter and Sharpness :
Low/slow numbers mean the shutter stays open longer, so any movement (e.g., child fidgeting, flower in the wind) could be captured, thus making your image more blurry. But low/slow does make your image brighter.
Higher/fast numbers mean the shutter opens and closes quickly, so less motion would be captured, so image would be sharper, but also darker.
Details :
low/slow shutter = means it opens and closes slowly, so stays open longer... hence like 1 second
high/fast shutter = means it opens and closes fast, so stays open shorter... hence like 1/500 of a second
Cameras usually show it as a number...so think of that number as 1/#, so if the number is 2000, the shutter stays open 1/2000th of a second...2 means 1/2 second...
After that, cameras usually display a quote (")...1" = 1 second, 5" = 5 seconds...and so on...
=================================================
Aperture
e.g. - 2.8, 3.0, 3.5, 4.5, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 12
low number
brighter image
background gets blurred (smaller depth of field = less stuff in front
and behind of your subject is in focus; so you get that nice/neat
effect of your target in focus, but everything else out of focus)
high number
darker image
more things in focus (larger depth of field = more stuff in front and
behind of your subject is in focus)
Aperture and Sharpness :
Lower number aperture values sometimes give less sharp pictures (aka "soft")...all depends on the build/quality of your lens.
Higher values usually increase sharpness, but then there are diminishing returns as you get higher, and it could also get softer if too high...and once again, all depends on the build/quality of your lens.
Details :
Your shutter opens and closes to take a picture; how wide your shutter opens up is determined by the aperture, with low values meaning it opens up wider.
"Depth of field" is defined as how much in front or behind your subject is in focus, as opposed to blurred out. The more in focus, the greater the depth of field. The less in focus, the smaller the depth of field. Whichever you want for your photo depends on you. Usually if you want the background too, then you want to use a high aperture...but if you just want pictures of people, then usually a smaller depth of field.
Important to note : if your camera lens has a range of apertures listed (e.g., 1:2.8-5.9), then that means, the aperture will change as you zoom out (wide) and zoom in (close). The lower apertures are only available when shooting wide.
Expensive camera lenses can maintain a low aperture throughout the entire zoom range.
=================================================
Focal length
e.g. - 1x zoom, 3x zoom, 20mm, 35mm, 50mm, 100mm
brighter image
wider shot; more in picture (aka wide field of view)
more bending/distortion at edge (people at edge of picture tend to
look fatter, or have their heads stretched out to the edge, or
straightlines no longer straight)
high number (e.g. 3X zoom, or 60mm, etc.)
darker image
zoomed in/close up shot; less in picture (aka narrow field of view)
less bending distortion at edge of picture
Focal length/zoom and Sharpness :
I found that at the extreme focal lengths of some of my lenses (either zoomed in all the way, or zoomed out all the way), I've lost sharpness of my picture. Play with you zoom/focal lengths to find that sweet spot/limits of sharpness for your lens/camera.
Details : zoom (for SLR lenses)
low = wider angle of view, subject is shown as farther away...good for scenic shots;
high = narrow angle of view, subject is shown as closer/zoomed in...good for times when subject far away
Just remember the closer you physically are to your subject, the more distorted their look might become (like looking at a ball or pin-cushion...hence the pin-cushion effect). The farther you go, the less this happens, but the smaller they get, of course. That's why some of the best lenses for taking pictures of people (portrait lenses) are around the 85mm range, so you can be farther away, but not too far.
Think of it this way : if you choose a low number/wider angle, the edges are already distorted, but since your subject appears smaller, then you can get closer to your subject and still keep them in the picture...but then remember a lens is curved, so now when you get closer, that "wideness" and the curvature of the lens makes them look even more distorted...
If you choose a higher number/narrower angle, then you have to step back, and the curvature of the lens affects the picture less and distortion becomes less.
For SLR lenses, it's pretty much gospel that fixed focal length (no zoom/aka prime lenses) are sharper than those with zoom. Manufacturers only have to worry about one focal length to make everything good, rather than have to worry about when lenses move to zoom in/out and making it sharp at each and all those focal lengths.
Optical vs Digital Zoom
Optical zoom adjusts the glass elements to get larger image projected onto your sensor. Think of using a telescope to zoom into a scene...sharp, yeah?
Digital zoom just takes what is already on the sensor, and enlarges a small portion of your sensor. Think of bringing your face closer to your TV. You are not enhancing the image in any way, just getting closer to the TV so you can see the imperfections as you get closer.
Using digital zoom is just like taking a regular optically zoomed image, then crop what you want later, and then enlarging that crop. But remember, you are also enlarging the imperfections as well.
One benefit to digital zoom is to let you target a specific area for your camera's brightness/focus settings. Let's say you have a 10 megapixel camera. You can use digital zoom so that your camera can adjust other settings to get proper exposure and focus, etc, by specifically targeting on what you are digitally zooming into. Then in a photo editor later, you can to shrink your image (thus reducing the imperfections/noise) to get a nice/sharp picture. How much to shrink will depend on the quality of the original digitally zoomed image. Your final useful image might be around 2 megapixels in size. It will be good, but it will be small, and is it worth the trouble? Up to you.
=================================================
"image stabilization/vibration reduction/optical stabilization/vibration control"
Note : These are more or less the same thing, but implemented differently on different cameras/brands.
One thing that ruins pictures is your hand shaking. So to counter-act this, you have to compromise your image quality by choosing settings to reduce this “blurring” that your shaking is introducing :
higher iso (maybe more noise), faster shutter (maybe darker), smaller value aperture (maybe less sharp).
Having this feature on your camera enables your camera to not have to make these compromises, at least depending on how good the image stabilization is.
What I say next may sound wrong, but believe me, TURN OFF stabilization features (even if using a tripod) to take a night time extended exposure (shutter stays open longer..like seconds). This is because if ANYTHING moves in the pic, your exposure will get blurred as the camera tries to stabilize..even flickering lights at night will affect this (and ALL lights flicker, we just can't see it).
Also turn it off during action shots...some cams have "horizontal image stabilization" to compensate for horizontal movement....experiment..
=================================================
White Balance
e.g. - lighbulb, flourescent bulb, sun, cloud, manual
If your camera allows this setting, try and use it if time permits. Otherwise your pictures can end up either yellowish, or greenish...and remember to reset it when you change environments...some of my pics in Vegas ended up blu-ish because I forgot I changed to different lighted areas...good thing I had the "review pics" option on so I caught it right away.
If using on-camera flash, then just leave at auto white balance, unless it has a "flash" white balance setting...experiment!
=================================================
Flash is both a good and bad thing.
Flash Good :
a. Lets you get pics you normally could not in dim light.
b. If your camera properly meters the flash, then your images are not too bright or too dark.
c. If your subject is in front of a bright light source (backlit), then he/she could end up dark as the camera compensates for that brightness...Flash can illuminate your subject.
d. If your subject is moving in dim light, flash will illuminate them and allow settings that reduce blur.
Flash Bad :
a. Can make your pic look artificial, as the light itself is artificial.
b. Also, if your subject is out of the recommended range of your flash, then your subject WILL look darker. Normally, the camera will sense that the flash is firing, so will choose settings to offset the brightness of the flash (it will choose darker settings)...but since your subject is out of the flash range, then your picture will look even more dark.
c. Sometimes subject gets too much light and is overexposed.
d. Also, could cause "harsh" lighting of your subject...that's why some photographers use a white "diffuser" to soften the flash and more evenly spread the light.
e. I've seen where I had no manual control over a flash's intensity/strength, so when I had a dark image when using flash, I chose 'brighter' settings, but then all that did was cause the camera to also adjust the flash intensity to be weaker (at least that's what I think happened)...hence my image was still dark....that's why : KNOW YOUR DISTANCE RATING for your on-camera flash...it should work properly within this range.
Flash Good or Bad, depending :
At night, flash will cause your subject to get lit up, but then your backgrounds could end up dark.
This is why I like to get cameras and/or lenses that perform well in low light. You can use the natural lighting more often, which is almost always better.
If you are using "Night Mode", remember to tell your subjects not to move for a second or two after the flash, because the shutter will stay open a little bit longer to grab available background light.
=================================================
Exposure :
e.g. - +2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Eh, I can't think of a uniform way to explain this right now, because how it is implemented differs on both my Canon and my Nikon. It is also affected by other settings, and depending on your shooting mode, sometimes you can set it, sometimes you can not.
It was kind of straighforwardly implemented on my Canon, but on my Nikon, for example, I had to set the + exposure value, then adjust other settings to get back to zero, then it was brighter...hard to explain right now...
But in general, a "+" value for exposure means brighter, and a "-" means darker.
=================================================
Remember, when the camera AUTO-CHOOSES any setting, it is basing it's choices on the available light...so if you are zoomed in from a distance, then that means the picture is darker, so camera might choose settings to bring in more light...but remember that there are trade-offs... maybe it will do a higher ISO, so your picture will look more grainy....get one thing, give up on another. With better cameras/lenses, the trade-offs are less painful..heh heh.
A = Aperture Priority
You choose the aperture, and camera will auto choose rest to try to get a good lighting picture.
S = Shutter Priority
You choose the shutter speed, and the camera will auto choose rest to try to get a good lighting picture.
M = Manual
You choose everything. Cameras normally have a scale to measure overall brightness. Try to make sure the arrow is closest to middle, which means darks and lights in picture even out. I only have experience with Canon and Nikon, but when in manual mode, there will be a meter/scale/ruler that displays whether too much or too little light.
Any other shooting mode
These other modes would be pre-set settings that the manufacturer determined as the best for whatever conditions you are shooting. Typical ones are action, portrait, landscape, night, macro.
Try and take a picture in one of these modes, then play back the picture and look at the details to see what settings the camera chose. Then if you don't like how the picture turned out, you can use these base settings and tweak them in Manual mode. This is a great way to learn about settings!
=================================================
=================================================
Notes
Action shots I usually go Shutter Priority, set my shutter to reduce the blur, and hope there is enough available light so the camera can choose best settings so picture is not too dark.
Or if still dark, then I don't even zoom so light is maximized, and just crop the part of my pictures I want later...
( ** Just realize when you crop your picture, you are taking a small portion of a regular picture, and making it bigger, so all the smaller imperfections that you might not notice in regular size, you might start noticing when you crop.)
Also, if there is a bright light source in the picture, then that will cause the camera to choose darker settings, thus causing your subject to be dark..."auto" averages all available light...but sometimes you have to sacrifice overall picture quality if you want to get your "target" photographed.
Typical problem would be at night when someone wants to take a picture next to a lighted sign. Well, if there is not enough light to "light up" your subject will be dark. Best to use a flash and adjust other settings so you can see the sign. But if that doesn't work, then you will have to choose all bright settings to get your subject bright enough, but that might cause the sign to be washed out.
Or pictures against a sunset. The bright sun in the background will make your subject will look dark. Definitely use flash, but keep in mind you might lose detail in the background. A good camera and good lighting will mean lesser trade-offs.
Also, play with this :
=======================================
SLR Simulator
http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator.html
Pay attenton to brightness as you change the settings. The goal of this SLR sim is to get that arrow in the scale to the middle. That means the brightness and darkness is evened out...(not too bright/not too dark).
But remember, the different settings also have different affects on your picture other than brightness.
=======================================
Below I discuss :.
b. Settings - I tried to discuss in an order from easiest to understand to more difficult to explain.
c. Shooting modes
d. What do those numbers at the front of your camera mean? (coming soon)
e. Crazy camera terms (coming soon)
Always remember that there are trade-offs : sometimes a setting for more brightness could give you more grain/noise/blurriness; sometimes a setting for more sharpness could introduce dimness. Better cameras can mean lesser trade-offs. Play around with your camera.
=================================================
Cheat sheet
Your subject is too dark?
a. lower your shutter speed {trade-off is might have motion blur}
b. choose a higher iso {trade-off is more noise}
c. lower your aperture {trade-off is shallower depth of field}d. choose a shorter focal length <wider shot> {trade-off is you might have to crop later}
e. use flash <within your rated distance for your flash!> {trade-off is artificial lighting}
non-camera adjustment :
f. re-frame your shot to remove bulbs/lighted signs/bright sky/etc from shot
Your action/movement shot has motion blur :
a. increase your shutter speed
<keep in mind that this makes your image darker, so to give
yourself more light/brightness to play with, do below>
b. choose a higher iso {trade-off is more noise}
c. lower your aperture {trade-off is decrease depth of field..you gain the dreamy/blurry background}d. choose a shorter focal length {trade-off is you might have to crop later because your shot will be wider}
e. use flash {trade-off is artificial lighting}
f. turn off image stabilization
non-camera adjustment :
g. tell your subject to stop moving
Your still/portrait/group/scenic shot is focused, but soft/fuzzy/blurry :
a. check your focus..is your camera focusing on your subject or something in front/behind?
b. raise your aperture {trade-off is sharper image but darker image and increase in depth of field}
c. choose a lower iso {trade-off is lower noise (good) but darker image (bad)}
d. choose a middle focal length {trade-off is you might have to crop later}b. raise your aperture {trade-off is sharper image but darker image and increase in depth of field}
c. choose a lower iso {trade-off is lower noise (good) but darker image (bad)}
e. increase your shutter speed {trade-off is darker image}
<keep in mind that b,c,d,e settings could also make the image darker>
f. use flash {trade-off is artificial lighting}
g. turn on image stabilizationnon-camera adjustment :
h. use a tripod
=================================================
SETTINGS
ISOe.g. - 100, 200, 400, ---------------------> 800, 1600, 3200
low/slow ----------------------------> high/fast
darker brighter
less noise/sharper more noise/grainy-er
Quick notes :darker brighter
less noise/sharper more noise/grainy-er
low number
darker image
less noise/grain
high number
brighter image
more noise/grain
ISO and Sharpness :
Low numbers give you sharper images for still/set shots. In general, you want the lowest ISO you can to get the best picture possible.
High numbers can be less sharp for still life, depending on the amount of “noise/grain” that is introduced (varies with each camera).
Details : film speed
In film, different film varied in their sensitivity to light, with higher ISO numbered film being able to take pictures in less light, only problem was pictures started looking "grainy-er". Same thing with digital. Better quality cameras introduce less noise at higher speeds.
=================================================
Shutter
e.g. - 500, 200 ---------------------> 25, 2, 1", 3", 5"
high/fast ----------------------------> low/slow
darker brighter
less chance for blur more chance for blur
faster shutter slower shutter
Quick notes :
low number
brighter image
slower shutter
high number
darker image
faster shutter
Shutter and Sharpness :
Low/slow numbers mean the shutter stays open longer, so any movement (e.g., child fidgeting, flower in the wind) could be captured, thus making your image more blurry. But low/slow does make your image brighter.
Higher/fast numbers mean the shutter opens and closes quickly, so less motion would be captured, so image would be sharper, but also darker.
Details :
low/slow shutter = means it opens and closes slowly, so stays open longer... hence like 1 second
high/fast shutter = means it opens and closes fast, so stays open shorter... hence like 1/500 of a second
Cameras usually show it as a number...so think of that number as 1/#, so if the number is 2000, the shutter stays open 1/2000th of a second...2 means 1/2 second...
After that, cameras usually display a quote (")...1" = 1 second, 5" = 5 seconds...and so on...
=================================================
Aperture
e.g. - 2.8, 3.0, 3.5, 4.5, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 12
wide open/shallow depth of field ---------------> deep depth of field
Quick notes :low number
brighter image
background gets blurred (smaller depth of field = less stuff in front
and behind of your subject is in focus; so you get that nice/neat
effect of your target in focus, but everything else out of focus)
high number
darker image
more things in focus (larger depth of field = more stuff in front and
behind of your subject is in focus)
Aperture and Sharpness :
Lower number aperture values sometimes give less sharp pictures (aka "soft")...all depends on the build/quality of your lens.
Higher values usually increase sharpness, but then there are diminishing returns as you get higher, and it could also get softer if too high...and once again, all depends on the build/quality of your lens.
Details :
Your shutter opens and closes to take a picture; how wide your shutter opens up is determined by the aperture, with low values meaning it opens up wider.
"Depth of field" is defined as how much in front or behind your subject is in focus, as opposed to blurred out. The more in focus, the greater the depth of field. The less in focus, the smaller the depth of field. Whichever you want for your photo depends on you. Usually if you want the background too, then you want to use a high aperture...but if you just want pictures of people, then usually a smaller depth of field.
Important to note : if your camera lens has a range of apertures listed (e.g., 1:2.8-5.9), then that means, the aperture will change as you zoom out (wide) and zoom in (close). The lower apertures are only available when shooting wide.
Expensive camera lenses can maintain a low aperture throughout the entire zoom range.
=================================================
Focal length
e.g. - 1x zoom, 3x zoom, 20mm, 35mm, 50mm, 100mm
short focal length/shooting wide ----------------------------> long focal length/shooting long
Quick notes :
low number (e.g. 1X zoom, or 20mm)brighter image
wider shot; more in picture (aka wide field of view)
more bending/distortion at edge (people at edge of picture tend to
look fatter, or have their heads stretched out to the edge, or
straightlines no longer straight)
high number (e.g. 3X zoom, or 60mm, etc.)
darker image
zoomed in/close up shot; less in picture (aka narrow field of view)
less bending distortion at edge of picture
Important to note : if your camera lens has a range of apertures listed (e.g., 1:2.8-5.9), then that means, the aperture will change as you zoom out (wide) and zoom in (close). The lower apertures are only available when shooting wide.
I found that at the extreme focal lengths of some of my lenses (either zoomed in all the way, or zoomed out all the way), I've lost sharpness of my picture. Play with you zoom/focal lengths to find that sweet spot/limits of sharpness for your lens/camera.
Details : zoom (for SLR lenses)
low = wider angle of view, subject is shown as farther away...good for scenic shots;
high = narrow angle of view, subject is shown as closer/zoomed in...good for times when subject far away
Just remember the closer you physically are to your subject, the more distorted their look might become (like looking at a ball or pin-cushion...hence the pin-cushion effect). The farther you go, the less this happens, but the smaller they get, of course. That's why some of the best lenses for taking pictures of people (portrait lenses) are around the 85mm range, so you can be farther away, but not too far.
Think of it this way : if you choose a low number/wider angle, the edges are already distorted, but since your subject appears smaller, then you can get closer to your subject and still keep them in the picture...but then remember a lens is curved, so now when you get closer, that "wideness" and the curvature of the lens makes them look even more distorted...
If you choose a higher number/narrower angle, then you have to step back, and the curvature of the lens affects the picture less and distortion becomes less.
For SLR lenses, it's pretty much gospel that fixed focal length (no zoom/aka prime lenses) are sharper than those with zoom. Manufacturers only have to worry about one focal length to make everything good, rather than have to worry about when lenses move to zoom in/out and making it sharp at each and all those focal lengths.
Optical vs Digital Zoom
Optical zoom adjusts the glass elements to get larger image projected onto your sensor. Think of using a telescope to zoom into a scene...sharp, yeah?
Digital zoom just takes what is already on the sensor, and enlarges a small portion of your sensor. Think of bringing your face closer to your TV. You are not enhancing the image in any way, just getting closer to the TV so you can see the imperfections as you get closer.
Using digital zoom is just like taking a regular optically zoomed image, then crop what you want later, and then enlarging that crop. But remember, you are also enlarging the imperfections as well.
=================================================
"image stabilization/vibration reduction/optical stabilization/vibration control"
Note : These are more or less the same thing, but implemented differently on different cameras/brands.
One thing that ruins pictures is your hand shaking. So to counter-act this, you have to compromise your image quality by choosing settings to reduce this “blurring” that your shaking is introducing :
higher iso (maybe more noise), faster shutter (maybe darker), smaller value aperture (maybe less sharp).
Having this feature on your camera enables your camera to not have to make these compromises, at least depending on how good the image stabilization is.
What I say next may sound wrong, but believe me, TURN OFF stabilization features (even if using a tripod) to take a night time extended exposure (shutter stays open longer..like seconds). This is because if ANYTHING moves in the pic, your exposure will get blurred as the camera tries to stabilize..even flickering lights at night will affect this (and ALL lights flicker, we just can't see it).
Also turn it off during action shots...some cams have "horizontal image stabilization" to compensate for horizontal movement....experiment..
=================================================
White Balance
e.g. - lighbulb, flourescent bulb, sun, cloud, manual
If your camera allows this setting, try and use it if time permits. Otherwise your pictures can end up either yellowish, or greenish...and remember to reset it when you change environments...some of my pics in Vegas ended up blu-ish because I forgot I changed to different lighted areas...good thing I had the "review pics" option on so I caught it right away.
If using on-camera flash, then just leave at auto white balance, unless it has a "flash" white balance setting...experiment!
=================================================
Flash is both a good and bad thing.
(Know the effective range/distance for your flash and stay within this if you use flash!)
a. Lets you get pics you normally could not in dim light.
b. If your camera properly meters the flash, then your images are not too bright or too dark.
c. If your subject is in front of a bright light source (backlit), then he/she could end up dark as the camera compensates for that brightness...Flash can illuminate your subject.
d. If your subject is moving in dim light, flash will illuminate them and allow settings that reduce blur.
Flash Bad :
a. Can make your pic look artificial, as the light itself is artificial.
b. Also, if your subject is out of the recommended range of your flash, then your subject WILL look darker. Normally, the camera will sense that the flash is firing, so will choose settings to offset the brightness of the flash (it will choose darker settings)...but since your subject is out of the flash range, then your picture will look even more dark.
c. Sometimes subject gets too much light and is overexposed.
d. Also, could cause "harsh" lighting of your subject...that's why some photographers use a white "diffuser" to soften the flash and more evenly spread the light.
e. I've seen where I had no manual control over a flash's intensity/strength, so when I had a dark image when using flash, I chose 'brighter' settings, but then all that did was cause the camera to also adjust the flash intensity to be weaker (at least that's what I think happened)...hence my image was still dark....that's why : KNOW YOUR DISTANCE RATING for your on-camera flash...it should work properly within this range.
Flash Good or Bad, depending :
At night, flash will cause your subject to get lit up, but then your backgrounds could end up dark.
This is why I like to get cameras and/or lenses that perform well in low light. You can use the natural lighting more often, which is almost always better.
If you are using "Night Mode", remember to tell your subjects not to move for a second or two after the flash, because the shutter will stay open a little bit longer to grab available background light.
=================================================
Exposure :
e.g. - +2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Eh, I can't think of a uniform way to explain this right now, because how it is implemented differs on both my Canon and my Nikon. It is also affected by other settings, and depending on your shooting mode, sometimes you can set it, sometimes you can not.
It was kind of straighforwardly implemented on my Canon, but on my Nikon, for example, I had to set the + exposure value, then adjust other settings to get back to zero, then it was brighter...hard to explain right now...
But in general, a "+" value for exposure means brighter, and a "-" means darker.
=================================================
SHOOTING MODES
Remember, when the camera AUTO-CHOOSES any setting, it is basing it's choices on the available light...so if you are zoomed in from a distance, then that means the picture is darker, so camera might choose settings to bring in more light...but remember that there are trade-offs... maybe it will do a higher ISO, so your picture will look more grainy....get one thing, give up on another. With better cameras/lenses, the trade-offs are less painful..heh heh.
A = Aperture Priority
You choose the aperture, and camera will auto choose rest to try to get a good lighting picture.
Important to note : if your camera lens has a range of apertures listed (e.g., 1:2.8-5.9), then that means, the aperture will change as you zoom out (wide) and zoom in (close). The lower apertures are only available when shooting wide.
S = Shutter Priority
You choose the shutter speed, and the camera will auto choose rest to try to get a good lighting picture.
M = Manual
You choose everything. Cameras normally have a scale to measure overall brightness. Try to make sure the arrow is closest to middle, which means darks and lights in picture even out. I only have experience with Canon and Nikon, but when in manual mode, there will be a meter/scale/ruler that displays whether too much or too little light.
These other modes would be pre-set settings that the manufacturer determined as the best for whatever conditions you are shooting. Typical ones are action, portrait, landscape, night, macro.
Try and take a picture in one of these modes, then play back the picture and look at the details to see what settings the camera chose. Then if you don't like how the picture turned out, you can use these base settings and tweak them in Manual mode. This is a great way to learn about settings!
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Notes
Action shots I usually go Shutter Priority, set my shutter to reduce the blur, and hope there is enough available light so the camera can choose best settings so picture is not too dark.
Or if still dark, then I don't even zoom so light is maximized, and just crop the part of my pictures I want later...
( ** Just realize when you crop your picture, you are taking a small portion of a regular picture, and making it bigger, so all the smaller imperfections that you might not notice in regular size, you might start noticing when you crop.)
Also, if there is a bright light source in the picture, then that will cause the camera to choose darker settings, thus causing your subject to be dark..."auto" averages all available light...but sometimes you have to sacrifice overall picture quality if you want to get your "target" photographed.
Typical problem would be at night when someone wants to take a picture next to a lighted sign. Well, if there is not enough light to "light up" your subject will be dark. Best to use a flash and adjust other settings so you can see the sign. But if that doesn't work, then you will have to choose all bright settings to get your subject bright enough, but that might cause the sign to be washed out.
Or pictures against a sunset. The bright sun in the background will make your subject will look dark. Definitely use flash, but keep in mind you might lose detail in the background. A good camera and good lighting will mean lesser trade-offs.
