• Have you ever desecrated beautiful flowers with a horrible picture like this?

How to Take Great Pictures

You must balance 3 ratios:1. Aperture2. Shutter Speed3. ISO

1. Aperture: ratio of the focal length and diameter opening of your lens

• Small F Number (2.8) = big opening; lots of light; shallow focus

• Big F Number (22) = small opening; little light; wide focus

• This picture is at F 2.8:

• This picture is at F 22:

2. Shutter Speed: the length of time that the mirror is up and the camera sensor is exposed to light

•Smaller Fraction (1 / 1,000 second) = captures little light but freezes action•Larger Fraction (1 / 20 second) = captures lots of light but tends to blur action

• This picture is at a shutter speed of 1 / 1,000 second.

• This picture is at a shutter speed of 1 / 20 second.

3. ISO: sensitivity of the sensor (or film) to light

•Smaller Number (100) = captures little light with great clarity•Larger Number (3,200) = captures lots of light with a very grainy look

• This picture is at ISO 100:

• This picture is at ISO 3,200.

The Best Shots Balance…

1.The Best Aperture Number for light intake and depth of focus 2.The Best Shutter Speed for light intake and freezing or blurring of movement3.The Smallest ISO Number for light intake, aperture, and shutter speed

• Q: But how on earth can I balance all these numbers?

• A: Use the built-in camera light meter as a guide!

• F 3.2 @ 1 / 500 Second @ ISO 3,200:

• F 2.8 @ 1 / 500 Second @ ISO 3,200:

• F 16 @ 1 / 160 Second @ ISO 100:

• F 2.8 @ 1 / 2,500 Second @ ISO 3,200: