How To Take Photos On A Camera’s Manual Mode

The manual setting on your camera can seem intimidating, but there’s no reason to fear it. As long as you know these three main manual mode settings, you can set your camera to capture exactly what you want, how you want!

How to take photos on the camera’s manual mode

ISO

What it does: controls how sensitive your camera is to light 

When to adjust it: whenever there is bright or low light.

A good place to start: 200–400 ISO

Although nearly all the settings on a camera can affect the amount of light in an image, the ISO is arguably one of the most important. 

Cameras have a sensor built into them that takes into account the amount of light in your lens, which, essentially, is used to create a digital replica of what you’re looking at. Adjusting the ISO tells the sensor how much light it needs to pick up or how sensitive it needs to be to subtle differences in light. 

This comes in handy when you’re taking pictures outdoors on a sunny day or if you’re indoors with low light. If the image is too bright, then you can lower the light sensitivity (ISO) and the picture will come out a little darker. If it’s too dark indoors or at night time, then you can tell the sensor to let in more light by increasing the ISO. 

Experiment with different ISO settings to find what setting will look best, and remember that you can still add light through other camera settings without compromising the sharpness of your image. 

Watch out for this side-effect: 

The only thing to watch out for here is that increasing the ISO too much can result in a grainy image. The higher the ISO, the grainier the image. The lower the ISO, the sharper it is. 

Shutter speed

What it does: controls how quickly the photo is taken

When to adjust it: when you want to capture motion or freeze a moment in time

A good place to start: anywhere between 1/50–1/1000

Have you ever tried to take a photo of your pet, a bird in flight or a moving car? You’ve probably noticed that these types of action shots often end up blurred, obscuring the details you’re trying so hard to capture. 

One of the first things to consider when adjusting your camera settings is what kind of effect you’re looking to capture. Are you looking to catch a freeze-frame of a dog catching a ball in mid-air, or are you wanting to create the blurred effect of a race car zooming past?

The shutter speed controls how long the camera is taking the picture, so the longer you let your camera create the image, the more light (which translates to color and shape) it’s going to let in through the lens. The quicker it takes the image, the less it’s going to capture. 

The shutter speed setting shows as fractions on your settings screen, denoting how many seconds the shutter is open for. Though these fractions may seem very small already, a shutter speed of 1/25 is going to produce a much more blurry photo than a shutter speed of 1/1000. If you’re looking to capture a crisp image of a soccer player kicking a ball, you may need a faster shutter speed with a smaller fraction. If you want to capture streaks of car lights in traffic, then leave the shutter open for anything from 3 to 30 seconds. 

The range is wide, so play around with different speeds to find the one that gives you the desired result.

Watch out for these side-effects: 

The longer the shutter is open, the more light is let in (and vice-versa). This may result in an image that’s so bright (or so dark) that you can’t see anything at all. If you’re determined to keep your shutter speed as-is, then adjust the ISO or the aperture to reduce the amount of light in the image. 

If you’re using anything slower than 1/25, then use a tripod to avoid camera shake. 

Aperture

What it does: controls how much of the scene is in focus

When to adjust it: when you want to change the depth of field

A good place to start: F/3.0–F/8.0

Changing the aperture will change the amount of lens that the shutters cover when it captures the image. The higher the aperture, the more lens it covers; the lower the aperture, the less lens it covers. The numbers associated with these settings are called f-stops. 

What does this mean? It means that if more of the lens is open (a low f-stop number), then more light can come through and your subject is more in focus. This results in a blurred background and brighter image. This setting is especially good for portrait photography.

The higher the f-stop, the less light is able to come through the hole in the shutter. This means that the image is darker and more of the background is in focus. This is great for outdoor landscape photography when you’re trying to capture a large scene and a greater depth of field. 

Watch out for these side-effects: 

Going too low on the f-stop setting can make it difficult to get your subject in focus. If your setting is too low and you aren’t perfectly placed, then your subject will become part of a blurry background. A good rule of thumb is to stay above F/3.5 to start with.

Now what?

Now that you know what these important manual settings are, you can start adjusting the settings and experimenting with different combinations. Be prepared to constantly adjust these settings and take plenty of experimental shots before you find the combination that works. 

Prioritize shutter speed if you're looking to freeze-frame or capture motion.

Prioritize aperture if you’re focusing on something specific.

Prioritize ISO if you’re in extreme light or dark.

If in doubt, it’s okay to have the image come out a little darker on your camera. You can always increase the exposure on an editing app, but it’s much harder to decrease it. As long as your subject is in focus and your shutter speed is set, then editing your photos becomes much easier. 

Good luck!

Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/JESHOOTS-com