Time to lay off that auto setting.....

Yay I have a new camera! Which no doubt you'll be seeing a lot more of, or at least a lot more photos from.

I have real trouble remembering all of the settings to use a camera manually, and trying to learn it all from a book is way too tricky - I can't remember what I did yesterday, let alone what ISO setting I should be using. So I instantly fell in love this pretty darn gorgeous cheat sheet, which lays it all out beautifully and visually.

It's from a site called Living in the Stills, (which is well worth checking out).

Here are some of the notes that came with it....

Aperture

- Small numbers (like f/1.4) have larger openings, which let in more light.

- Big numbers (like f/16) have smaller openings, which let in less light.

Shutter Speed

- Seeing 100, 250, 320, etc. on your viewfinder means “1/(number seen)”, like “1/100”.

- Try not to use 1/60 or less when handheld, that’s when you use a tripod or look for something steady.

- Using longer exposure (slow shutter speed) will let in more light.

- Using shorter exposure (fast shutter speed) will let in less light.

ISO

- ISO is the sensitivity of your camera to light

- Lower numbers are less sensitive to light, which give smoother photos.

- Higher numbers are very sensitive to light, which give very grainy and noisy photos.

I love that it is a visual representation of the settings. Its so much easier seeing things in a diagramatic way than a huge chapter in text.

Now I just need to print off a copy to go in my camera bag, and hey presto. I should be able to figure it out. I'll keep you posted.

Do you have any handy photography tips to share....?