The start of my photographic journey
When my dad bought his camera, a Canon 5D Mark II, a couple of years ago he was expecting to get great photos from it. But the results were quite disappointing at times, there was no consistency in the quality of the pictures. So I asked him how he was using the camera and what all the settings and dials exactly mean and do. His answer was basically this:
“I always shoot in Automatic mode. This is an expensive camera, so it knows better than me how to take a good picture.”
Now, after a couple of great travel adventures, I really got more and more into photography. YouTube tutorials, e-books, blogs, articles, magazines, phototography museums, ... you name it, were and all part of my learning aids. Right now, I can't recall the last time I used the Auto mode on my camera. Most of the time I use the Aperture priority mode and when I use strobes/flashes I turn to Manual mode for complete control. There is no better feeling in photography than nailing a good exposure when in Manual mode, trust me on that one.
Since my photographic journey is still in an early stage, I can very much relate to the difficulties that every beginning photographer faces when he looks at his/hers seemingly 'very complex' DSLR camera. So I decided to explain some of the key concepts and basics of photography in this blog. Just look for the tag "Move to M(anual)" and learn. As my skills develop, so will the concepts in this blog, because getting better requires learning the theory and then going out there and shoot, shoot and shoot some more.