Over the years I have had several different cameras, some film and some digital. One thing that I have learned is that what you know about your camera has a dramatic impact on what you are able to achieve with it. A camera is just a tool, and the better you get at using it, the better results you will have. It seems so obvious, and yet that is not what many advertisers would have you believe. Camera ads aim to convince you that their camera will take the best pictures. The truth is, cameras don’t take pictures any more than guns shoot people. People shoot with both guns and cameras.
If photography means to “paint with light,” then your camera is your brush and the light is your paint. Master your camera and master finding the light, and you have mastered photography (unless you stink at composition, of course). The simplest place to start is mastering your camera. Have you read your camera’s manual from cover to cover? If you haven’t, you really should, especially if you spent a lot of money on your camera. Chances are, your camera is capable of a whole lot more than you are aware if you haven’t taken the time to read the manual. I recommended going through it one section at a time with your camera in hand. If the manual mentions a button or a menu, find it and test it out.
Once you have learned all the functions of your camera, it’s time to find where your camera shines. When I had my Sony Cybershot, I learned to always keep the dial on ISO. I also learned that I had to make sure I was in a well lit area to get the best results, even if it meant flipping on extra lights or opening more windows. This is true of any camera. Good lighting is essential to good photography! Now that I use a DSLR, I keep my dial on M for manual. Sometimes I use Aperture priority if I am at a party or a wedding, simply because it’s faster. Depending on the situation, I may change other settings to fit the conditions. I have learned with settings work best for different lighting. Sometimes I use spot metering and sometimes I get better results with matrix metering. There is no way to really find out these types of things unless you practice and experiment.
By getting to know your camera well and learning more about light, you can take great pictures with just about any camera. It’s well worth the effort.