Master Your Camera: Photography Basics for Beginners

Presented by: Sonny Photos

For more tips and upcoming workshops, visit: http://sonny.photos

HOUR 1: Getting Grounded

Theme: The Camera as a Tool — Exposure and Essentials

Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to your first photography workshop! This class is designed to help you understand the core elements of photography and begin using your camera with purpose and creativity. Whether you’ve just bought a camera or you’ve had one for a while but stayed in Auto mode, you’re in the right place.

You do not need a fancy or expensive camera. What you need is curiosity and a willingness to explore and make mistakes. By the end of this class, you’ll have a foundation in how to use manual mode, control light, and frame more powerful photos.

What is the Exposure Triangle?

Let’s break it down using different styles and examples so you can see how these principles work across genres and situations: Photography is painting with light. To do that effectively, you need to understand three main controls on your camera: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO.

These three settings work together to determine the brightness (exposure) and visual feel of your image.

Aperture (measured in f-stops like f/2.8, f/8, f/16)

• Portrait Photography: Use a wide aperture (f/1.8–f/2.8) to isolate the subject and blur the background.
• Landscape Photography: Use a narrow aperture (f/11–f/16) to keep the entire scene sharp.
• Street Photography: Mid-range apertures (f/5.6–f/8) help balance sharpness with low light.
• Food Photography: Play with shallow depth (f/2.8–f/4) to make key ingredients pop while softening the background.

Example: Shooting a friend in a cafe? Use f/2.8 for a cozy, blurred background. Shooting a mountain view? Use f/16 for full sharpness. (measured in f-stops like f/2.8, f/8, f/16)

• Aperture is the size of the opening in your lens that lets light in.
• A low f-number (f/2.8) means a larger opening: more light and a shallow depth of field (blurry background).
• A high f-number (f/16) means a smaller opening: less light and a deeper depth of field (more in focus).
• Use wide apertures (low f-numbers) for portraits.
• Use narrow apertures (high f-numbers) for landscapes.

Shutter Speed (measured in seconds or fractions of a second like 1/1000, 1/30, 1”)

• Sports Photography: Use 1/1000 or faster to freeze athletes in action.
• Night Street Photography: Use 1/30 or slower to create dramatic motion blur in passing cars.
• Waterfalls and Waves: Use 1 second or longer for that silky water look.
• Dance and Performance: Experiment with 1/125 to keep performers slightly crisp with a touch of motion.

Example: Photographing kids playing? Use 1/1000 to freeze jumping or running. Shooting candlelight? Try slower speeds with a tripod. (measured in seconds or fractions of a second like 1/1000, 1/30, 1”)

• Shutter speed controls how long the camera’s sensor is exposed to light.
• Fast shutter speeds (1/1000) freeze motion.
• Slow shutter speeds (1/10, 1”, etc.) can blur motion or create special effects (like light trails).

ISO (sensitivity to light)

• Bright Daylight Portrait: ISO 100
• Indoor Family Gathering: ISO 800–1600
• Live Concert or Street at Night: ISO 3200 or higher (accept some grain for mood)
• Museum or Quiet Scene: ISO 1600+ with steady hands or tripod

Example: Indoors with no flash? Try ISO 1600, wide aperture, and a steady hand to keep detail. (sensitivity to light)

• Low ISO (100-200) is ideal for bright conditions and gives clean images.
• High ISO (1600, 3200+) helps in low light but introduces grain or “noise.”

Together, these three settings form the Exposure Triangle. Changing one affects the others.

Using Manual Mode

In this workshop, we encourage you to work in Manual Mode (M). This gives you full creative control.

Start with this base setting:

• ISO: 200
• Aperture: f/8
• Shutter Speed: Adjust until the camera’s internal light meter reads 0 (proper exposure)

Your light meter is often shown at the bottom of the screen or viewfinder, like this:

-3.-2.-1.0.+1.+2.+3

You want your exposure balanced around the center (0) to begin.

HOUR 2: Light and Depth

Theme: Controlling Aperture and Motion

Understanding Depth of Field

Depth of field gives style and focus to your photo depending on your creative intention: Depth of field refers to how much of the scene is in focus.

• A shallow depth of field means only your subject is in focus and the background is blurry (great for portraits).
• A deep depth of field means everything from foreground to background is in focus (great for landscapes).

Examples:

• Portrait of one person: f/2.0, focus on the eyes.
• A row of people: f/5.6 or f/8 for more faces in focus.
• A landscape with mountain and lake: f/11 or f/16.
• A still life setup: Try both f/2.8 and f/11 to compare mood.

How do you control it?

• Use a wide aperture (e.g., f/2.8) for shallow depth of field.
• Use a narrow aperture (e.g., f/16) for deep focus.

Get close to your subject and zoom in to increase background blur.

Capturing Motion with Shutter Speed

Try these different scenarios to get a feel for motion control:

• Action Sports: Use 1/2000 to freeze a basketball dunk or soccer kick.
• Dancing or Street Movement: Use 1/250 for a touch of blur in hands and feet.
• Traffic at Night: Use 2–5 second exposure for car light trails.
• Rainfall or Fountains: Try 1/1000 for frozen drops, or 1/10 for softness. depending on your shutter speed.
• Fast shutter speed (e.g., 1/1000s) freezes action. Try this with people walking, jumping, or water splashing.
• Slow shutter speed (e.g., 1/10s or 1 second) captures motion blur. Try this with moving vehicles, dancers, or light trails at night.

Try using Shutter Priority Mode (S or Tv) if you’re not ready to control everything manually.

ISO in Different Lighting

ISO allows flexibility across lighting conditions. Use it with intention to manage light and grain. ISO is your tool when you need more light but don’t want to change aperture or shutter.

• Bright daylight: ISO 100-200
• Indoors: ISO 800-1600
• Night: ISO 1600 and up (expect some grain)

Examples:

• Street scene at dusk: ISO 1600 and a fast lens.
• Golden hour portrait: ISO 200, wide aperture.
• Indoors by window: ISO 800 with f/2.8.

The higher the ISO, the brighter the image, but the more grain or noise you may see., the brighter the image, but the more grain or noise you may see.

HOUR 3: Seeing Creatively

Theme: Composition and the Art of the Frame

5 Composition Techniques to Try Today

Each of these tools can be interpreted in multiple ways, depending on what you want your photo to say.

1. Rule of Thirds
• Imagine a 3×3 grid on your image.
• Place your subject where the lines intersect, not in the dead center.
• Works great for portraits off-center, horizon lines in landscapes, or placing a bird perched on a fence.
• Example: A surfer in the bottom-right third with open ocean filling the rest.
• Imagine a 3×3 grid on your image.
• Place your subject where the lines intersect, not in the dead center.

1. Leading Lines

• Use roads, fences, shadows, or architecture to lead the viewer’s eye toward the subject.
• Can be subtle (a row of chairs) or bold (a train track).
• Example: A path leading to a couple in the distance creates visual storytelling.
• Use roads, fences, shadows, or architecture to lead the viewer’s eye toward the subject.

1. Framing Within the Frame

• Use doorways, windows, or arches to frame your subject inside the image.
• Example: A person looking out a window, seen through the frame of another window.
• Use doorways, windows, or arches to frame your subject inside the image.

1. Background Awareness

• Look at what’s behind your subject.
• Avoid clutter, bright spots, or poles growing out of heads!
• Choose a wall, trees, sky, or even graffiti—anything intentional or clean.
• Example: A subject in front of a mural vs. in front of a messy cafe kitchen.
• Look at what’s behind your subject.
• Avoid clutter, bright spots, or poles growing out of heads!

1. Simplicity and Negative Space

• Let your subject breathe.
• A clean, simple background can make your subject stand out.
• Example: A bird in flight against a blank sky, or a lone figure in a giant field.
• Negative space brings mood and minimalism.
• Let your subject breathe.
• A clean, simple background can make your subject stand out.

White Balance and Color Temperature

Light has color.

• Sunlight is blue-ish
• Incandescent (lamp light) is orange
• Shade is cooler/blue

Use white balance settings to correct this:

• Auto WB (good most of the time)
• Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent

Setting the right white balance ensures skin tones and colors look natural.

Time to Go Shoot: 5 Practice Exercises

Take what you’ve learned and apply it immediately. These five exercises are designed to reinforce key concepts and boost your creative confidence. Bring your camera, head outside (or inside with good light), and try the following:

1. Depth of Field Test
   Find a stationary subject (flower, mug, person). Take one photo with your aperture wide open (e.g., f/2.8), then another at f/16. Keep ISO and framing consistent. Compare the difference in background focus.
2. Freeze and Blur
   Photograph a moving subject like a cyclist, runner, or car. Use a fast shutter speed (e.g., 1/1000s) to freeze the motion. Then slow your shutter (e.g., 1/30s) and try to pan with the subject for a blurred background.
3. Composition Scavenger Hunt
   Capture one photo for each technique:
• Rule of Thirds
• Leading Lines
• Framing Within the Frame
• Negative Space
• Background Awareness

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1. One Light, Many Moods
   Take five photos of the same object under different lighting conditions: natural window light, shade, overhead light, tungsten lamp, and cloudy daylight. Adjust your white balance to match each setting.
2. Story in Three Shots
   Create a short photo story using only three images. Think about setting, subject, and emotion. Show a beginning, middle, and end. Don’t overthink it—just go with your gut and tell something simple.

Then reflect: Which exercise surprised you? What would you do differently next time?

Wrap-Up: What You’ve Learned

• Exposure is a balance between Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO
• Manual mode gives you creative control
• Composition transforms snapshots into intentional images

Ask yourself:

• What was easy today?
• What was challenging?
• What do I want to practice more?

Keep your camera close and your curiosity closer.

You’re on your way. Remember, there are great shots everywhere, you just have to go get them. 

Thank you for being part of this experience. Now go out and shoot!

Presented by: Sonny Photos
For more tips and upcoming workshops, visit: https://www.backporchtours.com/