Beginner’s Photography part IV

We are almost at the point where we are ready to switch on our camera. However for a variety of very good reasons it’s important not to rush. Before we get to the magic moment let’s just check two important steps.

Make sure your battery is fully charged. If your camera is new make sure you charge the battery in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions – this may take several hours but it will spare you endless grief later.

I’m not going to say something silly like read the manual that came with the camera – most are incomprehensible at best, at worst they are designed to ensure you never again take a photo. Most new cameras however come with a ‘quick guide’ usually about two pages long that gives you all the really important stuff. Do read this!


Now identify your ON/OFF switch (A) but don’t switch the camera on just yet. Compact digital cameras are usually very reliable; however one of the most common failings is a user-induced one. Wait for it! Compact cameras suffer from erection problems. Yes you heard me. When you switch the camera on, its lens will be propelled by a tiny motor out of the front of the camera. If your finger is in the way this can damage the motor. It is one of the main reasons compact cameras fail. So right from the beginning learn to hold your camera so your fingers are well clear of the lens! You don’t want to be accused of erection problems!

When you are ready switch your camera on. If you are familiar with cameras you might want to personalise some of the settings through the menu. This will require you to access the appropriate part of the menu. For instance I always set the quality of my images to high and the size to large. No good taking a beautiful photo and finding you can’t blow it up. Don’t be too nervous about camera MENUs. Most cameras have a reset button or buttons which allow you to return it to the manufacturer’s settings if you make a pig’s ear of things.

Cameras also usually have a button which you select which will make the camera do all the thinking for you. On my Lumix it’s this one (B) –Lumix call it the ‘intelligent auto’ button. Select that for the moment.

Now for the shutter button (C) which we will use to actuate the camera. [please don’t rush this bit].

What we need to understand from the outset is that the camera is an extremely inferior optical device compared to the eye. We shall return to this point on numerous occasions. When you look around you, say for example if you are stood outside, normally everything seems sharp (in focus) from the foreground to the horizon unless you require eyesight correction.

Cameras can’t do this. They need to focus (like binoculars) and make a decision about which part of the scene (your subject) it will render sharp. Once this decision has been made there will also be a little of your scene in front and behind your subject which will also be sharp, but depending on your camera settings the rest of your scene will be less than critically sharp. The area of your photograph that will be sharp (in focus) is called the depth of field.



In the two above examples this affect has been exaggerated.

Luckily with compact cameras the depth of field is usually large. However like binoculars the camera still needs to be focussed. Luckily compact cameras do this for you. They have what is known as autofocus.

This is where we come to the shutter button (C). The next part is very important and needs some practice as this little button needs to be teased, squeezed and caressed with your index finger just as you would a…. You may think I’m making a meal of this, but more technical photography goes wrong at this stage than you could ever imagine. Many people stab at the button as though they are poking a cat’s eye out. The result blurred photos and camera shake.

The shutter must be squeezed gently and moderately slowly – and here’s the tricky bit. The press is a two part process.

When you press the button hold it half way down. This tells your camera to focus, it also gives your camera time to focus too. Your camera will probably beep telling you it has focussed. If you look at the viewing screen you will see that it is showing you its focussing points – the things it has decided will be sharp. These are shown in different ways by different brands of camera. Here they are shown as green rectangles.

You will notice that the camera has made a decision for you about what it thinks should be sharp ie what the subject of your attention is.

Usually it gives favour to those objects closest to the centre of the image and those which are nearest.



Here you can see it has focussed on the three things nearest to the camera.

Now to complete taking your photo gently press the shutter button all the way in.

An American photographer I once met in Egypt once proffered the view that Americans never have a problem with shutter release on cameras as they are a gun loving nation. The trigger and shutter release actions are very similar.

•Carefully focus on your subject.
•Brace both elbows against your sides.
•Take a deep breath, then let it out halfway.
•Make a conscious effort to relax your upper body.
•Fire the shutter in two steps, half squeeze, complete squeeze by slowly squeezing your entire right hand, not just your index finger.

By now you will be getting restless, so go outside and practice firing your shutter. Remember two steps!

Once you’ve familiarised yourself with the shutter we will return to this in the next lesson.