BASICS: The Great Myth: "More MegaPixels is Better"

To some people this may no longer be a myth as many people start to realise that more megapixels doesn't mean you have a better camera, or at least a camera that will produce better images. The fact that this is starting to sink in is reflected in the fact that when Canon released the creative compact camera the G11 it had 10.0MP, even though the G10 (that's the camera BEFORE the G11) had 14.7MP. So Canon actually released a camera with less megapixels than their previous one, surely that is proof alone that more megapixels isn't better.

Before we start talking it's probably best that we deal with one thing, in some situations, yes more megapixels are better. If you're wanting to print billboard sized photos, you need extra megapixels without shadow of a doubt. But this most likely isn't you, you're most likely to upload your photos to the internet, to a resolution of most likely, less than 2MP. Even if you want to print your photos, 10MP is more than enough for posters up to A2 realistically.

Below are 2 photos, which one comes from an 18MP camera, and which one comes from a 6MP camera, can you tell the difference? They are both DSLRs, but on an internet webpage can you tell the difference, and if you think the can, is it that one is pixelated and the other isn't? Any subtleties in colour, distortion or the like are not caused by resolution. So ask yourself, which is the higher megapixel photo from?

If you find it hard to tell the difference, that's because they're both uploaded to the internet at the same size, (this is very unscientific though, especially since different lenses were used etc.).

However the point remains, if your friends phone camera has 12MP you can be rest assured that the photos won't be anywhere near the quality of your DSLRs 10MP photos.

This is because partly because of the lens, good lenses make good photos, that's just the way it is, and also sensor size. The bigger sensor in your DSLR means each individual pixel is bigger, this means it gathers light better and replicates colour much better. You'll notice these effects when the going gets tough, in dark conditions, this is where your DSLR will shine, although it'll be heads and shoulders above in most situations if used correctly.

And now the final, most important reason why megapixels don't matter and your DSLR will take better pictures than you're point and shoot or phone camera is the manual control. Manual control enables you to get the best pictures in every situation, it unlocks all the power your DSLR has in creating a work of art. Something that cheaper cameras can't even dream of, which is just another reason to carry on reading and learn how to unlock the power in this completely free online guide.

BASICS: Introduction

So now we've got the Introduction posts out of the way, it's time to get our teeth into some proper photographic principles with the BASICS section.

This won't actually tell you how to apply them into your camera yet, that'll come in the USE section. For now we will discuss how they'll effect your image and how you can use them as well as some examples of my own photos with the principles in use.

By understanding the basic principles you'll be in a much better position to learn how to put them into your camera and actually create the photos yourself.

By explaining everything before we even begin to starting picking up the camera I am trying to help you walk before you can run.
I will try to keep all the articles relevant to taking better photographs although if you find yourself getting bored have a scroll upwards to the USE section, and if you get stuck, or your photographs aren't turning out just as you'd like, perhaps come back to BASICS (pardon the cliché).

INTRO: The Great Myth: "An Eye for Photography"

If you immerse yourself in photography, or even speak to non photographically minded people about photography, you might hear a lot that you need 'an eye' for photography. Or maybe people have even told you you have 'an eye' for photography.

However it isn't so, you might not have an eye for photography, your first photos might look like they have come out of a 5 year old's Lego camera, but this doesn't mean you can't take good photos, or need to have vast streaks of artistic flair to take good photos.

A good photograph can be made using psychology. Your brain likes certain shapes, lines and objects. It's fact, by using these principles you can make a good photograph, added with something that interests you, and shares a memory, feeling or story, and you're well on the way to a good photograph. All of this will be discussed later.

You can also make it much simpler than that though, spend time on Flickr, looking at other peoples photos, if you see something you like, use what you see to create your own photos. A good photo doesn't have to be an original one, although putting your own personal stamp on it will help no end, and make the photo mean a lot more to you. Don't think of this as cheating though, throughout history people have copied other peoples ideas, put their own stamp on it and claimed it as their own, this is true in every field, of every sector in every period of history. To take one example famous philosopher and monk Thomas Aquinas had the majority of his ideas coming from ancient Greek Aristotle. Whilst not strictly relevant do not be afraid to take ideas from others, established ideas presented in a new way are often the most popular.

In summary this goes so far as to say that just because you're not the most artistic of people doesn't mean you can't take great photos, even if I didn't explain it quite as eloquently as I'd have liked.

INTRO: What Makes A Good Photo?

This post isn't actually going to answer the question in the title, its a huge topic and even after many in-depth articles there's still a good chance I'll only be scratching the surface. This is a post to help you understand where the next few blogposts will be going.

Before we look at camera settings we need to understand how you tick. Understanding how your brain works and what it likes to look at in photos allows you to use these rules and principles to make more pleasing photographs. Only when you understand the following blogposts about composition, depth of field, image noise and the like will you be in a good position to actually use your camera to control them.

I could tell you how to change the aperture and shutter speed on your camera, but why? I believe it's important to understand what these actually do before you go twiddling dials. Even before all of that it is important to understand the inner workings of composition and how your eyes move around a photograph and what pleases your eyes, to make a pleasing photograph. If you can technically master your camera but can't point it in the correct direction then a good photograph is a long way away.

INTRO: Understand Your Dial

The dial on the top of your camera controls how your camera takes pictures, it'll determine who does the photography, is it you or the camera? It ranges from doing everything for you, to you doing everything yourself, and just about every position in between these two extremes. All of the modes have uses, it's about deciding which are relevant to you. The ones we will be concerning ourselves with are the PSAM modes.

The PSAM modes basically hand over your cameras full potential to you, you can decide what your camera does, although it will require some learning on your part. It will improve your photography by no end and help you do exactly what you want in every situation. Your camera is most certainly clever, and might be able to seemingly predict what you want it to do; but sometimes it'll get it wrong, and when it does, being able to override it, and show the camera how it's done can help you get the image you really want. For example, do you find your snow and ice pictures are all too dark and the snow is grey? This is your cameras brain crashing and burning, knowing your PSAM will help you get crystal white snow.

Your dial will vary from camera to camera, but you most likely have a whole host of automatic options from landscape to night mode, none of which will concern this guide, as whilst they have there place, they don't really help you get the images you want all of the time. As well as this you may have a video icon on the dial.
After that you are left with a few other options which we'll go into more detail in future articles:

- Full automatic 'Green Box' mode. It will most likely be a small green box on your dial, the camera will do everything for you and give you no control over what it does.

- CA Mode (Creative Auto). This hands you a little more control, it'll let you change some of the much more complex settings such as aperture and shutter speed (we'll discuss this later) but without putting numbers on it. They'll let you make the background blurry/sharp or the picture bright/dark. This is the perfect start to manual and will break you in gently, but as you learn you'll soon realise that it still limits your capabilities as a photographer considerably. 
NB: This is only available on some cameras, many cameras may not offer this function (don't worry you're not missing out on too much!).


-Program Mode (P). This is where the serious manual control begins, but the camera still controls the brightness (exposure) of the picture, so is a great start if you want to delve into more advanced controls but aren't comfortable with setting the exposure yourself yet.

-Shutter Priority Mode (S, or Tv on Canon Cameras). This starts to hand you some manual control, you can control the shutter speed but the camera will still use its magic wizardry to keep your photo nicely exposed (the correct brightness).
This mode starts to let you get creative, a couple of photos below are examples of what Shutter Priority mode can do for you with little work!

-Aperture Priority Mode (A, or Av on Canon cameras). This lets you choose how blurry your background is, it is one of the three factors that influence the DOF (depth of field). To be discussed later, but in effect it allows you to change how blurry your background (at a very simplistic level) is and the camera will control the brightness (exposure) using the internal magic computer pixies it contains.
A couple of photos below will show you how you can control your DOF for certain effects:

From a blurry background

To a sharp background

- Full Manual Mode (M). This is where you act in place of the magical camera pixies and have to take over every aspect of the camera from the white balance, to the aperture, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity to the focus point (although you can get the camera to perform certain functions automatically-but lets not over-complicate things). This might sound like a whole lot of control, and it is, but as time goes on it'll become simpler with every photo you take to the point where you can think faster than the camera does, and have your camera settings in your head before it's even switched on, and it takes less time than you may think.

Some cameras have an A-DEP mode after these modes although it isn't important to concern yourself with those yet, if ever

INTRO: Get to Know Your Camera

Okay, so this probably doesn't count as a proper post since its going to be pretty dry on actual how to use your camera, however it may be one of the more important posts, and before we start discussing specific techniques, it's best to set up your camera just how you like it.

I believe it is often under stressed how important it is to know your camera like the back of your hand, know what all your buttons do and what'll happen if you press one of them. It'll help you grab that perfect photo if time is of the essence, and even if it isn't, it'll make the experience much more enjoyable, not only that, but if shooting portraits it'll also make you look much more professional!

As this is a very general guide on all DSLRs it's incredibly hard to tell you what every button does, and there's no better way to learn you camera than camera than to sit down with your camera manual, have a look at all the buttons, and find out what the mystery buttons do! And have a scroll through your menus and learn what each option and sub-option allows you to do, it'll have you taking much better photos before you've even looked through the viewfinder (if you find yourself asking what the viewfinder is, take a look at your manual before continuing!).

Generally speaking though, you'll have your rear buttons, with buttons such as Menu, Playback (for viewing pictures and videos), Delete, Video Record, Navigation Keys and a wealth of other buttons. More expensive cameras tend to have more buttons externally whereas entry-level DSLRs often have more of this manual control contained within the menu.

On the top of the camera you are likely to find your Mode dial (allowing you to choose your automatic or manual picture taking settings), on/off switch (although this is often contained elsewhere) and the big button of magic which allows you take photos.

Get to know all these buttons. What do they do? Maybe they don't appear to do anything, a lot of the buttons you see allow you to change custom functions which you can't access in the automatic modes, as you start to read through this manual more and more of the buttons will become useful to you, so get out your manual and find out what to do with them.

If you're still at a complete loss whilst there are books and DVDs you can buy to show you how to use your specific camera, the internet contains huge amounts of resources, most particularly YouTube, this is a great resource and can often clarify many queries before your user manual.

INTRO: Welcome to How to Use Your DSLR

So the first post will be a welcome post!

Welcome to the page, if you've started here, by the time you're most likely reading this there will be a wealth of tips, hints, and technical tutorials on how to use your modern DSLR. If there are techniques discussed that you just don't understand or can't work out how to apply to your camera (all modern DSLR's are subtly different) please first refer to your cameras manual, failing that leave a comment.

Hopefully this blog will slowly talk you through each step of using your DSLR, slowly but surely building your knowledge of how to use it in the manual setting modes (that's PSAM on your camera dial). Starting with the easiest to master Program (P) mode we will slowly build up your knowledge to a point where you can use Full Manual (M) mode where you will control every aspect of the camera to get truly professional results with full creative control over your camera. It is also important to note a lot of the techniques also apply to film cameras although the tutorial specifics are much more geared towards the new set of DSLR's.

There may be the odd post on using the video functions that come on a lot of modern DSLRs and these posts will be marked out by a 'VIDEO' tag in their title.

Your DSLR is a powerful tool, and using it to its full potential will turn your faux-photographer images into truly professional images.