Brief Scenes

DSLR camera settings help!?

I have a nikon d60 brand new. I love photography and i decided to take winter classes this winter. I took them but i still dont know how to set my camera to the right aperture, shutter, etc. I really want to get a good picture. I dont want to use the pre-made settings already given on the camera. My teacher told me to only use the manual, aperture, shutter, and P settings on my camera. But when i go to take a picture, the shutter stays there forever or the picture comes out too light or too dark. I understand the concept and terms of photography, but when it comes to me taking a picture by myself, I cant figure out what to set what to…can somebody help me?

Look at the bottom of your viewfinder for your exposure meter indicator lights. Adjust your settings until the lights are aligned to the exact center (or as close as you can get) of that little bar down there. If it’s not properly set it will have lights to either side of the center point – the more lights on either side, the further off your exposure is.

A good starting point for outdoors would be to set your ISO for 100/200 (not sure which the lowest is on the D60) and your shutter speed around 125 or so (no lower than 60). From there you’ll just adjust your aperture settings to get the meter to line up right. As you learn you’ll figure out more about what effects different shutter speeds, apertures, etc will give you. Right now your shutter is staying open “forever” because you’ve got it set to a low number like 1/2 or 1 sec. The shutter speeds begin at “B” and on the D60 I believe go up to 1/2000 sec. When you look at your speed settings they should show up as 1/X or x”. If it has the ” then it’s set in terms of SECONDS not fractions of seconds – which should only be needed in extreme low light situations.

Hope this helps! If you want to study more check online and at stores for a book called “Photography” by Barbara London & John Upton. It’s a textbook but will give lots of valuable information. There are several editions available, some dealing more with film photography – but cameras and settings still work the same so you can pick up an old edition for cheap and still learn the basics.

Using Camera Lenses : What is Aperture?