Are you intimidated by all the buttons and settings on your camera? Do you default to using the automatic mode because mastering manual camera settings seems a bit too overwhelming? Let's change that and get you feeling confident with your equipment by understanding three basic but powerful functions that all cameras have: shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Once you've mastered these settings, you'll have more creative control over your photography, no matter what niche you're in!
How many times have you envisioned a specific photo that you want to take, but no matter what you try it just doesn't come out like you imagined? Why is that?
For photography beginners who are shooting with a DSLR, it's probably because you're not confident using your manual camera settings and so you default to automatic mode. There's nothing to be ashamed of if this is you right now - I also went through the exact same process when I first started in photography! I know that it might seem helpful that your camera does all the technical work and you just press the shutter, but there's only so much you'll be able to achieve with this approach and you'll be left wondering why you're not getting the shots you're dreaming of.
Understanding your camera's settings and being able to intentionally adjust them yourself during a shoot will give you so much more creative control over your work!
Gone will be the days when you feel frustrated that you can't get the right exposure or you're upset because you can't capture the dreamy bokeh effect just when you want it most.
Instead, you'll be able to make swift adjustments in real time and execute your creative decisions during the shoot. If the light changes, you can handle that! If you want to change the way liquid looks when it's being poured, no problem!
Let's take a look at the three fundamental camera settings you need to master for more creative control.
Important manual camera settings for food photography
The three essential camera settings you need to learn are shutter speed, aperture and ISO. All these settings are related to how the camera interacts with light and they are also interlinked - if you change one then you might need to change another to compensate for something else.
The shutter speed setting defines how long the shutter inside the camera is open for and therefore how much light reaches the sensor inside the camera. The amount of light that reaches the sensor will affect how bright or dark the captured image is - this is also known as "exposure".
Shutter speed is measured in seconds and fractions of seconds. For example, the shutter can be open for very short time, such as 1/500th of a second, or it can be open for several seconds. The longer it's open the more light the camera's sensor is exposed to.
A "fast" shutter speed is when the shutter is open for a fraction of a second, whereas a "slow" shutter speed is when the shutter is open for longer, up to several seconds.
It's important to note that the longer the shutter is open for, the steadier the camera needs to be in order to get a sharp, focused image. Personally, if I need to shoot at anything slower than 1/125th of a second I always try to use a tripod so I know the photo will be sharp!
Ok, so that all makes sense - how do I know which shutter speed to use?
This really depends on the circumstances you're shooting in and what your creative vision is for the image. I know that doesn't help much, but let's take a look at some examples. Since this is a food photography blog, we'll take examples from food and beverage photography.
Food photographers normally shoot in daylight or with strong artificial lights so it's unlikely that you'll need to set the shutter speed to be open for several seconds. However if you are shooting in low-light conditions to create a dark and moody atmosphere (or it's just super dark outside like it is a lot of the time here in the UK) then you might need to slow the shutter speed down to get enough light for the image.
Moreover, since food photography is mostly still-life, we can be quite flexible with our shutter speed. As I mentioned before, if you're shooting without a tripod then I recommend not going below 1/125 to avoid blurry, unfocused pictures. If you have a tripod, then you can pretty much choose any shutter speed you need to correctly expose the photo!
Most cameras come with a handy visual representation of exposure to help us achieve the "correct" exposure for the conditions we're shooting in. It's called the light meter and looks like this:
When the pointer is in the centre of the line (at zero), then the chosen settings will "correctly" expose the photo according to the camera. You can use this meter to guide your choice of settings; when the pointer is to the left of zero the image might end up "underexposed" and too dark, whereas on the right of zero the image could end up "overexposed" and too bright. When an image is very under- or overexposed you run the risk of losing details in the image that cannot be recovered in editing.
Don't be limited by this tool though; sometimes you might want to deliberately over- or under-expose an image to achieve the image you want! Press the shutter, look at the image captured in the camera and make necessary adjustments as you go.
Another thing to consider is whether you are capturing movement or not. Faster shutter speeds can freeze movements whereas longer shutter speeds will capture the movement as it happens, creating smoother or blurred effects.
For example, if you're photographing someone pouring a drink and you want to see the little droplets of liquid, splashes and bubbles very clearly then a faster shutter speed will "freeze" those movements exactly where they are. On the other hand a slow shutter speed will blur this motion and you'll see the path of any moving elements in the photo.
Fast shutter speed
Slower shutter speed
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to how to capture movement - there is only your creative vision and now you're a step closer to knowing how to make it happen!
In summary, the shutter speed helps us control the amount of light that reaches the camera's sensor and helps us to correctly expose an image.
Need more help?
My online food photography course is designed for beginners and starts with a module on essential equipment, including video lessons on how to master your camera on manual mode!
The second manual camera settings you need to master is aperture.
The aperture refers to the size of the opening inside the lens, and therefore affects how much light enters the camera when the shutter is pressed. The opening inside the lens can be made smaller or larger to allow less or more light to reach the sensor when taking a shot.
A range of numbers is used to indicate aperture and it is also known as the F-stop or F-number when referring to camera settings. The aperture can range from F1.4 to F22 and the range available actually depends on your lens rather than the camera body, so you'll need to check your lens to see what the lowest F-number is that you can work with. We'll get into why this is important in a moment.
Relationship between F-number and the lens opening size
So, you now know that aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens and that the F-number is the setting used to adjust it. Now for the confusing part:
A larger the opening in the lens (aka more light coming in) is represented by a smaller F-number
A smaller the opening in the lens (aka less light coming in) is represented by a larger F-number
Don't ask me why it's done like this, is just is and all photographers just have to learn it! Sorry about that. Here's an image to help make it clearer:
inking back to what we learned about shutter speed and now combining that with aperture we can see that these settings are interlinked.
When you use a small F-number, such as F1.4, the lens opening will be big and lots of light will hit the sensor in the camera. Therefore, you might need to increase the shutter speed (i.e. make it faster/shorter) to prevent the image from being overexposed. On the other hand, when you use a large F-number you might need to decrease the shutter speed so the light has more time to reach the sensor through the small opening.
How do I know which aperture to use?
Like anything in photography, this depends on your creative vision! A large aperture (small F-number) creates something called the bokeh effect, which is when the subject is in focus and anything else in front or behind it is out of focus. This is also called a shallow or narrow depth of field. It's good for making dreamy images, or sending the viewer's attention straight to the main subject.
The smaller the aperture (large F-number) the wider the depth of field and more of the scene in front of the camera will be in focus. For food photography this is preferable when shooting flatlays because you usually want all the elements in the frame to be in focus.
Image shot at F/16 (small aperture, wide depth of field)
Image shot at F/1.8 (large aperture, narrow depth of field)
Practice with simple objects
Aperture is probably one of the most challenging things to learn in photography, but once you get the hand of it, it allows you to be so much more creative in your work! The best way to learn how it works is simply to practice.
Grab three or four objects in your home, place them on your kitchen table and different distances from your camera and simply take several images at different F-numbers and compare them side by side. You'll quickly notice the differences in how light and dark the images are, as well as how shallow or deep the areas of focus are.
Watch this video I made all about how to create the bokeh effect in food photography complete with examples here:
Click to play
ISO
The last of the manual camera settings we will talk about in this post is ISO, which refers to the brightness and darkness of the image that you shoot. It's measured in a range of values from 100 to 6400; the higher the number the brighter your photo will become.
The important thing to know about ISO is that, as you increase its value you are also increasing the amount of noise or grain that appears in the image. You might not be able to see this in the live view of your camera, or even immediately when you open it on your computer. But when you zoom in and start editing, the grain will be come visible. Too much noise in your photo could render it unusable, especially if you intend to print it or enlarge it.
To get the best quality images, use the lowest ISO value possible. In food photography, you will often be shooting with a tripod so setting your ISO to 100, then adjusting your aperture to the desired depth of field and then shutter speed to correctly expose your image should be doable.
Personally, I always start with a base ISO of 100 and only increase it if I have to, especially for client work.
When should I use a high ISO in food photography?
There may be times when you need to use a high ISO and you can compromise with a slightly lower quality image.
For example, images that you intend to use on social media don't have to be the absolute best quality because the screen resolution is not so high. So if you're creating content designed only for Instagram, don't worry if you need to boost your ISO for brighter images.
Another time you might want to increase the ISO is when you're shooting in low light environments. Whether you're shooting outside at dusk or you're creating a dark and moody vibe, your desired aperture and shutter speed settings might not cut it to properly expose your photo. So, ISO is your last option to boost the brightness.
Finally, when capturing motion there may be times when you need to use a high ISO as your shutter speed will need to be fast to capture the movement. If you don't want to increase the aperture then increasing your ISO is the best way to brighten your image and still capture the action.
Examples of how (and why) I set all three manual camera settings
The image above was captured with ISO 1600 and a shutter speed of 1/1250th of a second. I used a small aperture to get all the elements on the table in focus for the flatlay. Then, I needed a fast shutter speed to capture the coffee spill in motion, so I compromised with a high ISO - which I didn't mind because this image was shot for an Instagram challenge so I knew the lower quality wouldn't be an issue!
The image above was shot with ISO 400 and a shutter speed of 1/200. I wanted to create the bokeh effect, so I used an aperture of F/2.2 - narrow enough to blur the elements in the fore- and background but wide enough to keep the glass in focus. I had been doing some pour shots before, so my shutter speed was at 1/200 to capture a nice smooth movement and since it was a cloudy day I increased the ISO from my usual 100 to 400 in order to brighten the image.
Summary
In this post we looked at three fundamental manual camera settings:
Shutter speed: the length of time the shutter is open
Aperture: the size of the opening in the lens
ISO: the brightness or darkness of an image
These settings are all related to how the lens and camera interacts with light and they're interlinked. If you change one, you're very likely going to need to adjust another.
The best way to increase your confidence with your camera's manual settings is simply to practice. Set aside an hour or two with no pressure to create anything specific, but to play with these settings one at a time. Take multiple photos with basic household objects and look back at them to observe the differences.
Over time you'll be able to intentionally choose the settings for the image you have in your mind. Trust me, I remember learning about aperture with salt and pepper shakers on the dining room table! Now I instinctively know how to adjust each setting and why I'm doing it.
I'm a London based food, lifestyle and travel photographer with a passion for sustainability. On this blog you can find tips to help you improve your food photography or learn how you can do your part to protect the planet! If you'd love to accelerate your food photographer journey and go from hobbyist to pro, then consider taking my online course or contact me for personalised 1:1 coaching sessions.
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