Photography Practice Guide

The more you experiment with light, movement, and composition, the more intuitive your camera will feel. The exercises below are designed to help you practice the concepts we discussed.

Understanding Exposure

Your camera exposure is controlled by three settings:

Aperture – how wide the lens opens

Shutter Speed – how long light enters the camera

ISO – how sensitive the camera sensor is to light

Think of these as three tools working together to create the final image. Think of it like a

math equation:

Aperture + Shutter Speed + ISO = perfect exposed image

*changing one of these variables will change the exposure

Aperture & Background Blur

A wide aperture (smaller number like f/2.8 or f/3.5) creates:

• blurry backgrounds

• more subject separation

• softer looking portraits

A smaller aperture (higher number like f/8 – f/11) keeps more of the image in focus. Great for landscapes and large groups of people

Tip: A wide aperture lets in MORE light, a small aperture lets in LESS light - this will factor into your exposure equation

Practice Exercise

Photograph a person or object, stay the same distance away from the subject. Take 3 images

1. Wide aperture (ex: f/2.8 – f/4)

2. Medium aperture (ex: f/5.6 – f/8)3. Small aperture (ex: f/11 – f/16)

Compare the images and notice how the background blur and depth of field changes.

Tip: to keep the same EXPOSURE, you will need to adjust the shutter speed or ISO to account for the change in aperture. If this is tricky, try this exercise in aperture priority

Shutter Speed & Motion

Shutter speed controls how motion appears in your photos.

Fast shutter speeds (1/500 – 1/1000)

• freeze motion

• great for kids, pets, sports

Slow shutter speeds (1/30 – 1/60)

• show movement or blur

Practice Exercise

Photograph anything that moves:

• Try 1/500 to freeze motion

• Try 1/30 to see slight movement

Compare the difference.

ISO & Light

ISO adjusts how sensitive the camera is to light.

Low ISO (100–200)

• best image quality

• ideal for bright outdoor light

Higher ISO (800–3200)

• helpful indoors

• introduces some grain/noise

Practice ExerciseTake photos at 2 different times of day - the most effective would be at noon and at dusk. Keep the same aperture and shutterspeed and only adjust your ISO.

• ISO 100

• ISO 800

• ISO 1600

Notice how the image brightness and grain change.