ISO, exposure, aperture, F/something, can all be a bit overwhelming. Here's a cheat sheet with some of the basics.
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ISO controls the amount of light that your camera lets in, and refers to the sensitivity of film (or digital sensors today).
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ISO 100
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Outdoors and sunny
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ISO 400
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Indoors and well lit, or outdoors and cloudy
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ISO 800
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Indoors without flash
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ISO 1600
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Dark, or fast movement
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Shutter speed controls how long the camera's shutter is open for. The longer it is open, the more light it lets in.
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1/2000s
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Super-fast subject, like a bird in flight
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1/1000s
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Fast subject, like a sports car moving
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1/500s
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Fast subject, like a normal car moving
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1/250s
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People moving, dancing, jumping
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1/125s
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People walking
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1/60s
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Slow-moving or stationary subject indoors
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1/20s
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Moving water
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1/10s
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Low-light, low-motion landscape, like a sunset
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1-3s
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Deliberate blur, like you might use for falling water or a crowd moving
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21-30s
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Dark skies, Milky Way
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10 minutes
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Star trails
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Aperture controls how open your lens is to receive light, and is measured with an F-stop number. The smaller the aperture, the larger the F-stop number and the less light is allowed into the lens.
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F/1.4, F/2, F/2.8
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Low-light photos, very shallow depth of field, portraits with bokeh blur, astrophotography
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F/4, F/5.6, F/8
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Good general use, greater depth of field, more objects in focus at different distances
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F/11, F/16, F/22
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Landscapes, very well-lit photos, very deep depth of field
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The exposure triangle is three settings: ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Here are some examples of how to use it.
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Sunny Day, Outdoors
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F/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 400
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Wide aperture for lots of light, fast shutter to reduce blur, low ISO to reduce noise. A bright, cheerful image with plenty of detail.
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Low-Light Night
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F/4, 1/20, ISO 1600
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Moderate aperture to balance light and depth, slight blur, high ISO for low light. A cozy, warm image with a dreamy atmosphere.
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Creative Portraiture
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F/1.8, 1/125, ISO 200
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Background blur highlighting subject, reduced subject blur, moderate ISO. A beautiful, shallow-focused portrait with a creamy bokeh.
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Overexposure
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An image might be faded, be too bright, and have low detail in bright areas. Decrease aperture, faster shutter speed, or decrease ISO.
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Underexposure
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An image is dark, and hard to see properly. Increase aperture, slower shutter speed, or increase ISO.
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Blown Highlights
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Bright areas of the image appear pure white (lost all detail). Use exposure compensation (-1/3 or -2/3 stop), decrease ISO, or faster shutter speed.
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Clipped Shadows
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Dark areas of the image appear pure black (lost all detail). Increase aperture, slower shutter speed, or increase ISO.
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Noise
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Image appears grainy. Decrease ISO, increase aperture, or slower shutter speed.
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Motion Blur
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Image appears blurry (e.g., with fast-moving subject). Faster shutter speed, decrease aperture, or increase ISO.
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The focal length of a lens is the distance, in millimeters, between the "nodal point" of the lens and the camera's sensor.
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A higher focal length lens has a smaller field of view, like it's zoomed in further. Good for photographing something small or far away.
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A lower focal length lens is good for wider photos, like landscapes.
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Cheatography n. The art of mapping complex subjects into clear, instantly navigable reference guides.
