[johnmflores]

To add to some of the good advice here...

Don't worry about ISO
ISO is not a tool for creative expression, but rather something to be managed (noise). Set it to 200 for outdoors and 400 or 800 indoors and then forget it. You can learn about it later, after you've learned some other things.

Concentrate on one variable at a time. Start with Aperture.
Spend time shooting in Aperture priority mode, letting the camera set the shutter speed. Take several photos of the same scene with different Apertures and see what you get. Try this with different scenes - a cluttered table, a garden, a family gathering, etc.

Spend time with your photos.
When you get home, study your photos on your computer. Set up your software so that you can see the Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Focal Length. As you look at each photo, think about what you chose to include in the picture and what you left out. Think about the point of view that you chose. Think about how the Aperture has affected your subject and the subject's background.

Learn from your mistakes.
Look at your bad photos carefully. Try to figure what went wrong, and how changing Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Focal Length might have made it a better photo. If possible, go back to the cluttered table, the garden, the family gathering, etc... and try again.

My $.02. Hope this helps...

[MikePerham]

Keeping it simple helps a lot. Several have mentioned what is important already, and I have settled on just 3 exposure modes:

1) Hyper program, this gives me instant access to shutter or aperture and is my standard operating mode. I shoot in single AF, so that seldom changes, and the lowest ISO that gives me the aperture/shutter combo range I need for the situation.

2) USER - I have this set up for when I use a tripod (whenever I can) and sets the mode to aperture priority and the shake reduction set to off. Otherwise settings are essentially the same as for hyper program. Also, I would likely switch to manual focus, especially if shooting close up or macro images. And I use the MLU feature a lot.

3) Manual. I use this when using flash in poor light where I want to drag the shutter to obtain better exposure for the ambient light in the background. I might add, if using flash fill in daylight, I have the camera in hyper program mode.

So about all one needs to remember when switching modes, is to ensure MLU is off (it does not default to single frame when you switch the camera off)and ensure the AF and ISO are where you want them.

[opianstate]

honestly, I've found that practicing is the best way to figure this out. Try taking the same photo (if possible) 3-4 times with different aperature and shutter values and take into consideration the differences between them. Soon it will become second nature. Well, maybe not second nature, but you begin to pick it up more and more. I'm finally getting to that point

[WMBP]

honestly, I've found that practicing is the best way to figure this out. Try taking the same photo (if possible) 3-4 times with different aperature and shutter values and take into consideration the differences between them. Soon it will become second nature. Well, maybe not second nature, but you begin to pick it up more and more. I'm finally getting to that point

There's a lot going on and it really does take practice, practice, practice.

You have to know HOW the settings effect exposure.

You have to know how to control the settings.

You also have to know how to be aware of the settings all the time. First thing I usually do when I start the camera is hit the Info button and look at the screen there that shows me just about ALL of my settings at once. I remember a couple of years ago when I started doing that, I found this screen a bit daunting. Now I can pretty well take in everything on it in a quick glance. It's a very useful feature.

Will

[TomK]

WMBP - B R A V O !
That detailed and well thought out explanation of yours is great.
It may look to the casual reader to be long at first but it really is compact and full of good advice.
I am sending the thread link to some friends and directing them specifically to your message.
As the old old saw goes "I could not have said it better".
-TomK-

[arbib]

Ok, I have a crappy memory, esp when "in the moment". Everything I know about photography goes out the window when I pick up the camera to take a snapshot. If I didn't have a photo of the place, object, person, etc... I'd forget about it. Trouble is, I can't take a decent photo to save my life.

I can fiddle all day long with various camera settings and see the results it produces. What I can never get the hang of is things like how to set up the camera to get good results from a particulat scene, or how the combination of focal length and aperture affect the photo at various distances from the subject.

How do you guys remember what you have to do with the camera to get the results you want?

As many have suggested already, Get a good book on basic exposure control.
Review your cameras exposure controls (P/Av/Sv/Tv/ATv/M), Review how the cameras controls change functions as you use the different exposure modes.

Start to use just one exposure mode (Av for example). and for the next month, ONLY use that mode. At the end of the month, you will have it down. Now choose another exposure mode (Tv for example), and repeat the month of just using that mode. and so on.

Really, it is just plain knowing your camera and what you need to do to achieve the keepers you are after.

I just picked up a K20d, And I am just using Av mode for a while. I do know what and when to use the other exposure modes, but on the K20d, dials change functions when switched from one to another. (I have gone into the menu to get the 2 e-wheels to not change as is possible in most modes).

That Is: Practice....Practice.....Practice, until it is a natural function for you.

[Canada_Rockies]

WMBP - B R A V O !
That detailed and well thought out explanation of yours is great.
It may look to the casual reader to be long at first but it really is compact and full of good advice.
I am sending the thread link to some friends and directing them specifically to your message.
As the old old saw goes "I could not have said it better".
-TomK-

I second the comment here, Will. Great advice. It boils down to practise, practise and more practise. I've been practising for over 40 years now, and I still screw up occasionally, so don't give up.

[Kerrowdown]

In answer to the original question, I don't, I just look back at the EXIF file if I really need to know.

[weaponx525]

I read this acronym somewhere on these forums and it a great acronym and great advice: always remember your W I F E:
W - White Balance
I - ISO setting
F - ie your aperature
E - exposure compensation.

I've read elsewhere that no great photo can be taken without some sort of EV compensation. Without "knowing" the scene and memorizing settings, take a quick pic with available light and then adjust from there.

[WMBP]

I read this acronym somewhere on these forums and it a great acronym and great advice: always remember your W I F E:
W - White Balance
I - ISO setting
F - ie your aperature
E - exposure compensation.

I've read elsewhere that no great photo can be taken without some sort of EV compensation. Without "knowing" the scene and memorizing settings, take a quick pic with available light and then adjust from there.

The bit about requiring exposure compensation is interesting - and I think rather untrue. If you want to call it exposure compensation when you shoot in M and you take the meter's reading as a recommendation needing interpretation rather than as a directive to be obeyed blindly, well, okay. But I never think of that as EC. I think of that as knowing how to use a meter. I use EC only when I'm working in Av or TV mode and trying to control the other setting indirectly by biasing the meter. Besides, just as a broken clock is right twice a day, sometimes the meter's nominally correct exposure is, coincidentally, the artistically correct exposure. I'd have to look to see if I've ever taken a great photo where I actually did exactly what the meter said I should do. Maybe not. :-)

As for the acronym itself, it omits a couple other pretty important variables, such as shutter speed, distance from subject and focal length:

S
D
FL

So perhaps we should amend it to "Remember your DWIFFLES."

Ah, but this runs contrary to the good advice that you should not have to think about ISO constantly, and if you're really smart, you'll shoot raw, put your camera on auto white balance, and you'll be able to forget about that, too. Hmm, that gets rid of W and I....

And if you shoot in M, you won't have to worry about exposure compensation (E), either. We're down to DFFLS. Can I buy a vowel?

Perhaps we can change the first F (for F-stop) to A (for aperture).

Remember your FLADS!

Well, that's not so easy to remember, I admit. So let's think of a mnemonic to help us remember our mnemonic. When I was studying music as a child, we learned that Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (representing the note values of the five lines of the treble clef, from low to high: E G B D F). But I'm not sure what to do with FLADS. First, Let's All Don't Snicker? Feathers Leave A Distinct Smell?

Will

[Marc Sabatella]

The bit about requiring exposure compensation is interesting - and I think rather untrue. If you want to call it exposure compensation when you shoot in M and you take the meter's reading as a recommendation needing interpretation rather than as a directive to be obeyed blindly, well, okay. But I never think of that as EC.

It's not, but it is basically the same idea in this context - a means of overriding the meter's suggested exposure based on your own idea of why you might want it to be darker or lighter.

Besides, just as a broken clock is right twice a day, sometimes the meter's nominally correct exposure is, coincidentally, the artistically correct exposure.

Of course. I think the statement went way overboard - but if it serves as a wakeup call for people who think the meter should always be perfect, and exposure compensation is a sign of weakness, I'm all for it. Eg, a certain former poster here who understood exposure so poorly that he thought the need to apply exposure compensation was a sign of a defective meter.

As for the acronym itself, it omits a couple other pretty important variables, such as shutter speed, distance from subject and focal length:

True. If you're controlling aperture and exposure compensation (in the sense of deviation from meter-suggested exposure, whether using an auto mode or M), then shutter speed is the *result* of two parameters (plus ISO). So I think that's why it gets left out. On the other hand, there are times when you care about shutter as an element in itself, so I'd definitely agree it should be part of the equation. Subject distance and focal length are too, of course, but I don't think people normally think of those as "camera settings" - those are the things they've *already* taken care of when the time comes to start worrying about the rest.

[TheTiz]

If I'm shooting something I know I'll need the same settings for at a later date, like product photos, or studio portraits, I'll write them down. Everything else I just wing it.

[WMBP]

If you're controlling aperture and exposure compensation (in the sense of deviation from meter-suggested exposure, whether using an auto mode or M), then shutter speed is the *result* of two parameters (plus ISO). So I think that's why it gets left out. On the other hand, there are times when you care about shutter as an element in itself, so I'd definitely agree it should be part of the equation.

Marc,

I don't think we really disagree here at all. We're just saying things differently. Besides, I was being a bit silly earlier in my "critique" of the mnemonic.

I would like, nonetheless, to say it the way I prefer to think about it. At least ideally, I ALWAYS care about shutter speed. I always care about everything - ideally. It's true that there's almost always a hierarchy of factors, and shutter speed is sometimes not the most important thing, sometimes not even #2. But even if it's just #3, it may still be important. And sometimes shutter speed IS the most important factor - like when I'm shooting sports. And sometimes shutter speed is more or less equal in importance with aperture - like when I'm shooting with a flash, where aperture and shutter speed don't work together quite the way they normally do.

Will

[singlespeed]

First, Let's All Don't Snicker?

Not me And well said with a bit of humor

We all have a mental checklist - unfortunately, I sometimes forget a few things on that list!

[Marc Sabatella]

I don't think we really disagree here at all. We're just saying things differently. Besides, I was being a bit silly earlier in my "critique" of the mnemonic.

Agreed on both counts :-). Actually, it was very good critique.

I would like, nonetheless, to say it the way I prefer to think about it.

Sure; I was just explaining how the the original acronym relates. If I were to do it for myself, it would be:

F = f-stop
S = shutter speed

That's it. WB is always auto (since I shoot RAW and have the luxry of altering it later if I like), exposure mode is always M, and ISO is something I set when I start shooting and then leave alone, not something I change shot to shot. The only two things I change shot to shot are aperture and shutter speed. The way I know *how* to change shutter speed is to look at the meter display, so I suppose if I wanted to get really specific about what I think about it, it would be

F = f-stop
M = meter reading
S = shutter speed

I suppose I could replace "F" for "f-stop" with "A" for "aperture" as that might give me an easy-to-remember acronym. But really, an acronym for something this simple just makes one *more* thing to think about. I mean, it's not like I use an acronym when eating:

F = fork
K = knife
M = mouth