the Basics

My first connection in the photography world was with a wedding photographer.  ...Actually, she was a multiple award-winning, Manhattan based wedding photojournalist who was kind of, sort of, a huge deal (check her out here) and, somehow, I managed to score an internship with her, despite having such limited knowledge of photography.  I started out as kind of the office catch all, doing those mundane tasks that have to get done, but no one actually wants to do (ie: sleeving proof books... which now has the same effect on me that reading tech does), and in exchange she became my mentor and showed me the nuts and bolts of how to run a studio.  She also let me tag along to a few weddings with her to get my feet wet and build my portfolio.  I was sitting in the backseat with my Canon Rebel on my lap on the way to my first ever wedding (Katie Couric and Victoria Gotti were there... no big deal!).  As we crossed over the George Washington, Karen turned around and asked me what settings my camera was on.  I stared at her blankly.  Settings?  My stomach leaped in embarrassment.  "P..." I said, glancing down at the wheel on top of my camera.  She kind of grinned a little as she grabbed my camera from my hands and twisted the dial to M.

"Shoot on Manual," she said. "Always shoot on manual."

When your camera is on Manual, you have control over the three basic settings that work together to determine how your image will be exposed: Aperture, Shutter Speed & ISO.

Aperture.

You know those photos that have one object that's really in focus and the rest is out of focus (see above)?  That happens because of the size of the opening in your lens - the aperture or the f-stop. If you have a very wide aperture, like a f/1.4 or a f/2.8, more light is allowed in and you get a greater depth of field.  A smaller aperture, like an f 8.0 will give you a more shallow depth of field.  Oh, and just an fyi - that out of focus, blurry effect in the background is called bokeh (pronounced like 'bouquet').
Tip: I typically use a wider aperture for head shots and low light situations and a smaller aperture is particularly useful for those moments where I have to take pictures of large groups of people and I need all of their faces in focus.

Shutter Speed.  While aperture controls how much light is allowed in, shutter speed controls the length of time the light is allowed in.  The shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second, so when you see 1/1000, it means that the shutter on your camera is letting light in for one one-thousandth of a second.  Quicker shutter speeds like this are good for taking pictures of something that's moving really fast, like sports.  Slower shutter speeds allow more light in, but it also captures movement.  If your shutter speed is too slow and you're holding your camera, you can end up with camera shake (read: a blurry photo).

Tip: During my first year photographing weddings, I was asked to ride in a cab with the bride and groom on their way to the reception.  The photographer I was working with gave me a great tip: "don't set your shutter any lower than 1/60th."  Since then, that's stuck in my head for whenever I'm taking pictures in a moving vehicle.

ISO.  the ISO, or film speed, refers to the film's sensitivity to light.  I know what you're thinking: pump the breaks, JacPfef, we're shooting digital here!  It's the same concept in digital photography, except instead of film, there's a sensor.  And it affects the sRGB.  ...what?  Yeah I know.  That's a whole other [really boring] post that will probably never be written by this girl [because it's really boring].  ...So where were we?  Ahh, yes: ISO.  Films that are really sensitive to light (like an ISO 1600) are said to be a faster film because they don't need as much exposure to light as a slower film (like one with ISO 100).  Tip: If you're in a low light situation, use a faster film speed (like ISO1600), but beware, faster film speeds make for noisier photos with lots of grain.

Those are the three basics when it come to camera settings.  Using them, and using them together, can make a world of difference in your photos.