Jerrari's *Photography Tutorial*

With 17,000+ photo’s currently in our gallery I figured I mine as well make a little tutorial on how to take some halfway decent photos of your computers.

1.) First off look at your camera. Is there an “M†setting somewhere? This setting is on most cameras as a dial. This is the MANUAL setting which I will be using throughout the rest of this tutorial.


*On point-and-shoot cameras it might also be labeled “C†for Custom settings.

2.) In this section I will explain the settings and what they do. These are the selections you should find under your manual setting.

ISO â€" this controls the brightness of the photo. If a photo is too dark this can be raised to resolve the problem. Although the higher the ISO value the grainier the photo will become. ISO values can be from (50 â€" 3000) on some cameras.


(ISO [100] on left) (ISO [1600] on right)

Shutter Speed â€" This number is usually represented as a fraction such as [1/30] meaning a 30th of a second. This value controls the length of time the shutter will expose the film/media. The longer the exposure the more crisp the photo will become. Also the longer the exposure the brighter the photo will become. For longer shutter speeds I recommend stabilizing the camera on a surface or a tripod. Any shaking or movement of the camera during a long exposure will cause smearing or blurriness. In relation to a longer exposure a lower ISO value is usually suitable. Values can range from about (1/3000 to 30â€).

*the ( “ ) stands for seconds, Example:[16â€] = sixteen seconds


(Shutter Speed [2"] on left) (Shutter Speed [1/500] on right)

Aperture â€" Also known as F-STOP, this setting controls the length of focus by adjusting a mechanical opening. This is usually represented as a number with “f†in front, such as [f3.5]. Changing this value changes the range of focus. The higher the value of the aperture setting, the further the distance of focus. Although the higher the aperture value, the narrower the mechanical opening will be, causing less light to pass onto the film/media, vice-versa for a lower value.


(F-STOP [f3.5] on left) (F-STOP [f7.0] on right) *not a lot of difference with my camera... it has its limits.

Focus â€" Many camera have automatic focus which is ok… except the camera chooses what it wants to focus on. Try searching for a manual control over focus. Set the camera where you plan on taking the photo from. Then adjust the focus using which ever method your camera offers for adjustment until the area of the photo you want comes into focus. This fixes the problem with the camera focusing on the car outside the window behind your computer problem.



Flash â€" Flash can be a nice feature when indoor or a dark spooky cave, but I don’t recommend it for computer pictures. Unless you have a fancy flash system thing on your camera I would recommend turning it off. Flash can be seen reflecting off the side of shiny parts or even the window of the case. Longer exposure time or higher ISO can solve most issues with the photo being too dark. You may also want to try a different light source such as a lamp if the photo is too dark.


(Flash [OFF] on left) (Flash [ON] on right)

3.) Time to try out what you just learned!

If you are having trouble with the picture turning out right or you DIDN’T FEEL LIKE READING STEP TWO!!!... Then try these settings.
Under [M] or [C] try these settings:
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~for fairly dark room 60w bulb lighting
*try to set your settings as close as you can to mine
ISO [200] (brightness)
SHUTER SPEED [1.0â€] (1 second)
F-STOP [3.5] (aperture)
Flash [OFF]


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~for a well lit room 100w bulb lighting
ISO [80]
SHUTTER SPEED [1/4]
F-STOP [3.5]
Flash [OFF]


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~Very dark room, Ambient lighting
ISO [800]
SHUTTER SPEED [8â€]
F-STOP [3.5]
Flash [OFF]


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