I want to talk to you about camera settings. Are they important? Are they not
important? How important are they? And more importantly still, what about my
camera settings and how did they relate to you? Now this is quite complex, I've
got some notes here because I don't want to miss anything out and you know me I
do go off on a tangent. So look, I get asked which settings are used for a
specific photo so many times. In the early videos are never used to post
settings because in all honesty they have no value to you whatsoever they
really really aren't trust me, but I've got winged and moaned at so often and 'oh
what setting did you use?' and 'what settings did you use?' that I have capitulated in the
last couple of years - I do post settings but there's a problem with them,
not only are they irrelevant to you and the shot you're taking, they may even
confuse you, because let's say you set the settings that I use and then you go
to take a shot that's similar and then you're not going to get the same result
and you're going to be going - why is that? what are you done wrong? Browne you're
talking a load of ass! Well yeah I get it (note checking time)... So I mean look for them
to work you have got to be in the same place as me, in the same light, taking the
same shot, from the same place, in order and with the same composition for my
settings to be of relevance to you. If you were taking the shot you're looking
at in the video camera right this minute you would have to be using exactly the
same settings because right now I'm backlit, the light is how it is - that
could change in an instant. Have a look at this picture of a young
monk with the Buddha, you've probably seen it before because it is one of my
absolute favorite pictures that I've ever taken. Would my settings for that
photo work for you? How dark is the temple you're photographing in? How many
candles are there? How much light have you got coming off them? Do you want more
detail in the shadows or do you want it dark and moody like I have? Settings do
not give you pictures it's completely the other way around. Also settings
change from one moment to the next, right now we've got a little bit of blue sky
going on, the sunshine behind me, the light's pretty constant but what if it's
changing? What about these shots here that I took in Iceland? That's all the
same location they were all taken probably within 20 minutes of each other
but look at those clouds in the sky. Can you imagine how much light levels
were changing? So I can't say let's use these settings to shoot a picture of the
plane wreck because it's got nothing to do with the subject and everything to do
with how you want your picture to look, plus you've got to move and juggle and
and bend around according to the changing environment. Let's go take a
look at this because behind me I got a huge great stoater of a church.
Let's go and take some pictures of it I'm gonna get me a bag. Brilliant right..
So I've got a shot set up, I've got a huge great stoater of a church in the
background lit up in the sun, but also look I've got these little, twiggy
branches, this is what starts to make more interesting pictures not settings.
Let's take some shots because I just want to show you that generally speaking
it makes no difference what settings you use at all, particularly if you're using
a short wide-angle lens. If you're using a longer lens you've got to think about
camera shake, got about got to think about freezing movement and that's a
whole other world of thing. Let me just show you I'm going to take the same shot with
a whole bunch of different settings. So starting off let's go with f-18 because
then we'll see lots of depth of field, so f-18 and
80th of a second and I'm hoping the light won't change. Okay now let's change
our exposure let's go to f-11 and take a shot. Let's go to now f-8, we now have
four hundredths of a second and take the same shot now let's go to f-5.6 and take
the same shot. Now look you can see - look at the setting combinations, you can see
how each shot has got different settings but how different is the shot? Virtually
unnoticeable. These are the things you've got to realize, settings don't give you
pictures, pictures give you settings. You've got to pre visualize what you
want to do in your head and then you take the shot. By and large what settings
you use are mostly irrelevant, unless you want to get creative. We're going to go
and look at that in a minute, I'm gonna go see if I can find another picture for
you. Just now I was talking to you about the
changing clouds in the shots of the plane wreck and how the light scanner
change. Well that is obviously going to have a huge impact on the settings you
use. So let's say you go to the same location as me but the light's different
there's a bit of haze in the air for example, your settings are going to be completely
different to mine - and there's more to it - but first - light, look, you remember Lobby
the lobster that killer crustacean that invaded Bournemouth Beach in the
Ultimate Beginners Course? He's come out in the sun because he loves it, look he's
even stolen my raspberry Bakewell tart and had rather a large bite out of it
I can't say I blame him you know raspberry Bakewell and all... but look the light now, if you look up at the
clouds here, if you look up at the sun right, they're feathered. The light is
feathered, it's on the edge of a cloud. Look at the sun, right - you
see how it's feathered? Can you see that Ben or is the exposure to great? - Just
about. Okay, where that light is feathered it's on the edge of a cloud, the light
levels going up and down up and down up and down. That means you're going to be
changing your settings every single second, every single moment - as you're
shooting your pictures. Let's have a little look at this, let's set up a shot
with Lobby. If I use a nice sensible middle aperture like FA
Here we go - sorry it's getting windy, I know you can hear the noise. I'm gonna
get in close under a wide wide shot. Now look in this light, all right you see
we've got a shot like that over Lobby the lobster and he's a bit dark and he's
a bit dull, it's about the right exposure and our settings are one 640 at
f-8 but if that sun comes out which it will in a moment, we're just gonna wait
for it.... like this - let's see what happens. Same shot. What are our settings going to
be now that the sun has come out? Let's just get our shot set up and take it.
Look, so we've gone from a six fortieth to and eight hundredths of a second with
the same aperture because the light changed. So I can't tell you what the
light's doing where you are so I can't tell you what settings you need to use but
there's another one too. If you change the distance from the subject to the
camera but you want the same bokeh background blur effect that I've got
you're gonna have to use different settings, let me prove it to you. Again
well no look - you've just seen lobby f-8 right, taken at about this distance. Now
if I move further back - I'm going to try and do it before the light changes. Let's just move
further back, let's extend this distance - take the same shot again using the same
aperture with Lobby occupying the same space in the frame, FA there we go...
If you look at the background bokeh effect, you will see that in the first
shot when I was closer with a wider lens it's sharper than further back. So if you
want to maintain the same level of background sharpness or bokeh what are
you going to have to do? You're going to have to change your settings, you're
gonna have to - I'm going to prove it to you - stop down quite a bit probably I'm
just guessing, I'm just going to guess and go with roundabout f-16 how do I
know it's f-16? I don't, I'm guessing yeah I'm using
experience because I've been shooting for donkey's years. I just want to show
you, yeah that's pretty similar, I think
that's pretty similar, but you see I had to change the aperture to manage the
depth of field. Let's go and talk about this a little bit more. Come on Lobby and
get off my cake. I came over here to have a chat with you because it's great we've
been larking around with lobsters and bits of cake and stuff but what I've got to
say is really very important and I wanted my little notes because I don't
want to go off piste, I don't want to leave anything out. Photography works in
reverse to the way most people believe it does. Settings do not give you images
images give you settings. First you've got to know what the different settings
do to the appearance of an image, you've got to be able to just do it like that.
When you see amazing pictures online and on Facebook and in other places the
photographer knows what they're doing like that. The camera doesn't take the
picture, the photographer takes the picture by using their knowledge of
light and composition etc and how to string their settings together in order
to get the image. First you pre-visualize what you want and then you set your
settings appropriately to capture it, and if your images are not what you want
you've got to learn how to do that. Also think about which autofocus modes to use.
Autofocus isn't just autofocus, don't give all your responsibilities away to
the camera. The camera has no idea what you want to focus on, you've got to
choose the auto focus mode that's appropriate to your shot, then the camera
will deal with the auto focusing, leaving you free to be creative, to think about
which aperture or shutter do I want to manage the portrayal of movement or
sharpness? Depth of field? Back to front in the image/ Where do I stand?
When do I click? What's the light doing? If you're just stood there endlessly in auto -
full auto everywhere focus mode and you're going 'oh it's not in the... why
won't it do what I want it to do..?' It's because you're not telling it what you
want it to do. Shutters and apertures they have two functions I just mentioned
it. So shutters manage how you portray movement and apertures manage how
much sharpness you have front to back in the picture,
also known as depth of field. You saw when we were messing around with Lobby
over there that to manage the same amount of sharpness from my settings to
a short you want to take, if you change the distance you've got to change the
settings too, to get the same result. This is so important guys I really really
can't emphasize this enough. You pre-visualize your image and then you
work back from that pre-visualization to give you the settings that you want and
you know what? The good news is there's only about five or six settings you
actually need to know how to control. Nearly everything else on your camera is
guff and it's put there by marketing people. There is a multi-million dollar
marketing machine telling you that this camera will do everything for you, this
camera is awesome, this camera will take the best picture ever... Yeah well they're
not lying it is awesome, it will take the best picture ever but what you're not
seeing is the pictures they're showing you have probably been taken by a
world-class photographer using that camera. Not someone who's just thought I
want to get a camera I'm going to take some shots. Did you notice the light
just change then? Did you see that? These are the things you've got to recognize
the lights change, now I'm going to have to change my settings, how is it going to
affect my picture? This is the stuff that makes a photographer - not the camera and
certainly not my settings... and that's why I'm always reluctant to tell you what
they are. This is when my settings will probably confuse you, I know I'm having a
bit of a rant here so learn how to utilize the settings that I have
mentioned. Learn how to pre visualize, use your imagination. Lots of people say
yeah but Mike I'm not very creative, well get creative! That's all you've got to do.
Listen you think you're not creative? You do a thousand creative things every day,
you think of which route are you going to use to drive to the shop? So like oh
this week shall I go that way, well actually it's a nice day I'll go that way,
we'll go the pretty way, it's nice scenery, I've got a bit of spare time - I'm
in a mad tearing hurry, I'll go that way - I'm going to take the shortcut around
the back roads because it's really really busy, it's rush hour. That is
creative thinking, all you've got to do is just harness that creativity into a
different direction. You got to practice practice, practice. Imagine taking photos
in your head even when you haven't got the
camera. You've got to learn how to really really see what's around you when you go
out to take pictures. Stop talking to your mates about 'Oh I saw this deal on
eBay for this lens or that camera' and 'oh my mate Graham's bought an F2.8 ooh woopie doo!'
I'm sorry if I sound sarcastic these things are so unimportant.
Understanding how a handful of camera settings work and practicing with them
will make the world of difference. If you're out on safari you're in Africa
you've arrived out there on the valgia, your elephant comes out from behind the
acacia tree and flaps his ears as the sun's setting and the dust is all awesome in
the air. If you practiced with a plastic lobster in a park somewhere, you're gonna
go - oh look elephant - marvellous. Click click click click
Bam Bam Bam Bam oh look at that Bam Bam Bam. Meanwhile everyone else in the back
of the Safari Landrover is gonna be going - oh oh oh I don't know what to do - oh put
it on auto and your pictures are gonna win, your pictures will get thousands
of likes and all that good stuff. Their's won't, their's will probably be a mess.
Practice with your lobster. What else was I gonna say? So you know that's probably
about all there is to say about it, there's millions and millions of
free videos about all this stuff. If you haven't understood fully what I was
doing like when I was changing the distance and altering the Bokeh or blur
or whatever you want to call it in the background. If you don't understand that
you've got to find out. There's millions of free stuff available online where you
can do that, but also think about investing in yourself,
my Ultimate Beginners Course will take you through all of this stuff - and so
much more. It costs so much less than a bit of used
equipment and it will be a massive investment for you. Of course you can
look it up online for free, but how do you know what to learn in what order?
Which bit of information do you need first to avoid getting completely
confused? This photographer said to do this and I'm doing it and it's not working...
It's because you've got a bit of information missing that should be in
the slot before you get to that. There - that is what you're doing when you buy a
course. You're paying for me to be your guide to give you a little push now and
then as well to help you get what you want.
Of course I want you to buy of course, it's how I make a living but it has to work
for you too and that's why they've got guarantees and free samples so go and
check them out, go and have a look at the free sample of my Ultimate Beginners Course
You can do it right now, there's a thing up here click it go
check it out, watch the video, get yourself a free sample get yourself on
it! That's the most important thing, so hopefully this has been a value to you
and I'm sorry I've had a bit of a rant and given you rather a lecture but you
know it's my job as a trainer and coach to coach you, if I don't push you
then it's not gonna make any difference is it? If you employ a fitness trainer
who just sits on the running machine with you eating doughnuts
you're not gonna get any fitter are you? You're just gonna get fatter like me eating blooming Bakewell!
So it's my job to push you to be a little bit harsh sometimes and
all my free videos are available on my website. They have free accompanying
articles with them as well, with some useful links to other resources from
time to time. So if you'd like to sign up to my newsletter which is also up here
popping out now, then I'll send you some free tips each week and always let you
know when there's a new video with an accompanying article on my website which
may be a better place for you to go and have a look at it. So I'd love to hear
comments, anything you want to say I'd really like to know. Any questions pop
them in the comments down below, we'll do our best to respond to them click in a
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where you can do that. I hope it's been a value guys, take care of yourselves I'll
see you next time.