Camera settings

Exposure: the amount of light picked up by the camera's sensor. It's determined by three settings (shutter speed, aperture and ISO).

Shutter speed: How long the camera's sensor is exposed to light. Expressed as a fraction of a second e.g. 1/100.

Aperture: The aperture is a small set of blades in the lens that controls how much light will enter the camera. Aperture sizes are measured by f-stop like f-22 means that the aperture hole is quite small, and a low f-stop like f/3.5 means that the aperture is wide open.

ISO: the ISO controls the exposure by using software in the camera to make it extra sensitive to light. It is the most significant setting for exposure. It also effects the graininess of the image, the higher the ISO setting.

Depth of field: The depth of field (DOF) is the front-to-back zone of a photograph in which the image is razor-sharp. DOF is determined by three factors – aperture size, distance from the lens, and the focal length of the lens. There are two types of depth of field – shallow and great/deep. Shallow depth of field involves one point of focus with the foreground and/or background blurred. Great/deep depth of field puts nearly everything in focus.

White balance: White balance sets the colour temperature on a camera. It gives a photo a particular hue – red, blue, yellow or true white are some examples. It varies dependent on the location of the photos. Many cameras automatically balance whites to give a pure white tone – as well as having a number of pre-sets.

Sharpness: Sharpness is a pre-set available on most cameras, usually in the same menu as colour settings (contrast, tone and saturation). It is a built in filter which simply adjusts the clarity of an image.

Under vs Over exposed.