These days many point & shoot cameras give you the same flexibility seen with SLR cameras. This is great news for those of you who want to stretch your creative limits. And for those of you who don’t want to bother with such complexities as speed and aperture—and they aren’t really that bad—these cameras makes things easier for you too.
The secret resides in the symbols found on your camera as shown above—or some variation of them. No, they aren’t hieroglyphics or ancient runes—though they might seem that way—but they’re the foolproof way of getting great photos (most of the time).
Here’s the rundown of what they all mean. The symbols on your camera might be slightly different, but the definitions are the same. Also, your camera might not have all of these options, especially since this is a picture of my film camera and not my digital one.
Person and moon: This setting allows you take pictures of people against the night sky or during dusk. You’ll need a tripod or else your pictures will be blurred.
The running person: Perfect for action shots. Unless you want your subject to be blurred, this setting will freeze him or her in mid shot.
The flower: Allows for close up photography, but is limited in scope. Don’t expect to take shots your BFF’s ultra-cool belly button ring and have it fill up the frame.
The mountain: This gives you a greater depth of field. Objects both front of and behind your subjects are in focus, such as in a scenic shot.
The head and shoulders (yes, that’s what it’s supposed to be): This is the best choice for portraits. The focus is on your subject and the background is blurred so that it is less noticeable. It makes for a less busy photo and is more pleasing. It’s also a great way of dealing with a less than exciting background.
The happy face: This is the normal mode—whatever that means.
Auto Pict: The camera pretends to read your mind and determines what your goal is (portrait, landscape, macro, moving object). Naturally, like anything that pretends to read your mind—for example your parents—it’s not always correct.
TV: Speed (see tip #8). You pick the shutter speed and the camera chooses the best aperture base on available light.
AV: Aperture (see tip #7). You select the depth of field and the camera chooses the correct speed for the best exposure.
M: Manual. You choose both the aperture and camera speed. It is the most flexible and enables for the ultimate in creativity.
ISO: Film speed. See tip #6. This might be found elsewhere on your camera.
B: (not shown here). This one might not be on your camera. You can take those cool nighttime shots where the stars streak across the sky. You’ll need both a tripod and a shutter release cable to use this function.
Whew! A lot of information, but essential if you want to make the most of your camera and your creative powers. Just make sure you read your manual—which might be as long as Stephenie Meyer’s novel, Twilight—to fully understand how to use your equipment.