One of the single most important aspects to quality shots is the lens, when it comes to lenses you really do get what you pay for. If you are buying a new camera it is a good idea to decline the kit lens and go for something else, the kit lenses are far from great optics and hence why you often get a lot of lens for little cash.

Sometimes people forget or do not consider what effects exposure can have on the final result of their shot. Exposure has three major components, ISO, aperture and shutter speed. All three of these exposure components have an effect on the final sharpness of your image.

Have you ever wondered why some photographers just have sharp photos every time? Do you get frustrated when your shots just don’t seem to turn out how you thought they would? This four-part guide is just for you; I will take you through the process of producing pin sharp photos every time.

So you have just taken the plunge and bought yourself a new dSLR camera; congratulations. Modern dSLR cameras are full of functions and even for the photographer that has been shooting with a film SLR may find some of these a little unfamiliar.

Although I am an advocate for take your camera off of automatic and go full manual, it can be a good idea to use some of the built in functions of the modern dSLR there are also occasions where these modes are just downright handy.

In our previous article we talked about the importance and use of aperture being one of the core settings of photography, today we address the second core setting shutter speed.

Similar to how I prefer to use the term depth of focus rather than depth of field, as it is more intuitive when talking aperture, shutter speed also is slightly misleading. It is not how fast the shutter opens or closes but the length of time it stays open for.

Modern digital cameras are full of functions, shooting modes and add on features but believe it or not only two settings are at the foundation of taking a photo.

Even though we have seen great advancement in camera technology the basis of the camera has not changed in essence it is a box that contains a light sensitive element, in traditional photography that is the film and in digital cameras a sensor.

Photography is an art and like any artistic endeavour it takes time to master, before you know yourself you will be walking around seeing life one frame at a time. With modern editing software you have power at your finger tips that has brought a whole new and exciting world to photography, but with a little care and understanding you will be able to produce more dramatic shots with less time spent in front of the computer.