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digital photography for kids cheatsheet this cheatsheet also spelled cheat sheet and also called crib sheet is a quick reference tool yes cheat sheets are used unethically by students without the teacher s knowledge but in higher education where exams are not focused on rote memorization cheat sheets are often recommended by instructors we encourage you to create your own cheat sheets with the tips settings and techniques that will most help you when you are out in the field doing so will help you to learn the techniques better it will also help you when you are out with your camera to focus on your pictures rather than a cumbersome manual it is for this latter reason that we have attempted to create a cheatsheet that will prove the most useful for you until you create your own or perhaps this will have just what you need feel free to use adobe s editing tools to copy and paste from this one into customized ones you create remember the cheat sheet is a quick reference tool to print fold into a pocket or bag and take with you for when you need to look something up fast it s not intended to replace learning from the book 1

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viewfinder unless using an slr the viewfinder shows only 80 to 90 percent of entire picture but is handy when there s too much glare on lcd screen shutter release to help prevent camera shake plant feet squarely on the ground elbows down and hold as still as possible when pressing the shutter and waiting for camera to finish taking the picture light best light is natural light and best times of days are the golden hours the higher the sun is in the sky the worse under overcast skies color intensifies while highlights are subdued clouds cast dramatic shadows contrasting colors create drama and often enhance the graphic quality of an image fog softens a scene on camera flash casts strong shadows and flattens usually best to avoid but when natural light casts unwanted shadows fill in with camera flash fill flash to use fill flash set your flash to on instead of automatic back light sunlight shining from behind the subject can give a very pleasing effect if intense it creates a silhouette back light shines towards the camera though and can cause lens flare to avoid lens flare shade the lens caution looking directly at the sun can damage your camera s sensor not to mention your eyes zoom or telephoto lens intensifies this when shooting sunsets wait till sun is low in the sky and a dark red front light ­ shines from behind camera undesirable for people and animals because it causes squinting indoors low light if the light meter is warning you there is not enough light and flash is not allowed use a higher iso if possible if not an slr digital noise removing software may be needed in editing aperture priority ­ allows you to increase or decrease depth of field by widening or shrinking lens opening the larger the f-stop number on your camera the larger the depth of field large depth of field gets everything in focus when using aperture priority the camera adjusts shutter speed to match for best exposure shutter speed priority controls length of time the camera allows in the light shutter speeds slower than 1/60 require a tripod or other camera support to freeze action set to a high speed for example a soccer game requires anywhere from 1/250 and 1/500 autofocus af ­ camera focuses on what it thinks is the main subject for most cameras this is what is in the center of the frame if main subject is not in the center do this frame so the main subject is in the center and press shutter button down halfway holding till camera locks focus probably a green light will indicate this then while still holding the shutter button half way down shift camera so that the picture is framed how desired and press the shutter button the rest of the way down 2

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preset modes most common modes sports or action mode ­ freezes action instead of blurring it if the sport is indoors the light may be too dim to use sports mode fast shutter speed if this is the case with your camera in automatic mode pan to freeze the action panning move just the upper half of your body following subject with camera before you are ready to take the picture right before the action heats up begin pressing the shutter following the subject until the shutter closes panning blurs the background creating a feeling of movement portrait for sharp pictures of people with the background out of focus how much it blurs the background depends on the camera and how far behind the subject the background is at least 10 feet is best take most pictures of others and pets at their eye level portraits as a general rule focus on the eyes of people and animals look for contrasting backgrounds that flatter if the background is distracting use zoom to blur landscape or infinity mode ­ large depth of field puts everything into focus macro for taking close ups from 1 to 1 away from subject depending on your camera check manual night or twilight portrait for taking pictures of people after dark with lit backgrounds more modes fireworks captures the vibrancy and brightness of fireworks carnival lights etc macro ­ for close ups such as flowers and insects white balance modes cloudy also can be used for shady areas and to counterbalance the cool lighting of a cloudy day 3

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tungsten adds blue tones to balance out the yellow tinge caused by these commonly used indoor light bulbs sunset ­ increased depth of field like for landscape and warmth beach/snow tells camera the snow or sand is supposed to be bright so the camera doesn t tone it down other settings red eye reduction ­ helps prevent red eye with the first flash causing the eyes pupils to narrow and the second flash illuminating the picture face recognition tells camera to focus on the face and sets correct exposure according to the face may work with up to 15 faces depending on the camera faces must be facing forward vertical not too far away and still burst/continuous mode shoots around five to six pictures in rapid succession composition landscapes frame your picture so that a point of interest is in the foreground and the horizon is straight if the sky is dramatic place it in the upper two thirds of your shot if it s the foreground that holds more interest fill only the top third of the frame with sky clutter try to frame picture so that nothing is visible but what is wanted fill your frame use camera s optical zoom or physically get closer to subject empty space ­ can be used liberally to good effect rule of thirds ­ popular composition technique imagine six evenly spaced lines breaking the image into a tic tac toe grid of nine even parts or switch on camera s grid view if has one frame composition so that the subject is on one of the intersections or on one of the lines group photos if a large group use something like stairs to stagger heights and get them all in the frame show relationships by having arms around each other heads together etc to put yourself in the photo use a remote shutter release or timer 4

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more composition tips sometimes placing the subject dead center is best don t restrict all shooting to eye level change eye level by sitting lying down or standing on something slightly higher that s stable and safe of course try holding camera vertically do keep straight lines such as horizons or building s straight miscellaneous rain keep camera and memory cards covered and dry if camera gets wet dry lens with the lens cloth and rest with towel a wet memory card must thoroughly dry before inserting or it can short out the camera snow ­ to freeze the movement of falling snow use flash when everything is blanketed in white include a colored object such as a cardinal or a sled cold warm camera gradually to prevent damaging condensation by placing somewhere slightly less cold such as a car trunk for a while before in the heated indoors use the space below to jot down notes you want to bring with you 5

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