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Correct exposure is the sum total of the ISO setting, your shutter speed setting and the aperture setting on your camera.I continually see Twitter tweets with folks passing on 140 character advice about how to use aperture or shutter settings on a DSLR. Hence, I continually cringe thinking through the scenarios that must result from those suggestions.

For instance; "Always shoot aperture priority and your pictures will be sharp." Well, not if it's in a dark room and your aperture priority selection forces the shutter speed down to 1/4 sec. And I loved this little piece of expert advice; "I know, it's tough to deal with. Lowest aperture, high ISO, & shoot with about -1 stop on exposure, or use manual. 1/40-60th maybe?" Wow… take that and go print up your business cards… you're ready.

Let's set the record straight. For one thing, if photography were simply a matter of saying "do this" then "do that" everyone  would be good. Better yet, automatic cameras would get it right every time. You wouldn't even need to bother with "settings." I want to walk you through the basics of each of your camera adjustments and discuss how they effect the exposure. Then I will go a little deeper and discuss how those adjustments can effect your picture and the creative decisions you make.

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