Shoot Like a Pro: Must-Know Camera Settings for New Photographers

Shoot Like a Pro: Must-Know Camera Settings for New Photographers

Learn the basics of manual mode and finally feel in control behind the lens

You’ve got the camera. You’ve got the curiosity. Maybe you’ve even got your first few shoots lined up. But every time you switch to manual mode, panic sets in. What does ISO do again? Why is everything blurry? What do all these numbers on the screen mean? And why do people talk about aperture like it's second nature?

First of all—deep breath. Baby steps. We all learned from knowing nothing at one point. Learning your camera settings is like learning a new language, and with a bit of consistent little practice, it clicks. Once you get to know the settings and you camera, you can truly start to craft and create each image with the click of the shutter.

This guide will walk you through the key camera settings every beginner should know—without jargon, confusion, or overwhelm.

Whether you’re using a DSLR, mirrorless, or even leveling up your iPhone photography, this is your crash course in creative control. Let's start by talking about the three main components of exposure: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO.

1. Aperture: Your Lens’s Eyeball

I talked about aperture in one of my first posts, but it bears repeating especially if you're a newbie.

I like to think of aperture as the pupil of your lens—it opens and closes to let in more or less light. It also controls depth of field, or how much of the frame is in focus or how blurry the background is.

A lower f-stop (like f/1.8 or f/2.8) = more blur, more light, shallow depth of field (I love this for portraits)
A higher f-stop (like f/8 or f/11) = more in focus, less light, deeper depth of field (I typically use this for landscapes)

ProTip: Want that creamy background bokeh blur in portraits? Shoot “wide open” at a lower f-stop. Make sure you focus on the eye closest to the lens.

2. Shutter Speed: Like the "Blink" of Your Camera

Shutter speed is how quickly your camera takes the photo. Fast shutter = frozen action. Slow shutter = motion blur. You shutter speed works inversely to your aperture. Which means when you change one, the other must change the same amount to get the desired look. Another way of putting it is that when one increases, the other must decrease.

1/1000s or faster = great for sports, "freezing" movement, or kids on the go!
1/125s – 1/250s = solid range for portraits and everyday shots
Slower than 1/60s = This is when I recommend use a tripod or risk blur! Another "rule" is that your shutter speed should never be less than 1 over (1/x) the focal length of your lens. What this means is that if you are shooting with a 50mm lens, you should not hand hold your camera any slower than 1/50th of a second. If you have a large telephoto lens, like 300m, you would not want your hand help shutter speed to be less than 1/300th of a second.

Pro Tip: If your photos feel soft or blurry, check your shutter speed before you blame your focus! If your camera shutter is really slow, you'll definitely hear the slow shutter release. If you're not sure you hear it, just try taking exposure at different shutter speeds so you can really understand how it works and the effects it gives you.

3. ISO: Your Camera’s Sensitivity to Light

ISO controls how sensitive your sensor is to light. It’s the easiest way to brighten a dark photo—but it also adds grain. I typically shoot at the 400 ISO mark which is just a great all around ISO to have. When it's really bright I'lll knock it down to 100 or 200 if I need to.

ISO 100–400 = great in daylight or outdoors
ISO 800–1600 = low-light indoor shoots
ISO 3200+ = night shots or darker spaces (expect some grain)

Pro Tip: I like to keep my ISO as low as possible for the cleanest image, but don’t be afraid to bump it when you need to. I'd rather have a grainier image over a blurry one especially when the occasion calls for it (like a dark indoor wedding!). You can always clean up all or some of the grain in post production (depending on your aesthetic).

4. White Balance: Keeping Your Colors True

Ever taken a photo that looks way too blue or orange? That’s white balance. I typically will set my camera balance and avoid AWB (auto white balance) because you never know what the camera might pick up to "balance" the white with.

Your camera can usually auto-correct it, but learning to adjust it manually helps you:

Keep skin tones natural
Avoid weird color casts
Save editing time later

Pro Tip: Use the "Kelvin" setting if your camera has it—it gives you full control over warmth and coolness. You can find a Kelvin scale diagram in any Google search.

5. Focus Modes: Nailing the Shot, Every Time

There’s no shame in missing focus—it happens to the best of us. But knowing your focus modes helps you:

Track movement (great for kids or pets)
Lock onto faces
Get tack-sharp eyes in portraits

Learn the difference between:

Single-shot (AF-S or One Shot): For still subjects//still lifes
Continuous (AF-C or AI Servo): For moving subjects//great for sports or when you want to keep your focus on a moving object
Manual focus: When you need total control (or when your autofocus keeps choosing the wrong thing). I'll use this a lot in macro photography (and in fact I have a few macro lenses that are manual focus only).

ProTip: Use back button focus to separate focusing from your shutter—total game-changer.

6. Shooting Modes: Go Beyond Auto

Most cameras offer semi-manual modes like:

Aperture Priority (A or Av): You choose aperture, camera picks the rest// this is what I use the most
Shutter Priority (S or Tv): You pick shutter speed, camera adjusts aperture/ISO
Manual (M): Full creative control // I like to use this when I need to control the light or need to bracket for exposures (like in interior photography)

PRO Tip: Start off by using Aperture Priority if you’re shooting portraits (or stillives- anything with a foreground, middle, and background) and want to start practicing depth of field without going full manual. This is a really great way to get a feel for the different aperture settings, how each f stop looks, and how your shutter speed changes in relation to changing your aperture

Bonus: The Histogram Is Your Friend

That weird little graph that pops up on your screen? It can tell you if your photo is too bright or too dark—before you get home and find out half your shoot is blown out!

That histogram is reading the highlights and shadows of the frame. You can never get back info lost in the highlights, while getting back info lost in the shadows is more forgiving (of course it depends on high underexposed the images might be).

Pro Tip: Aim for a nice curve that doesn’t touch either edge of the graph too harshly—any edges that are hitting the square = lost detail.

Are You Feeling More Confident Already?

You don’t have to memorize everything today. Learning your camera settings takes time, trial, and lots of practice—and that’s the beautiful part.

Literally JUST PLAY around with it! Treat it like a science experiment- take notes, record what happens, and see what you like best.

The more you shoot, the more you’ll understand how each setting works together. Start small. Have fun. Photograph your coffee mug in five different lighting conditions if you have to.