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Digital Photography Made Simple — Lesson 1 — Page 2

Macro Focus Mode

This mode overrides the general use auto focus mode, so that you can take extreme close-up shots of subjects such as flowers, insects, coins, stamps, and so on. Macro capabilities aren't the same on all cameras, so check the distance specification carefully. How close can you really get? You can achieve even more highly magnified shots with additional close-up filters like those shown in Figure 1-3, if they're available for your camera model.

Figure 1-3: Close-up filters.

Demo 1-7: The macro focus mode makes a big difference in capturing images close up.

ISO Setting

For digital cameras, the ISO (International Standards Organization) setting refers to the image sensor's sensitivity to light. Lower ISO settings, that is, 100 and 200, allow lower light sensitivity for photographing in bright light situations like sunny days. Higher ISO settings — 400 and up — enable the camera to take acceptable images in lower light situations. Demo 1-8 shows how your photo will look depending on the ISO settings.

Demo 1-8: Depending on your ISO settings, your photo can vary greatly.

Most digital cameras have both automatic ISO settings and presets to choose from. Be aware that higher ISO settings have been known to compromise image quality in digital cameras. You should experiment to determine what's acceptable for you on those higher ISO settings.

EV

EV (exposure value) is another light-related setting that can be helpful in bright light situations that can wash out parts of an image. Automatic settings aren't always capable of managing bright light in a photo composition, so look for a camera that also offers manual settings if you'll be shooting in extreme lighting conditions. Some cameras also offer exposure compensation and exposure metering to help fine-tune EV. Demo 1-9 shows the difference between a photo taken using the EV setting and one that wasn't.

Demo 1-9: To avoid having your photo washed out on a bright day, turn on the EV setting.

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