Ideal photography settings for beginners: A guide in the Christian life

Ideal photography | Proper perspective & effective exposure

As with most things in life, we learn a lot as we grow to know how the world works. When it comes to photography, we learn that we should focus on getting the ideal perspective and ‘the ideal’ exposure with every captured moment. If these two essentials are not masterfully handled, then we cannot expect ideal results in our photographs.

Rather than give you advice on how to take great photographs, for which there is plenty out there on the web, let us show you how understanding the importance of proper perspective and effective exposure in photography, can teach us something about life!

Proper perspective

To have proper perspective when taking those dreamed-of pics is something that claims many hours and lots of effort by thousands of photographers every year in hopes of getting that ideal photograph that will catch the eyes of most. What we mean by perspective is the position of the lens determining what will enter through it. Hours of waiting, hours of manoeuvring, hours of planning to get the background, the foreground and the object all in perfect alignment at the perfect time. The lines, the proportions, the angles, the surroundings, the object, the lighting etc. must all come together in an ideal way to get that one photograph and it is easy to get distracted by things that will detract from or even ruin the outcome. Proper perspective is essential.

In life, proper perspective is essential. Are you a jack of all trades but a master of none? Or are you singularly focused on your purpose, your passion and the result you are striving for? Are you allowing other things to distract you from what you really should be focusing on to get a proper perspective on life? As most people hopefully know – marriage is a God-given institution. What you might not know is that marriage is a picture of the relationship between Jesus and His Church, which is something we still plan on writing about, so keep an eye out for that upcoming post.

We mention that to say this: In life, if you do not have your perspective set on what matters, you will fall short of all there is that can be achieved. You are like a camera, taking in and soaking up the things you focus on, and if you focus on the wrong things, those wrong things will affect the image imprinted on your heart. As a Christian, your focus should be on Christ. Proper perspective in the life of a Christian is entirely dependent upon the Christian aiming his or her lense to Christ – our example in all things. Having all your camera settings set perfectly, but then shooting a dull moment, or in other words having poor perspective, will ruin the whole shot. Aim to have proper perspective!

Effective exposure

Effective exposure is when you have your three main camera settings set properly, that is aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The exposure to the light of the area where you are taking photographs is what you are trying to manipulate when you set these settings and sometimes some artificial light is essential. To have effective exposure, all these elements must come together harmoniously in the way you want it, to get the photograph to suit your fancy.

Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens, and quite obviously, the wider the opening, the more light will come into the camera lens and sensor and therefore the more exposed the picture will be. The shutter speed will also control exposure since the longer it stays open, the longer it is exposed to the light and the more exposed it will be. The ISO does not technically control the exposure but rather works like an amplification of the light that is being exposed to the sensor. If for example the required shutter speed and aperture does not allow for a bright enough picture, an increased ISO will be needed or some light will have to be added.

There are plenty of resources to learn more about this, but consider these three essentials when it comes to effective exposure and let’s see how it can teach us something about life. We have seen that our perspective should be on Christ, and if you are a Christian you probably can easily say that your perspective is on point. What you might not be able to say, is that your exposure to Christ is on point (we all struggle with this!)

If your perspective, or in other words, if your focus is on Christ, but your exposure to Him is poorly set, the picture will be dark and then Christ’s example will not have the effect on your life that it potentially can have. To have our exposure right, we first need to set our aperture. That is, we need to have our hearts wide open and ready to receive from Him all that He wants to give us. Secondly, we need to set our shutter speed nice and slow, or in other words, we need to spend good quality time with Him in His word and in prayer. Thirdly we need some ISO, or to be a bit quirky, we need some Inspired Spiritual Observation (ISO). We need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we are reading, and what we are learning and to help us apply it.

Christian photography

Having the proper perspective and having effective exposure is essential in both photography and in life. Christian photography is having these all ideally set and thereby being exposed to Christ in a way that will affect our life to the glory of His name.