Canon SL3 Crash Course

Michael Andrew introduces a free Canon SL3 crash course, highlighting its compact, lightweight DSLR design and strong video capabilities as he gets started.

Develop previsualization by imaging the exact shot in your mind before shooting, then translate that vision into a properly exposed final image.

Understand exposure as the amount of light that falls on recording media, and learn how shutter speed and aperture determine how much light enters the camera.

Explore how shutter speed controls exposure time, with faster speeds needing more light and freezing motion; learn fractional notation such as 60 meaning 1/60 second and bulb for long openings.

Master shutter speed barriers: shoot people at 1/60 second to reduce blur, and use 1/500 second to freeze action for moving athletes.

Explore the math of fractions to master shutter speeds, understanding how faster, slower, longer, and shorter exposures control light through a quiz.

Aperture defines the opening in a lens, showing how wide the opening is. Wide openings allow more light into the camera, reducing the time required for a proper exposure.

Observe how aperture sizes control depth of field by watching the shutter blades adjust. Scroll through f-stops from 22 to 2.8 in aperture priority mode to see the lens opening.

Master depth of field with three core rules: aperture size, subject distance, and focal length. Understand how sensor size and equivalence influence depth of field.

Stop down to widen depth of field so two people stay in the focal plane; for groups, use row at f/6.3–f/7.1 or two rows at f/8, focus on second row.

Understand how ISO controls light sensitivity and exposure, noting that lower ISO, 400 or less, yields cleaner colors and less noise while higher ISO requires more light but adds grain.

Explore f-stop concepts as units of light, showing how one stop doubles light, with traditional aperture values, half-stop and third-stop increments, ISO stops, and shutter speed relationships.

Boost your photography contest success by applying abundant compositional elements—rule of thirds, shapes, textures, and depth—to create stronger, more engaging images.

Master the rule of thirds to improve your images by placing the subject's eye near power points on the tic tac toe grid, guiding composition and adding variety.

Improve your photography by spotting shapes after the rule of thirds to strengthen composition. Find squares, triangles, and the elusive S-curve, and let the shooting situation guide placement.

Master how to convey depth in two-dimensional images by showing one, then two, then three sides of a subject using 45-degree rotations and elevated angles to enhance three-dimensionality.

Explore how angle of attack shapes photographs by changing the camera angle around the subject, from eye level to ground-up or sky-high shots, to yield different looks.

Recognize leading lines and surrounding textures to create a sense of depth, projecting into the background to render a three-dimensional, reachable feel in your subject.

scan your background before pressing the shutter to spot distractions, and either reposition the subject or adjust your angle to cover them; Photoshop is a last resort.

Explore textures as repeating patterns that please the eye and serve as strong portrait backdrops, and practice identifying diverse textures from ground surfaces to the sky for photography.

Master how distance shapes composition by moving closer or farther from the subject, or using zoom. Start far away, then step in to fill the frame with the subject's face.

Learn the perspective shot as a compositional technique to control the relative distances between subjects in the frame, emphasizing the bride and groom in wedding photography.

Learn how contrast between subject and background shapes visibility in portraits, using white or dark backgrounds to emphasize head and body outlines, with rules for when to break it.

Explore how to use landscape, portrait, and dutch tilt orientations to transform the look of photos of people, landscapes, and products.

Jpeg uses eight bit depth encoding to encode 256 shades per pixel, from zero black to 255 white. Raw files offer fourteen bit depth for more tones.

Explore how a digital greenhouse analogy reveals camera sensor operation, detailing shutter speed, aperture, light measurement, and exposure while connecting pixels to black, white, and gray.

Explore how focal length and field of view shape lens perspective, from wide lenses that compress depth to telephoto lenses that enlarge background subjects, and learn portrait-flattering effects.

Prefer Canon L-series glass for solid performance. I recommend the 24-70mm f/2.8 II and 70-200mm f/2.8 II IS as workhorse lenses, with versatile options for landscapes and portraits.

Master how a histogram shows pixel brightness from black to white, with the x-axis shading and the y-axis pixel counts. Use it to gauge exposure in images.

Learn how a bear filter system captures red, green, and blue channel data at 8-bit depth with 256 levels per channel, and how the processor renders each pixel color.

Master lighting for portraits by using hard and soft light, shooting in complete shade or during golden hour to control shadows, and using the hand technique to find best light.

Apply the scientific method to diagnose blurry images, using observation, question, hypothesis, experiment, and theory to test lens focus and shutter speed.