The main command dial is on the rear of the camera, on the top right. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/c/cd/Nikon_main_command_dial_350. jpg/460px-Nikon_main_command_dial_350. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/c/cd/Nikon_main_command_dial_350. jpg/700px-Nikon_main_command_dial_350. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:460,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:700,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

main command dial on a nikon D80. taken by <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/User:KoeppiK">this person</a>, who released it under the creative commons attribution share-alike 3. 0 license. source:\n</p>

<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Nikon_d80_with_35mm_f2. 0_back. jpg">http://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Nikon_d80_with_35mm_f2. 0_back. jpg</a>\n</p>

(note: the version of the license below is incorrect; it should be 3. 0, not 2. 5)\n</p>

License: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/2. 5/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p></div>"} The main command dial. The secondary command dial is on the front of the camera, right in front of the shutter button. (The very cheapest cameras omit this. ) {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/6/64/D300s_secondary_command_dial_768. jpg/460px-D300s_secondary_command_dial_768. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/6/64/D300s_secondary_command_dial_768. jpg/700px-D300s_secondary_command_dial_768. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:360,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:548,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

secondary command dial on a nikon D300s. \n</p>

cropped from this:\n</p>

<a target="blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Nikon_D300s-Front(No_Lens). jpg">http://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Nikon_D300s-Front(No_Lens). jpg</a>\n</p>

released under the GNU Free Documentation License and Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3. 0 by the original <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/User:ShakataGaNai">author</a>\n</p>

<br />\nLicense: <a href="/wikiHow:GNU-Free-Documentation-License" title="wikiHow:GNU Free Documentation License">GNU Free Documentation</a>
\n</p></div>"} The secondary command dial, indicated, is on the front of the camera, near the power switch and shutter button. The multi selector on the rear switches between auto-focus points (which we’ll get to later). You also use this to navigate the camera’s menus. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/1/1f/Nikon_AF_point_selector_535. jpg/460px-Nikon_AF_point_selector_535. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/1/1f/Nikon_AF_point_selector_535. jpg/700px-Nikon_AF_point_selector_535. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:370,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:563,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

AF point selector on a Nikon D200. \n</p>

original picture was <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Nikon_D200_body_back. jpg">this</a>, released by its author (Marie-Lan Nguyen) under the Creative Commons Attribution 2. 5 Generic license. The cropping and the pointy thing were done by me. \n</p>

\u00a9 Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons\n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/2. 5/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p></div>"} The multi-selector on a Nikon D200.

High end cameras: you have a dedicated dial for this on the top-left of the camera, with a C position, which is what you want. Push the button next to the dial to unlock it and turn the dial. Your camera might have a Ch and Cl position; this is continuous/high-speed and continuous/low-speed. This is more or less self-explanatory, so pick the one that works best for you. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/e/e4/Drive_mode_dial_at_Ch_901. jpeg/460px-Drive_mode_dial_at_Ch_901. jpeg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/e/e4/Drive_mode_dial_at_Ch_901. jpeg/700px-Drive_mode_dial_at_Ch_901. jpeg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:306,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:466,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

drive mode dial set to Ch (Continuous/High speed). i did this. \n</p>

Image from: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>\n</p></div>"} Drive mode dial on a D2H set to Ch (Continuous/High speed). Mid-range cameras: hold down the drive mode button and spin the main command dial. Look at the top LCD and wait until you see the three rectangles (rather than a single-rectangle, or a timer icon) indicating that continuous shooting is on. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/1/1a/D70_drive_mode_button_424. jpeg/460px-D70_drive_mode_button_424. jpeg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/1/1a/D70_drive_mode_button_424. jpeg/700px-D70_drive_mode_button_424. jpeg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:306,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:466,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

drive mode button on a nikon D70. i did this. \n</p>

Image from: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>\n</p></div>"} The drive mode button on a Nikon D70. Entry-level cameras: you’ll have to dig through the menus to find this. You’re on your own here, because this differs from camera to camera.

On all cameras: if you have an A-M switch (or A/M-M, A/M meaning autofocus with immediate manual override), set this to A, or A/M. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/1/1f/Nikon_18-70mm_manual-auto_switch_900. jpeg/460px-Nikon_18-70mm_manual-auto_switch_900. jpeg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/1/1f/Nikon_18-70mm_manual-auto_switch_900. jpeg/700px-Nikon_18-70mm_manual-auto_switch_900. jpeg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:318,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:484,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

M/A-M selector on a nikon 18-70mm DX lens. i did this. \n</p>

use is unrestricted, a link to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a> is appreciated\n</p>

Image from: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>\n</p></div>"} Set your lens to A, or M/A, if you have one of these switches. On high end cameras: there’s a focus mode switch on the front of the camera on the right (if you’re looking at it from the front) of the lens mount, with three positions: C, S, and M. Set this to “C”. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/f/f8/D2H_CSM_switch_493. jpeg/460px-D2H_CSM_switch_493. jpeg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/f/f8/D2H_CSM_switch_493. jpeg/700px-D2H_CSM_switch_493. jpeg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:306,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:466,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

C-S-M switch on a nikon d2h. i did this. \n</p>

Image from: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>\n</p></div>"} The C-S-M switch on a higher-end camera; set this to “C”. On all other cameras: you might have a similar switch in the same place, with AF (autofocus) and M (manual focus) positions. Set this to “AF”, if you have it. You’ll have to dig through your menus (again, different from camera to camera) in order to find the setting for continuous-servo AF. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/2/2b/D70_AF-M_switch_474. jpeg/460px-D70_AF-M_switch_474. jpeg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/2/2b/D70_AF-M_switch_474. jpeg/700px-D70_AF-M_switch_474. jpeg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:302,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:459,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

AF/M switch on a nikon D70. i did this and screwed up by misfocusing, lawl. \n</p>

Image from: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>\n</p></div>"} If you have an AF-M switch, switch to AF, then dig through the menus to find the setting for continuous-servo AF.

Programmed automatic (P). This will select both an aperture and shutter speed for you. Most of the time, and especially in normal lighting, this is the mode you want to use. Yes, it’s a fully-automatic mode and you’ve been told that this will hinder your creativity. This is nonsense on stilts, especially given that you can shift the program using the main command dial on the rear of the camera. So if the camera picks a shutter speed of 1/125 at an aperture of f/5. 6, you can shift this to 1/80 at f/7. 1, or 1/200 at f/4. 2, etc etc, right up to the limitations of your aperture and shutter. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/3/3a/Puddle_449. jpg/460px-Puddle_449. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/3/3a/Puddle_449. jpg/600px-Puddle_449. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:290,“bigWidth”:600,“bigHeight”:378,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

puddle. d2h + plastic 18-55mm in program auto. i did this. \n</p>

use freely but credit me and please link to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com">http://lewiscollard. com</a> if you re-use it on the web\n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2. 5/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p>

<br />\n</p></div>"} Programmed automatic, as used in this shot, works for most shots most of the time. Aperture priority (A). This will allow you to select an aperture for the lens (you usually do this by turning the secondary command dial on the front of the camera; if you don’t have one of these, use the main command dial on the rear), and the camera will select a shutter speed for a correct exposure. The primary reason to use this is for control over your depth of field. Large apertures (smaller numbers, like f/1. 8) will give you a shallower depth of field (less of your photo in focus and faster shutter speeds, useful for blurring the background of a portrait, for example. Smaller apertures (larger numbers, such as f/16) will give you more depth of field, and also force longer shutter speeds. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/b/b8/Tashya_974. jpg/460px-Tashya_974. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/b/b8/Tashya_974. jpg/700px-Tashya_974. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:306,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:466,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://twitter. com/tashyaheartless">Tashya</a> shot with a D70, 55-200 VR. Use freely but link to my website: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com">http://lewiscollard. com</a>\n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3. 0/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p>

<br />\n</p></div>"} Aperture priority mode is useful to force a shallow depth of field, and to throw the background far out of focus (or the complete opposite). This was shot on a 55-200mm VR, at 200mm, with an aperture of f/5. 6. Shutter priority (S) will allow you to set a shutter speed with the main command dial (which will appear in your viewfinder) and the camera will choose an aperture on the lens to match. Use this if you want to freeze motion (like sports, or anything else that moves), or if you’re using a telephoto lens that mandates using a faster shutter speed to avoid camera shake. The rest. On the entry-level and mid-range cameras, the mode dial has an “Auto” position. Don’t use this; it’s much like programmed automatic, but inflexible (you can’t shift the program, for example) and ruder (it pops the flash without asking). The various “scene modes” on the cheaper cameras should be ignored for the same reason. If you want to party like it’s 1976, there’s also a fully manual (M) mode on all cameras; there’s almost no reason to ever use this. [4] X Research source You’ll only ever need this if you’re in such extreme conditions, or want enormous such enormous over- or under-exposure, that several stops of exposure compensation isn’t enough to get you the effect you want. You’ll also need to do this to use AI and AI-s lenses on cheaper cameras, which you shouldn’t be doing anyway.

Cloudy and shade, marked with a cloud symbol and a picture of a house casting a shadow respectively, are where you want to be most of the time when you are outdoors, even when under direct sunlight. “Shade” is slightly warmer than “cloudy”; experiment with this to find the one that’s right for you. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/1/17/Sherman-toy_839. jpg/460px-Sherman-toy_839. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/1/17/Sherman-toy_839. jpg/700px-Sherman-toy_839. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:305,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:464,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

my lovely dog and his toy. shot with a nikon d2h and a 50mm f/1. 8 wide open. \n</p>

use freely as long as you credit me and link to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com">http://lewiscollard. com</a> where you can\n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2. 5/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p>

<br />\n</p></div>"} Even in sunlight, shade (used here) white balance can be used to warm your scene nicely. (Nikon D2H and 50mm f/1. 8D wide-open. ) Auto, marked with an A, will attempt to set the white balance automatically. This sometimes results in colours that are too cool; as it has been said, “engineers are interested in copying color test charts, not making a good photo”. [5] X Research source On the other hand, this might be a good option for shooting under really weird artificial lighting like mercury vapour lamps, or under mixed lighting sources. Newer cameras do a much better job of guessing this than older ones. Daylight, marked with a sun symbol, is supposed to be best for direct sunlight. Again, the colours sometimes come out a bit too cool. Tungsten and fluorescent, marked with a light bulb and a fluorescent strip-light respectively, are for shooting under artificial lighting indoors. This can be safely ignored for real photography; indoor lighting is boring and you should be outside shooting things. On the other hand, you can use these outdoors to great effect; for example, you can use tungsten to make skies turn blue. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/a/a1/Tungstenfun-800_731. jpg/460px-Tungstenfun-800_731. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/a/a1/Tungstenfun-800_731. jpg/700px-Tungstenfun-800_731. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:695,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:1057,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

tungsten white balance in inappropriate conditions. i did this. \n</p>

use freely but credit me and please link to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com">http://lewiscollard. com</a> if you use it on the web\n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2. 5/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p>

<br />\n</p></div>"} Tungsten white balance is meant to balance out incandescent lighting, but it can also be used towards artistic ends. (Nikon D2H and cheap 18-55mm lens. )

Off-centre subjects. Depending on how far off-centre, and on your camera, it might pick the wrong focus point. If this is so, centre your subject in your frame, focus, then hold down your AE-L/AF-L button as you recompose the shot and shoot. (A trick: use this on portrait shots. Focus on the eyes, lock, then recompose. ) {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/4/48/Nikon_AF-L_button_74. jpeg/460px-Nikon_AF-L_button_74. jpeg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/4/48/Nikon_AF-L_button_74. jpeg/700px-Nikon_AF-L_button_74. jpeg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:307,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:467,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

i did this. \n</p>

Image from: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_domain">Public Domain</a>\n</p></div>"} The autofocus lock button will allow you to centre something in the frame, focus, and then recompose while you hold it. Subjects with something closer to them than the subject. On all cameras some of the time, the camera will try to focus on the closest thing to the camera. Handy, but that’s not what you want all the time. You’ll have to set your camera to single-area AF (not to be confused with single-servo AF), which will allow you to pick a single focus point rather than letting the camera guess one for you. To set this on most cameras, you’ll have to dig through the camera’s two thousand menu options for autofocus setup (though you get a dedicated button for this on the high-end cameras; switch this to the single, small rectangle). Once you’ve done this, you can use the multi-selector on the rear to pick an autofocus point. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/1/1e/Cute_sparrow_739. JPG/460px-Cute_sparrow_739. JPG”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/1/1e/Cute_sparrow_739. JPG/700px-Cute_sparrow_739. JPG",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:304,“bigWidth”:700,“bigHeight”:463,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

cute sparrow. i did this. \n</p>

use freely, credit me and link to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a> wherever possible thanks <3\n</p>

License: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2. 5/">Creative Commons</a>
\n</p>

<br />\n</p></div>"} In this shot, there was a branch closer to the camera than the subject (the white blurred area at the bottom of the shot); to prevent the autofocus locking on to this, a single autofocus area was manually selected. (Nikon D2H + 55-200mm VR. ) Really low light. You’ll have to manually focus. Set your lens to M (or the switch on your camera, if you’re using a traditional screw-type AF or AF-D lens). Grab the focus ring and turn it. Of course, if your camera is hung up and can’t focus, then you probably won’t have much better luck telling whether you’re in focus or not. If your lens has a distance scale you can guess the distance and set it on your lens, and pretend you’re shooting a Voigtlander Vito B from 1954. Some combinations of camera and lens when zoomed all the way in just don’t like each other and refuse to find focus in any situation. The D300 and 55-200mm VR lens do this sometimes. If this happens to you, zoom your lens out, focus on your subject and zoom back in again once it finds focus.