Photography Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-06-2023

Your Canon EOS R50 has so many features that it can be difficult to remember what each control does. To help you sort things out, this Cheat Sheet offers a handy reference to your camera's external controls and shooting modes. You can print out this guide and tuck it in your camera bag, or you can bookmark this page in the browser of your smartphone. Either way, you're getting a head start on taking great photographs!

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

Getting familiar with the concept of depth of field is one of the biggest steps you can take to taking better shots on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D. Not sure what depth of field means? Here’s a quick overview: Depth of field refers to the distance over which objects in a photograph appear acceptably sharp. With a shallow depth of field, the subject is sharp, but objects in front of and behind it appear blurry. The farther an object is from the subject, the blurrier it looks. With a large depth of field, the zone of sharp focus extends to include objects at a greater distance from your subject. Which arrangement works best depends on your creative vision and your subject. In portraits, for example, a classic technique is to use a shallow depth of field, as in the example shown below. But for landscapes, you might choose to use a large depth of field, as shown in the following image. Because the historical marker, lighthouse, and cottage are all sharp, they have equal visual weight in the scene. Again, though, which part of the scene appears blurry when you use a shallow depth of field depends on the spot at which you establish focus. Consider the lighthouse scene: Suppose you opted for a short depth of field and set focus on the lighthouse. In that case, both the historical marker in the foreground and the cottage in the background might be outside the zone of sharp focus. So how do you manipulate depth of field? You have three points of control: Aperture setting (f‐stop): The aperture is one of three main exposure settings on your Canon camera. Depth of field increases as you stop down the aperture (by choosing a higher f‐stop number). For shallow depth of field, open the aperture (by choosing a lower f‐stop number). This image offers an example. Notice that the tractor in the background is in much sharper focus in the first shot, taken at f/20, than in the second image, shot at f/2.8. Lens focal length: Focal length, which is measured in millimeters, determines what the lens “sees.” As you increase focal length, the angle of view narrows, objects appear larger in the frame, and—the important point in this discussion—depth of field decreases. Additionally, the spatial relationship of objects changes as you adjust focal length. For example, the next image compares the same scene shot at focal lengths of 138mm and 255mm. The aperture was set to f/22 for both examples. Whether you have any focal‐length flexibility depends on your lens. If you have a zoom lens, you can adjust the focal length by zooming in or out. If your lens offers only a single focal length—a prime lens in photo‐speak—scratch this means of manipulating depth of field (unless you want to change to a different prime lens, of course). Camera‐to‐subject distance: When you move the lens closer to your subject, depth of field decreases. This statement assumes that you don’t zoom in or out to reframe the picture, thereby changing the focal length. If you do, depth of field is affected by both the camera position and focal length. Together, these three factors determine the maximum and minimum depth of field that you can achieve, as follows: To produce the shallowest depth of field: Open the aperture as wide as possible (select the lowest f‐stop number), zoom in to the maximum focal length of your lens, and move as close as possible to your subject. To produce maximum depth of field: Stop down the aperture to the highest possible f‐stop setting, zoom out to the shortest focal length your lens offers, and move farther from your subject. Here are a few additional tips and tricks related to depth of field: Aperture‐priority autoexposure mode (Av) enables you to easily control depth of field while enjoying exposure assistance from the camera. In this mode, you rotate the Main dial to set the f‐stop, and the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed to produce a good exposure. The range of available aperture settings depends on your lens. If you’re not up to Av mode, experiment with the Background Blur setting available when you shoot in Scene Intelligent Auto mode. You access it through the Creative Assist option. Just don’t expect miracles: The Background Blur feature doesn’t always deliver as much or as little blurring as you’d like. Some SCN modes also offer the Background Blur option. For greater background blurring, move the subject farther from the background. The extent to which background focus shifts as you adjust depth of field also is affected by the distance between the subject and the background. Depth-of-field preview: When you look through your viewfinder and press the shutter button halfway, you see only a partial indication of the depth of field that your current camera settings will produce. You can see the effect of focal length and the camera‐to‐subject distance, but because the aperture doesn’t actually stop down to your selected f‐stop until you take the picture, the viewfinder doesn’t show you how that setting will affect depth of field. By using the Depth‐of‐Field Preview button on your camera, however, you can do just that when you shoot in the advanced exposure modes. Almost hidden away on the front of your camera, the button is labeled below. To use this feature, press and hold the shutter button halfway and simultaneously press and hold the Depth‐of‐Field Preview button with a finger on your other hand. Depending on the selected f‐stop, the scene in the viewfinder may get darker. In Live View mode, the same thing happens in the monitor preview. Either way, this effect doesn’t mean that your picture will be darker; it’s just a function of how the preview works. Note that the preview doesn’t engage in P, Tv, or Av mode if the aperture and shutter speed aren’t adequate to expose the image properly. You have to solve the exposure issue before you can use the preview. To learn more about your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, check out our Cheat Sheet.

Video / Updated 08-08-2023

When you photograph a beautiful landscape or an animal, placement of the horizon line can make or break the image. If you place the horizon line in the center of the image, your viewer doesn’t know which part of the image is the most important. You make that decision when you visualize the resulting photograph in your mind’s eye. The placement of the horizon line is determined by which parts of the scene contain the visual information you think is the most important. Nature is often chaotic. When you travel through a lush forest or craggy mountains, there is no sense of order. Animals often exhibit the same random nature, although many of them do line up in artistic patterns when traveling or migrating. Humans, on the other hand, don’t relate well to chaos. We prefer some order in our lives and the way things are arranged. That’s why it’s important to have some sort of organization to your photograph, a path viewers can follow to make sense of nature’s chaos. If you use the Rule of Thirds, you know that you divide the scene into thirds vertically and horizontally. If the most important information is above the horizon, such as a scene with a beautiful cloudscape (see the figure), place the horizon in the lower third of the image. Conversely, if the most important information is below the horizon line, such as a scene with a still lake with wonderful reflections, place the horizon line in the upper third of the image. If you pay attention to placement of the horizon line, the viewer knows where to look.

Video / Updated 08-08-2023

When you photograph a scene with a wide-angle lens, you always get a larger depth of field than you would with a longer focal length. The figure shows an example of a scene photographed with a 24mm lens. There’s a wide variety of lenses out there, each suited for specific tasks. Lenses fall into the following categories: super wide-angle lenses that have a focal length from 10mm to 20mm wide-angle lenses that have a focal length from 20mm to 35mm normal lenses with a focal length of 50mm and that are close to the range of vision of the human eye short telephoto lenses with a focal length from 85mm to105mm long telephoto lenses that have a focal length of 150mm or greater A short focal length captures a wider view of what’s in front of the lens. A long focal length zooms in on your subject, capturing a narrow angle of view. Telephoto lenses are ideal for taking pictures of subjects you can’t get close to, such as birds and wildlife. Telephoto lenses are also great for capturing details of a scene. When you photograph a scene with a telephoto lens, you end up with a shallower depth of field than you would when photographing with a lens with a shorter focal length. Remember this when you photograph subjects like birds and animals. Another way to control your depth of field is to get closer to your subject with a telephoto lens, which brings your subject into clear focus. The combination of being close to your subject, shooting it with a telephoto or macro lens, and using a large aperture (small f-stop number) yields an extremely shallow depth of field. Notice that the butterfly’s head and antennae, and the flower are in focus, but the tips of the insect’s wings are not.

Video / Updated 08-08-2023

Photographing landscapes after dusk is not as easy as photographing during the day. Twilight offers low light, which means you’ll have to increase the ISO setting, and many cameras are extremely noisy at high ISO settings. Here are some tips for the aspiring twilight photographer: Scout your shooting location. Even if you know the place you plan to shoot like the back of your hand, the next time you shoot there, get into a twilight state of mind. Look at the features of the landscape and visualize what they’ll look like as silhouettes. If you think a tree will look good as a silhouette, use it as a focal point in one of your images. You also need to think of the background and make sure there are no large shapes that will compete with the object you’ve chosen as the focal point of your image. Visualize. As you check out a location that might be good for shooting at twilight, look for objects you can use to compose your images. Are there any strong lines that you can use to lead your viewer into the image? Remember that a diagonal line is more interesting than a vertical one. Also look for natural frames. Get your times right. If you plan to do a photo shoot beginning at dusk and into the twilight, know what time dusk begins. You can find this information online or by using an application like The Photographer’s Ephemeris. Leave plenty of time to get to your location and set up. An unexpected traffic jam when you have perfect conditions for photographing your desired subject is not good if you don’t have a fudge factor. If you do leave in plenty of time and run into a traffic jam, you can visualize, while you wait, the great pictures you’re going to get. Look for reflective surfaces. Clouds will reflect in bodies of water like lakes and rivers. If you have a still body of water, you have a mirror reflection of the sky and any objects on the horizon. Use a tripod. Your exposure times will be long. Cranking up the ISO in twilight will result in lots and lots of digital noise in the shadow areas of your image, which in many instances is the majority of the image. A long exposure time will increase noise as well, but not as bad as switching to an ISO high enough to hand-hold the camera. Another benefit of using a tripod is you can get the camera level. Lock the mirror. Before you fly into the twilight, make sure your camera mirror is in the upright and locked position. This applies only if you use a dSLR to take your pictures. When you take pictures at slow shutter speeds, the act of the mirror stopping transmits vibration to the camera, which results in an image that isn't as sharp as it could be. If your camera has the option to save custom settings, create a custom setting to lock up the mirror. Add other settings such as switching to the Aperture Priority mode. Use a cable release. A cable release enables you to open the shutter without touching the camera (which can cause vibration resulting in a blurry image). In lieu of a cable release, you can use the auto-timer to delay the release of the shutter. Carefully position the horizon line. Place the horizon line where it will draw the viewer’s attention to the most important objects in the photograph. Photographer David duChemin calls this “visual mass.” If the most interesting parts of your photograph are above the horizon line, place the horizon line in the lower third of the image. If the most important parts of your image are below the horizon line, place the horizon line in the upper third of the image.

Video / Updated 08-04-2023

In this video, Dummies author Julie Adair King tells you how you can get great family photos at home — even when your kids are being rowdy. Learn about choosing a good background and lighting the scene.

Video / Updated 08-04-2023

You might be surprised to learn that using your camera's flash outside is an important aspect of taking beautiful portraits of people. In this video, photographer and Dummies author Julie Adair King explains why, and she provides other valuable advice for shooting outdoor portraits.

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

It's great to have a map to the buttons and controls on your camera, but it's not a lot of help if you can't remember which button to press when (and why). So here's a quick recap of what you can do with each button. Note: This information concentrates on features available when you shoot in the P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes. A few features also work in other modes. This Control . . . Performs These Functions Mode dial Sets the exposure mode, which determines how much control you have over picture settings. For the most control, choose P, Tv, Av, or M. Menu button Press to display and hide camera menus; rotate Main dial to cycle through menu pages. Info button During playback, Live View photography, and Movie shooting, changes the data display. During viewfinder photography, toggles between the normal information display and an electronic level. Live View/Movie record button Press to toggle Live View on and off. When the camera is in Movie mode, press to start and stop recording. Exposure Compensation button In P, Tv, and Av modes, press while rotating the Main dial to apply Exposure Compensation (adjusts image brightness). In M mode, press while rotating the Main dial to adjust the aperture setting. Q button Activates Quick Control mode, which provides fast access to shooting and playback settings. Press again to exit Quick Control mode. Set button/cross keys During viewfinder shooting, press to access the following settings: top key, White Balance; right key, AF Operation; bottom key, Picture Style; left key, Drive mode. When choosing options from menus and other screens, use the cross keys to highlight an option and then press Set to select that option. AF Area Selection button Press to display the AF Area Selection setting, which controls which autofocus point or zones the camera uses to set focusing distance. ISO button Press to display a screen where you can adjust the ISO setting, which determines how sensitive the camera is to light. DISP button During viewfinder photography, enables you to manually turn the monitor on and off. AE Lock/FE Lock/Index/Reduce button During shooting, press to lock autoexposure (AE) or to lock flash exposure (FE). During playback, press to cycle from single-image view to index (thumbnails) view. If the displayed image or live preview is magnified, press to reduce the magnification level. AF Point Selection/Magnify button During viewfinder photography, press to display the AF Area Selection screen. (You still must use the AF Area Selection button to change the setting.) In Playback mode, press to magnify the image on the monitor. In Live View or Movie mode, you also can magnify the display under certain circumstances. Wi-Fi button Press to display menu screen containing options for configuring wireless connections to a computer, smartphone, or tablet. Erase button While reviewing pictures, press to erase currently displayed or selected photos. Playback button Toggles picture playback on and off. Flash button Press to raise built-in flash in P, Tv, Av, and M modes. When the flash is up, press again to access flash-related menu settings. Depth-of-Field Preview button Press to temporarily set the aperture to the selected f-stop so you can see an approximation of depth of field in the viewfinder. Lens-release button Press to disengage the lens from the camera's lens mount so you can remove the lens.

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

When you select an Image Quality setting on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D that results in a JPEG image file—that is, any setting other than Raw—also experiment with the Auto Lighting Optimizer feature. Unlike Highlight Tone Priority on your Canon, which concentrates on preserving highlight detail only, Auto Lighting Optimizer tries to improve underexposed, low-contrast, or high-contrast shots by adjusting both shadows and highlights. The adjustment is made as the image is captured by your Canon camera. In the Basic Zone exposure modes, you have no control over how much adjustment is made. But in P, Tv, Av, and M modes, you can decide whether to enable Auto Lighting Optimizer. You also can request a stronger or lighter application of the effect than the default setting, which is Standard. The following image offers an example of the impact of each Auto Lighting Optimizer setting. Given the level of improvement that the Auto Lighting Optimizer correction made to this photo, it may seem crazy to ever disable this feature on your Canon camera. But it’s important to note a few points: The level of shift that occurs between each Auto Lighting Optimizer setting varies depending on the subject. This particular example shows a fairly noticeable difference between the High and Off settings. But you don’t always see this much impact from the filter. Even in this example, it’s difficult to detect much difference between Off and Low. Although the filter improved this particular scene, at times you may not find it beneficial. For example, maybe you’re purposely trying to shoot a backlit subject in silhouette or produce a low‐contrast image. Either way, you don’t want the camera to insert its opinions on the exposure or contrast you’re trying to achieve. Enabling Auto Lighting Optimizer may slow your shooting rate. That slowdown occurs because the filter is applied after you capture the photo, while the camera is writing the data to the memory card. In some lighting conditions, Auto Lighting Optimizer can produce an increase in image noise. Noise becomes more apparent when you enlarge a photo. It also tends to be most visible in areas of flat color. The corrective action taken by Auto Lighting Optimizer can make some other exposure‐adjustment features less effective. So turn it off if you don’t see the results you expect when you’re using the following features: Exposure compensation. Flash compensation. Automatic exposure bracketing. You can’t use this feature while Highlight Tone Priority is enabled. In fact, as soon as you turn on that feature, the camera automatically disables Auto Lighting Optimizer. You can view the current Auto Lighting Optimizer setting in the Quick Control and Live View displays; look for the icon representing the setting in the areas labeled below. Notice the vertical bars in the graphic—the number of bars tells you how much adjustment is being applied. Two bars, as you see above, represent the Standard setting; three bars, High; and one bar, Low. The bars are replaced by the word Off when the feature is disabled. By default, the Auto Lighting Optimizer level is set to Standard for the P, Tv, and Av modes. In M mode, the feature is disabled by default. You can adjust these settings in two ways: Shooting Menu 2: Choose Auto Lighting Optimizer, as shown on the left in the image you see next, to display the settings screen shown on the right below. Here, you can select the level of adjustment you want to apply. Just below the four adjustment-level symbols, notice the check box next to the Info label. This is the option that determines whether Auto Lighting Optimizer is applied in the M exposure mode. By default, the box is checked, as in the image above, telling the camera not to make the adjustment during manual exposure. If you do want to add the adjustment, tap the check box or press the Info button to toggle the check mark off. Tap Set or press the Set button to return to Shooting Menu 2. Quick Control method: You also can adjust the setting using the Quick Control method. After pressing Q or tapping the Q symbol to shift to Quick Control mode, highlight the Auto Lighting Optimizer icon and press Set (or just tap the symbol). You’re presented with the same options screen you see in the image above. If you’re not sure what level of Auto Lighting Optimizer might work best or you’re concerned about the other drawbacks of enabling the filter, consider shooting the picture in the Raw file format. For Raw pictures, the camera applies no post‐capture tweaking, regardless of whether this filter or any other one is enabled. Then, by using Canon Digital Photo Professional, the software provided free with the camera, you can apply the Auto Lighting Optimizer effect when you convert your Raw images to a standard file format. If you want to learn more about your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, check out our Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

Your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D is capable of amazing close-ups. For great close-up shots, start with the basic capture settings. Then try the following additional settings and techniques to take great close-ups on your Canon camera: Check your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D owner’s manual to find out the minimum close-focusing distance of your lens. How “up close and personal” you can be to your subject depends on your lens, not on the camera body. Take control of depth of field by setting the camera mode to Av (aperture-priority autoexposure) mode. Whether you want a shallow, medium, or extreme depth of field depends on the point of your photo. For the scene shown below, for example, setting the aperture to f/5.6 blurred the background, helping the subjects stand out from the similarly colored background. But if you want the viewer to clearly see all details throughout the frame—for example, if you’re shooting a product shot for your company’s sales catalog—go the other direction, stopping down the aperture as far as possible. Remember that zooming in and getting close to your subject both decrease depth of field. Back to that product shot: If you need depth of field beyond what you can achieve with the aperture setting, back away, zoom out, or both. (You can always crop your image to eliminate excess background.) When shooting flowers and other nature scenes outdoors, pay attention to your Canon’s shutter speed. Even a slight breeze may cause your subject to move, causing blurring at slow shutter speeds. Experiment with adding flash for better outdoor lighting. As with portraits, a bit of flash can improve close-ups when the sun is your primary light source. You may need to reduce the flash output slightly, via your Canon camera’s Flash Exposure Compensation control. Remember that turning on the built-in flash limits the maximum shutter speed to 1/200 second, however, and that mixing sunlight with flash light may affect image colors. When shooting indoors, try not to use flash as your primary light source. Because you’re shooting with your Canon at close range, the light from your flash may be too harsh even at a low Flash Exposure Compensation setting. If flash is inevitable, turn on as many room lights as possible to reduce the flash power that’s needed. To get really close to your subject, invest in a macro lens or a set of diopters. A macro lens enables you to focus at a very short distance so that you can capture even the tiniest of critters or, if you’re not into nature, details of an object. A 90mm macro lens was used to snap an image of the ladybug below just before she got annoyed and flew away home. Notice how shallow the depth of field is. The extreme background blurring is due to the long focal length of the lens and the short distance between the lens and the subject. An f-stop of f/10 was used, which may seem high when you’re going for a shallow depth of field. But because the focal length and subject distance already combined for a very shallow depth of field, a higher f-stop was needed to keep the entire subject in the focus zone. Unfortunately, a good macro lens isn’t cheap, regardless of which Canon camera you’re using; prices range from a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. If you enjoy capturing the tiny details in life, though, it’s worth the investment. For a less-expensive way to go, you can spend about $40 for a set of diopters, which are like reading glasses that you screw onto your lens. Diopters come in several strengths — +1, +2, +4, and so on — with a higher number indicating a greater magnifying power. With most sets, you can stack one diopter on top of another for increased power. The downside of a diopter is that it typically produces images that are very soft around the edges, a problem that doesn’t occur with a good macro lens. Want to learn more? Check out our Canon EOS Rebel Ti8/850D Cheat Sheet.