Manual Mode

 In Manual Mode, you are in control of the three exposure variables.  Aperture  Shutter speed  ISO

Put the camera in M mode

How do I know?  When shooting in Manual mode, you must check the light meter before taking a photo.  Adjusting the three exposure variables will move the light meter.  What we once knew as the exposure compensation graph is now out light meter, you want it centered on the O.  You must have you camera pointed at your subject when checking the light meter, if its pointing at the ground, and then you move the camera the light meter reading will change.

Adjusting the Light Meter  Your camera must be pointed at your subject, and your eye needs to be to the viewfinder reading the light meter on the inside of the viewfinder.  To move the light meter around you will need to adjust your F-stop, shutter speed, or ISO.  Your light meter must be in the center or you photos will turn out either too dark or too bright.

Properly exposed light meter Notice the white block underneath the graph is in the center. This will be a properly exposed image

Under exposed light meter When the block is off to the left the image will be underexposed, or dark. The further off to the left the darker your image will be.

Over exposed light meter When the block is off to the right the image will be over exposed, or too bright. The further off to the right, the brighter the image will be.

To adjust the shutter speed  Turn the wheel on the top of the camera to select the appropriate shutter speed for your subject. Remember shutter speed controls motion.

To adjust the aperture  Hold down the +/- button and turn the wheel at the top of the camera to adjust the aperture. Remember this controls the depth of field.

What should I adjust first?  The answer to that question depends on what you think is important to your photo.  If you are trying to control motion, then you select a shutter speed that will give you a desired effect, and then adjust he aperture and ISO to give you a proper light meter reading.  If you are trying to control Depth of Field, then you want to select an aperture that will give the desired effect, and then use the ISO and shutter speed to give a proper light meter reading.

So what are we shooting?  Your project is Abstract Photography!  Wait….what is Abstract photography?  Abstract photography is: Capturing on photographic media the naturally occurring or constructed formal arrangements in our surroundings as emphasized by the inherent cropping of the photo image.

In plain English please?  In basic terms, abstract photography uses the elements and principals to create interesting, unique, and new views of an object, without being able to 100% recognize what you are looking at.

Examples

Your Project:  You must return with a minimum of 30 examples of abstract photography.  All photos must be shot in Manual Mode.

Tips for success  Abstract photography can be anything.  Get close to your subject, by nature abstract photography is a cropped in view of something, your photo will be better if you crop with the camera instead of Photoshop.  Look for bright colors, fun textures, repetition, or anything that will make an interesting photo cropped in close!