THE PERFECT GUIDE TO HELP YOU MASTER YOUR NIKON D-SLR

1. Photography Guide
Portraits
Night portrait
Landscapes
Night landscape
Flowing water
Freezing action
Wildlife & pets

2. Photography Guide
Shooting Portraits
Which Mode P or A are the best modes
What settings f/4 or f/5.6
What lens settings Higher end of the zoom ( e.g. 55mm if you are using 18
-55, or 105mm if you are using 18 – 105mm)
Tripod required Yes, if light is low, and camera selects shutter speed
slower than 1/60 s
Best lens 50mm f/1.8 , 50mm f/1.4 , 85mm f/2.8 micro
Tips for great portraits :
• Keep background as far away from your subject as possible.
• Your background colour and shade should be as different as
possible from your subject’s hair and clothing colour.

3. Photography Guide
Shooting Portraits

4. Photography Guide
Shooting Night Portraits
Which Mode P or S are the best modes
What settings f/4 or f/5.6 , or widest aperture available
Slow shutter speeds like 1/30, 1/15 or slower may be
required, Slow sync flash mode if flash is also used
What lens settings Higher end of the zoom ( e.g. 55mm if you are using 18
-55, or 105mm if you are using 18 – 105mm)
Tripod required Yes , if not available us e a stable surface
Best lens 50mm f/1.8 , 50mm f/1.4 , 85mm f/2.8 micro
Tips for great night portraits :
• Keep background as far away from your subject as possible.
• Asking the subject to pose and stay still will ensure image is not
blurred due to slow shutter speed

5. Photography Guide
Shooting Night Portraits
Without flash
With slow sync flash

6. Low light shooting – keeping camera steady

7. Photography Guide
Shooting Landscapes
Which Mode ? P or A are the best modes
What settings ? f/11 or f/16
What lens settings ? Wider end of the zoom ( e.g. 18mm if you are using 18
-55, or 18 – 105mm) OR as per your composition
Tripod required ? Yes, if light is low, and camera selects shutter speed
slower than 1/60 s
Best lens ? 10-24mm , 20mm , 18-300
Tips for great landscapes :
•Try to include foreground elements to guide the eyes through the
frame
•Under-expose your shots by 1 – 2 stops to get darker skies and correct
textures

8. Photography Guide
Shooting Landscapes

9. Photography Guide
Shooting Night Landscapes
Which Mode ? P or A are the best modes
What settings ? f/8 or f/11
What lens settings ? Wider end of the zoom ( e.g. 18mm if you are using 18
-55, or 18 – 105mm) OR as per your composition
Tripod required ? Absolutely
Best lenses ? 28 f/1.8, 10-24, 24 f/1.4
Tips for great night landscapes :
• You may have to focus manually. Adjust focus while looking at a tree
or a building in the landscape. Adjust till you get a sharp silhouette
of this feature

10. Photography Guide
Shooting Night Landscapes

11. Photography Guide
Freezing actions
Which Mode ? S or M
What settings ? 250, 500, 1000
What lens settings ? Depends on composition and framing
Recommended lens ? Lens with wide aperture like f/2.8 or wider
ISO To support fast shutter speeds, higher ISOs like 800 or
1600 may be required
Tips for great action shots :
• Use continuous servo focus AF-C and continuous shooting mode
• set a manual pre-focus at the spot where you expect the action to
occur

12. Photography Guide
Freezing action

13. Photography Guide
Shooting flowing water
Which Mode ? S or M
What settings ? 1” (to show flow) and faster to show drops
What lens settings ? Depends on composition and framing
Tripod required ? Absolutely
Tips for great waterfall shots :
• Try to include the surrounding foliage to compliment the beauty of
the waterfall
• A slightly low angle will make the shot look dramatic

14. Photography Guide
Shooting flowing water

15. Photography Guide
Shooting wildlife and pets
Which Mode ? P or S
What settings ? 125 or faster , for posing pets use wide aperture like
f/4 or f/2.8
What lens settings ? Preferably 200mm or higher
Metering ? Matrix or center weighted
Tips for great wildlife shots :
• Try to camp or wait instead of looking for animals. Let them come to
you
• Doing some research on the wildlife of the region is very helpful

16. Photography Guide
Shooting wildlife and pets