How to adjust aperture and speed on popular digital cameras

A popular digital camera is a point and shoot camera - Point and Shoot. This is a camera line for beginners, so it usually has only a very limited basic function, mainly automatic shooting modes.

How to adjust aperture and speed on popular digital cameras Picture 1 How to adjust aperture and speed on popular digital cameras

There comes a time when you want to take better quality photos and this requires shooting techniques with the right aperture and speed settings. Unfortunately, some popular digital cameras may not be able to meet this. But don't worry, there are still ways for you to perform more professional photography techniques.

Try to understand the features available on your camera first and learn how to use them proficiently. While this isn't a great option, it will help you get the most out of what's available on your camera. These functions are mostly automatic and changing parameters is very limited.

To switch to using the preset shooting modes, you would normally select Menu Scene . Understanding and using these modes can give you a little more control over the camera, such as changing aperture and speed. 

See instructions on How to Use Digital Camera Shooting Modes

How to take aperture priority on a popular digital camera

How to adjust aperture and speed on popular digital cameras Picture 2 How to take aperture priority on a popular digital camera

The requirement is that you want to change the aperture and depth of field. The solution is to choose one of two portrait modes - Portrait and landscape - Landscape.

If you don't know anything about aperture, check out the tutorial Understanding Aperture in Digital Photography

How to increase the aperture to take a larger photo

If you want to take photos with a shallow, shallow depth of field - that is, only the subject is clearly captured and the details around and the background will be blurred, choose portrait mode - Portrait. In this mode the camera will automatically change the aperture to a larger one.

How to reduce the aperture to take a smaller photo

If you want to take photos with a wide depth of field - which means that the whole image will be equally clear, choose the landscape mode - Landscape. In this mode the camera will change the aperture smaller.

How to shoot with speed priority on a popular digital camera

How to adjust aperture and speed on popular digital cameras Picture 3 How to shoot with speed priority on a popular digital camera

The requirement is that you want to change the shutter speed to catch up with a moving subject. The solution is to choose one of two sports shooting modes - Sports or night - Night Portrait or Night Landscape.

If you don't know anything about speed, check out the tutorial Learn shutter speed in digital photography

How to increase the shutter speed faster

If you want to take photos at high speed, such as when you want to capture a fast moving car, choose Sports mode. In this mode the camera will shoot at a higher shutter speed.

How to slow down the shutter speed

If you want to shoot at a slower speed, for example, when you want to take pictures with motion blur. In this case, you may face many obstacles because not all popular digital cameras have a slow shutter mode available. However, you can use night mode - Night Portrait or Night Landscape.

In night mode, the flash may also work and affect your photos, the solution in this case is to try to cover the flash and check the results after shooting.

Try different shooting modes of your digital camera in different situations and don't worry too much about using the wrong shooting modes because your ultimate goal is to get a good photo. 

Of course, none of these modes allow you to fine-tune detailed parameters, but it is enough to give you a wide range of control over the shooting modes that the camera currently has.

If you want more control over other functions, think about equipping a higher-end digital camera, it allows you to change the parameters as you like and you do not need to resort to the above tricks.

See how to choose a semi-professional digital camera

Kareem Winters

Update 08 May 2023