According to the results of a survey Sony published in 2012, as much as two thirds of non-professional DSLR users have never or rarely taken their camera out of auto mode. There may be plenty of reasons for this, such as buying a camera for fun or as a status symbol. But one of the reasons is that the initial learning process can be way too confusing for the beginners. A London based animator and designer, Simon Roberts, created a fun solution to this problem.
He aims at simplifying the learning process and making it more visual and interactive. This is why he has created this interesting interactive graphic for all the beginner photographers out there. This tool has a simple design and allows you to adjust the “holy three” of the camera settings: aperture, shutter speed and ISO. You can also adjust light so it depicts different levels of brightness, from “half moon” to “sun on snow”.
As you adjust the settings, you can see the changes in the photo. The change of every aspect is placed under the feature responsible for it: depth of field is under aperture settings, motion blur is under the shutter speed, and the image noise is under ISO. As you play with the settings, you can see the changes on the camera as well. The tool also shows whether the photo is likely to be over or underexposed. As an addition, it shows the exposure effect of every adjustment you make. When you’re done with adjusting the virtual camera, you can take a photo and see how it would look like.
In addition to the interactive graphic, Photography Mapped also provides simple and useful graphic for photography beginners. You can see them on the website, but there’s also a chance of ordering prints. This way your can have a cheat sheet on the wall. The tool is intended for beginners and it can help them step out of the Auto mode. But, even those who know their camera’s heart and soul could find it fun to play a bit with the interactive graphic. Do you like this tool? Did you try it out? Do you have someone to recommend it to? [Photography Mapped via Reddit]
