Light is Everything in Photography

Photography is catching the essence of light on film or digital sensor :) Photographing light is one of the most important aspects of photography. THE most important I would say. Because without light, highlights and shadows your photograph has no depth or texture.
Understanding how light works and how best to capture it is the most important tool a photographer can have. Getting your exposure right from the start is best, because no amount of photoshopping can replace what wasn't captured to begin with.
All camera's are different and understanding how to use the manual mode is something we should all strive for. I know it is difficult for me. My camera is aFujifilm Finepix S5200. This is such a great camera for a beginner! It has all the basic modes and of course manual mode for the advanced user.
When I switch to "m" (manual mode) my lcd gives me a light bar at the bottom right corner. By moving the navigation buttons up or down it allows me to change the exposure setting so that I can adjust for the amount of light I want in my photograph. Basically there is a small arrow that moves from left to right as you change the shutter speed or aperture.
The trick is to change the shutter speed and aperture to get the right exposure. Now there are lots of tables and converters out there that anyone can find for your camera and lens to help you make the calculations easier. But with digital cameras most of the work is done for you.
This may sound easy, just move the arrow to the middle and snap the picture. However as you play with this, and I suggest you do. You will see that in many cases where it is not needed, you've opened your shutter speed for several seconds in some cases. So what you should do is close your aperture.
I found a few great articles which I think will help explain a lot of this much better than I can.
1. Photo.net Exposure
2. Aperture And Shutter Speed - How They Work Together
Both make great reading! hehehe And I have gone bck to them both a few times for a reread so book make them.
And by all means take the free class if you haven't already

Jodie Coston's Free Basic Photography Course
Keep in mind the course is no longer active but the material is the same and I believe some people still post to the forum.

And just to let you guys know I have been struggling with severe back pain as of late so I haven't written much but I am starting to catch up on things and hope to be out and about taking pictures.

I have managed to start a DIY photography project today and hope to have it completed by the end of the week. It doesn't take long but with my back it will be a few days before I can go to the hardware store and get the right piece I need. But believe me it is well worth the wait and something every photographer needs and wants! So look for the directions this week.

If anyone has any DIY projects they would like to have published shoot me an email and I put it up.