So many settings......my brain hurts!

350D with 10-22mm and a side order of dumbness

I have been in the garden trying to make sense of the basics like shtter speed and aperture mainly. I have read some of the links to be found here but out on in the field i feel stuck.

Seems I can have fast shutter and open wide aperture OR slower shutter and smaller aperture (11 or 14). Which combo is best as a rule of thumb?

Then that pesky sky in my historgram is nearly always flashing. The only way to get some blue sky is to make say 4.0 and 1/1500. The sky is ok but the subject is a bit dark.

I have been using the full automatic mode as a reference, but i dont want this camera to turn into a point and shoot.

What i would like are some basic guides to follow so that i have more idea which to fiddle with- aperure or shutter - in some basic lighting situations. Would a light meter help as I read that my camera does not have one?

Its ok now sa i can down load my 30 test shots and try to gain some pearls of wisdom but when im on holiday i might end up with a CF card full of duds.

Cheers Simon

See if this helps: Virtual Camera

You do have a light meter in the 350D! Have you worked your way through the "-=Photography Tips and Tutorials List=-" at the top of this index?

Thanks - I'm trying but its a bit tough to understand. What I have so far is that I can go some bracketed expoure shots and merge in photoshop.
Oh and alot of stuff about white cards that made me rather lost.

Thanks - -I do how my new book "mastering dSLR photography" will help me when it arrives in my letter box.

Thanks

This site was helpful to me on undertanding exposure. Some beginners will like it I think.

http://www.photonhead.​com/exposure/

Simon

This is a perfect candidate for fill flash. Set the camera to Av or Tv, meter for the sky, recompose and focus on the subject, then your flash will 'fill-in' the shadows on the subject.