Photography Lesson: Beware of Auto!

I know that alot of people buy a nice DSLR, and then leave it on auto all the time.  Well, if you're shooting mainly outside and in daylight, you're probably getting good results.  But have you every tried to shoot inside or in low light and wondered why your pics are blurry?  Most likely, the culprit is SHUTTER SPEED!  The auto setting on your camera sets the aperture and shutter speed for you.  If you don't have enough light, the camera will automatically lower your shutter speed to let enough light in. 

Next time you shoot inside on auto, look at your shutter speed.  The easy rule of thumb is,  don't shoot hand held at a shutter speed lower twice than your lens zoom setting.  Here's the easy example.  Let's pretend that your lens is a 14-50mm.  The largest zoom setting on this lens is 50mm.  Double that is 100.  You should not let your shutter speed go below 100 without risking blur when you are holding your camera.  If you have a 50-200mm lens, then your shutter speed should be above 400 handheld.

Now other pros will probably say that there are alot more factors involved.  They are right.  But these are some simple rules to try to make your pictures turn out better, quickly!