Nikon D3300 Digital Field Guide

Chapter 8: Real-World Applications

Although the D3300 has a lot of modes that you can set to achieve specific effects for many types of photography, the key to becoming a really successful photographer is learning which settings to use in different situations to achieve the results you desire. Once you learn how your camera works, you can get predictable results, even in difficult lighting.

This chapter is meant to help you get past the scene modes and learn which settings and what gear to use for different types of photography. Moving past the scene modes allows you to flex your creative muscles and begin creating photographs rather than just taking pictures.

Exposure, composition, camera setting, and equipment choice are all factors in creating an image. The key is to know how to put it all together and make it work in any situation.

Abstract Photography

A common, but incorrect, assumption is that photography is an art form that represents subjects in a realistic way. While this is somewhat true, in reality photography is an abstract art because it takes three-dimensional subjects and depicts them in two dimensions. That in and of itself is an abstraction of reality.

A photographer can further stretch the limits of visual reality by using different tools to create even more abstract concepts. This includes the use of wide-angle lenses to distort spatial relations and long ...