For anyone new to photography, a professional camera can be an intimidating device, but once you understand the basics, it becomes almost second nature to whip out your camera when something catches your eye. For a beginner, you will most likely avoid the manual setting on your camera, and stick to one of two options, “AV” or “TV.” When you have selected manual, “M,” you will have to decide what the AV and TV of the camera will be all on your own, but when you choose to only focus on one, the camera will automatically choose the best settings for the other, and vice versa. AV stands for “aperture value,” and this decides the depth of field of your photo, a higher aperture number means a smaller depth of field, this means whatever your camera focuses on will be in focus, and the rest of the image will be a bit blurred. A shallow depth of field is perfect for a lot of portrait photos, since it will draw attention to your subject, while a wide depth of field is perfect for landscape photography, allowing the entire environment be in full focus. TV stands for “time value,” which sets how fast your photo will be taken. A fast shutter speed, like 1/200th of a second, is perfect for frozen motion pictures, for example a splash of water, and for professional sports photos, you will need an even faster shutter speed. Meanwhile, a slow shutter speed can be used for a blurred waterfall, which can actually be a very interesting picture, or creating drawings or long streaks of light, this is especially effective if you take a photo over a street full of cars. Once you have chosen a preferred setting, you need a style to focus on, and this is where you can be creative! There really is no right or wrong when it comes to creativity, but some great starting types of photography can be portraits, landscapes, lighted photography (low-key/high-key/glamour), fashion photography, and so on. With this basic knowledge, you can take some incredible photos, and over time you will only learn more and get better, especially if you keep trying new things and experimenting with the settings. Don’t be afraid to use the manual setting either once you become more familiar with what settings best compliment each other. This may seem like a lot to learn at first, but photography can be an incredible art style to use, especially if you’re not that great with the classic paper and pencil.