First: A quick review of DSLR settings by practicing with CameraSim
Also: WB
White balance refers to the setting that controls for light temperature. If your camera is set to the incorrect WB setting, your images are likely to turn out looking a little too blue or a little too yellow. The icons are a pretty clear description of the lighting conditions they’re meant to be used with.
In-Class Assignment: Photo Scavenger Hunt
Take one of the school cameras and pair up in teams of two or three. Go out within a reasonable radius of campus and start taking photos, looking for at least 10 strongly-composed images that capture some of the following elements of composition (some of these will inevitably contain multiple elements, and that’s fine). Please make sure everyone in the group gets roughly equal time with the camera.
Contrasting colors
Monochromatic colors
Symmetry
Pattern
Rule of thirds
Close-up detail shot
Shallow depth of field
Portrait
Dramatic/beautiful/interesting use of light
Slow shutter speed
Internal framing
Movement
Decisive moment
Layers telling a story
Unusual perspective
Make sure you leave enough time to come back and load the photos onto your computer and pack up the cameras by the end of class time; we’ll work on editing the images in Lightroom at a later date. I recommend also saving them in the cloud or sending them to yourself via WeTransfer (which expires after about a week!) or email.