Camera Basics
Second Nature - Extension of your arm
One of the biggest areas that I see problems in, is many 
individuals have to start from square one over and over again.
They just never seem to use their equipment enough to learn 
how to use it properly or what this doodad is or that doodad is.
These basic components and settings are common to most cameras. 
While you don't need to know all the technical terms, you do need to 
identify the important parts of your camera and understand how they
 work until they become second nature to you.

This camera shown is a fairly common 35mm type. 
Your camera may have additional features (or fewer).
The directions that come with your camera should enable you to:
          advance film
          click the shutter release
          load film
          rewind the film
They should also describe how to focus for a sharp image (unless your camera is "autofocus")
"Make sure that you always carry your camera manual with you." Top Priority.

Exposure Controls
When you click the shutter button, you "EXPOSE" the film to light. 
The two parts which work together to control your exposure are the APERTURE and SHUTTER.

Aperture
The aperture is an opening that changes in size to admit more or less light (similar to the iris of an eye). 
The numbers on the aperture control are called F-stops and referred to as F16, F11, F8, and so on. 
The aperture control may look something like this:
   

Here's how it works:

The larger the F-stop number, the smaller the opening.
Each number higher lets in half as much light as one number lower.
F5.6 admits twice as much light as F8, while F11 lets in only half as much.



The aperture doesn't work alone. The shutter speed  is responsible for exposure, too. 
It controls the amount of time light is allowed to reach the film.

Shutter
The shutter is a device that opens and closes at varying speeds to determine
the amount of time the light entering the aperture is allowed to reach the film.
Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second  125 means 1/125 of a second, 
60 means 1/60. Typical shutter speeds range from 1 second to 1/1000. 
A shutter speed setting for a bright, sunny day - using an aperture of F11 - might 
be 1/125 second. A cloudy day might use 1/60 second with the same aperture, 
exposing the film to light for a longer period of time.
The settings for a good exposure are determined by a light meter. 
(Most 35mm cameras have a built-in light meter that shows you the appropriate 
settings, or automatically controls them.)

Aperture and shutter settings work together. Because the shutter (like the aperture) 
approximately halves or doubles the light reaching the film with each change in setting,
a number of different combinations of settings can result in the same exposure.

Aperture:        F22       F16         F11         F8          F5.6

Shutter:         1/30       1/60       1/125      1/250       1/500
The above settings can be used for the:
Sunny 16 Rule for Fuji Velvia 50 Film
Sunny 16 Rule for KodaChrome 64

Any of the combinations shown above would result in approximately the same exposure.