Fundamentals of photography
Aperture controls how much light enters the camera, which also changes the depth of field. Measured in f-stops a low number on the f-stop scale, such as f4, is a wide aperture that lets in a lot of light, where a high f-stop, such as f32, is akin to a pin hole that lets in very little light. A wider aperture decreases the depth of field, only a small area of the picture will be in focus.
Depth of field is a term used to describe the distance between the closest and furthest objects, in a photo, that are acceptably sharp. Pictures of flowers up close, that focus in on a single cluster and let everything else on the frame become a blur, is an example of a small depth of field, whereas a landscape that captures a wide area in sharp detail would be a large depth of field.
Shutter speed is the time of exposure, or how long the camera lets light in. This is measured in fractions of a second. Typically 1/60 is the slowest you can go holding the camera by hand, any slower and the pictures will start to blur due to the shake of your hands. A high shutter speed will allow you to stop time in crisp detail, while a longer shutter speed will allow for creative blurring. A longer shutter speed is also required for night photos, where you need a long exposure to get anything on the camera.
ISO is the camera’s sensitivity to light. With a high setting on the iso you can capture pictures in near darkness, however raising the ISO will also increase the graininess of the picture. This adjustment is typically a last resort if none of the other settings can be changed to balance the photo. It can also create interesting effects with lights in a dark scene.
Dynamic range is the variety of contrast between the brightest highlights and darkest shadows, in a picture. A high dynamic range picture would span from near white all the way to pure black, and occupy all the tones in between. This kind of picture is common in landscape photos that span a wide area in detail.