As others have stated, this is a "user friendly" board and if you hang around here long enough, you are apt to get hooked, like the rest of us!
I'm not familiar with your specific Fuji camera, but there are some basic characteristics that apply to all cameras. Among the most important to understand are ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed, and the relationship between the three.
If you are shooting in full AUTO mode, the camera's electronics are doing their best to give you the best combination of the three it can, based on the way it is programmed to do so. In many cases, full AUTO will give very good results. In others, it may not.
So, what are these mysterious terms and what do they mean? I will take a shot at an explanation, although there are others on this board that can (and have) give a much clearer explanation. Anyway, here goes:
In order to have a correctly exposed photo, a certain quantity of light must strike the camera's sensor (same principle applies for film, btw). Too much light and the photo is overexposed (too light); too little and it is underexposed (too dark). How that specific amount of light is determined is a function of all three elements, ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed:
ISO: the sensitivity of the camera's sensor or the film used
Aperture: the variable "hole" within the lens thru which the light passes
Shutter Speed: controls the length of time the sensor is exposed to the subject's image
In film days, you bought a specific ISO film, usually 100, 200, or 400. Today's digital cameras have sensors that can be adjusted to various sensitivity levels, usually starting at 100 or 200 and going up from there. The advantage of low ISO is that it produces a "cleaner" image, but requires a greater quantity of light for correct exposure. A high ISO requires less light, but produces a "noisy" image; that is, the image may have a speckled or rough appearance. So, there are trade offs.
Your camera's aperture adjusts the amount of light that is let in when the shutter is open. A large aperture lets in more light; a small aperture lets in less light. Think garden hose compared to a fire hose; the larger diameter portal allows more light (or water) to pass thru every second the shutter (or valve) is open. A larger aperture, while it allows more light in, may not produce as sharp an image as a smaller aperture, nor does it have as much depth of field, which is the range in front of and behind the object that is focused upon, that is in focus. Shallow depth of field is not necessarily a bad thing, and I personally use it quite a bit to separate my subject from the background. Note that this works better at the telephoto end of the lens's zoom range than the wide end.
The shutter speed is the length of time that the shutter is open, allowing light to pass thru the aperture, to the sensor (or film). The longer it's open, the more photons (light) that go thru, to strike the sensor. Slow shutter speeds often require a tripod, since even minute movements of the camera ("camera shake") result in blurred pictures. Some cameras (but not Fuji) have systems built in to counteract that movement to some degree. Faster shutter speeds minimize both camera motion and subject motion which is usually, but not always, desirable. Sometimes motion blur can create a very cool effect. I've seen several shots of the Teacup ride in Fantasyland, for example, where the structure of the ride is very sharp, but the spinning cups themselves are just a blur.
In summary, then, in order to get a correctly exposed photo, your camera has to have all three elements "in sync" in order to allow just the right amount of light to strike the sensor. Changing one element of the equation requires that one or more of the others be changed, as well, to maintain the correct exposure. Knowing how to adjust those settings creatively will result in your bringing home more "keepers" from WDW or anywhere else. And, you don't have to shoot in "manual" exposure mode to achieve correct exposure. Try Aperture Preferred, where you select the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed, and Shutter Preferred, where you select the shutter speed and the camera sets the correct aperture. Keep in mind, though, that the amount of light needed for correct exposure is finite, and if you set too small an aperture or too fast a shutter speed, without changing the ISO, the camera may not be capable of a correct exposure. In other words, don't exceed the capabilities of the equipment.
I've done a very poor job of explaining those terms, and I suggest you read up on the subject in the book that was referred to earlier in the thread, in order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between all those elements and the impact they have on your photography.
I suggest you read up enough to get a basic understanding of the subject, then go experiment, using various combinations of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, in order to see what kinds of results you get. With a digital camera, there is no financial penalty for so doing, plus you can often see the results immediately via the camera's LCD.
Good luck and have fun. Post back with any specific questions.
~YEKCIM
