Everything Photography

[kiwikrasher]

That’s a great clip Jack, I’ve done basic photography courses before and an amount of my own research but that made a few things I already knew fit into place a bit better. Might watch a few more from that dude.

[Cav]

In a 30 minute break yesterday the Fiancé was very excited as she walked into the living room, puppy on lead, DSLR in hand, "let's take some photos of my engagement ring"..

So we took this photo on our front lawn

We are really happy with the photo and the edit.

From memory:
21mm (crop sensor)
F3.8 (kit lens)
ISO 200
1/320

Shooting something as bright as this engagement ring and as dark as the brown of our pup is a huge dynamic range, something this camera struggles with but we managed to pull it off

Best photo she's taken, best photo I've edited

[Rossgo]

Cav really liking that pic. Great shot

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[Kwacky]

I'm glad the dog resisted the temptation to swallow it

[Cav]

Thanks, Rossgo

Haha.. can you imagine!!

[D6Nutz]

Holy thread resurrection

A question for the snappy slappers.. Can you recommend any good reading or online courses that teach you how to use DSLR settings properly please... I've just picked up a camera and fancy learning how to use it and hopefully get some decent photos from my running/walking/cycling outings.

[Frankie]

Best starting point I found was to google the make and model of your camera, and search best settings. From there you will find a web of information as for so called experts who use that camera. Its a good starting point rather than being in automatic settings mode.
From there its a case of using the knowledge and then using it in the field, trying out different things. If it does not work or you want to know more about that particular aspect, google it.
There is so much on line, however the best thing I found was using and seeing what results i get, unlike old school film, you waste nothing, just delete what you dont like.

Oh and make notes on what worked and what did not, if you have a memory like mine, i forget what i did last time! so some notes is a good reminder, rather than re inventing the wheel. Happy snapping.

[Cav]

I echo Frankie's thoughts.. also, check out FroKnowsPhoto on YouTube. The guy is a bit of a know but he does at least know what he's doing. He has some very indepth settings videos for the 3 major players in the game IIRC.

The absolute basics you should know is the exposure triangle.. the relationship between ISO, aperture and shutter speed.

[D6Nutz]

The absolute basics you should know is the exposure triangle.. the relationship between ISO, aperture and shutter speed.

See, this is the level I'm at. This is the stuff I need to learn.

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[Jack]

see the video and advice I posted on the bottom of the previous page

[D6Nutz]

see the video and advice I posted on the bottom of the previous page

Cheers Jack. I use a phone app to view the forum mostly, so don't often scroll back more than a handful of posts. I'll check that out tonight.

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[D6Nutz]

A couple fun today's walk. All shot using one of the auto modes, every time I played with shutter speed or iso it came out pants. But I'm looking at the settings the camera uses in different lighting and shots to see if I can learn a good baseline from it.

Biggest learning from today is I really need a decent lense with more range, and I really need to stop relying on autofocus

Constructive critique welcomed

.

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[duke63]

I'm no expert but father in law was as it was his job.

He used to say that light and how you used it, was everything in a photo.

[D41]

I like the second pic the best. The orange hues really make it pop.

The first pic is a close second.

The last pic looks a bit dreary in comparison to those above it, which is odd as it's the only shot that has movement.....there's just no range of colour.

[kiwikrasher]

I haven’t got out with my DSLR for years, but the advice above is sound.

Definitely get your head around iso/aperture/shutter speed relationship as Cav says.

Another learning method I used was take an Auto shot to see the baseline like you have been, but then go to manual and try changing one of the settings a notch or two either side of the auto settings. Only do one of the 3 at a time and see how it alters the shot.

[Cav]

You could try a semi-auto shooting mode Nutz..

If you use Aperture priority mode you can choose the aperture and let the camera choose the rest. I typically shoot aperture on the lowest number I can use for a given focal length because I have the cheap lens that comes with the camera. This mode is definitely a useful mode but you should definitely lower the ISO limit to 3200, otherwise the camera may introduce a LOT of grain. 1600 or 800 max would be ideal but if the environment is dark it will slow shutter speed so much that you'll get motion blur if hand holding the shot.

When you get a shot you're happy with, take note of the approximate ambient light levels and the camera's settings.

[Jack]

I use shutter priority , because : when shooting a moving subject the light will change as the subjects position relative to the light source changes and it is far easier and quicker to let the fancy electronics , which you paid a fortune for , change your settings on the fly , and also in my field I believe that portraying a sense of motion is more important than the depth of field , therefor the shutter speed is the important part of the equation for me .
I also tend to shoot at the lowest possible ISO .

[Cav]

I use shutter priority when trying to get any action shot and my preference is photos with ISO 100-400 but I'm very limited by my lens.

More often than not I just need 1/120 and with Aperture priority it tends to shoot between 1/200 and 1/500 with ISO typically in the ranges mentioned above.

[TriumphFan]

A good way to get your head round the exposure triangle is to leave your ISO at 100 (when outdoors and loads of light), as this then gives you 2 things to worry about.

Then set your your aperture to mid range, something like f11. Then adjust your shutter speed 400/500 and take a shot and review on screen. This will give you a good starting point.

Depending on what you’re shooting will depend on what you want to adjust to compensate for light/dark shots. If you’re doing wide landscapes, you’ll want to have a small aperture to increase your depth of field, and therefore a slower shutter. If you’re taking photos of the family/specific objects etc, you can open the aperture and speed up the shutter. (The smaller the aperture, the more of the image you’ll have in focus, but the longer you’ll have to leave shutter open).

I try not to resort to ISO adjustment unless I’m inside doing action, sports shots. ISO increases the sensitivity of the sensor, but increase ‘noise’ the higher you go.


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[D6Nutz]

Thanks for the posts guys, really useful info and it starting to make sense I think.

I've tried the semi-auto settings, but not really with success. But I'm starting to sense that one of my errors is adjusting the iso, so I'm going to stop trying to change that and leave it at a very low setting.

As virtually all of my shots are outdoors I'm finding the range of the kit lens very limiting. I've also realised that lenses are fooking expensive! Does anyone have experience with sigma lenses? I've found a sigma 70-300 and a canon 18-135 nearby for sensible money. Gut feeling on the two is leaning towards the canon as it will more than double my current range but still work well on closeup, where as I think the sigma would need me to carry multiple lenses? Is that a good understanding?

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