BetterMost Community Blogs > Messages From The Heartland
David's Shutter Bug Club
David In Indy:
Has this ever happened to you? You're at a concert or night sporting event, you aim your camera, the flash fires and the only thing you end up with is the back of the people several rows in front of you. No visable concert. No nighttime football or soccer game. Just the back of a bunch of heads. People you don't even know.
Conditions: Pitch Dark
Camera Equipment: Canon PowerShot G9
Camera Mode: Program
Aperture: f/4.1
Shutter Speed: 1/60
White Balance: Auto
Light Meter: Center Weight Average
Exposure Compensation Value: 0
ISO: 400
Flash: Forced
Okay. So we'll improvise. I'm at my Dad's house tonight! :laugh:
Pretend the bucket is the back of somebody's head and the subject is somewhere out there in the darkness.
Turn your flashes OFF ya'll!! It won't do you any good. Your camera's built-in flash has an effective range of only 10-20 feet; just enough to properly photograph the bald man's head six rows in front of you. If the concert or sporting event is well illuminated, you don't even need your flash. If the subject is more than 20 feet in front of you the flash will be absolutely useless. TURN IT OFF!!! For every flash that fires during a concert or night time sporting event is a disappointing and disastrous photo waiting to be developed.
Many cameras come with a "concert" or "Night Action" scene mode. If your camera has one, USE it! If it doesn't....
1. Turn your flash OFF.
2. Cradle your camera in the palm of your left hand.
3. Brace the elbow of your left arm against your chest (in doing so you are creating a makeshift tripod).
4. Take a breath and hold it.
5. Carefully and smoothly press down on the shutter button.
Suggested camera settings if your camera doesn't have a scene mode for concerts or night time sporting events:
Camera Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/4.0 - 5.6 (or as wide as an F stop of 2.0 if you aren't too worried about depth of field in your photo)
Shutter Speed: 1/8 - 1/4 (1/2 - 1 second if your subject is not very well illuminated)
Exposure Compensation Value: +1/3 to 1
Image Stabilization (if available): ON/Continuous
ISO: 400 - 600
Flash: OFF
If your camera has a "fireworks" or similar scene mode, this may work for concerts and night time sporting events. Just make sure your flash is off, and you set the camera for a slower shutter speed.
Edit: Slow shutter speeds are always detrimental when photographing concerts and other night time/dark lighting events. Opening up your aperture and forfeiting depth of field might be a good trade off to avoid image blur. Each camera handles these difficult situations differently. Explore your camera's settings beforehand for best results.
injest:
ok depth of field....that is controlled by the aperture...and the higher the aperature number the deeper the field?
injest:
ok I took 500 pics of the cat. this is the only one that came out half decent...
My Colors Mode Off
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/125
Av (Aperture Value) 5.5
Light Metering Evaluative
ISO Speed 80
Lens 5.8 - 23.2 mm
Focal Length 23.2 mm
Flash Type Built-In Flash
Shutter curtain sync 1st-curtain
White Balance Day Light
Drive Mode Single-frame shooting
David In Indy:
That's a beautiful kitty picture Jess!! I love how you took the picture from the animal's level, rather than hover above him and aim the camera down. Too many people take pictures of their pets like that. Coming down to eye level with the pet allows people to feel a part of the pet's world.
First curtain sync is the default flash setting of most cameras, even if the manufacturer doesn't refer to it as "first curtain". First curtain simply means the flash fires immediately after the shutter opens. Some cameras come with a second curtain setting. Second curtain sets the flash to fire just before the shutter closes. Second curtain works well as a fill flash because most of the image has already been exposed before the flash fires. Second curtain will help to eliminate shadowing (at medium or full burst) or some shadowing (at low burst) when taking pictures in bright situations. I often use second curtain during the daytime to rid the photo of unwanted shadows. The next time you photograph your animals indoors, or outdoors during the daytime, you may wish to play around with first and second curtain sync. Second curtain will also produce interesting effects at night too.
This is a beautiful picture of your cat Jess. I love black cats. Their eyes always seem to glow against their dark fur. How did you get the animal to look slightly away from the camera? Did you hold the camera out to the side? Or was the cat simply not interested? Thanks for posting the pic!! :)
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: David on January 05, 2008, 01:57:14 am ---
--- End quote ---
Beautiful, David!!
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