Author Topic: David's Shutter Bug Club  (Read 497023 times)

Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2008, 10:16:43 pm »

Conditions: Dim/Cloudy
Camera Equipment: Sony F-717
Camera Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/8
White Balance: Auto
Light Meter: Evaluative
Exposure Compensation Value: +1/3
ISO: 650
Flash: Off

Notice the grain in the photo. It's not too bad, but it's still fairly noticeable. This is a perfect example of image noise. This sometimes happens when the ISO is raised above 600 on a digital camera. The imaging processor does a good job of removing noise, but can't always clean the image perfectly. Be careful when raising your ISO. Opening your aperture to a wider setting and/or slowing down the shutter speed may allow you to set a lower ISO when shooting in poorly lit conditions. Bring a tripod with you if you are worried about camera shake.





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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2008, 10:34:57 pm »
Cody

Animals and children can be tricky to photograph. If the lighting is good enough,  try using a faster shutter speed just in case they decide to suddenly move or begin to bolt. This will help to prevent image blur. Positioning your subject next to contrasting colors will make them  stand out and be noticed.

Conditions: Heavy Shade/ Early Morning
Camera Equipment: Sony F-717
Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/500
White Balance: Manual
Light Meter: Spot
Exposure Compensation Value: 0
ISO: 400
Flash: Second Curtain (to allow some minimal to moderate shadowing on the subject)





« Last Edit: January 04, 2008, 04:37:03 am by David »
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2008, 10:57:19 pm »
You can get up close and personal with your subject using your camera's macro setting. Photographing tiny things like a drop of water on a leaf is also possible. Avoid zooming in on your subject when using the macro feature, as this may prevent your camera from focusing properly. Most cameras can focus accurately to as close as 1 inch when set to macro.

Conditions: Bright/Sunny
Camera Equipment: Sony F-717
Camera Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/250
White Balance: Manual
Light Meter: Evaluative
Exposure Compensation Value: 0
ISO: 200
Flash: Off



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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2008, 11:16:49 pm »
There's lots of things wrong with this picture. First of all the composition is lousy (something I've never been very good at). Positioning the subject a bit more to the right would have made for a more interesting picture. The image is also overexposed. Bumping down the exposure compensation value a notch or two would have helped tremendously. I purposely set a lower shutter speed because I felt fairly certain the animal would not bolt. It was very hot outside and it was obvious he was feeling lazy. With a slower shutter speed I could set a more narrow aperture, to give the image some depth of field. But in doing so, with such a slow shutter speed in bright conditions the image became overexposed. Lesson learned: make sure your camera is properly set before you take the picture. Just after this photo was taken, the squirrel scrambled up a tree.

Conditions: Bright/Sunny
Camera Equipment: Sony F-717
Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/125
White Balance: Manual
Light Meter: Evaluative
Exposure Compensation Value: 0
ISO: 100
Flash: Off



« Last Edit: January 04, 2008, 03:07:19 am by David »
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2008, 11:46:24 pm »
Taking the time to learn your camera's settings and features can often yield some interesting photos. Don't be afraid to set your camera to manual and play around a little. By slowing the shutter speed down to 2 seconds and using a relatively high ISO I was able to photograph the subject without a flash. Since there is nothing in front or in back of the subject, depth of field was a moot point and allowed me to fully open the camera's aperture. The high ISO setting produced a bit of image noise and some fringing, but it was worth it.

Conditions: Dark
Camera Equipment: Canon PowerShot G9
Camera Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 2 seconds
White Balance: Auto
Light Meter: Spot
Exposure Compensation Value: 0
ISO: 800
Flash: Off
Other: Macro


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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2008, 11:53:21 pm »
That's beautiful!

Thank you Shasta!! :)
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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2008, 12:18:50 am »
Thank you David for taking the time to post these examples!! I am learning but will need to come back and look at it again. I am not familiar with some of the terms you use. I will have to look at my camera and see if I have those options on mine.

A problem I have had with the macro is getting it to focus on what I want it to....for example I was trying to get a picture of a rose but the camera kept focusing on the BACKGROUND... :P


Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2008, 12:33:29 am »
Thank you David for taking the time to post these examples!! I am learning but will need to come back and look at it again. I am not familiar with some of the terms you use. I will have to look at my camera and see if I have those options on mine.

A problem I have had with the macro is getting it to focus on what I want it to....for example I was trying to get a picture of a rose but the camera kept focusing on the BACKGROUND... :P



Hi Jess! Yeah, macro can be tricky sometimes. Here's a few suggestions...

When focusing on the subject using macro, try focusing on an edge rather than in the center of the subject. Using your rose picture as an example, try to point the camera so it is focusing on the edge of the rose. This might work. I've found using edges as the focal point sometimes works.

Make sure you aren't accidently zooming in while in macro. Your camera probably allows you to do this, but it sometimes makes focusing in macro more difficult. Instead of zooming in, physically move the camera closer to the subject. Your camera can probably focus in macro up to one inch from the subject; maybe even a little closer than that.

Check that your camera isn't in one of the "scene" modes. If you have your camera set on landscape and try to take a picture in macro it will probably have a difficult time focusing, since the camera is being told by the computer to look for a landscape, but the lens is showing it something completely different. Some cameras will prevent you from using scene modes with macro. I'm not sure about yours.

You may need to try and focus several times before the camera focuses correctly. It's frustrating, but patience is a virtue! ;)

One other idea; you might be too close to the subject. Try pulling back just a little and then refocus. If the camera insists on focusing on the background, point the camera towards the area it is focusing on, allow the camera to focus, then while keeping the shutter button halfway depressed, move the camera back to the rose. Sometimes the camera will notice the movement and then attempt to correct itself by focusing on the new subject, in this case the rose.

Hope that helps Jess!

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #18 on: January 04, 2008, 12:49:58 am »
Hi Jess! Yeah, macro can be tricky sometimes. Here's a few suggestions...

When focusing on the subject using macro, try focusing on an edge rather than in the center of the subject. Using your rose picture as an example, try to point the camera so it is focusing on the edge of the rose. This might work. I've found using edges as the focal point sometimes works.

Make sure you aren't accidently zooming in while in macro. Your camera probably allows you to do this, but it sometimes makes focusing in macro more difficult. Instead of zooming in, physically move the camera closer to the subject. Your camera can probably focus in macro up to one inch from the subject; maybe even a little closer than that.

Check that your camera isn't in one of the "scene" modes. If you have your camera set on landscape and try to take a picture in macro it will probably have a difficult time focusing, since the camera is being told by the computer to look for a landscape, but the lens is showing it something completely different. Some cameras will prevent you from using scene modes with macro. I'm not sure about yours.

You may need to try and focus several times before the camera focuses correctly. It's frustrating, but patience is a virtue! ;)

One other idea; you might be too close to the subject. Try pulling back just a little and then refocus. If the camera insists on focusing on the background, point the camera towards the area it is focusing on, allow the camera to focus, then while keeping the shutter button halfway depressed, move the camera back to the rose. Sometimes the camera will notice the movement and then attempt to correct itself by focusing on the new subject, in this case the rose.

Hope that helps Jess!



huh!! now see you taught me something....there is two different things at work...the computer does one thing but the lens is/can be independent?

I will have to think about that....so...would zoom then be the lens and not the computer? ( I NEVER use the digital zoom cause it looks bad)

Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #19 on: January 04, 2008, 01:48:18 am »
huh!! now see you taught me something....there is two different things at work...the computer does one thing but the lens is/can be independent?

I will have to think about that....so...would zoom then be the lens and not the computer? ( I NEVER use the digital zoom cause it looks bad)

Yes, the camera lens is separate from the camera's computer. They communicate with each other and the computer controls the lens, but they are separate systems. Just like your eyes and your brain are separate, but they work together. Yeah, stay away from digital zooms. I leave mine turned off. I never use it.
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