Quick Question

[bcordell]

I'm going to the park later to take some pictures of my friend and her daughter. It's fairly sunny out here in Florida today. I'll be shooting my with Rebel XTI unfortunately using the Kit Lens, my 50mm 1.8 has yet to come in.

My question to you guys is, what settings would you guys shoot with? I'm still getting used to my new camera, I bought it used so it doesn't have the manual with it. I haven't had time to read it off the canon website either.

I was thinking of shooting in "p" at iso 100. Should I use the cameras setting for black and white? or should I post process it in PS.

Thanks in advance for your help. I'll post pics later!


-Brandon

[GyRob]

P at 100 should be fine as you not use to the camera if you want more deph of field set it to AV and f8 or f11 If you want less Set it to TV and a shutter speed of around 1/200 sec All iso 100. good luck
i would just do your BW in pp .
Rob.

[elbirth]

I'd definitely save any B&W conversions for later in post processing. I don't like shooting in anything but the "normal" color mode in case I want the actual color at some point. By doing it in post processing you give yourself options.

As for settings... since you said it's sunny, I'd definitely keep the ISO low at 100 or 200. It'll take some trial and error to find the "perfect" settings, so take test shots and review on the LCD to see how things things are looking. If it's too bright, increase the F number or shutter speed.
One thing to keep in mind is the "sunny f/16 rule". This says that if it's really bright and sunny, to set the aperture at f/16 and set the shutter speed at 1/[ISO number]. So you'd end up in M (manual) mode and if shooting at ISO 100, you'd us f/16 and 1/100 for the shutter speed. From there, you can increase the shutter speed further to control the amount of light... or if you want a more shallow depth of field, lower the F number but increase the shutter speed accordingly.

[bcordell]

Thanks for the replies!!

I'm getting really anxious to go out there and shoot. I'll have sunlight till about 7pm, sucks I won't be able to get out there till about 5.

[Titus213]

Welcome to the forums.

Kit lens - keep it above f6.3 to get crisp images. I'd try Av, set the f-stop at f8.0, ISO 100 and just make sure you are getting adequate shutter speeds.

[Heatseeker99]

Pay attention to the lighting. If its really sunny, frontlight will be too harsh so have their back to the sun (this may or may not need some fill flash depending on the angle and exposure). Around sunset, frontlit and side lit poses may work. Just watch out for harsh shadows and squinty eyes!