Looking for feedback on these pics.

[Amnesia180]

Hi All...

I'm not expecting C&C on these, but more like some advice.

I'm unable to get the light balance right. I've shot them all on Av... adjusting the aperture as needed. Usually between f/2.8 and f/5.6. I've managed to experiment a little and notice that when I change the light sensor (the little dial that slides left and right) that I can brighten/darken the image.

However, if I try brightening it... the picture starts to blur a little.

Just wondering how I can get a good balance.

Thanks,
Amnesia

p.s: photos are - www.dan-taylor.co.uk/forumgallery/

[Robert_Lay]

Let's go with what you say here, and not even look at the images.
My first impression was that you were having trouble with White Balance - that's the term we use when we have problems with the color temperature and getting the colors the way they should be. Then I realized that you are really having problems with the exposure.

I presume that when you talk about the "little dial that slides left and right", you are talking about the Exposure Level Indicator, which appears in different ways in different displays, depending upon whether you are looking through the viewfinder or are setting an Exposure Correction value, etc. I also presume that when you say that you change the light sensor that you are entering an Exposure Correction.

Some of what you are saying is difficult to interpret because of ambiguous terms. However, when you say that the picture starts to blur a little as the result of changing the exposure that could mean that you are ending up with shutter speeds that are too low (slow) for hand held shots, because the exposure you are asking for is calling for longer and longer exposure times.

Without even going to see the images, it is clear that you need the kind of help that is found in Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". I am in the process of writing a Help file for his book, which I hope to have available within the next week to 10 days.

So, let's go now to your photos and see if we can learn anything from them. I hope your EXIF data is included.

[Robert_Lay]

I looked at most of the pictures and some of my suspicions above are borne out. All of the latter half of the pictures have shutter speeds too slow for hand held, but we do not know whether you are shooting hand held or on a tripod.

There are two kinds of "blur" - one is due to shallow depth of field (aperture too large for the situation). The other is due to motion of the camera or the subject and is typically caused by too slow a shutter when your subjects are static as they are here.

It does seem that you are just tinkering with the controls in the hopes of gaining an understanding of how they work. Big mistake! If you are interested in just getting some good pictures, use P(rogram) or Auto mode until you finish reading some reference material on how to control the exposure.

[Amnesia180]

Thank you Robert for all your help.

I will go away and read up I think. I was always in the understanding that in natural light to use around an ISO 200 (which I have done). Then I chose a large aperture of between f/2.8 and occasionally f.5.6 to allow as much light in as possible and to keep the DOF shallow (as you can probably guess by my photos I was trying to keep certain objects in focus).
I was using Av mode so all I had to adjust was the f/-value and the camera was chosing the shutter speed.

Even still, the photos (as you've seen) are coming out under exposed. So I started to use the Exposure Level Indicator and increase it a little... trying to balance it out - but then, it just went over exposed... or blurred the picture a little.

I think the only photo that can out half decent was - http://www.dan-taylor.co.uk/forumgallery/IMG_2277.JPG. However, the image isn't sharp anywhere near sharp enough!

I was using hand held for all these shots.

[Amnesia180]

Just looked at my data, and for some photos I was using as f/8.0! That's too small without using a tripod right? (For a novice anyway?).

If I switched the camera to Tv mode, I'd be adjusting the shutter speed and not the aperture right? By adjusting the shutter speed and not the exposure level indicator, would the photos come out correctly exposed?...

[TamEric]

hi there

just my 2 cents worth

if you are using your camera's built in light meter your shots will normally be over or under exposed as the camera struggles to know exactly what it is that it needs to read off of.

Find a piece of grey cardboard and do your light meter readings off that. Grey is nuetrally reflective so your light meter readings will be basically spot on. Hold the grey card toward the source of light at a bout a 45 degree angel and read off of it.

Hope that makes sense. I know its solved my exposure issues.

Until i get my hand held light meter that is :)

Also using a tripod is always better - use it always when you can

hope that makes sense

[TamEric]

oh and F8 isn't too small for a held held shot - depends on your shutter speed.

the slower your shutter speed the more camera shake you'll have if u hold it than on a tripod - if u have it on a tripod your shots will be in focus (given it was in focus to start off with)

i like shooting in M mode now you have so much more control.

[Amnesia180]

Thanks TamEric. So would you recomend using M mode for everything whilst reading various tutorials etc to get used to Exposure, Aperture, DOF, Shutter Speeds etc.

Also, I'm going to South Africa in July and may just use Auto for everything whilst over there :)

Thanks!
Amnesia

[TamEric]

hi

M is really simple

if you have a fixed aperture like F8 which is the "most used" i think, all you do is adjust your shutter speed to get correct exposure.

so think about what you want from the pic - ie, shallow DOF or Deep DOF... set the aperture accordingly and then just set the shutter speed to get correct exposure.

Same if u want a fast shutter speed, all you do is adjust the Aperture to get the correct exposure. i find that there is more control and therefore your images will be better

also if u are shooting really closely on the subject / object, use manual focus, as sometiems the camera struggles to get focus spot on.

Also set your camera on dynamic focus range and then you can adjust where the camera must focus too. Look at your user manual for that setting, this means that you can either keep the focus point to the left,right, centre, top or bottom of the pic which allows for awsome DOF with a different angel.

If you can why don't u do a intermediate photography course. its helped me greatly.

lol and if you can rather shoot in M mode in SA or else you might be disappointed with the results of the pics.

Its easy once you know how.

[Robert_Lay]

Sorry that it took me so long to get back to you. I was sleeping - Hi!

You are in over your head when it comes to Manual. I do not recommend Manual mode for you. I would stick with Auto and P(rogram) modes and make sure that you are getting good exposures before you try anything like Av, Tv or Manual. You will then be able to see what the camera chooses for you. After you gain some months of experience in that way, and read up on the theory, you can venture into Manual mode, which is for making creatively correct exposures.

Good Luck, and keep the camera on the tripod for ALL indoor shots - natural light inside is too dim for hand held work at low ISO. Also, stay away from flash completely, because its disadvantages far outweigh the advantages for anyone who is trying to learn about exposure.

[Robert_Lay]

Let's go with what you say here, and not even look at the images.
My first impression was that you were having trouble with White Balance - that's the term we use when we have problems with the color temperature and getting the colors the way they should be. Then I realized that you are really having problems with the exposure.

I presume that when you talk about the "little dial that slides left and right", you are talking about the Exposure Level Indicator, which appears in different ways in different displays, depending upon whether you are looking through the viewfinder or are setting an Exposure Correction value, etc. I also presume that when you say that you change the light sensor that you are entering an Exposure Correction.

Some of what you are saying is difficult to interpret because of ambiguous terms. However, when you say that the picture starts to blur a little as the result of changing the exposure that could mean that you are ending up with shutter speeds that are too low (slow) for hand held shots, because the exposure you are asking for is calling for longer and longer exposure times.

Without even going to see the images, it is clear that you need the kind of help that is found in Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". I am in the process of writing a Help file for his book, which I hope to have available within the next week to 10 days.

So, let's go now to your photos and see if we can learn anything from them. I hope your EXIF data is included.

As promised in the above posting, the article that I have written as a Help File for use with Bryan Peterson's book is now available at:
Help File for use with Bryan Peterson's Book, "Understanding Exposure":
http://www.zaffora.com/W9DMK/BryanPetersonUnofficialHelpFile.htm
or the downloadable PDF version:
http://www.zaffora.com/W9DMK/BryanPetersonUnofficialHelpFile.pdf

[Amnesia180]

Thanks Bob!
I enjoyed the read... I'll now put it into practice when going along with Bryan's book.