help wanted for swimming party

[svtfordlady]

Well here is the deal im just not happy with my pics they arent crisp like i want them and i think it has alot to do with me not understanding the settings and iso and so forth of taking pictures....I have read but i need some hands on.....I cant figure it out and its frustrating.....So i have a kids swimming party on saturday that i am taking photos of, what are some pointers as far as setting and so forth that i should use, i just need to be lead in the right direction......

I have the canon rebel xt, came with i think the 17-55 lens, then i got a tamron 75-300mm, and i got the canon 430ex recently that i have no clue how to work.....lol

help help help newbie needs help..

[hejl]

eek -

lots of things could be going on

1. Make sure you are comfortable with auto-focus, and that you see the auto-focus red-box show up on the thing that you want to be focusing on.

2. If you are shooting moving people you need to get the camera shutter open and closed quickly to freeze the action. If the Rebel has a "sports" pre-set, use that. When the auto-focus locks, the display in the camera will tell you the shutter speed. You want to be shooting 1/200 or faster. ("Faster" means a number like 1/500). The easiest way to increase this number is to bump up the ISO setting. If you have it set to 100, try moving it up to 400. That should be plenty for outside light.

If you get those 2 right, the captured image should be crisp.

Have fun at the party, and post pictures!

[SuzyView]

If you have the 17-55, you should be good to go. If you can read the manual first, learn how to shoot in Sports or Tv mode - Time Value - changing only the shutter speed and letting the camera's IQ figure out ISO and aperture, you're set. If you are shooting outdoors, set the speed to around 1/200 or 1/500 or even faster if it is bright. If your pictures look too light, adjust to 1/1000. If too dark, set for 1/200. Practice with it.

[Curtis N]

Well here is the deal im just not happy with my pics they arent crisp like i want them and i think it has alot to do with me not understanding the settings and iso and so forth of taking pictures....I have read but i need some hands on.....I cant figure it out and its frustrating...If your pictures don't turn out the way you want and you don't know why, post one or two with EXIF data and you will get valuable help.So i have a kids swimming party on saturday that i am taking photos of, what are some pointers as far as setting and so forth that i should use, i just need to be lead in the right direction...Indoors? Outdoors? Sun? Shade? Time of day? You gotta help us before we can help you.

[MaxxuM]

Three things helped me improve my shots more than anything else – it was almost “instant” improvement!

1. Try not to take pictures in the middle of the day. Digital cameras do not have the contrast of film and you'll get hazy, overexposed and washed out photos. If you HAVE to shot in the mid day sun these tips will help. Us a hood for your lenses. Shot from a shady spot or have someone stand next to you so that their shadow falls over the lens (to block out light). Use a UV or Polarizing filter (try to use polarizing filters 90 degrees from the sun). Do not shot into the sun.

2. Learn how to use the built in histogram on your camera. When previewing pictures press the info button until you see the histogram. Try to keep the wave centered. If it goes off the left (dark side) or the right side (lighter) it means you are losing 'information' in the photo and those areas will be blinking. You then have to compensate by changing the EV (exposure value +/-). The histogram will have these vertical lines separating into 5 sections (stops) and to adjust you'll have to +/-, retake a picture and look to see if you are still lossing information. It is almost always better to underexpose a little than overexpose. Keep looking at the histograms after every few shots to see if it changes (as the day and light change). Don't forget to recenter (set it to the very center or 0 when conditions change like going indoors). You only have control of this function in the “Creative Zones” like P, Av, Tv and M.

3. Know your limitations. Canon has gone through a lot of trouble and calculations, so use the provided modes (like Sports in your case if this is going to be outdoors) when you are unsure of what settings to use.

Shoot in RAW whenever possible too – that will help later during post processing.

[TByrne]

Well here is the deal im just not happy with my pics they arent crisp like i want them and i think it has alot to do with me not understanding the settings and iso and so forth of taking pictures....I have read but i need some hands on.....I cant figure it out and its frustrating.....So i have a kids swimming party on saturday that i am taking photos of, what are some pointers as far as setting and so forth that i should use, i just need to be lead in the right direction......

I have the canon rebel xt, came with i think the 17-55 lens, then i got a tamron 75-300mm, and i got the canon 430ex recently that i have no clue how to work.....lol

help help help newbie needs help..
Crisp? Do you mean sharp? Do you mean contrasty? Do you, as I usually do, mean both?

A follow-focus shot may not be sharp throughout, but if it is has sufficient contrast it will still read crisp.

Everything above is wise advice. I worry most about your 75-300. Cranked all the way out... you've got an effective focal length of almost 500mm. That's really tough to handhold in almost any light. But regardless of the lens, learn to squeeze your trigger rather than pushing or poking it. When possible lean against something stationary to support your own body's desire to wobble when shooting. Shoot in the instant between exhahle and inhale... or vice versa. And be sure you're supporting your lens adequately at the shooting moment.

Elebows against body help in steading a shot. Sitting helps more. Tripods help most, but a 500mm lens takes a solid tripod at any shutter speed less than 1/500th of a sec.

The sun would have to be quite bright for me to use an ISO below 400 with that long lens and no tripod. And I'd most prefer to stop down at least one stop to get a bigger sweet spot... which means yet more shutter speed.

I woudn't fear mid-day light per se. I'd fear extremes of light falling on my subject which create more than a 2.5 f stop range. I don't agree that digital shot in raw has a tighter fidelity capture range on your camera than film. Quite the contrary, it should give you at least an f stop on either side of average for diddling in PP. That's a whopping 3 stop range - way beyond most films.

The basics call for a shutter speed that exceeds your effective focal length, a rock steady grip on your lens, and shutting down at least a stop if possible. Do that and you'll maximize crisp by any definition.

Ted

[svtfordlady]

This is a example of my taking at bright sun light......i think this is probably the best ive ever done and i know its still not right...it just doesnt "pop" like ya'lls....
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e14/svtfordlady/greatlab.jpg

[Curtis N]

Looks like the camera focused on the porch behind the dog. This can happen when you use auto AF point selection. The camera looks for lines of contrast to focus on, and it found those lines on the porch.

Start by using your center AF point. Try to aim it at a line of contrast on your subject (like the dog's collar), lock focus, then recompose and shoot. This is just a starting point that will help.

This focus-recompose technique isn't perfect, so when you're comfortable with this approach you can practice changing AF points, focus on eyes, that sort of thing.

[svtfordlady]

what do you mean by recompose and shoot

[Curtis N]

what do you mean by recompose and shootAfter you aim the center AF point where you want to focus, and lock focus on that, then "recompose and shoot" means aim the camera to compose the shot the way you want it, and take the shot.

Be careful not to zoom the lens after you focus, though.

[PhotoJourno]

It all sounds pretty technical, but most of it you already do intuitively.

First, Pool Part.
A- Beware of Water. (Splashing, get a ziplock bag, put the camera and lens in it, and let the lens come of of a cut in the bag. Just something to keep your camera dry.

B- Beware of sunglare (Sun bounces off of water surface, giving you darker photos than you wanted, as the camera is tricked to think it is brighter than it really is). Best fix against this, find a spot where you are not seeing as many glares with your own eyes. Walk around.

For the focus issues, two things
A- Photos usually pop around here because some sharpening has been done after the shot
B- Spend more time with the Shutter button depressed half way. Let the camera get the exposure and focus readings, before you fully press for the shutter release. If you would let me edit your dog photo, I could show you how PP (Post Production) can improve a photo that is less than perfect.

Best of luck, and keep posting photos, don't be ashamed, we all learn by posting and taking comments. Hopefully everyone will be nice to everyone else, as well.

[svtfordlady]

I am more than willign to let anyone edit my photos, I am up for learning.....you can do anything you would like to the dog photo as long as you teach me how you did it...lol

[MaxxuM]

Photography can get extremely complex, something I'm sure you are beginning to notice. Post processing of photos adds to that software complexity with often steep learning curves. My advice would be to learn photography first and foremost – the better your photos the 'less' you will have to edit them later :)


Here is a site that can help with the technical side as well as the aesthetics of photography:


Jodies Coston's Free Online Photography Course (http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php?sid=31b2310549738f636757e8f608f04b65&MORGUEFILE=06300dfr5e40vaub3mtok7qmd0)


Then, when you are ready a more in depth study of lighting can be found here:


Strobist Lighting 101 (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html)


But the biggest thing which supersedes these sites is this, some of the greatest photographers in the world take next to nothing equipment wise with them on shoots and fewer still use much in the way of technical do-dads to accomplish their goals. It is all about composition, the eye for beauty and knowing the equipment 'you' have inside and out. And if you are not having fun, you are doing something wrong! :)