quick newbie ?

[tas9195]

I have read all the newbie stuff and I am somewhat understanding it. My wife is in a figure competition on the 11th and I want to get some good pics of her. I recently upgraded to the T1i from a point and shoot. I didn't think I could figure out how to use it the way I should by then so I was wondering If someone could tell me the best setting other than auto that would give me a good clean shot. Here is a pic of last years show that a company took. It will be at the same place this year so lighting is probably flourescent. It is in an auditorium type place about the size of a high school basketball gym

[tzalman]

What lens do you have?

[timbop]

As always, the answer is "it depends". I would start by settin gthe white balance for flourescent, and I would expect that you'll have enough light for her static poses pretty easily. If you are really unsure of the camera, then setting it for "portrait" would probably do just fine. I am not sure if you can set the ISO in portrait or not, but an ISO of 400 would be a good starting point. If you get shutter speeds slower than 2 times the focal length of your lens, then up the ISO. If you have an image stabilized lens, then a shutter speed equal to the focal length is probably good enough. That is, if you are using a 55-250IS set at 250mm, the shutter speed should be 1/250 or faster.

This is a general rule of thumb, it would help us if we knew what lens you are planning to use

[tas9195]

It is the 18-55mm lens kit that comes with the T1i. It has an image stabilizer. I figured it would depend on alot especially in manual or anything not auto. I have a basic knowledge but not completely and I don't want to jump into the deep water since these are for my wife and I want them to look halfway decent for her. Thanks for the quick replies and anything else you give is much appreciated

[timbop]

OK, in that case you'll be fine with shutter speeds in the 1/60 range or faster. All of the modes in the "creative zone" are semiautomatic, with the exception of "M" (which is full manual). For example, Tv lets you select the shutter speed, and the camera calculates the aperture (f-stop) needed to properly expose the shot (or at least what the camera's built-in light meter thinks is correct).

You might want to practice a little bit, but you'll have to do a little adjusting at the event. You can probably start at ISO 400 or 800, and either portrait or Av mode. If in Av, start with your aperture at 5.6 or 6.3 and zoom in to 55mm. Check your shutter speed, and just make sure it is 60 or faster.

[tas9195]

Wow thank you this is exactly what I was looking for. This is the starting point I wanted. She will be doing this in two parts. One in the morning and one that night for the final showing and trophies. So I can use the morning show to practice. Thanks alot. I will try and post what I get and maybe you can critique me a little and give me pointers to improve next time. The show is on July 11th. One week from Saturday. Thanks Again

[tas9195]

Hey timbop, thanks for the advice. I was able to get some good shots, not as good as the one above but I am pleased. Here are some of the pics I took. If you could let me know how they turned out and maybe let me know what I could have done differently I would appreciate it. The one in the red suit is my wife the others are ones when I was practicing

[tas9195]

Some more pics

[tas9195]

More pics, the one on the left is my wife.

[tas9195]

Even more

[MS-18E]

If you get shutter speeds slower than 2 times the focal length of your lens, then up the ISO. If you have an image stabilized lens, then a shutter speed equal to the focal length is probably good enough.

Ok, from my post count, you can tell that I'm a complete NewB.

Can you explain to me what is the rational behind the shutter speed 2x of focal length concept? Is that a general rule to get a sharp image for shooting off-hand?

Our entry level cameras mostly come with a 1.6x crop factor. Do I have to take that into consideration as well when I use this rule of thumb?

Thanks

[sued5320]

I think the rule of thumb is focal length times the crop factor. So if you're focal length is 100mm, you could consider hand holding the camera at 1/160 shutter speed or faster and still get a sharp image.

[timbop]

Hey, those look like they came out pretty good! The only thing would be to get closer or a longer lens, and maybe try to get shots of her looking at the camera if you can.

[timbop]

I think the rule of thumb is focal length times the crop factor. So if you're focal length is 100mm, you could consider hand holding the camera at 1/160 shutter speed or faster and still get a sharp image.

exactly. I figured for a newbie it doesn't hurt to give a little margin of error, so I suggested 2x instead of 1.6x.

[MS-18E]

exactly. I figured for a newbie it doesn't hurt to give a little margin of error, so I suggested 2x instead of 1.6x.

ok ... got it! Thanks

[tas9195]

I noticed after looking at all the pics that there is a reddish tint to alot if not all of them and they didn't have any red lights there. Is that because of the white canon lights bouncing off of the red lettering in the back or is it a white balance issue maybe. My wife was pretty nervous and I couldn't get her to really look at me and I couldn't stand directly in front of her because the mag company whose name is on the wall behind her had there own photographers there and they got center stage. you can go on their site and see there pics they took. Just look up Branch Warren Classic 2009. I appreciate all the help timbop. Are there any good lenses that you would recommend for a hobbyist without spending more than 400 or 500. I actually do more video work but I like to do this as a hobby and to enhance my video stuff.

[tas9195]

Here is the link my wife is class B figure sharon #8

http://www.musculardevelopment.com/browse/index.php?mode=contest&eventcode=1332

[timbop]

Yeah, that was probably white balance. On auto white balance under tungsten lights, the images come out with an orange tint. Sorry I forgot to mention that before - under stage lights you need to use tungsten white balance. You can fix that in photoshop or DPP, though.

For things like that you need to get a little bit longer of a lens. One of my favorites for that price range is the canon 85/1.8, or you could look at the 100/2 for a little more reach. The 70-200/4 is also a great lens ($600), although if the lighting isn't as good then f/4 is going to get too slow of shutter speeds.

With a longer lens you could probably have shot from behind the mag photographers