Nikon D40 outdoor portrait - what did I do wrong here?

<p>Please see the photo below. My equipment used was:<br>

Nikon D40<br>

Tamron 70-200 2.8 </p>

<p>The photo below, to my eyes looks terrible. It was taken inside of an outdoor gazebo during mid-evening with the sun slowly setting behind me. The background where the sun is hitting the leaves, and everything else is far too bright.<br>

I used 'Programmed' auto on D40 - allowing the camera to select aperture and shutter speed, etc.<br>

ISO is 400<br>

White Balance = cloudy<br>

Aperture ended up being f/3.5 and shutter was 1/200<br>

What should I have done here?? The photos that went to f/2.8 look even worse.<br>

<img src="http://cvlightning.com/images/Misc/shay02.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Now this photo below...looks a lot better IMO. Just simply outdoors using the exact same equipment 20 minutes later.<br>

The D40 program mode produced the following: Aperture was F/5 and shutter was 1/320<br>

White Balance = cloudy<br>

ISO = 400<br>

<img src="http://cvlightning.com/images/Misc/Shay01.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>What did I do wrong with the top photo? I'm assuming I should have set my aperture myself? Any suggestions on the top photo especially? <br>

Thank you very much,<br>

Jeff</p>

<p>Aperture affects depth of field. Depth of field is how much of your subject is in focus from front to back. </p>

<p>f/5 is smaller than f/3.5 and provides more Depth of Field. f/3.5 is providing a depth of field that is far too shallow for your subjects.</p>

<p>You can run the numbers here yourself:<br>

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html</p>

 

<p>In your top photo, your subjects are in the shade, making the difference between the light that's (barely) falling on their faces, and the light in the background far wider. The camera's trying to keep that all under control, and the result is that the shadows are... shadowy. That happens to include your family. On the bottom shot, they're out of the shade, and thus the light bouncing off of their skin is closer to the brightness of the background... and thus there's less dynamic range in the shot. That allows the camera to get an exposure that more gracefully handles what you're giving it. Fewer extremes makes for easier metering and more even-handed results.<br /><br />On your top shot, I'd have gone with an entirely manual exposure. I'd have used the camera to meter for the background, to see what it would take to keep it under control and looking nice. <em>Then</em> I'd have popped up the camera's flash to fill the shadows (and your family) to bring them up into the tones of the scene. Filling shadows with flash in a backlit scene like that is a tried and true approach. You might want to manually set the flash power and check the results a couple of times until you get what you're looking for.<br /><br />Remember: when you use automation on the camera, it's just making a guess about what's actually important in the scene. When you're looking at extreme dynamic range, it's better to take control of the situation and get what you want.</p>

<p>Oh, and should mention: if you have time, and aren't traveling too light, consider a reflector to help bounce some of that sunlight back to your subjects. Done right, that will look even better than the flash fill, because the color temperature will match the ambient light without you having to fuss with gels and whatnot.</p>

<p>Thank you Rob. Thus, if I were to do this again, I should have manually set the aperture to a smaller f-number to get more depth of field - and just tested smaller f-numbers until I found the result I had hoped for? Agreed?<br>

Thanks again!! </p>

<p>Jeff: Depth of field has nothing to do with brightness of your background, or your subjects. It only describes how <em>in focus</em> those things are, relative to each other.<br /><br />If you need a less-bright exposure, you can either raise the shutter speed, make the aperture opening smaller (a higher f-number), or lower the ISO setting on the camera. But each of those three exposure variables has different side-effects. <br /><br />Stopping down the lens will make less light pass through it (impacting exposure... and if you're in automated mode, your camera will make up for that by slowing down the shutter speed), <em>and</em> it will incread depth of field.<br /><br />Photographers generally choose aperture priority mode because they have a specific sense of what sort of depth of field they're looking for. They then adjust ISO and/or shutter speed (and possibly modify the light in the scene through strobes, reflectors, etc) to make the exposure right. There are other reasons to be in AP mode, such as wanting the lens to wide open so that you can get the fastest possible shutter speed while shooting sports, etc... but most of the time, it's because you're looking to control depth of field. You have to use OTHER techniques, then, to control how much light is recorded. Depth of field and exposure: two different things.</p>

<p>Thank you Matt. I've never messed around with the metering options on my D40. I've always left it at the 'matrix' setting. The same goes for doing manual exposures but I'm definitely ready to try it - and considering the results of the top photo I need to! I do own a Nikon SB-400 bounce flash which may have come in handy.</p>

<p>When you're outside, Jeff, that SB-400 will usually want to be pointed right at your subjects (no ceiling outside off of which to bounce!). When you specifically choose your ISO, shutter speed, and aperture in order to get the ambient light looking the way you want, you can also set the flash power (manually!) to add just enough light to help with the shadows. <br /><br />You may want to righ up your own reflector, too, if you don't want to buy something. Just a 4x4' sheet of cardboard covered with krinkled-then-flattened-out aluminum foil, or a sheet of white foam core board from the art/craft store can be used to bounce some sunlight into the faces of your backlit subjects... you'll be surprised at the results.</p>

<p>Matt,<br>

I looked at the Metering settings on my D40, like you suggested. I was using 'Matrix' metering when I should have probably been using 'Spot' metering - which is what you should use when "there are dramatic differences in illumination".<br>

I'm anxious to give it another try.<br>

Thanks,<br>

Jeff</p>

<p>Certainly spot metering is going to help you to tell the camera which part of the scene it is you care about (in this case, the faces of your subjects). The trick is to make sure that you've got the right focus/metering spot in your viewfinder parked on their faces. Or... hover that spot over a face, note the shutter speed and aperture that the camera is going to use, and then go into Manual mode so that you can maintain that exact setting regardless of how you compose the shot. Then you can check your histogram, see if you're a little too hot or cold, and make a small adjustment to shutter speed or aperture to bump things up or down as appears necessary.</p>

<p>Just an OT note. Your daughters are lovely, shoot a lot!</p>

<p>Thank you Les.</p>

<p>I think it was your WB it looks very warm<br>

try shooting RAW and than adjust in PP</p>

<p>In a scene like the above one I would simply use A-mode (start at f/5.6 say) and then use exposure compensation tp brighten the shady subjects - around plus one stop may do it. I'm lazy - metering off a greay card takes too long. Exp.Comp. (the "plus-minus" button) is very easy.</p>

<p>Another small note: In picture two, I'd cut off an inch at the top, to get that distracting band of light to go.</p>

<p>Cheers,<br>

Michael</p>