ellery

<p>It does not change ISO though correct?</p>

<p>I am a beginner - I have a simple question I think that should easily be answered. When one uses exposure bracketing or changes the EV - what exactly does the camera change within itself to vary the exposure? I know the basics of how to change my exposure with Tv, Av, ISO, FV, etc...but what does the camera do exactly to change EV?<br>

Perhaps a silly question.....</p>

<p>Oh, and regarding the pic with the guest book - I was trying for a narrow DOF - but again, it I find it difficult - I realize in the pic above it likely looks more like error than intention :)</p>

<p>I got 48 batteries from costco - I figured I will bring 16 extra and if they show signs of slower recycling, I will change those puppies. I am obviously a beginner, but I do try not to spray my shots, I try to be as purposeful as my current skill level allows me and continuously anticipate best angles etc...regarding shutter priority as discussed - I tried initially a number of modes including P auto and Av priority, but I continued to have issues with motion blur as my subjects were mostly not posing - Tv priority seemed to work best - I would have rather had a better ability to blur out the many background details with these pictures, but I have really not been about to achieve shallow DOF with my lens (18-105 kit lens) - the only way I come close to the effect is when I zoom as I did on the one close up. Am I missing something? I assumed that to get this effect more, I would need a lens (f2.8 or something of that sort with a smaller f stop) - if there is anything I can do to achieve a more narrow DOF that I am missing, this would be great.<br>

Also, on the technical note/question of lighting - I have had a couple people state that I should just point the SB900 directly at the subjects without any modifiers and let the metering system/flash do the work for mostly very good results - so far I have not found that to be the case, especially as in the above type of indoor moderately low lighting closer quarters - when I let the camera/flash choose - it drags the shutter (Tv dropped to like 1/4 - 1/9) and this was not acceptable - so I used shutter priority at 1/60 - when I do this and point the flash directly, my lens/camera fail to capture background lighting, so...I constantly bounced my flash to fix this as well as to avoid shadows as best I could.<br>

Anyway, there are probably pleny of critique from reading this - feel free to ignore or critique away. FYI - I plan on taking a night course at a local photography school in a few weeks - I am stoked.</p>

<p>Not from the perspective of a photographer, but from the perspective of a recent groom....I would not have noticed a difference wheater or not my photographer ate dinner - and I will go out on a limb to say the majority of people getting married would not either - but I agree with what was previously said - eat relatively quick and get back to it - one really needs to eat - I get jittery at my job (I am a pharmacist) and my performance is affected if I am too hungry - after you eat, its one less thing to think about and you maintain better focus - of course, everyone is different I guess.</p>

<p>Just a sampling - I have alot of room for improvement in composition I think (as well as other things Im sure along the way) - but I am very pleased since I got the flash as prior, my indoor shots were just not very good with the D90 alone. I will share the wedding pics when I am done for you all.<br>

Thanks again, feel free to make any notes about the pics as well.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice so far (anyone coming in please feel free to add more :)]</p>

<p>William - thanks for the technical advice - its just the kind I was looking for with my initial question - I will use it and adjust accordingly to conditions - I am going to go to location prior to the event and take example photos as suggested.<br>

After I posted my original question - I went to the bridal shower and took pictures - It took me a few minutes to figure out what worked (indoors, recessed lighting, house in suburbs) - people were moving around quite a bit, but I was able to get all shots with good (as far as I can see) results using mainly shutter priority to 1/60 - kept ISO at 200, and bounced flash off of the ceiling or occ. a wall - I first tried direct, but too close quarters and obvious shadows began to appear even with the diffuser - I will share with you guys a couple examples..see what you think (again I am a beginner, but I am a quick study - at least I'd like to think so).</p>

<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ijMj-63Ehaw/Sj7w-__aZ9I/AAAAAAAABhg/dhHgH_wqQ80/s800/DSC_0062.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="531" /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ijMj-63Ehaw/Sj7x9y0dAvI/AAAAAAAABh0/PX4KewG9rUA/s512/DSC_0066.jpg" alt="" width="512" height="364" />thats me on the far right in brown shirt :) - someone else took the photo obviously.<br>

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ijMj-63Ehaw/Sj73at4lsVI/AAAAAAAABjI/Lx6zzQfxiYY/s400/DSC_0104.jpg" alt="" width="266" height="400" />BACKGROUND - missed the flowers there, :) - I have noticed this mistake alot in these pics as they have all kinds of flowers in this house - bad camera angle.<br>

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ijMj-63Ehaw/Sj7-lkTcKoI/AAAAAAAABkY/lRzLRDG3CuU/s576/DSC_0130.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="383" /><br>

<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ijMj-63Ehaw/Sj8CTvGWC0I/AAAAAAAABlA/6N0I71uf8Lc/s576/DSC_0155.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="397" /><br>

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ijMj-63Ehaw/Sj8KM29-nkI/AAAAAAAABmY/3rebERjKSu8/s576/DSC_0167.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="383" /><br>

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ijMj-63Ehaw/Sj7tskhhGaI/AAAAAAAABgA/09_zNN_gHaI/s400/DSC_0041.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="329" /></p>

 

<p>Not that this was your original question - but take it from someone who is a beginner - you need to be very good at knowing if WB is not right - it will really screw up your pictures, perhaps more than anything else - with the D90 on auto WB, you WILL see problems indoor under various types of artificial light. Google it and look at some example photos to give you an idea if your are unsure - tend to have things like red or blue casts on your indoor pictures especially depending on the light source - learn to correct it with the camera, but also you can shoot in RAW and use editing software to easily fix it - this can have a very dramatic effect. You may already know all this? If so, I am talking to myself - :) But in the off chance you do not know how to correct WB with editing software - learn it - as a beginner, we tend to have to fix our mistakes - which is the great thing about digital :)</p>

<p>I agree - I am pretty much a newbie photo geek, but your white balance looks pretty much spot on - I have the D90 - you should not get too much WB issues with it on auto WB outdoors really as I shoot outdoors alot and never touch it (not that auto is always perfect). I agree with the filter Idea - I have one and use in in strong sunlight - then again, flare can give a cool look at times - also I use capture NX - you could do a little editing to that photo - touch down brightness, contrast boost a bit and color (especially in the apple and the trees) - Some of the glare could stay for a cool look.<br>

anyway, I am a newbie, so take it with a grain of salt and try the above.</p>

<p>Very good - makes since - I will be taking some pre-shots to help see what works best - thanks for the advice, I think I was just getting a bit too worked up and thinking too much - I tend to do that.</p>

<p>Oh and if I do simply shoot the formal groups with the flash on camera, best to use pointed direct at the group with diffuser (no ceiling or wall to bounce) or should I use the flash in the verticle position with the bounce card?</p>

<p>Good suggestions - I planned on for now bringing a bunch of batteries, and I will actually have an assistant (unpaid family member :)] - shooting in RAW to give me more editing flexibility. Good point about getting fancy - I figured if I have things ready and assistant to help set-up tripod, umbrella, and use my remote - I would get potentially better quality, but I will certainly have to look more into the timing as you stated. If I shoot in RAW and my color balance is misjundged, I can fix it pretty easy wright? What is an expodisc - is that like a WhiBal card? I was thinking I would go fire of some shots with one of these to ensure good WB.<br>

Thanks so much for the advice</p>

<p>Yeah, dragging the shutter will give you great results - the concept here is that you use a slower shutter speed to capture the ambient light - but your flash should do a good job to freeze your subject - if you can, bring a tripod or monopod for sharper results - also - not sure if your camera has "bulb" flash mode - it is a manual way to keep open the shutter while you hold the shutter release button - if you want top quality pics of fireworks, learn to setup and use this mode - again will need tripod and remote if possible for this.</p>

 

<p>I am a beginner - Have a D90 since 12/08 and have learned quite a bit since buying the camera - my brother asked me to shoot his wedding - I am not ready for this on many aspects, however, it is me or nothing as he cannot afford a photographer - so, I guess Ill do my best with the little equipment that I have - my lens is the kit 18-105 (which I want a new one for reasons you all already know but lets just not get into that as I do not have the money for it period) - I did go ahead and buy a quality flash (SB900) as from my limited experience I knew this would be an absolute necessity (a mountable flash that is, and it has rocked my world by the way :)....anyway - I have a remote, tripod, camera, my one lens, and my one flash - have not bough any lighting accessories, and not sure that I can afford any more lighting equipment - perhaps an umbrella as it seems this will hep me - group photos will be in the church at the altar (no pics during ceremony) - small wedding party, formal shots will not consist of more than 5 or 6 people (thank god given my lack of equipment) - I am not certain quite yet how dark it is in there, but catholic church, will just say mixed lighting -<br>

Question then (whew): how can I set up my lighting. umbrella with flash on a stand? location? Slow sync flash to capture ambient light? what focal length is optimal (note my darn lens f stop increase when I zoom, blah - I think it drops from 3.5 to 5.5 at 50 or 70mm. minimum ISO you think (this will obviously depend on exact lighting)? Any good suggestions (again specifically for lighting setup and optimal settings). Note will shoot these in RAW.<br>

Oh, and I may be able to squeak by spending MAYBE 150 bucks at this point.</p>

<p>not sure if this was already said, but note that for certain lower quality lenses the aperature can increase as you zoom in - ie at 18mm you might get 3.5 and at 50mm you might get 5.5 - so just look for that when you get to looking at the lenses - better lenses maintain the aperature that you set throught focal length.</p>

<p>Hey Chris - I am new to SLR photography too - I bought a nikon d90 (1100 with kit lens) - not that you should get this by any means cause there is alot of good cameras to buy - I think there may be more cost-effective options as compared to what I bought? When I was buying mine, I told myself the same thing - "I mine as well get something that I will want to keep". On that note, I would save and consider expanding your price range if you think you will really get into it and not just do family stuff - you really do have to pay for quality and if you will want quality at some point - the 400-500 dollar range may not suffice (especially if that price includes the lens). If you think you will simply casually shoot and share picutres with family, the 400-500 dollar expectation is fine, but after some short period of time, you will wish you would have invested a bit more if you get any more into it. <br>

I agree with sam though about those choices - cannon XSI is top rated by consumer reports (whatever that is worth) - and the D40 would also be a great camera. But again coming from perhaps the same place - if you get into it, you will wish you invested a bit more...obviously if this is not pheasable would agree with sam - word of advice - dont get pulled into the cannon vs. nikon debate - I am not an expert, but it is clear they both are great companies.<br>

Also will let you know that whatever you get with even this price range will be really great in comparison, but note that in lower light indoor photography type situations - you will want a mountable flash with a rotating head as even though you had bought this 500 dollar SLR, your shots in these situations will still look a bit point and shoot in quality (still much better though than point and shoot as you can compensate in many ways) - but for outdoor photos, the built in flash will do you great and your photos will look very good.<br>

good luck</p>