Wannabe Photographer

fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
Rider said:
I have a Nikon but reviews for some of the third party batteries made me think twice so I went with authentic Nikon. But your mileage may vary.

Anyway, I did want to share a few pics I took since we were talking about night shots and shutter speeds and ISO. The first I managed to shoot at ISO100! I did that by using a shutter speed of 1s. I wanted to see the blur of people leaving the park so that was an artistic decision. I shot it without a tripod too! I don't recommend that but I got lucky and got this clear handheld shot after only 4 attempts (I didn't have a tripod and this was basically an experiment that worked).

Second pic was a more traditional night shot 4000ISO and a reasonable hand held shutter of 1/60. That one was shot in aperture priory which is how I usually shot unless I'm going for a specific look like the first one.

Going Home by cchard, on Flickr

Final Light by cchard, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Very nice @Rider !

I just followed you on flickr
 
Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
Rider said:
Anyway, I did want to share a few pics I took since we were talking about night shots and shutter speeds and ISO. The first I managed to shoot at ISO100! I did that by using a shutter speed of 1s. I wanted to see the blur of people leaving the park so that was an artistic decision. I shot it without a tripod too! I don't recommend that but I got lucky and got this clear handheld shot after only 4 attempts (I didn't have a tripod and this was basically an experiment that worked).
Click to expand...

You must have been still as the grave for hand holding that shot. Either that or VR was working wonders for you as well. A second is an eternity just about for shutter speed.
 
Zipadeelady

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ok @fractal I did my homework.
Here is my first shot.
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Hehehe. I kept adjusting but couldn't see anything so I just took a shot. And that is when I realized that I still had my lens cap on. :rolleyes: What can I say...I'm a rookie.

After I took off the lens cap I took another.

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I took quite a few. The one above is in the settings you told me to use. I'm happy with the light it provided but the angle of course is not good but now I know what to do.

I did also continue to try different settings to see if I could increase the shutter speed so that I could hold the camera with out it blurring since I don't have a tripod yet. This is one I was able to hold my breath and not get a blur. A little dark.
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fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
Good job and Congratulations on your first "long exposure" shot!

First shot (after you took the cap off :D) is exactly what I wanted you to do. This "technique" is exactly how those beautiful clear night time and fireworks shots are made. Tripod is not necessary but obviously very helpful. Anything that gives you stability will work; top of a trashcan (and we know Disney has plenty of those), railing, shelf, the ground, etc. Since your mirrorless camera is nice and small, it opens up many places you can put it. I've taken many long exposure shots without a tripod and will post some samples when I get home.

The point is, you now know how it's done and have the equipment and knowledge to execute it. Keep practicing; maybe tonight place the camera on the roof of your car and take a picture of your home.

As far as night hand-held, I believe your camera has a setting (off Manual) for that. It quickly takes 2 photos and merges them to create one clearer photo in low light situations. I've used it from time to time and found it to be pretty good.
 
fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
Next assignment @Zipitidoda (if you choose to accept).

Using your 50mm 1.8, put the aperture to 1.8 then go find a nice flower or group of flowers and make sure there isn't a wall or tree right behind it (should be at least a few feet behind). Adjust your other settings to get the proper exposure but make sure your shutter speed is at least 1/50 sec or faster. If you can shoot at 1/100 of a second without taking ISO over 400 that would be good. 1/500 ISO 100 would be ideal (probably if outside).

Get as close as you can to the flower while still be able to get it in focus then take a photo of the center, then the edge, all parts of it. Then maybe another flower of leaf on a tree.
 
Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
Zipitidoda said:
Hehehe. I kept adjusting but couldn't see anything so I just took a shot. And that is when I realized that I still had my lens cap on. :rolleyes: What can I say...I'm a rookie.
Click to expand...

I habitually put on and off my lens caps and I don't know how many times I've gone to take a photo and realized the cap was still on. I got chewed out by another photographer when I started about keeping the lens cap on when you're not shooting to keep dust off the lens.
 
Zipadeelady

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Jahona said:
I habitually put on and off my lens caps and I don't know how many times I've gone to take a photo and realized the cap was still on. I got chewed out by another photographer when I started about keeping the lens cap on when you're not shooting to keep dust off the lens.
Click to expand...
:D Thank you for making me feel a little better.

@fractal I'll get on my new assignment as soon as I can!
 
Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
Case in point. I had a photoshoot this morning for a client and it started with me not realizing I left the lens cap on when I went to start. I've got problems. :facepalm:
 
fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
With tripod; 1 sec exposure, f/6.3, ISO 100

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Without Tripod. This was a trashcan shot. 1 sec, f/22, ISO 100.

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with Tripod. 1/2 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 100.

_DSC4644-X2.jpg


without Tripod. I (carefully) put the camera on top one of the posts on the dock. I also wrapped the strap around my wrist in case of a fall. This was a 14 second exposure.

_DSC5824-X2.jpg


So you don't need a tripod to take long exposure shots. If you find yourself at night by the castle look for something to place your camera on a take a nice shot of the castle at ISO 100. Daytime is harder because of all the light. You'll have to really close down your aperture to f/20 or more (which has it's own set of issues) or use a ND filter to block some of the light.

I wanted to show you this because it's a way to pick up some great shots at WDW and impress your friends and family. Plus, it's also fun!

One more shot. I took this on Cape May NJ beach by placing the camera on our cooler bag ( a bit risky so don't blame me if you try it and your camera falls to ruin. :D). I did have a 3 stop ND filter which is just a dark piece of glass you put over your lens to reduce the amount of light and allow a longer exposure.

DSC01143-X2.jpg
 
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Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
fractal said:
ND filter which is just a dark piece of glass you put over your lens to reduce the amount of light and allow a longer exposure.
Click to expand...

Neutral Density Filter A.K.A. sunglasses for your camera. Although it's more like a monocle with a single pain of glass. :p

Another suggestion for long exposure. The a6000 is light enough that a Gorillapod may be a handy attachment to stash in a bag. You can attach the camera to railings and other objects to get a more stable shot.
 
Zipadeelady

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@fractal your pictures a wonderful. I really love the Poly one and I have to admit I stole the carousel photo from one of your previous reports and it graces my work computer from time to time. Thank you for sharing. I can wait to get back to Disney in September and take some photos there. We're also heading to Tennessee next month and I can't wait to take some shots there.
 
Zipadeelady

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Ok @fractal I know it's been a while but I was finally able to get out and take some pictures of flowers but once I got up to where I wanted to go I forgot the settings you told me to use so I just took some photos with different settings. It was very aggravating and so fun at the same time. I just kept changing the settings to see how it looked. One thing that was upsetting is I couldn't remember how to make the background blurry. The very first picture I was attempting to make the bushes in the front blurry and didn't succeed, I finally gave up. The second bee photo I'm guessing I didn't have my shutter speed fast enough. Tomorrow is another day and I will use the setting you said to use.
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fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
Nice job @Zipitidoda !

The second set of images are stronger in my opinion. I really like the shots of the round purple flowers, the water drop on plant, and the memorial flags. The blurry bee shot was more likely caused by the bee being out of the focal range. It appears to me you had the aperture open (like I suggested) so the focus was on the near flower with everything behind it (including the bee) blurred and out of focus. Keep shooting these type of shots at f/1.8 to f/2.8. You'll start to get a feel for how much is in focus. Shoot with your eye in the EVF and with focus peaking on. The focus peaking will give you a good idea of the focal range and you'll get better at using it as a tool.

This is part of getting to know the camera and how to manipulate the exposure triangle. When you are at WDW and want a picture of the small Goofy statue in front of the castle, with the castle blurred in the background you'll know exactly how to take that photo.

Start taking photos of people like this using the eye-autofocus. Just be aware that the more people in the photo the smaller the aperture you'll need to keep everyone in focus because they will not all be the same distance from you.

One person, you can get away with f/1.8 or f/2 using eye-autofocus. 2 people maybe f/2.8 or f/3.5. 3 or more you should start at f/4 and stop down (decrease the aperture to f/5.6 or smaller) from there.

I have too many group shots of the people in the front being in focus but not the back, or even just two people but at different distances from me ( in fact you can see an example of that in the last post in my pre-trip report).

The next step for you is composition, which mostly can be done in camera (the shot as you take it) or you can cheat a little in post processing ( editing your photo using software ). Do you use a photo sharing site such as photobucket or flickr?
 

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