So, you want camera settings and lighting tips, eh, Sweet One?

Well, lessee. You have a good camera and lenses and that thing has such a good computer on board that the automatic do-everything mode will work most of the time for exposure but not focus. You can focus manually and let the cam do the rest, provided the lights are good.

The best results will be to set up the gear and take a few test shots to see what the camera says is the correct exposure, kind of like metering, but with a record, since the EXIF data gets stored with each shot. Write this data down for future reference on a piece of paper.

Once you know what the proper exposure is, you can go to manual mode and insert these settings for shutter and aperture. The next thing to do is find out what the proper focus is. The best way to do this is take a tape measure and record the distance from the film plane to the part of the subject you want to be in sharp focus and set this on the lense.

Once you have located the focal point, you can adjust the depth of field to get the rest of the picture as focused as you want. Typicly, the eyes are the one part of the subject that must be in sharp focus. This is what the viewer looks at first, so go for that sharp speck of light in the eyes.

To get the sharpest exposure, go manual at a low ASA setting. The computer on the cam is used to get the settings in the ballpark. Record these settings and then go manual and bracket one stop to either side of what the cam thinks is the right exposure.

If you are doing timer or remote shooting, never rely on the autofocus system to get the shot. Your cam can measure exposure with good precision, having 15 detection points for the onboard computer. But it cannot aurofocus well on a remote or timer. Also, the cam will favour fast shutters and wide open apertures which will yeald a small DOF and general underexposure.

For portraits, you want a reasonably deep DOF and even lighting. To increase DOF, stop the lense down to at least f5.6, preferably f8. This assumes you are using a mild telephoto at around 85mm. A facial portrait needs a mild tele. The 50mm works well as a full body shooter but not as a face shooter. It foes have a fast aperture and reasonable DOF wide open.

Be advised that the shorter the focal length, the more DOF you get but also the more distortion from front to back in the subject. Wide angle lenses do not make good portrait lenses unless you are including the surroundings in the shot. The best portrait lense is around 85mm, but it has a shallow DOF and is not quite as fast.

When shooting with a digital cam, go with the highest resolution and slow ASA settings and tell the cam to save the image in RAW format. This will create a file with 32-bit colour and practicly no grain. Once you have it on the computer, save it as a PSP in Adobe. Edit the PSP to your liking and save a copy as a 100% high quality JPG. Yes, the file will be big, but it will look so much better at the native resolution, and it will shrink better.

When shrinking a file, use smart sampling. Adobe will let you do bilinear and smart in several degrees. Use smart at high quality. Make sure the JPG settings are at 100% so that you reduce JPG aliusing artifacts in the file you are going to upload to the internet. Done right, it is hard to tell the JPG from the PSP or RAW files.

Lights are a tricky matter because there are so many kinds and they can be used so many ways. We will talk briefly about portrait lights because these are the easiest to deal with and they are used the most.

To get a good portrait, you need a main light and a fill light. You also need gobo's for directing the light. Put the main light at a fair distance since it is the bright one and will probably get bounced off a gobo or french flag to control shadows.

The fill light can be placed close and put on low power. The fill light is used to create accents. Placed in front of the subject, it can fill in shadows. Placed behind the subject, it can create that classic rim light effect. Down low creates a sense of intrigue or suspense, perhaps even danger. Placed high, it makes the shot look as though the subject is under intense scrutiny.

Lighting and exposure are really the taste of the photographer. There is no right or wrong way to do things, and the end result and setup depend on the mood you are trying to achieve. Just remember that you need even lighting and sharp focus at a low ASA setting to get a sharp and well defined shot.

You probably know everything I just told you, but you asked, so I answered best as I could on the basic stuff. Most shutterbugs forget the basic stuff, even though they know it, so I thought I would post a refresher, not just for you, but for anyone who reads the comments on this journal who is not as far along in their study of photography as you are.

I love my Snow Queen. I am waiting to see shots of the most beautiful woman alive on Earth or anywhere else in the universe.

Happy shooting...







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The Bone Doctor

Walnut Hill Productions
Keavy, Kentucky
[link]

"It's all about the King of Instruments!"

I am no photographer and I couldn't have given an answer as comprehensive as slowdog, so all I can say is, even if you're frustrated or feel like you don't make progresses, don't give up on it if it makes you happy

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The rose is the key....There are other worlds

Well hun, no one can give answers like the slowdog But I am happy you answered in your way

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Still looking for that rainbow ...........

Oh wow.. that is a lot of text
You are so sweet Thank you!


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Still looking for that rainbow ...........

Took me about an hour to bang that out on my trusty Microsoft Natural Keyboard. I hope I answered some questions.

You are most welcome, Honey. I am salty compared to you. You are my Sweet One. The most goreous gal there is, that is what you are.





--
The Bone Doctor

Walnut Hill Productions
Keavy, Kentucky
[link]

"It's all about the King of Instruments!"

You did answer a lot



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Still looking for that rainbow ...........

I tried to cover basic stuff for the ones who would follow me in here on this thread who know way more about this stuff than I do. I am really not one to be advising folks on this, as what I told you was simply from my time behind the lense. I read some books but most of what I know is from trial and error in the field.

I was hoping more folks would jump on this and I was going to talk about the relationships between focal length and angle of acceptance vs depth of field, and when one would want to consider those factors in the shooting of a specific frame. Then I thought better of it so others might tell us more.

In truth, I am a casual photographer of the amatuer scale.





--
The Bone Doctor

Walnut Hill Productions
Keavy, Kentucky
[link]

"It's all about the King of Instruments!"

--
Still looking for that rainbow ...........

:ug:

--
The Bone Doctor

Walnut Hill Productions
Keavy, Kentucky
[link]

"It's all about the King of Instruments!"