Photo Taking Questions

[1BadBB6]

I plan on going out this weekend and doing some night shots of my lude. I am kinda new to this photography thing. I just purchased a nikon d40 and have some questions bout some stuff. I was looking at the high quality photo thread and noticed that different pictures had different settings.

Can someone explain to me what ISO, shutter speed, and f number are, and how changing them will affect my photos?

[Brash22]

**waits for DWend to chime in**

I'm going to have to think about this. I know what they are/do, but not sure how to explain it.

[Oceanborn]

I'll do my best to answer your questions.

ISO is technically a film camera term, but has been adapted for use in digitals.
It was what used to be referred to as "Film Speed" Ultimately, how much light the film absorbs. A lower ISO will give you a much sharper image, but it will be darker. A higher ISO will give you a much brighter picture but it will be a bit more grainy. (High ISO's are best used at night.)

Shutter Speed is how long the shutter will stay open to allow light/the image to hit the film (or digital signal converter). A fast shutter speed (1/1000 of a second) will reduce blur, but also darken the image. A slow shutter speed (1/60 of a second) will give you a higher chance to blur the image (Unless your shooting from a tripod) but will result in a brighter image.

The Appature (Or F as most digitals abreviate it) is how wide the lense will open in order to let in light. Using a wide appature (3) will give you a bright image, however using a smaller apature (15) will darken the piture, but also add massive detail to the depth of colors and detail of the subject. (I like to use small appatures, it results in absolutely gorgeous pictures.)

Hope this helps! :cool:

[1BadBB6]

i do have a tripod so no worries there.

so what settings would you recommend for low light night shots and high light night shots?

[Bassman109]

Ha I just tried to take pictures lastnight and failed mmiserably this is some of what I got.anyone have any good techniques for using a simple 8.1 megapixel digital?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/bassman109/100_1020.jpg

[Oceanborn]

i do have a tripod so no worries there.

so what settings would you recommend for low light night shots and high light night shots?

For a pretty dark night shot, (With a small light sorce a bit away from your Lude,) I'd try something like 1/30 with a 6.0F and like an 800 ISO. You may need to tweek it, but that should be a decent picture. I shoot Canons, they have a bar that will show you how light or dark the picture will be, it appears in the viewfinder and on the LCD. I don't know if Nikon uses those.

For more well lit night shots, (say parked under a light sorce.) Try something like 1/40 at 7.0F with an ISO between 400-800.

Just my two cents.

[Oceanborn]

Ha I just tried to take pictures lastnight and failed mmiserably this is some of what I got.anyone have any good techniques for using a simple 8.1 megapixel digital?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/bassman109/100_1020.jpg

No offence, but thats an 8.1 MP? Was it shrunk at some time?

that looks more like a cell phone picture.

But I would try using a higher appature, and compensate with the shutterspeed as you need to.

[Qnz92Lude]

wow yeah bad quality i have a 3.2MP Canon Power shot. And some how i am able to take excellent pics from it.

[JDM-BB4]

What you need to do is make the photo a little darker. Try a lower ISO and a bit more exposure. If it turnes a little too dark, then crank up the light with photoshop. It usually works a lot better.
Also the way you positioned the car didn't help one bit. The shadows are hiding the mags, the lines of the car etc. Try having the light directly behind the car and you take the photo from the same kind of angle. Also look at how bright your brake lights look under that light. Too "in your face".
When you have a photo to do and you want it really good, if you're not a professional or you haven't had a play with the camera, do few photos not just one and hope for the best. Take your time and try different settings.
I had my photography assignment last month and for something straight forward and easy I had 7 photos to choose from. An that was with the same setup and with the same light. Imagine when you change that.

[1BadBB6]

For a pretty dark night shot, (With a small light sorce a bit away from your Lude,) I'd try something like 1/30 with a 6.0F and like an 800 ISO. You may need to tweek it, but that should be a decent picture. I shoot Canons, they have a bar that will show you how light or dark the picture will be, it appears in the viewfinder and on the LCD. I don't know if Nikon uses those.

For more well lit night shots, (say parked under a light sorce.) Try something like 1/40 at 7.0F with an ISO between 400-800.

Just my two cents.

thanks i appreciate it.

i am pretty sure dwend uses the d40 so maybe he can give me some of the finer details to optimally use my camera.

[Dwend]

Welcome to the D40 club. You must have a tripod for night shots since the exposure times might get in to the 3 second range. I say leave your ISO low so you don't get much grain. On the D40 if you look in the view finder it will tell you all the information about the picture you will be taking. put your camera in to "M" mode(not on the lens but on the setting wheel). To change the exposure time turn the wheel left for longer and right for shorter, you will see a bar that tells you how under and over exposed the shot will be try to keep that one or two bar over 0, But since you have a black car you might need a little less exposure if you notice the lights are to bright. To change the aperture press the +/- button next to the shutter release button. keep the F/ between 4-6, That is the # between the Exposure and the bar graph. It should have a F before it. To turn it to High vivid, Press the MENU button and Navigate to the Shooting menu, OK on Optimize image and select VI+ or more Vivid. This will bring your camera to life and make the colors stand out, I shoot in this mode.

I recommend turning off your headlights if it very dark, If you have them on your headlight might wash out the rest of the picture. Make sure you have a light source such as a street lamp, big flashlight, or another car that has protector headlights works well. The light source should be behind you. But make sure your shadow won't be in the picture. Always take more than one shot from that angle with different settings. And always have the picture in your head before you attempt to take it with the camera, they always are better when you do that.
Where are you thinking about taking the picture?

Go here for some Ideas. (Note: they like to use a lot of Photoshop) (http://www.accessphoto.com/forum/index.php?showforum=33)

[1BadBB6]

i was gonna go downtown to a couple of different places: parking garage that overlooks everything, and then go to market square which is a pretty well lit area. then i was just planning on cruising around to see if a certain spot catches my eye. there is also a spot behind a bldg that has a single light on it with a dark yellow tint and i was gonna try it.

[Oceanborn]

Sounds good.... we should totally start a Digital SLR club. :cool:

[Dwend]

i was gonna go downtown to a couple of different places: parking garage that overlooks everything, and then go to market square which is a pretty well lit area. then i was just planning on cruising around to see if a certain spot catches my eye. there is also a spot behind a bldg that has a single light on it with a dark yellow tint and i was gonna try it.
Sounds like a good plan. Can't wait to see the outcome.

we should totally start a Digital SLR club. :cool: I concur.

[1BadBB6]

i will 3rd that notion.

[Bassman109]

haha here you go this is daytime with the same ****ty camera.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/bassman109/preludemod3.jpg

[1BadBB6]

oh yeah one more question what about flash?

[Dwend]

I don't use flash. I prefer natural light. Flash makes everything more complicated because you have to hide the flash reflections. If you want extra light bring a good high power flashlight and place it on the ground or walk around the car if the exposure is long enough. This might help get some more details in the shadowed areas. But be careful of the reflection of the light on your car. good thing about Digital Cameras is that you can take a picture and if you don't like it you can delete it. Just try a couple of time playing with settings and angles and see if you like them. I usually take over 50 picture when I go out for a shoot, and get about 10 I like.

[Qnz92Lude]

hmmm nice advice about the flash, i prefer the same may try bringing a flashlight some time. Thanks Dwend

[JDM-BB4]

Actually I don't think a fashlight will help. When we had our meets at night with poor light the best photos taken were the ones with tripod, no flash and no extra light. When you look at them in their raw state you can't see much but after lighting them up in photoshop they look absolutely great.
You either get a large projector or you don't get anything. flash is more for non-glossy surfaces where light doesn't bounce off.

[Brash22]

Great work y'all. Thread stickied. Lets turn this one into a bit of a resource thread eh?

[1BadBB6]

^^^ sounds good to me, i was actually gonna recommend that. well tonight i am going out so hopefully i can get some good shots i will post them up monday or tuesday thanks for all of the help guys.

[Dwend]

You might want to look in to getting a CPL and a UV filter.

The UV filter only blocks out UV light, UV light is bad for the camera's internal senors. The UV filter can also help against accidental scratches.

The CPL filter is a polarizing filter that will reduce reflections. Just like you Polarized sun glasses do. you can twist the filer so that reduce reflections. If you turn the filter you can reduce the refection on a window so you can see inside. It is good for sunny conditions. Here is a guide. (http://www.rigshots.com.au/howto3.htm)