candid calculations
Danica said...
I am currently taking a photography course to better learn my camera and in turn take much better pictures. I am trying to use my manual setting as much as possible but question my choices when I am trying to take quick, candid shots. When doing candid photography what settings (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed) do you like and why?? I am trying to avoid using the "priority" settings available on my camera so I can better my skills and knowledge.
Before I can answer your question, I am going to make some assumptions, as asking someone what they 'usually' have their ISO, shutter, and aperture settings on is a weird question since it changes moment to moment. Most photographers will have a set of preferred settings (whether they shoot RAW or JPEG, prefer Av, Tv or manual, whether they prefer a 1-second review or a 3-second review, where they like their AF spot to be, etc.) but otherwise, it's a question of calculating the Law of Reciprocity to come up with the right combination of duration, film sensitivity, and light to create an 'exposure.'
First I am assuming we are talking about a digital camera and not film. Second, when you are wanting to take 'fast' pictures I am assuming you mean when people are in motion and you need to 'freeze' the action. I'm also assuming the use of available light, not strobe, flash, or any other light source. In priority setting, you would want to use your Tv to ensure your shutter speed was fast enough to 'freeze' the action. To do this manually you simply re-create Tv by setting your shutter speed to 1/125 sec or faster and adjusting your ISO and/or aperture accordingly. (You don't want anything lower than 1/60 sec for a shutter speed though as that's the longest most humans can stand still for and take a picture without getting camera shake.)
Of course in lower-lighting situations, upping your ISO means increased chance of grain, and opening up your aperture means you need to be spot-on with your focussing or your subject will have moved out of your DOF, at which point it becomes more a creative than a technical choice: would you rather have blur, grain, or I'm a big fan of a shallow aperture, pretty much always. And, as much as I'm really OK with grain, I'm even more OK with a little blur in my candids - I prefer blur to noise most of the time, especially for candid shots, because it's a 2-dimnesional medium and the only way of creating a sense of 'movement' or demonstrate the passage of time is to let a little blur happen.
My best suggestion is for you to go outside and 'play' - try a series of different settings. (Lucky for you, digital records all that data for you so you don't need a pen and paper handy like in the old days of film.) Kids on swings close to sunset would be perfect fodder for really exploring your camera settings as you'd have gradually decreasing light over a short period of time. The bottom line is, you'll only discover what your personal preferences are, and why, by experimenting and eventually discovering your own style.
Cheers,
~H.
I am currently taking a photography course to better learn my camera and in turn take much better pictures. I am trying to use my manual setting as much as possible but question my choices when I am trying to take quick, candid shots. When doing candid photography what settings (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed) do you like and why?? I am trying to avoid using the "priority" settings available on my camera so I can better my skills and knowledge.
Before I can answer your question, I am going to make some assumptions, as asking someone what they 'usually' have their ISO, shutter, and aperture settings on is a weird question since it changes moment to moment. Most photographers will have a set of preferred settings (whether they shoot RAW or JPEG, prefer Av, Tv or manual, whether they prefer a 1-second review or a 3-second review, where they like their AF spot to be, etc.) but otherwise, it's a question of calculating the Law of Reciprocity to come up with the right combination of duration, film sensitivity, and light to create an 'exposure.'
First I am assuming we are talking about a digital camera and not film. Second, when you are wanting to take 'fast' pictures I am assuming you mean when people are in motion and you need to 'freeze' the action. I'm also assuming the use of available light, not strobe, flash, or any other light source. In priority setting, you would want to use your Tv to ensure your shutter speed was fast enough to 'freeze' the action. To do this manually you simply re-create Tv by setting your shutter speed to 1/125 sec or faster and adjusting your ISO and/or aperture accordingly. (You don't want anything lower than 1/60 sec for a shutter speed though as that's the longest most humans can stand still for and take a picture without getting camera shake.)
Of course in lower-lighting situations, upping your ISO means increased chance of grain, and opening up your aperture means you need to be spot-on with your focussing or your subject will have moved out of your DOF, at which point it becomes more a creative than a technical choice: would you rather have blur, grain, or I'm a big fan of a shallow aperture, pretty much always. And, as much as I'm really OK with grain, I'm even more OK with a little blur in my candids - I prefer blur to noise most of the time, especially for candid shots, because it's a 2-dimnesional medium and the only way of creating a sense of 'movement' or demonstrate the passage of time is to let a little blur happen.
My best suggestion is for you to go outside and 'play' - try a series of different settings. (Lucky for you, digital records all that data for you so you don't need a pen and paper handy like in the old days of film.) Kids on swings close to sunset would be perfect fodder for really exploring your camera settings as you'd have gradually decreasing light over a short period of time. The bottom line is, you'll only discover what your personal preferences are, and why, by experimenting and eventually discovering your own style.
Cheers,
~H.
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