Beginner Can I have some advice please? - blank photo

Stardust

Stardust

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Evening all,

I seem to have hit a bit of a stumbling block and not entirely sure what I've done, just wondered if someone here may be able to help me please?

I took this photo indoors this afternoon whilst it was still daylight. The camera combo I was using was a Canon EOS 100D with a EFS 15-85mm macro lens. It was in manual mode (still trying to learn this) with a shutter speed of 1/250, aperture of f5.6 and ISO of 200, shot in RAW format. It's supposed to be our cat curled up on his bed infront of the window but as you can see there's nothing there.

When I changed the camera to aperture priority I can get a photo but it's blurry as the shutter speed is slow (even if I speed the shutter up).

I did import this photo to lightroom to see if I could post edit it but that didn't seem to do anything.

Could someone please let me know what I've done wrong?

Thank you :)
IMG_5202.jpeg
 
Stardust said:
Evening all,

I seem to have hit a bit of a stumbling block and not entirely sure what I've done, just wondered if someone here may be able to help me please?

I took this photo indoors this afternoon whilst it was still daylight. The camera combo I was using was a Canon EOS 100D with a EFS 15-85mm macro lens. It was in manual mode (still trying to learn this) with a shutter speed of 1/250, aperture of f5.6 and ISO of 200, shot in RAW format. It's supposed to be our cat curled up on his bed infront of the window but as you can see there's nothing there.

When I changed the camera to aperture priority I can get a photo but it's blurry as the shutter speed is slow (even if I speed the shutter up).

I did import this photo to lightroom to see if I could post edit it but that didn't seem to do anything.

Could someone please let me know what I've done wrong?

Thank you :)
View attachment 375261
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To hazard a guess I would say that it was underexposed. I would suggest that you increase the ISO.
 
It might help you understand what's going on if you set up a scene and take a series of pictures indoors at the same aperture but changing the shutter speed for each picture. Maybe start at 1/250 then reduce the speed for each shot. Once you get to a shutter speed which is bordering on too slow (maybe 1/60) stop and then continue with another series of pictures with the same aperture and almost too slow shutter speed this time increasing the ISO for each picture.

Whilst taking these pictures note what the little cursor on the exposure meter does.
 
Stardust said:
When I changed the camera to aperture priority I can get a photo but it's blurry as the shutter speed is slow (even if I speed the shutter up).
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The black photo is because the manual settings you chose are not right for the available light.

In aperture mode the camera is metering the available light. It’s changing the shutter speed to get the right exposure hence why it’s choosing a low shutter speed as you’re currently underexposed.

I’d try again in aperture mode but up the ISO to say ISO800 as a steadying point. If you can choose a wider aperture (smaller f number) I’d do that too if you can.

Have a read up on the exposure triangle to understand how aperture, shutter speed and ISO affect each other to get an exposure.

By the way as someone new to photography I’d stay away from manual mode. I’d stick with aperture or shutter speed modes until you have a good understanding of the exposure triangle. Even after 10 years I don’t use full manual mode that often as other modes can give you the right amount of control you need.
 
First thing is to take the lens cap off ! All joking aside you could try using live view as it gives you a fantastic idea how the photo is going to turn out, once you have it in live view alter the settings and see what happens. If you are in a low light situation using a slower shutter speed, higher ISO or wider aperture ( lower number) should help. If you are using the camera hand held them I would advise using at least 1/200th of a second and altering the other two settings as the slow shutter speed will show any movement you make as blur. You could also use auto iso in the settings , or try Shutter priority mode setting this at 1/200 to 1/250 and the camera will then do the rest for you.

Here is a link on how to get live view on your camera live view
 
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Stardust said:
It was in manual mode (still trying to learn)
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The best way to learn is to let the camera do what it’s good at (correctly exposing an image) while you learn the important stuff, what to focus on, what to include in the frame, composition, what difference can you make with subject distance and focal length.
It’s 2022, your camera can take a perfect image of anything you point it at. 40 years ago, I had a camera that had none of that; and I ended up with carrier bags full of useless prints, that was a very slow learning curve, there’s no reason anyone else should have to go through that pain today.
 
Thank you everyone for coming back to me and for the advice. I will increase my ISO next time and continue to practice. My dilema I guess was I'd read and heard (I've watched so many youtube videos on photography lol) that the key is to keep the ISO low to avoid noise so I was worried that having a high ISO would make the photo look grainy, if that makes sense, but think that was my mistake. I'm ok with taking photos outside it's indoors that I stuggle with so I certainly have some practicing to do.

@Sangoma I could yes. I was worried that it was maybe my camera as I'd had that result on two different lenses but then when I changed setting I got an actual picture, albeit blurry.

@rob-nikon I must admit up until March of this year I've always used the auto mode, only really started playing around with the other settings as trying to move from hobby photographer to amateur but think it's going to be a while until I go back to full manual mode haha

@BADGER.BRAD funnily enough when I showed my husband he said the same thing even though he could see the lens cap was off lol I did try changing my shutter speed, (am I right in thinking that the speed should be twice what your lens is? or is that only for outside?) but I will try the speeds that you mentioned (as well as the higher ISO suggested by Rob, @L320Rio and @WoofWoof).

@Phil V I certainly wish that was the case with my camera, even if I changed the focus point my photos still come out soft instead of sharp especially the subjects' (normally my cat) eyes. I'm not sure if it's me, the camera or the lens. But I will continue to learn the important stuff. I know I have a lot to learn but am willing too and have to keep practicing right?!

Thank you again everyone, I was feeling despondent after seeing so many of my photos yesterday come out like the above but now I know where I went wrong I know what I need to change so thank you.
 
One other suggestion is that you could give the pop up flash a go indoors.
Will give you the shutter speed you require for lower iso and minimise any camera shake
 
My tuppence suggestion is to go back to the room with hopefully the same light levels and take a photograph of a teddy bear on the bed.

Stick to one ISO and one shutter setting and take a photograph at every apeture.

Then do the same with fixed apeture, fixed iso but changing the shutter speed.

And then do fixed shutter and fixed apeture but change the iso.

Painfully long way of doing it but you will have a group of photographs to look at and you can see what effect each change does.

You will gain an understanding of the noise issue from ISO, blurry images from camera shake (if you haven't got a tripod) shutter, and depth of field from apeture how much of the background is and isn't in focus.

Once you've done that put the camera in P mode and take three photographs in each of the options it offers (usually rotating the dial)... This is the camera doing the work for you... which as Phil says and I agree, a great place to just get a good photograph that's sharp.

Doing is better than over thinking, you'll work out why something doesn't look right...

Or like me (and I hope many others) just go that's a great photo I'm really pleased with that. No idea how I will get it again mind. :D
 
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@Stardust this may be worth a read:

photographylife.com

How to Take Better Photographs Indoors

Many new photographers find that while shutter speed, aperture, and ISO make sense in theory, it is hard to know where to start in practice. Even if you understand basic camera settings, getting high quality photographs - especially indoors - is not always an easy task.
photographylife.com
 
Jungli said:
My tuppence suggestion is to go back to the room with hopefully the same light levels and take a photograph of a teddy bear on the bed.

Stick to one ISO and one shutter setting and take a photograph at every apeture.

Then do the same with fixed apeture, fixed iso but changing the shutter speed.

And then do fixed shutter and fixed apeture but change the iso.

Painfully long way of doing it but you will have a group of photographs to look at and you can see what effect each change does.

You will gain an understanding of the noise issue from ISO, blurry images from camera shake (if you haven't got a tripod) shutter, and depth of field from apeture how much of the background is and isn't in focus.

Once you've done that put the camera in P mode and take three photographs in each of the options it offers (usually rotating the dial)... This is the camera doing the work for you... which as Phil says and I agree, a great place to just get a good photograph that's sharp.

Doing is better than over thinking, you'll work out why something doesn't look right...

Or like me (and I hope many others) just go that's a great photo I'm really pleased with that. No idea how I will get it again mind. :D
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Thank you, I'll certainly try this. I've also got the tree lights up now so I'm going to use them as a background too, different I know from my setting in my photo but something else to experiment with
 
rob-nikon said:
@Stardust this may be worth a read:

photographylife.com

How to Take Better Photographs Indoors

Many new photographers find that while shutter speed, aperture, and ISO make sense in theory, it is hard to know where to start in practice. Even if you understand basic camera settings, getting high quality photographs - especially indoors - is not always an easy task.
photographylife.com
Click to expand...
This is perfect thank you Rob.
I've also signed up to the competitions on here so I'm hoping I'll be able to learn as I go along.
 
Hi all, just wanted to post a follow up as was playing around with the camera settings this morning. I kept the camera on shutter priority as perture priority was still a bit slow so coming out blurry as wasn't using a tripod. The first photo is at ISO 800, the second as ISO 1600 and the final one is at ISO 3200 which I think is the best out of the three although I know you introduce noise. I then took a photo changing the focus point to the eye with the ISO at 3200. Still struggling with the sharpness of the photo especially around the eye but I'm hoping with practice this will become better (all of the attached were taken RAW but haven't been edited).IMG_5205.jpeg
IMG_5206.jpegIMG_5207.jpegIMG_5209.jpeg
Just wanted to say thank you again to you all for taking the time to give me some feedback, it's much appreciated and hopefully can see I've taken it all onboard :)
 
Third one is a good'un, noise is easily dealt with these days in the newer software.
Nice moggy too, looks very comfy.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Third one is a good'un, noise is easily dealt with these days in the newer software.
Nice moggy too, looks very comfy.
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Thank you, I think the 3rd ones my fav out of all of them, I think the throw adds to the background. And thank you, he's called Felix and certainly lives up to the name. Best thing I have for a photography model, you may be able to tell how impressed he is
 
Stardust said:
Hi all, just wanted to post a follow up as was playing around with the camera settings this morning. I kept the camera on shutter priority as perture priority was still a bit slow so coming out blurry as wasn't using a tripod. The first photo is at ISO 800, the second as ISO 1600 and the final one is at ISO 3200 which I think is the best out of the three although I know you introduce noise. I then took a photo changing the focus point to the eye with the ISO at 3200. Still struggling with the sharpness of the photo especially around the eye but I'm hoping with practice this will become better (all of the attached were taken RAW but haven't been edited).View attachment 375578
View attachment 375579View attachment 375580View attachment 375581
Just wanted to say thank you again to you all for taking the time to give me some feedback, it's much appreciated and hopefully can see I've taken it all onboard :)
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What’s the exposure settings for the third photo? I’d say its close to a correct exposure for the available light conditions.
 
rob-nikon said:
What’s the exposure settings for the third photo? I’d say its close to a correct exposure for the available light conditions.
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Thanks Rob, ISO was 3200, aperture was f5.0 and shutter speed was 1/250
 
Stardust said:
Thanks Rob, ISO was 3200, aperture was f5.0 and shutter speed was 1/250
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You probably don't need 1/250 for a picture like this.

If you want to see the effect shutter speeds have freezing movement maybe a series of shots from 1/60 (which would probably be too slow) to 1/200 or so might be worth taking and looking at. If you can use a slightly slower shutter speed like 1/160 it could mean using a lower ISO and thus reducing noise.
 
woof woof said:
You probably don't need 1/250 for a picture like this.

If you want to see the effect shutter speeds have freezing movement maybe a series of shots from 1/60 (which would probably be too slow) to 1/200 or so might be worth taking and looking at. If you can use a slightly slower shutter speed like 1/160 it could mean using a lower ISO and thus reducing noise.
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Thanks Woof Woof, I did think about reducing the speed but whenever I tried it came out slightly blurry as wasn't using a tripod. Something else for me to practice, getting good shots indoors/low light without a tripod when animals are involved
 
woof woof said:
You probably don't need 1/250 for a picture like this.

If you want to see the effect shutter speeds have freezing movement maybe a series of shots from 1/60 (which would probably be too slow) to 1/200 or so might be worth taking and looking at. If you can use a slightly slower shutter speed like 1/160 it could mean using a lower ISO and thus reducing noise.
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I agree with Alan. The cat isn't moving that much when its laying down so a slower shutter speed should be possible. How low you can go will be dependant on the focal length of the length and how well the photographer can hold a camera still. The usual rule is 1/focal length on full frame (1/crop focal length ie 200mm lens on 1.5 crop sensor = 1/300 sec). Image stabilisation (IS) can help getting sharp images at lower shutter speeds if you have that available too.

Stardust said:
Thanks Rob, ISO was 3200, aperture was f5.0 and shutter speed was 1/250
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Aperture priority is likely lowering the shutter speed to give you a correct exposure for the available light. The issue you have is to get a fast shutter speed than aperture priority is selecting you'd either need to increase the ISO or open the aperture wider. I'm guessing f5 is the widest aperture you can go on that lens so that's likely not possible with the lens you have, or increase ISO value, which as you've found out increases image noise. You may be able to lower shutter speed by one stop (to 1/125) to lower the ISO to ISO 1600 or increase the overall exposure. Another option is to add light in the form or flash or stationary light such as a continuous light, shoot on a brighter day and outside. It's a difficult juggling act when you're getting to the limitations of kit.

The sharpness looks good in the third photo. With animals and people always focus on the eye. Sharpness can sometimes be down to how you're focusing. When hand holding I like to use continuous auto focus (AI servo AF on canon) as I fine I may move/lean slightly forwards or backwards after locking the focusing hence I can move the focus plane slightly if using one shot AF. This is more an issue when the depth of field is shallow, for example when using a long focal length at a short subject distance.
 
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Stardust said:
Thanks Woof Woof, I did think about reducing the speed but whenever I tried it came out slightly blurry as wasn't using a tripod. Something else for me to practice, getting good shots indoors/low light without a tripod when animals are involved
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Are you using by the rear screen or the viewfinder?
A healthy seated person should be able to handhold a std zoom using the vf at 1/100 or lower, 1/30 with IS surely?

I’ll mind my own business if there’s a medical reason you’re not steady :)
 
Granny egg sucking lesson
Camera weight on left hand which cradles camera & lens.
Right hand is supporting nothing but holding camera from rotation whilst gently pressing shutter.
Elbows tucked into chest
Inhale, shoot, exhale.
 
Hi @Stardust!
A little late to join the discussion, your question and the thread was really useful. I'm a super beginner and had the same problem as you, I've read a LOT of theory and in every single place they picture high ISO as the devil itself so I avoided going for high values, the result was the exact same as yours, very dark pictures! The worst part is that a lot of more experienced photographers post their super sharp vibrant photos saying their settings were ISO 200, 1/1500 :oops: :$. It's nice to see I'm not alone and that you took such a great sharp picture of your cat using ISO 3200. Congrats!
 
SushiRoll said:
Hi @Stardust!
A little late to join the discussion, your question and the thread was really useful. I'm a super beginner and had the same problem as you, I've read a LOT of theory and in every single place they picture high ISO as the devil itself so I avoided going for high values, the result was the exact same as yours, very dark pictures! The worst part is that a lot of more experienced photographers post their super sharp vibrant photos saying their settings were ISO 200, 1/1500 :oops: :$. It's nice to see I'm not alone and that you took such a great sharp picture of your cat using ISO 3200. Congrats!
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Thank you Sushi, it's good to know I'm not alone too. Good luck with your photography journey, I look forward to seeing your photos and if I can help in anyway, even if it's just to see if I got the same thing, please feel free to message me :)
 
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