Settings-Where to start?

AndyWest

AndyWest

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Scenario: I have found something interesting to photograph but i have no idea where to start with the settings, i.e what exposure/aperture/shutter speed/ISO.

I end up just putting the setting on my Canon 40d to Av mode and trying out a few shots but 99% come out rubbish. I have no idea about exposure and reading about it just confuses me so i get nowhere.

Where do you start and what would be a good place for me to start? I have a few books but although i understand the basics the rest is foreign to me. any good websites for complete thickies?:D
 
I can only speak for myself, but I look at various factors:

Shutter speed - Is the object moving or still. Am I handholding or using a tripod

Aperture - How much depth of field do I need, How close am I to the subject

I then use the meter to work out the best combination of the two, upping the ISO where necessary.

That's probably a really simplistic view and I don't know if it'll be any help to you.
 
Understanding exposure book recommended

If its stationary - Av mode using f stop to achieve depth of field you want. You control ISO unless set to auto. Keep eye on shutter speed it wants to use and use 1/focal lengthx1.6 rule unless you are using tripod or have image stabilised lenses

If its moving - Tv mode. Camera sets aperture and you set ISO unless auto mode. Fast shutter speed to freeze movement, Slow shutter speed for creative blur. Beware camera shake. Keep eye on f stop you may want to use and raise / lower ISO to compensate
 
I personally think that if you are at the novice level and struggling to understand exposure (and I agree you should get the book Understanding |Exposure by Bryan Peterson) then leave the ISO out of it for a while.

Work out the bearings that aperture and shutterspeed have on each other and what different apertures do to the depth of field.

Add the ISO in after you have got the hang of that.
 
3rd vote for you to get the book here:)
 
Are we mainly talking about the relationship between the shutter speed and the aperture or is there more to it than that (leaving the ISO out for a moment)? It's all this 18% grey, spot metering and all that kid of thing that i am having the most trouble understanding.

The magazines say that the ISO and everything apart from shutter speed and aperture should be ok on 'normal' setting or 'auto 99% of the time.
 
There's the technical decision for the correct exposure which has lots of right answers so 1/125s @ f/4 is the same as 1/60s @ f/5.6, etc. The flip side is the creative choice about which of those answers will best suit the shot.

You can approach this from either side. It might be that you want plenth of depth of field so you need a small aperture or a fast shutter to stop a moving subject. So for a given subject there are always lots of correct exposures but creatively you choose which one will work best.

ISO adds another variable to the equation so

1/125s, ISO 100 @ f/4
1/250s, ISO 200 @ f/4
1/60s, ISO 100 @ f/5.6
1/500s, ISO1600 @ f/8

all give the same exposure but you've traded one value for another in each case.

To start with concentrate on getting the technical answer right then you can learn the effect that shifting shutter or aperture will have on the shot which will allow you explore the creative side more freely.
 
I once described the perfect exposure as being like balancing a triangle on a pin

Shutter Speed is one corner, aperture is another, and ISO is the third. There will always be a point which it balances on a pin - this is the correct exposure.
 
I tried this out the other day and learned alot from it. Set the camera to AV mode and at ISO 100, take a shot with the min F number, then increase the F number and take another shot, do this again and again untill you reach the max F number. Whilst doing this take a note of the shutter speed whilst taking each shot.

Now change the ISO to 200 and do the exercise again.
Do it again at ISO 400.

After I did all this I also tried different metering modes.

Obviously whilst doing all this use the same subject as a focus point.

Now look through all the pics and the settings you took them at, this will help explain what the different settings have made to the picture.

I have even taken this a step further now by playing around with exposure etc and making a note of the settings whilst taking the pics. I find this is helping me understand the different settings.

Just a idea for you :)
 
sturs, that sounds like a plan! Thanks for all the replies. I think i'm trying to run before i can walk so lets get walking!!:lol:

Thanks very much y'all
 
sturs said:
Now look through all the pics and the settings you took them at, this will help explain what the different settings have made to the picture.
Click to expand...

I agree with sturs :clap: great way of seeing how camera settings affect your photograph.

Some software (eg; Lightroom) will show you the exif data (camera settings) that were used when you took the shot.
This saves making notes on paper.

Good luck and enjoy the leaning process as I am. ;)
 
Byrhtnoth said:
I agree with sturs :clap: great way of seeing how camera settings affect your photograph.

Some software (eg; Lightroom) will show you the exif data (camera settings) that were used when you took the shot.
This saves making notes on paper.

Good luck and enjoy the leaning process as I am. ;)
Click to expand...
My Canon DPP software gives all the info as i found out today!

Roll on some warmer weather!!! :D
 
AndyWest said:
My Canon DPP software gives all the info as i found out today!

Roll on some warmer weather!!! :D
Click to expand...

Yes it does mate, but what you want to do is to write them all down and then just slideshow the pics and write comments next to them. This way you are not trying to look at the data and can concentrate more on the pic itself i.e. scrolling backward/forward between the pics and see the difference.

This is what I find works best for me :)
 
I read loads when i got mine, confused the hell out of me! 4 months later i went on an days introduction to your DSLR course, i left with a pounding headache ....but tried putting it into practise over the next few months, forcing myself to use manual. Shots were slow to set up and pretty bad but it soon clicked.

Keep at it, it will soon start to make sense, one bit at a time...
 
Gary120190 said:
What is it you want to shoot? :)
Click to expand...

I think generally I'm looking forward to Urban, interesting buildings, street scenes and interesting people going about there business. Also when i'm at home I want to do Close up/Macro as i'm building a desktop studio.

I have looked at loads of images on this site and they are from all genres which has been fantastic but I now think I know what I want to photograph.
 
as a noobie experimenting (when i get the chance), starting with shutter speed and aperature setting first

as i don't get the chance to play much with pictures, combining these two in manual will be awhile yet
 
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