Experts, I require your assistance...

Rayne

Queue Newbie

Hi Ladies and Gents

I require your helps! I'm going to Twycross Zoo at the week, weather pending.

I have a Sony Alpha 230, its my first DSLR, only ever used a P&S before.
I want to get some good shots of the animals but so far whilst practising with the camera, I can't get a good shot, its either too bright or lighting is way off. I bought 'Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson' and it arrived today, so I'm gonna crash course that tonight and the next few days.

BUT, my question is, have you guys any tips? I don't want to use 'Auto' all the time.

Can someone explain 'White Balance'
When there are clouds in the sky, there is a -2 -1 0 +1 +2 option, how do you know when to use this? Same with Shadows.

I know I should be referring to the camera manual, but I don't find useful in explaining the functions.

I'm a newbie, and would really like to get on the Photography band wagon, god knows I spy enough from afar!
Ye take some fantastic photos! I'm jealous and want to be just as good.
So any help at all will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers folks

Prenderb

Can someone explain 'White Balance'

White balance adjusts the overall colour in the shot according to the type of light - natural, fluorescent (indoor), tungsten etc - so that if you're shooting indoor for example, you can get a more natural shot using settings honed for the "colour" of indoor light. I'd leave that on automatic for a while.

When there are clouds in the sky, there is a -2 -1 0 +1 +2 option, how do you know when to use this? Same with Shadows.

These are exposure compensation controls, used when you want to "compensate" for difficult exposure conditions. Again, I'd not worry too much about these for a little bit as a beginner.

What I would suggest is that you take it off fully automatic, and play around with it on shutter- and aperture- priority. Shutter priority allows you to set the shutter speed and the camera will decide on what aperture will expose the frame properly, whereas aperture is the other way round.

Controlling shutter speed allows you to control the "blur" of any movement in the frame, as well as if you've got a wobbly hand. For sports or moving vehicles, use a fast shutter speed. For landscape use a slower one. Tripod iss usually advised when you use a shutter speed less than 1/focal length, so that's 1/100 if you've a 100mm lens, or 1/300 if you've a 300mm lens - you'll get the rule I hope!

Aperture controls depth of field. The smaller the f number, the narrower the depth of field - which is the zone of the shot that's in focus. That allows you to get for example, an animal in sharp focus with a background slightly blurry.

I think playing with those 2 controls first, will help you get a better understanding of the camera and how it works for a start. For your zoo trip, make sure you have lots of memory!

CabanSail

While you are getting to grips with the camera there is nothing wrong with using Auto. It will work well with standard conditions. Get the feel for the camera & then when you understand more about exposure you can start to control it with different modes.

White Balance is all to do with colour temperature. The human eye is very good at adjusting so that things which we expect to be white will be white. Cameras see the light as it really is. Ironically the hotter Temperature Light is referred to as looking Cool & the lower Temperatures as Warm. Your Camera will have Auto Colour Temp which will get it right most of the time.

The one bit of advice is to start shooting RAW from the start. You can ussually choose RAW + Jpeg too, but if you get a great shot that in the future you want to do more with you will curse that you threw a heap of data away.

121FOTO

Let's not forget the way you meter which sometime is more important then the rest. You might notice that in a situation where, in your viewfinder, you have more then 50% sky, the subjects in the foreground will appear dark. This is because the camera is trying, since this is what its been thought to do, to bring down the exposure values in order to bring that big bright area (the sky) to a decent luminosity level. I think that before grasping the Auto modes you should learn why "things" happen the way they happen and how to control them. This is why you should shot in Manual for the first weeks ( it took years in my case ) and then move to Auto modes.
So regarding metering, if your background is very bright, switch to spot meter and meter the subject.
I dont know what lens are you using but if you have an IS or VR lens and you plan on putting the camera on a tripod, just switch that VR/IS mode off. The lens will try to compensate for a movement that does not happen thus introducing blur in your shot.
Use the lens hood. It is amazing how many people shoot with the hood off. The hood will avoid the lens flare and protect the front element from any potential impact.
White balance. I would recommend a WhiBal. Cheap, durable and very effective. You will be surprised to see how wrong the camera can be when using Auto WB. I shoot with a D3 and a D700 and every time I use the WhiBal I see that that camera did not nail it. For those shooting Canon relax, I tried with Canon also..WB is never accurate.
I don't know if you familiar with Raw but since you a beginner try and stick with Jpeg for a while. Raw files tend to be very yucky until you process them. That doesnt mean that I do not advocate for Raw. I shoot only raw.
Anyway..good luck and remember. Try not to climb over the fence. You might fall in the tigers cage, get eaten and the animal might get sick

Good luck and happy shooting.

Sleepy

Start with Aperture Priority. It's definitely the easiest of the modes to use to give yourself creative control of what you're shooting quickly.

Rayne

Thanks everyone

Just a few questions

121FOTO wrote: »

I don't know if you familiar with Raw but since you a beginner try and stick with Jpeg for a while. Raw files tend to be very yucky until you process them. That doesnt mean that I do not advocate for Raw. I shoot only raw.

CabanSail wrote: »

The one bit of advice is to start shooting RAW from the start. You can ussually choose RAW + Jpeg too, but if you get a great shot that in the future you want to do more with you will curse that you threw a heap of data away.

What is the different between RAW and Jpeg. I have it set ro both at the moment. I noticed that I can't view RAW when I upload photos to my laptop. Thats why I use Jpeg too.

Sleepy wrote: »

Start with Aperture Priority. It's definitely the easiest of the modes to use to give yourself creative control of what you're shooting quickly.

Prenderb wrote: »

What I would suggest is that you take it off fully automatic, and play around with it on shutter- and aperture- priority. Shutter priority allows you to set the shutter speed and the camera will decide on what aperture will expose the frame properly, whereas aperture is the other way round.

Controlling shutter speed allows you to control the "blur" of any movement in the frame, as well as if you've got a wobbly hand. For sports or moving vehicles, use a fast shutter speed. For landscape use a slower one. Tripod iss usually advised when you use a shutter speed less than 1/focal length, so that's 1/100 if you've a 100mm lens, or 1/300 if you've a 300mm lens - you'll get the rule I hope!

Aperture controls depth of field. The smaller the f number, the narrower the depth of field - which is the zone of the shot that's in focus. That allows you to get for example, an animal in sharp focus with a background slightly blurry.

I've messed around with shutter speed and aperture before (I think it was them) I noticed that the picture looks 'ok' in the small camera screen, but on the big screen, the sky is either too white, or too dark. I can never get it right, I know its practice, but I wonder am I going wrong elsewhere. I think I still don't understand them.
I'm using the kit lense at moment 18-55 mm - Don't see the need in upgrading until I get to know the camera.

Thanks so much with the advice, I appreciate it. Forgive my slowness, I just find it so complicated that I need it completely dumbed down!

121FOTO

.....

Rayne wrote: »

What is the different between RAW and Jpeg. I have it set ro both at the moment. I noticed that I can't view RAW when I upload photos to my laptop. Thats why I use Jpeg too.

The Raw file is the unprocessed information as captured by the sensor. The main difference is the amount of information captured by each format. RAW will have a min 12bit while Jpeg will have only 8bit thus better quality for the Raw format.
The Jpeg on the other hand is created by the "little computer" built in each camera by throwing away color that, camera thinks, might not be needed. The RAW on the other hand would contain the information as captured by the sensor. My question is, why let the camera decide what is good and what is not?
The Raw format has its downsize. It can be viewed only with Raw converters. When compared with a Jpeg straight from the camera, the Raw file will look flat and most of the time will lack sharpness. The Raw file is big and will require bigger memory cards. Raw files are not suitable for high-speed shooting unless you use an high-end camera model, end even then you will fell a small reduction in the frames/sec ratio.
The advantage of the Raw formats is that all the post-processing done on a Raw format is non-destructive. It works on a wider range of colors ( min 12bit for Raw vs 8bit for Jpeg).
If you have big memory cards then use Raw. if you feel that the memory cards fill to fast then use Jpeg.

I've messed around with shutter speed and aperture before (I think it was them) I noticed that the picture looks 'ok' in the small camera screen, but on the big screen, the sky is either too white, or too dark. I can never get it right, I know its practice, but I wonder am I going wrong elsewhere. I think I still don't understand them.
This is because of the way you meter. Cameras are dumb and they need you the photographer to tell them what to do. Show the camera white snow and the camera will try to convert it to gray, show it some black area and the camera will try to convert it to gray. This is what the camera was thought to do. Meter for Gray18. This is why I always say. Shoot Manual. This is the best way to learn how your camera works and thinks. Do not forget. The most important part of the camera is 4-5 inches behind the lens...aka the photographer. You tell the camera what to do. Another thing to keep in mind is that the human eye has a way wider dynamic range then the most expensive camera out there. So when you have someone sitting against a very bright surface (IE sky) you will have to decide what you want to emphasize in the shot. The person (thus overexposing (+EV) and making the sky even brighter or the sky ( under-expose -EV) and bring more details into the sky but have the person just as a silhouette? See? Manual, manual ..manual . After you learn why the camera makes the damn sky so bright and the dude so dark..then you can move to the Auto modes.
You are not doing anything wrong. it is called learning process and a good part of this is made of bad shots. Dont give up.
I'm using the kit lense at moment 18-55 mm - Don't see the need in upgrading until I get to know the camera.
Good idea. Keep shooting and always check the exif. The exif will tell you what went wrong. Blur in the image? Look at the shutter speed. Shallow depth of field..keep an eye on your f/stop. ugly faces...no camera can help there

Thanks so much with the advice, I appreciate it. Forgive my slowness, I just find it so complicated that I need it completely dumbed down!
Don't apologise. Nobody was born a photographer. Ok...maybe Ansel Adams was...but you get my idea.

CabanSail

Rayne wrote: »

What is the different between RAW and Jpeg. I have it set ro both at the moment. I noticed that I can't view RAW when I upload photos to my laptop. Thats why I use Jpeg too.

RAW is the data which is produced from the Sensor. This is then recorded to memory. This data is used to produce a jpeg image. The data not used in the jpeg is lost if you do not keep the RAW file. The extra data will contain extra information, for example the sky which you say is blown (too bright) could probably be brought back from data in the RAW file.

You can shoot RAW + Jpeg for now. There should be software with your camera which will allow you to view RAW files.

uprising

Rayne wrote: »

Thanks everyone

Just a few questions

What is the different between RAW and Jpeg. I have it set ro both at the moment. I noticed that I can't view RAW when I upload photos to my laptop. Thats why I use Jpeg too.
Jpeg is a camera processed photo, set the way the camera thinks it should be processed and is very accurate most the time.
RAW is raw, you process it Adobe photoshop or similar software normally packed with the camera. It gives much more control over how the photo will look when finished and you should play with it, jpeg have much less control over final fine tuning of the image.
Install a RAW processing software and use it, play with the RAW files you already have and see what you can come up with, but dont save and overwrite the original TIFF/RAW file.


I've messed around with shutter speed and aperture before (I think it was them) I noticed that the picture looks 'ok' in the small camera screen, but on the big screen, the sky is either too white, or too dark. I can never get it right, I know its practice, but I wonder am I going wrong elsewhere. I think I still don't understand them.
I'm using the kit lense at moment 18-55 mm - Don't see the need in upgrading until I get to know the camera.
When you take a photo it is set to recieve one amount of light, that is the exposure, the brighter something is the faster the shutter must open and close or the higher the f number/smaller aperture must be to allow the one amount of light to reach the sensor, if something in the scene is brighter or darker than the setting it will show, how the camera works this out is with the built in light meter which has metering modes, different modes will produce different readings.
By shooting RAW and maybe bracketing your shots you can get it as you want or close. Bracketing is exposing at the recommended setting then 1 above and 1 below, google it for a better explanation.
But definately learn to process raw, its quite easy actually it will begin as a very similar image to the jpeg, but when you play with the settings you'll realise how much you can adjust an image.
You could get 1000 different finished photo's from the same RAW image.

Thanks so much with the advice, I appreciate it. Forgive my slowness, I just find it so complicated that I need it completely dumbed down!

So experiment with your raw files and use trial and error, you should have a cd or can download a program from sony.

kumate_champ07

the only problem with auto is it will prob have a limited iso range available, which means you may get blurred shoots in some situations from slow shutter speeds when you needed a faster shutter speed

Ghost Train

RAW is more useful if you want to adjust your photos on the PC afterwards, but it takes up more space on the memory card and only works with certain programs

There are basically 3 things which determine how your photo is captured
aperture, shutter speed and iso (sensitivity to light/How noisy photo looks)

Basically if the picture you take looks too bright... you can use a faster shutter speed or you can use a smaller aperture (higher f number) or a lower iso

explanation here
http://digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography

In full auto mode camera adjusts shutter and aperture to get right exposure, you can tell the camera you want it a bit brighter or darker using exposure compensation +/- and take the photo again

In Aperture priority, you select aperture, camera adjusts shutter to get right exposure, you can tell the camera you want it a bit brighter or darker using exposure compensation. If its way to dark, aperture is too small and needs to be wider

In Shutter priority, you select shutter speed, camera adjusts aperture to get right exposure, you can tell the camera you want it a bit brighter or darker using exposure compensation. If its way too dark, shutter speed too fast and you need to lower it

In Manual you select your own settings

If colours of photo look wrong then you select a different white balance and try again

Freddie59

Rayne wrote: »

I bought 'Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson' and it arrived today, so I'm gonna crash course that tonight and the next few days.

I was in the same boat as you 18 months ago. Canon Eos 450D, shooting in auto (coming from a Fuji s5000 Bridge Camera).

Absoloutely atrocious results. You'll never look back (or shoot in auto again) after reading that book. I can't remember the page number, but once you read the little section about using M you'll be away. Stick with it!:)

Rayne

Thanks so much folks! This really is so helpful! I'm gonna take a few shots today if I can, apply what I've learnt so far.
I'll probably back later or during the weekend with more questions, I hope you'll all be around !

Any more suggestions or tips, you can keep them coming.
I really appreciate it!

Freddie59 wrote: »

I was in the same boat as you 18 months ago. Canon Eos 450D, shooting in auto (coming from a Fuji s5000 Bridge Camera).

Absoloutely atrocious results. You'll never look back (or shoot in auto again) after reading that book. I can't remember the page number, but once you read the little section about using M you'll be away. Stick with it!:)

Thanks Freddie! Glad to get some feedback!

kmick

Id start with taking a shot at F8 (Q.How do you take a good photo. A.F8 and be there.) take the same shot moving down through the stops to the lowest F stop your lens can handle to experiment with depth of field and bokeh.

I would also try and learn something about composition. Zoo animals are good for this as you can get close to them. For example using a zoom lens on on a animal to get animal in surrounds, full animal, half animal, animal head right down to eyes if you can get it.

Take lots and lots and lots of shots. Digital allows this. If I want a good shot of something I will take it 10 times. Then I have a much better chance of getting the shot.

Experiment with movement. This means you need a fast shutter speed.

Good days work right there.