Crash Course photography!

NoQuarter

Hey folks,

Im a complete novice and im heading off for a bit of travelling on wednesday and just got a loan of a DSLR yesterday for the trip. Its a Nikon D60. Im hoping you folks can give me a crash course because i unfortunately dont have the time to read much about it!

Couple of questions:

How do i take photos at night without them becoming blurry?? I took a few snaps with it last night, outdoors but there was a decent bit of light. The pics with the flash on dont have a good "night time" effect but without the flash the pics are great but way too blurry!

Also I want to take pictures with a slow shutter speed to try capture waterfalls and movement etc etc but when i tried it i mostly just get a white photo! I tried turning the ISO down but it didnt help!

Help!

NothingMan

king-stew wrote: »

How do i take photos at night without them becoming blurry?? I took a few snaps with it last night, outdoors but there was a decent bit of light. The pics with the flash on dont have a good "night time" effect but without the flash the pics are great but way too blurry!

Using a wider aperture will let you use a faster shutter speed and keep more light but in general you will want a tripod for night shots. When using the flash try and stay at least 2 metres away from people and you won't get such a harsh lit up face but in general the pop up flash is harsh and not very flattering.

Also I want to take pictures with a slow shutter speed to try capture waterfalls and movement etc etc but when i tried it i mostly just get a white photo! I tried turning the ISO down but it didnt help!

Tried this myself recently and it can be difficult in bright areas. Use a low ISO like you have as well as a small aperture like f18-22 to not let as much light in as quickly. Bit of trial and error to find a decent mix for your situation.

Sure someone with more knowledge than me can give better advice.

enda1

king-stew wrote: »

Hey folks,

Im a complete novice and im heading off for a bit of travelling on wednesday and just got a loan of a DSLR yesterday for the trip. Its a Nikon D60. Im hoping you folks can give me a crash course because i unfortunately dont have the time to read much about it!

Couple of questions:

How do i take photos at night without them becoming blurry?? I took a few snaps with it last night, outdoors but there was a decent bit of light. The pics with the flash on dont have a good "night time" effect but without the flash the pics are great but way too blurry!

Also I want to take pictures with a slow shutter speed to try capture waterfalls and movement etc etc but when i tried it i mostly just get a white photo! I tried turning the ISO down but it didnt help!

Help!

Hold a pair of (non-polarising) sunglasses in front of the lens to reduce the incoming light.

nilhg

OP, if you're heading off Wednesday, I'd suggest you offer one of our regulars here a few pints/a bite to eat in return for a hour or two of face to face tuition, you'll learn more talking about stuff with camera in hand out and about than reading it on here.

the_syco

king-stew wrote: »

How do i take photos at night without them becoming blurry?? I took a few snaps with it last night, outdoors but there was a decent bit of light. The pics with the flash on dont have a good "night time" effect but without the flash the pics are great but way too blurry!

Use a tripod. At night, the click-click part is more like click..................click, as the shutter part is open longer. Because of this, if you're moving, it'll be blurred.

Basically, during the daytime, lots of light, so shutter opens, gets lots of light, shutter closes. At night, shutter open, waits, waits, gets any bit of light it can, waits, waits, and then the shutter closes.

A few months ago when I got my first DSLR, I took two night shots which were horribly out of focus, but you can see that the second shot is a relatively "bright" shot. This was late at night, and it was fairly dark. My point is, as the shutter stays open for a long period of time, it can collect lots of light. BUT, as the shutter is open, the camera must stay VERY still, so a tripod is essential. Luckily all cameras, camcorders, etc have the same connection on the bottom, so any tripod within reason should do. Just ensure that it can handle the weight of the camera, and you'll be fine.

NoQuarter

Thanks folks, would love to meet up with someone but wont have the time im afraid!

Thanks for all the advice

magicbastarder

stick the camera on full auto so and work away.

Freddie59

magicbastarder wrote: »

stick the camera on full auto so and work away.

I wouldn't advise it. They can be brutal in full auto. Some P&S produce better results.:)

magicbastarder

granted, but he doesn't seem to have time to learn how to use many other modes.

Freddie59

magicbastarder wrote: »

granted, but he doesn't seem to have time to learn how to use many other modes.

Indeed. It would be terrible for him to have high expectations though - I suppose we've all been there!!

Promac

I find you can't go drastically wrong if you leave it in P mode and then decide for yourself if you want the flash on.

NoQuarter

Yeah I dont have the time today but ill have plenty of time while travelling to get pracitce at it!

Ill read the manual but sometimes it doesnt explain how to use the camera to do whatever im looking for!

Id prefer not to use auto so maybe ill try leave it on P and get decent at that!

NoQuarter

Im just thinking, are there any handly little articles i could print and bring with me? Obviously it would have to be small enough! Or any other good resources i could look at?

Thoie

PM sent, hope it's of use.

DutchGuy

You could print off the two articles on basic photo skills here, that's how I learned the basics anyway. Enjoy!

NoQuarter

DutchGuy wrote: »

You could print off the two articles on basic photo skills here, that's how I learned the basics anyway. Enjoy!

Great site dutch guy, ive printed a few articles!

Thanks for the help fellas! So long Ireland! :cool: