|
Special Message:
Everything comes in cycles: with every downturn; there'll be an upturn.
Get these
as cards
Get these as prints for
your walls
| |
|
How to take photos: About
Photo Statistics |
| |
Also see
'How to use your SLR' articles.
Bookmark this page with
 del.icio.us
(more below). Also, go to
our forums to discuss and
ask questions. |
Basic gear you need:
 | Nothing but some time to
think about it |
|
The
Aim:
| To give you an idea of
some of my thinking when I photograph things in particular situations. |
|
|
What it's about If
you're new to photography then this should help you a bit. My aim is to give
you an idea of the camera settings I've used in particular situations. There
aren't hard and fast rules, but trial and error will get you through, and in
time, you'll get to know your camera better and feel more confident.
| The
statistics To
get the raw data, I've used Wega2, as it has an interesting extra: "ExposurePlot
Graphics". This feature gives a statistical view of what you do. In a
comparison with other photographers, you should get fairly similar
results if you shoot the same subjects together. However, expect
differences when you photograph different subjects and have different
styles of photography. |
Click on this picture to
view
In time, more of these
charts will be added to these 'How to take photos' pages. |
How:
| Focal Length: This
will vary depending on your subject and the look you're trying to create. |
| ISO: Best to use
iso100 to have as little
noise as possible, but with a zoom lens (like in the
Sumo examples), you'll need a faster shutter speed, and slightly
higher ISO will help. |
| Aperture: Also see
the Aperture article in the
"How to use your SLR" section. |
| Shutter speed: Also
see the Shutter Speed article in How to use your SLR. Basically, for
handheld with a lens less than 100mm, a speed of 1/100 is minimum (I
prefer 1/125), more than a 100mm lens, then you'll need to increase your
speed to avoid blur. |
| Other things: Use
your Tripod as much as possible with a zoom, or compensate with higher
shutter speeds, but you'll have a higher ISO, which results in more
'noise'; so |
| White Balance: This
isn't shown in the graphs, but be sure your
white balance is set
appropriately. |
| Lenses: I prefer to
use a variety of lenses: Konica-Minolta 18-70mm, 75-300mm, 100mm f2.8
Macro and others. These statistics don't show which lenses were used, but
what lengths were used. |
| Advice: It's best
to experiment. To that end, I've taken many shots of the same subject, but
with variations, and from this experience I've got to know what settings,
what lenses, and such works best in what situations. So far, I've taken
hundreds of photos of Kinkaku-ji (below), as a way of eventually getting a
photo that's beyond excellent. |
| So, if you have
photographed similar subjects in similar light conditions to me, you can
compare your statistics to mine, and picture quality to mine, just for
your own interest sake. |
|
|
Examples: Click on these to view them
at a larger size
 |
< F13,
1/20, iso100; 18-70mm lens at 35mm, with Cokin P160 linear polariser and
Cokin P152 ND, tripod, and remote shutter release. It was a brilliant
sunny morning here at Kinkaku-ji temple (Golden Pavilion, with real gold
leaf external walls). |
 |
< F14,
11sec, iso100; 75-300mm lens at 140mm. Not cleaned up, but notice the
smoke |
|
| |
We proudly support:
|
