I need help. Currently, I was learning how to set the shutter speed but i have no any basis as my guide line, especially for indoor low light party (condition with external flash light, low ceiling - 3m & hight ceiling - wedding hall / ball room, how to bounce the flash gun since very difficulty to get light reflection from high ceiling). What if I not using flash gun, I set it as high ISO 1200, what is my shutter speed basis guild line. I wish could get your precious consultation & advice. Thank you!
Guide Line - Shutter speed
- Thread starter Stanly0605
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So whats wrong with using your cam's metering system to have a basis to start on.. For a start none of us would know the lighting conditions of the place you are going to shoot in so there is no point in saying "shoot at 1/60th".
Though the general rule for handholding is to have your shutter at least 1/focal length, ie. if you have a 28mm lens on you wouldn't want to shoot below 1/30th of a sec. But that doesn't mean it can freeze motion if your subject moves about alot, on the other hand you can use longer shutter speeds to play around with motion blurs, read up on techniques like panning or radial zoom.
Though the general rule for handholding is to have your shutter at least 1/focal length, ie. if you have a 28mm lens on you wouldn't want to shoot below 1/30th of a sec. But that doesn't mean it can freeze motion if your subject moves about alot, on the other hand you can use longer shutter speeds to play around with motion blurs, read up on techniques like panning or radial zoom.
"if you have a 28mm lens on you wouldn't want to shoot below 1/30th of a sec", what do u mean? Could u explain? Sorry im newbies..^^
Based on FX camera if DX x 1.5 of the max focul length of your lens
Set to Shutter priority
Set Max. ISO will go to 1200 (this means it will not go beyond 1200)
Set Min. Shutter to 100
If I use 17-55mm lens I make sure my Shutter is at 100"
If I use 70-200mm lens I make sure my Shutter is at 200"
The camera will choose my Aperture.
I see the metering it shows i m under expose I put on my Speedlight. I dun bounce my Flash. I buy a 3rd party Soft Box to put on my speedlight. Just aim directly to your subject using TTL Flash Technology to be set on your SpeedLight.
I think that's the simplest way.
Set to Shutter priority
Set Max. ISO will go to 1200 (this means it will not go beyond 1200)
Set Min. Shutter to 100
If I use 17-55mm lens I make sure my Shutter is at 100"
If I use 70-200mm lens I make sure my Shutter is at 200"
The camera will choose my Aperture.
I see the metering it shows i m under expose I put on my Speedlight. I dun bounce my Flash. I buy a 3rd party Soft Box to put on my speedlight. Just aim directly to your subject using TTL Flash Technology to be set on your SpeedLight.
I think that's the simplest way.
But if i set my shutter speed as 100" and let camera choose my aperture, it will be always F2.8 cause under expose, but what if i would like to take group photo?Metering not always gives me accurate expose. please advice ...help help newbies here..=)
Get the book 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson, or Google for articles about the basics of exposure.
Seriously.
Once you understand the basic principles, it becomes much easier to work out what you need under YOUR specific shooting conditions.
Seriously.
Once you understand the basic principles, it becomes much easier to work out what you need under YOUR specific shooting conditions.
That's what practice, practice and practice are for. Nobody can help you if you do not help yourself first. Nobody here can know the ambient light level, the angle or color of the ceiling, etc.
We don't know if you are using a "plain" flash or a bounce card, etc etc etc.
Practice more. Do test shots.
You have to understand WHY do you need 1/100th shutter speed instead of just picking a random number to start with.. This just means there isn't enough light to allow 1/100th at your current ISO, the aperture is fully open and you can't expect it to magically let in more light..
Btw, 100" means 100 seconds.. whereas 100 on the display means 1/100th..
Tq for your advice..=) i always do test shoot but i dont know is it up to standard or it is over or under expose, so sometimes Im very confusing. Sorry for asking such 'sux' question. Im learning also..
Erm, TS. I have the same situation as u a while ago. And i learn something here, which i didnt know all along. The meter u see in ur VF is for ur camera system. And it only meter the ambient lighting and not the flash output lighting, which means to say ur camera metering system should be quite accurate. And ur flashgun has its own metering system. So set it to TTL and the flash will do a proper metering, if u are using bounce, do increase the flash EV by a stop. Hope i did get my basic right, and to the pro out there do correct me if i am wrong in anyway.
Hope it helps. Noob here too.
I would like to share my opinion here, when i shoot a indoor group photo (4-5 person), i would let my flash gun bounce up to ceiling (3-4m) with flash out put EV-1.7 and TTL mode, shutter speed as 1/60th, aperture F/4 and focal length 22mm, light condition like M-hotel buffet. Normaly the metering will shown under expose 2 bars. Could any Pro gives some comments on above setting? I really newbies and noob but in learning stage.Thank you =)
You try already at advanced level with flash where several factors come together: ambient light and flash light. Maybe you should start in simple daylight.
Go out in daylight, shoot and watch what the camera is doing. Learn from there how to achieve a proper exposure under different conditions. Learn about metering and the different modes. Once you are more familiar you can start with flash. But do read up how the camera meters with flash systems. Canon and Nikon have distinctive differences - you might want to tell us which system you are using and search the respective subforums for existing flash-related questions.
Go out in daylight, shoot and watch what the camera is doing. Learn from there how to achieve a proper exposure under different conditions. Learn about metering and the different modes. Once you are more familiar you can start with flash. But do read up how the camera meters with flash systems. Canon and Nikon have distinctive differences - you might want to tell us which system you are using and search the respective subforums for existing flash-related questions.
Hmm I think you need to play around with your ur Metering to understand how your camera works. You might want to start to try spot metering. Say when in doors , you meter on the skin of your object , and adjust the aperture and shutter speed untill the meter shows the correct balance . Subsequently , you must then decide whether this speed works for you and how that exposure will affect the other areas around the object , and do +/- adjustment .
Normally , your meter should works if the bulk of your subjects are middle toned. Like what Rashae said , practicing more is the only way .
Normally , your meter should works if the bulk of your subjects are middle toned. Like what Rashae said , practicing more is the only way .
Welcome to CS 
Pls go read up at least the basics of flash photography. And also the manual of your camera. Shoot some test shots & experiment with difference settings & do some adjustments. If not, switch to auto & shoot & from there you'll have a rough idea what shutter speed & aperture your camera is using when shooting with flash on auto. Every scenario is different, so you have to practice, practice, practice
Pls go read up at least the basics of flash photography. And also the manual of your camera. Shoot some test shots & experiment with difference settings & do some adjustments. If not, switch to auto & shoot & from there you'll have a rough idea what shutter speed & aperture your camera is using when shooting with flash on auto. Every scenario is different, so you have to practice, practice, practice tq for your fully support & advice..just one more question here, if I'm using flash gun then the ISO setting and shutter speed will affect the ambient light only, would not be affect my object that I focus, am I right? Body metering & Flash gun metering are work separately.
You mean metering of background / entire scene vs. flash metering? Please use the correct terms. Metering is always done with the sensors in the camera body. Flash metering is done with the pre-flash (Canon ETTL) or directly during exposure (Canon TTL, the older system). If you increase ISO then the resulting flash, required to exposure your foreground object, needs to be changed as well since the sensor is more sensitive to all incoming light. Try with manual flash settings. ETTL flash metering will adjust the flash output.
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Your metering mode matters as well.. try spot, center & matrix metering..
u will be surprised the difference it make
u will be surprised the difference it make
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