Questions

[hoho85]

hi, i went to try out the new camera with kit lens, and ended with a few questions with some photos which i saw after i went home, which look real bad.. I was using aperture priority.

How do i make the kite less dark as i shoot it against the sky?

I tried zooming and focusing on him at f5.6, but somehow there depth of field is quite deep which was not what i wanted. What changes should i make in order to achieve that.

I wish that the background can be darker so the flower can stand out better... What ways do u suggest or other lens to do it? Can make it with partial metering?

And sometimes the foreground is dark when the backlight is bright.. is nice to have silhouette, but how to overcome this by making the foreground brighter, but not overexposing the sky?

Please advise me

 

[Rashkae]

hi, i went to try out the new camera with kit lens, and ended with a few questions with some photos which i saw after i went home, which look real bad.. I was using aperture priority.

How do i make the kite less dark as i shoot it against the sky?

I tried zooming and focusing on him at f5.6, but somehow there depth of field is quite deep which was not what i wanted. What changes should i make in order to achieve that. Is it to shorten the shutter speed?

I wish that the background can be darker or blurrer so the flower can stand out better... What ways do u suggest or other lens to do it? Can make it with partial metering?

And sometimes the foreground is dark when the backlight is bright.. is nice to have silhouette, but how to overcome this by making the foreground brighter, but not overexposing the sky?

Please advise me

All your basics are wrong. I suggest reading the newbie's stickies or get a basic book on exposure. Read the newbies guides!!!

As for your questions:

1. Use spot metering or increase your exposure compensation.
2. Shutter speed does not affect DOF. Aperture does. Please read your manual and the newbies guides to photography. Google for "what is shutter speed"
3. Metering does not affect DOF. Aperture does. Please read your manual and the newbies guides to photography. Google for "what is metering"
4. Exposure bracketing and blending, also called HDR.

 

[hoho85]

hi thanks for replying.
I know that aperture affects DOF. Sorry i think i phrased it wrongly.
I was just wondering if shortening the shutter speed helps, given the big aperture being set.
And for the metering, i was asking, if it can make the flower more exposed over the background
I think i better rephrase it***

 

[Dream Merchant]

The only way to make something in the foreground brighter than the background is to change the light values. That is, you have to find some way to DARKEN the BG, or BRIGHTEN the flower.

As for all the other questions, would you prefer an instant answer, and possible not really know how to handle another difficult exposure situation, or would you prefer to do some hard work now, and learn the basics that will help see you through more difficult situations?

 

[Rashkae]

And for the metering, i was asking, if it can make the flower more exposed over the background

Ah, ok. You might want to consider a diffused / low power flash or some post-processing.

 

[hoho85]

The only way to make something in the foreground brighter than the background is to change the light values. That is, you have to find some way to DARKEN the BG, or BRIGHTEN the flower.

As for all the other questions, would you prefer an instant answer, and possible not really know how to handle another difficult exposure situation, or would you prefer to do some hard work now, and learn the basics that will help see you through more difficult situations?

my answer to ur question is... Both! :bsmilie: i am reading an ebook now..:sweat:

 

[Dream Merchant]

my answer to ur question is... Both! :bsmilie: i am reading an ebook now..:sweat:

The problem with photography is simply this: it's a TECHNICAL discipline. Some would say 'include physics and chemistry as well'.

And those are real bummer toughies to get a grip on.

Automation only takes you so far, as you are discovering, but once you grasp the basic principles, understanding and overcoming technical limitations comes more easily.

Try looking for the book on Exposure by Bryan Peterson, and just about any book on the basics of photography. These two alone would help form the foundation you need, if you're interested.

Or simply Google 'The basics of exposure'.

All the best in your adventures in photography!

p.s. Just in case you face difficulties, which you will, know that sometimes even old birds have to revisit the books. One very experienced surgeon I know was never afraid to tell a client that he did not know, but knew how to find out, and take a book out right in front of a client. To me, that wasn't a sign of weakness, but strength.

 

[hoho85]

ya..thanks for recommendations!

its going to be hard work getting the basics, and even harder work getting experience out there shooting.

 

[Burnings]

I tried zooming and focusing on him at f5.6, but somehow there depth of field is quite deep which was not what i wanted. What changes should i make in order to achieve that.

Try moving closer to the subject and you should get a more blurry background.

Spot metering is something you should experiment with regarding lighting.

eg You are shooting a close up shot of a house with an open door with evaluative metering and you will find that inside the door is very dark

Switch to spot metering at take the reading from inside the door and shoot again, you find that it brightens up inside the door and you can see some details there.

I am also very new to photography so my explanation might not be very clear but hope you get the point. Pick up some good read and you should understand better about getting good pictures.

 

[ianhyk]

either that, or use a longer focal length to get shallower dof, such as 200mm. confirm got bokeh one, even at f5.6 for your kinda shot.

 

[hoho85]

i am using 1000d .. no spot metering thts why i ask abt partial metering..

i wanted to go nearer to thesubject but abit shy and scared the boy throw sand at me. ha

 

[omahunk]

Welcome to CS

use spot metering will help.

 

[IsenGrim]

welcome to the world of technicalities. im trying to distant myself away from that though haha as once advised by my teacher.

but back to technicals here, all the pictures seems 1 or 1/2stop underexposed. but its preference though. i've recently taken a liking to bright and cheery pictures. you might wanna dial up 1ev (in anyway, eg +EV, up ss or up iso etc etc etc) when you have white stuff like the clouds, white sand, bright plant background or a white shirt. use your HISTOGram as a guage. light pictures should have the peak around the 3/4 from left mark. dark pictures should have peak around 1/4 from left mark etc.

for those plant pictures you see black bg bright plants, the situation have been set up deliberately. eg use a black cloth, choose a bg that is shaded, or use a high powered flash.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

I wish that the background can be darker so the flower can stand out better... What ways do u suggest or other lens to do it? Can make it with partial metering?

Please advise me

Apart from being a technical discipline, photography is also about patience... waiting for the right moment when the light is just right.
Perhaps the sun shines more brightly on that particular plant at a certain time of the day, so the relative brightness is increased.
Otherwise to artificially replicate that situation, you're gonna have to use a lot of external light (perhaps a few strobes, etc)

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Welcome to CS

use spot metering will help.

for all 4 photos? I beg to differ.
I don't see how spot metering can reduce the depth of field in photo number 2.
It would be pretty hard to nail the exact spot where the kite is, whilst it is moving around the frame.
Picture 3 is quite evenly lit, so spot metering won't be of any help in this case.
Picture 4 requires a large dynamic range. If spot metering is taken off the foreground trees, the sky will be blown.

so in conclusion, spot metering has provides minimal benefit to this series of photos.

 

[torak]

picture 1 use spot metering. U might overexpose the sky, but its not neccessary a bad thing. Or use HDR. Some cameras (Sony Alpha A500/550) has auto HDR which will solve such situations

Pic 2 Im sure u know the answer already.

Pic 3 I will suggest flash or Auto HDR

pic 4 Auto HDR

 

[torak]

for all 4 photos? I beg to differ.
I don't see how spot metering can reduce the depth of field in photo number 2.
It would be pretty hard to nail the exact spot where the kite is, whilst it is moving around the frame.
Picture 3 is quite evenly lit, so spot metering won't be of any help in this case.
Picture 4 requires a large dynamic range. If spot metering is taken off the foreground trees, the sky will be blown.

so in conclusion, spot metering has provides minimal benefit to this series of photos.

actually when a kite is stable in the air, they wont move much. so spot metering will be sufficient. Of cause spot metering with AHDR is best for this situation.
Partial metering wont work, as the kite is too small to fill the frame.


I think most of the problems less the DOF one, can be solved with auto HDR.