Basic settings recording

[Lesco]

I have been out and about with my new DSLR and have fired off around 200 - 300 photos, a day at the Cotswold wildlife park, and a few hours around the Fossway near Barbary Castle close to where I live.

Some of the photos I have taken look stunning to me (although to you trained eyes they are proberely pretty ordinary) but I dont know how I got them so good, as in I was trying different settings and getting used to the camera.

How do you record what settings you have used for a perticulary good photo?

I have been messing with the P, A, S, and M modes (as oppossed to the idiot proof little picture symbols further around the dial), I think I understand the basics of them, P = program auto exposure, but then it starts on about f/stops and shutter speeds, then woooosh its gone over my head and Ive lost the plot.

Are the P, A, S, and M dials the same for every camera on the market and once they are mastered can you use that knowlage regardless of what camera you use? so say I came into a shed load of money and wanted to upgrade to a D3X or D3S would I find those buttons on one of these cameras?

Im finding all this very frustrating and confusing at this moment in time, so say Im out walking and I see a car I like, how on earth do you work out what to set the camera to?, or you see a loverly landscape? or you want to photograph a family member?, I cant work out how to start to learn all this Im all over the place with it, when do I use the P, A, S and M modes?? Im not even going to ask about ISOs at this stage as my head will explode :bonk:

Thanks in advance for any help and advice

 

[Harvey_nikon]

Every photo taken is encoded with EXIF information. This basically attaches the camera settings to the photo.

Some software can read this and show you.

As you have a nikon you should have a copy of VIEWNX that came with the camera. On the left hand side there should be a option called CAMERA SETTINGS.

Click the + icon next to it and then select a photo. It should now show most of the settings on the camera when you took the photo

 

[Lesco]

Thanks Harvey I certainly will try this sir, well this is a start to the learning curve

 

[Yardbent]

Im finding all this very frustrating and confusing at this moment in time, so say Im out walking and I see a car I like, how on earth do you work out what to set the camera to?, or you see a loverly landscape? or you want to photograph a family member?, I cant work out how to start to learn all this Im all over the place with it, when do I use the P, A, S and M modes?? Im not even going to ask about ISOs at this stage as my head will explode :bonk:

i feel you are trying to do too much too soon

1...buy the David Busch D3000 book from Amazon

2..choose a static topic - say statues in the park

3...buy a notepad - record what you do

4 ...take a series of shots at different apertures and see how the DOF and shutter speed changes

5....and at different angles to see how the light / shadows work

6....you'll soon learn..............

 

[Janice]

And buy Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

 

[Deleted member 29733]

100% agree with Janice and John....sounds like the old school reading books 'Janet & John'

'Janice & John Go Toggin'

 

[TCR4x4]

And buy Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

+1000 This book really helped me when I first started. He explains the way everythings works together in a really simple to understand way. I read it and actually went "ahhhhh, thats how it works"

 

[Suvv]

You really do need to understand Shutter Speeds & Apertures to understand what P A S & M modes do.

However I know what it is like when you are stuck on something, your mind keeps going back to it even though you are trying to learn something else !

So - very basically, P Mode selects the Shutter speed and Aperture combination which the camera thinks is suitable although you can change these.
In A mode you select the Aperture, the camera keeps that setting whilst adjusting the shutter speed to suit the lighting conditions & subject.
In S mode you select the Shutter speed, the camera keeps that setting whilst adjusting the aperture to suit the lighting conditions & subject.
In M Mode you select both Aperture & Shutter speed.

Have a good read of this
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=185536
If you get stuck on something post your query and someone will give an alternative explanation.
You can also look at some of the other basic threads in here
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=62

Once you understand what exposure is and what Shutter speed & Aperture do you can then find out what settings to use for different effects, and also include ISO in your understanding.

 

[Quantum Sprite]

Hi lesco,
Welcome to the learning curve!

Firstly and most importantly; if your photos are stunning to you/friends and family that is the important thing. If this site makes you even better that is a bonus.

(Yardbent has some useful advice to which I'd add do the same for a moving subject; arms "windmilling" or dogs running, and see how the blur varies.)

(the bit below is simplistic so purists/pedants don't flame me!).
P, A, S, M,
P - program mode, use this if you NEED to take a picture as the camera sorts out the correct settings.
A - Aperture priority, lets you control how much is in focus front to back; f5.6 less in focus than f22.
S- Shutter priority, lets you control how blurred a moving object is; 30 more blurry than 2000. (these are parts of a second ie. 1/30th sec, 1/2000th sec.)
M- manual - you control all settings (I'd advise not to use this until you understand the bit below).

Photography is all about LIGHT; and ISO/Aperture/shutter speed are the 3 ways that cameras control how it acts on the sensor to record the photo.

1. ISO is how sensitive the sensor is to light; use a low number (200) in sunlight, use a high number (1600) indoors.
2. The Aperture is inside the lens, and is a hole to let different amounts of light in. set "A" on the dial, Look in the front of the lens, press the shutter button with the lens set to f5.6 and then at f22 and you should see it become a tiny hole at f22.
3. The shutter is inside the camera, and is a blade that opens in front the sensor to let the light from the lens hit it. Set "S" on the dial, set the camera to 30 press the button, then set it to 2000 and press the button, if you listen carefully you will hear the click at 2000 is a lot quicker as the shutter is open for a much shorter time.
(I'm talking about 1/30th sec, not 30seconds which your camera will probably do, that is normally denoted by 30" on the display!)

In "A" and "S" mode shutter and aperture will vary as one or the other is changed to allow the total light to stay the same, so if one goes up the other must go down to compensate; there is therfore always a trade-off.


There are a number of tutorials on this site you may find useful;

These 2 might give you a bit of understanding;
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=154225
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=99841

and there is a list of tutorials;
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=187606

(Although some of the pics are missing I believe you can get the idea from the words that related to them.)

Hope this helps and hasn't confused you more
good luck.
QS

 

[HoppyUK]

EdiT: Oops! Crossed post with everybody!

I think you are maybe imagining things are more difficult than they are, and also trying to run too soon. You just have to learn this stuff - you don't go to college for three years to learn something that takes five minutes.

In many ways, the complexity of modern cameras is more perceived than actual. Eg, P, A, S and M are just different ways of doing the same thing. Matrix metering, spot centre-weighted etc, are just different ways of doing the same thing. Just about every aspect of camera control has got different options for achieving exactly the same result. Just depends on the situation and personal preference. I only use about 25% of the options on my camera, and I guess most others are the same, except we will most likely all use a different 25%.

There are really only three camera controls that affect the picture - shutter speed, lens aperture, and ISO. That's what you need to learn about, rather than S, or A or P mode. Plus focal length and focusing.

 

[Lesco]

Thank you very, very much for all replys guys, I will take all this onboard, buy the books recommended to me and read on till I get my head around this.

 

[Lesco]

Ok advice taken, Ive ordered the David Busch D3000 and the Nikon Digital Field Guide to get me started, £18.99 and £7.69 respectivly, also brought a new camera bag off somone on the forums, my wifes gonna go ape when she get home from work )

 

[Yardbent]

Ok advice taken, Ive ordered the David Busch D3000 and the Nikon Digital Field Guide to get me started, £18.99 and £7.69 respectivly, also brought a new camera bag off somone on the forums, my wifes gonna go ape when she get home from work )

oh no my son, the journey to financial ruin and a screaming wife has only just begun.................

 

[Yardbent]

100% agree with Janice and John....sounds like the old school reading books 'Janet & John'

'Janice & John Go Toggin'

...I like this...could be a new series

"Janice and John do B&W"

Janice and John talk Development"

Janice and John discuss Scanning"

"Janice and John do N&G".....

 

[ian-83]

Ok advice taken, Ive ordered the David Busch D3000 and the Nikon Digital Field Guide to get me started, £18.99 and £7.69 respectivly, also brought a new camera bag off somone on the forums, my wifes gonna go ape when she get home from work )

Got the Nikon D3000 Digital Field Guide myself about a week after i got my D3000 took a few days to read it all and re-read sections to take it all in but since i haven't used anything but A,S and M modes and now starting to get more confident in adjusting ISO and White Balance to suit the conditions i am shooting in.

Easiest thing i found was find a subject set the camera in P mode take a pic then edit one setting at a time take a pic then adjust different settings but always putting them back to where they were before adjusting something else then looking through all my images on my PC so i could see how each setting effected the outcome of the pics.

I have found it great when I have over or under expose a pic compared to how the camera's meter says it should be taken and the result is so much more how I wanted to it come out.

 

[Yardbent]

............... and now starting to get more confident in adjusting ISO and White Balance to suit the conditions i am shooting in. .

set up the ISO auto so it will increase within limits you set

e.g. ...ISO 800 and shutter minimum at 1/60

try using the Fn button to set WB