Exposure / Flash question

PSPDan

PSPDan

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Dan
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I've been taking loads of random shots about the house lately, trying to get to grips with the camera.

The main problem I'm finding is getting the exposure right.

I don't like use the built in flash because the photos look woeful. Is this just a general problem with built in flashes? Or should I be taking them with the flash and then editing them to enhance them?

So I try to take photos without the flash on, but I find the photos always seem to look underexposed, unless I change the shutter speed, making it difficult to take natural photos of people without them blurring.

Should the built in flash ever be used, or would a proper flash gun solve these problems?
 
PSPDan said:
I've been taking loads of random shots about the house lately, trying to get to grips with the camera.

The main problem I'm finding is getting the exposure right.

I don't like use the built in flash because the photos look woeful. Is this just a general problem with built in flashes? Or should I be taking them with the flash and then editing them to enhance them?

So I try to take photos without the flash on, but I find the photos always seem to look underexposed, unless I change the shutter speed, making it difficult to take natural photos of people without them blurring.

Should the built in flash ever be used, or would a proper flash gun solve these problems?
Click to expand...

The built in flash produces a fairly ugly light, you can diffuse it a little but it's difficult to make it look good.

During daylight hours you should be able to get shots indoors using a high ISO.

Try a 50 1.8 for £80 or a cheap external flash and have a look into off camera flash.
 
Good advice from Phil and you should also check out this sites tutorials (ignore the top one it will just confuse you) and get a good grasp of the relationship between Aperture/Shutter Speed/ISO, do that and your shooting experience will be more pleasurable and your enthusiasm will turn a corner. Trust me, we have all been there.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

Just a little addendum to Phil's post, make sure the External flash has a bounce/swivel head on it if you happen to go down that route. (highly recommended)
 
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PSPDan said:
Thanks for your replies.

Which would be a cheaper investment?
Click to expand...

The cheapest solution would be to raise the ISO until you get a fast enough shutter speed with your lens wide open. Total cost - zero.
 
hollis_f said:
The cheapest solution would be to raise the ISO until you get a fast enough shutter speed with your lens wide open. Total cost - zero.
Click to expand...

Yes what he said basically. If you look at post recently I did exactly that. I was getting sick at the harsh light that a flash would produce so I set out one day to learn full manual and exposing using just the light around me. Take a look at the result I got which I was quite pleased with. This shot was unedited straight out of the camera.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=456950

I did ow ever use a fast lens. A 35mm prime. Settings were f/1.8. Shutter 1/30
Wb auto iso 800 shot in raw.
 
Good advice above. If you're running out of iso in a particularly poorly lit room, try to use the window light as much as possible as it'll make a huge difference to your exposures.
 
Jessops do an own brand flash for around £60- not brilliant but for off camera use they are good enough as a starter unit

or as said- raise the ISO open the aperture OR use a tripod for the slower shutter speeds


Les :thumbs:
 
This was taken at ISO 800 last night, handheld ( which is why the ISO was high ), 1/50s. The only light is from the ipad screen.


last game before bed... by damianmkv, on Flickr

You shouldn't have noise at ISO 100 - can you pop some sample images up so we can have a look and see what the problem is ?
 
I just went into iPhoto to look at an image with noise. And it says it was taken at ISO 1100. It must've been on auto, god knows why I thought it was on ISO 100. But I guess that'd explain the noise problem?
 
damianmkv said:
You shouldn't have noise at ISO 100 - can you pop some sample images up so we can have a look and see what the problem is ?
Click to expand...

Agreed. Are you sure its noise, more likely what you think is noise is just an exposure issue. Is what you're seeing as noise uniform across the whole image?
 
Lol okay scratch that reply just read your last post.
 
I just took a photo in A mode, changed the ISO to 200, but when I look through the viewfinder it just says ISO Auto and when I import the photo to iPhoto it says ISO 1600 was used, but there isn't really any noise. Is iPhoto wrong and the photo was in fact taken at ISO 200?
 
Go to the settings and change auto ISO to something like ISO 100.
 
try taking a photo using the built in light meter on full manual mode. post up the pic for us to take a look.
 
damianmkv said:
Go to the settings and change auto ISO to something like ISO 100.
Click to expand...

I did this but when I look through the lens ISO-Auto is flashing, does this mean its on auto still? If so I can't work out how to change it cus no matter what mode I use and whatever I change the ISO to, this still flashes.

ghummy said:
try taking a photo using the built in light meter on full manual mode. post up the pic for us to take a look.
Click to expand...

How do I use the built in light meter?

Sorry, very new to this!
 
Turn off iso-auto in the custom settings menu. (Page 76 of your manual) This will allow manual setting of the iso but only in P,A,S and M modes. All other modes will select iso automatically.
 
Here are some examples I've just quickly taken. (The subject won't be too happy about me sharing these!). Could I get your thoughts? I think the lower ISO produced a much nicer image, but could I have changed anything to make it better? Purely in terms of lighting.

24mm - ISO 800 - f/4.2 - 1/15


DSC_5123 by PSPDan, on Flickr


20mm - ISO 1600 - f/3.8 - 1/15


DSC_5122 by PSPDan, on Flickr
 
Not in my opinion. It's a similar shot to mine ie you want to convey the darkness, with just the face being lit by the screen.

Are you using a tripod ? 1/15s is low for 24mm if its handheld
 
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The above photos seem to have vanished for me unless I click the link, so I've used Image Shack for this one.

22mm - ISO 800 - f/4 - 1/50

dsc5125e.jpg


(there was less light available in this shot due to a light behind me being turned off that was on in the others)
 
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So there you go - 1/50 is indeed too quick as it doesn't allow enough light. I'm on my phone but the first shot at ISO 800 looks ok.

Is it what you were hoping for ?
 
I think so, I've learnt a few things in here. I guess I'd like to know if there's some way to make the photos work with a faster shutter speed, I don't seem to have much trouble shooting handheld with a 1/15s speed but it's not ideal?
 
Well if you don't want to increase the ISO and need a faster shutter speed, your left with having to use a larger aperture. Either that or back to the idea of a lighting source.
 
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