Holiday Photos

[Alex-R]

Hi Guys, I'm off on my holidays on Friday, and would like some tips regarding taking some decent pics.

I have a Canon EOS1100d, and despite being brand new to DSLR's, don't like using "Auto" ... I find it pops the flash up all the time and stuff I don't want it to do, so prefer to configure some settings myself...

So, here are the sorts of things I'd appreciate some advice on :

1. Pictures on the plane/through glass :

As a bit of a plane nut, I plan to take some nice shots onboard the plane, eg. Out of the window. I know not to use flash etc, but what do you recommend to get the best shot without crappy reflections, and blurriness.

2. Night photography - A big bug of mine is that when shooting with the 1100 (At no fault of its and all of mine I'm sure) my night shots always come out very very blurry, and not very nice at all! I don't have a tripod, and so when the shutter speed is slower, my shots blur ... and if I'm shooting landscapes etc at night, not people, I can't use flash.

3. Water Pictures :

Does anything special need to be done to take landscape pictures of water? I guess the "landscape" preset might be good at this, but sometimes I blur using this... what would you recommend to really capture the scene nicely, with regards to reflections in the water, etc...

Finally, and this time not regarding actual taking of pictures - I need to take my lens cleaning stuff with me, and this includes a 40ml bottle of Isopropyl alcohol ... Can I take this with me in hand luggage in one of those plastic bags, or no, seeing as it's flammable ... if this is the case, is it permitted in hold baggage?


Apologies for the lots of questions, but I'd just like to know some advice for settings on the camera depending on the situations, as well as general tips for getting a nice shot! It'd be an awful shame to come back with a load of blurry rubbish pictures.

Regards,
Alex

 

[GilesPJ]

A tripod, or other camera support, is a must. Also use a delay to help steady the shot as well. I use 2 seconds when using a cable realise or 10 seconds for pressing the button.

Learn to use Av and Tv modes. Tv lets you set the shutting speed so you can keep it fast enough to hand hold. Av lets you set how much will be in focus.

Play with the setting understand them is the best way to go.

I would just take a air rocket with brush and micro fibre lens cloth. Maybe a lens cleaner pen. I shoot motorbike racing and get all sorts of fine dust hitting my lens and a air rocket and carefully using a lens cloth dose the job.

 

[woof woof]

1. Pictures on the plane/through glass :

Use manual focus and that should stop the camera focusing on specks of dirt etc on the window.

2. Night photography

Use the widest aperture you can and try and make sure that you have a reasonable shutter speed, increase the ISO if you have to.

3. Water Pictures :

Not too sure what the issue is here. You could try using a circular poloriser. If you want the satin sort of look you'll need a longish exposure and may need a ND filter and some means of supporting the camera.

I need to take my lens cleaning stuff with me, and this includes a 40ml bottle of Isopropyl alcohol ...

Hold luggage I expect.

I'd just like to know some advice for settings on the camera depending on the situations, as well as general tips for getting a nice shot!

Personally I use aperture priority most of the time but you could try P mode. It uses auto settings but allows you to change stuff too. Remember a good composition and interesting or good looking shot is probably much more important than the finer technical points or critical sharpness or even critical focus.

 

[Alex-R]

Thanks for the responses guys!

Will have a play around this afternoon, see how it goes!

 

[ernesto]

The 1100D has an Auto with no flash mode which will stop the flash popping up but realise you also want more control than just that.

To get close to auto but with option for changes you could use P mode where the camera still works out the ideal aperture and shutter speed.

It sounds like you need to keep an eye on your shutter speed if you are getting a lot of blur so other than using a tripod just keep a check on it and make sure it doesn't get too low (i.e 1/20). If it does then increase it using the wheel by the shutter button and depending on which mode you are in it will either
Aperture mode- lower aperture (and camera will increase shutter speed)
Shutter mode - increase shutter speed
Program mode - do both of the above by program shifting