Settings for a church

P

popeyebilly

Suspended / Banned
Messages
19
Edit My Images
No
Just after a bit of advice. I have my daughter being christened on Sunday and we cant use flash, I have a d3s and a d300, I tried using 5000 iso and tried cleaning up the noise, but the faces still look blurred. They are just test shots at moment, can anyone please advise what I may be doing wrong.
 
Can only assume the shutter speed was not quick enough.
 
I will post an example when back on comp. my shutter was 125 aperture f8. Photos are very grainy and after smoothing out the noise in pse, the faces are just not sharp. Not sure if I am using it right as I am new to photography.
 
Too slow depending on the lens. I would not be shooting at f8 if you needed to go that high on ISO. Shoot wide open and remember to make sure your shutter speed is equal or greater than your focal length.
 
You've got some nice bodies for a newbie :D

f/8....what ever lens you are using I would shoot wide open which could give you a couple of stops to bring your iso down.
 
I have just left the navy, so got the decent equipment, now just got to learn to use it. Thought get it while I have the money.
 
popeyebilly said:
I have just left the navy, so got the decent equipment, now just got to learn to use it. Thought get it while I have the money.
Click to expand...

Well you've come to the right place to learn, where ever you are based have a look at the meeting section as that can be a great way of hands on learning.
 
Depending on how close they were. If they were at the minimum focus distance then no. If they were further away and required you to zoom in the more likely. Without photos, quite difficult to say. Basically 2.8 is pretty shallow when things are close up but further away and it becomes easier to get more in focus. f/8 might just cause a lot to be in focus but limit the amount of light causing soft images which could be mistaking by misfocus when it is just the subject moving.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your help so far, I think I might pop to the church tomorrow and try again with the ap right open and see how that goes.
 
The DOF will vary with aperture choice, focal length and subject distance, as well as the sensor size, so to answer your question fully you need to figure out what sort of framing you would hope for and how far away you will be and what focal length you will require to achieve that framing. The more you can keep the subjects lined up at the same distance from you the easier your task will become. I haven't shot a christening, but a few weddings, and usually I will be at f/2.8 without running into a DOF problem.

Here's an example with my 1D3 and 24-70 at 62mm, f/2.8. It's cropped a bit, so that's like using a slightly smaller sensor, or a slightly longer focal length. On Fx the DOF would be a little less, because an even longer focal length would be required, whereas on Dx you'd get a bit more breathing space.

20090418_142809_6243_LR.jpg
 
Thanks a lot for that, that picture looks good. I will try some pics tomorrow with the24-70 and also with the 70-200 see how it goes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top