New Camera - What am I doing wrong?

[dankellys]

Just looking for a little bit of advice. I am brand new to photography, and just got myself a D3200. Decided to take it out for the first time today, but have had real problems with over/under exposure (see example below).

I have tried all sorts of settings, but just started to confuse myself and ended up back with using the 'landscape setting' on the settings dial (which still didnt seem to get the exposure right...). I found that when I was in 'M' mode on the dial, I could not change all of the settings I wanted to be able to change, such as the F number for example. On some shots I could get it to go down as low as 4, where as in others it wouldn't go lower than 5.6, why is this? Same goes for shutter speeds, some shots allowed my to go as high as 1/4000 and some would only let me go as high as 1/200. I am clearly doing something wrong... Anyway, here are some examples:


ISO400 - 24mm - f/11 - 1/400sec


ISO100 - 32mm - f/4.8 - 1/200sec


ISO100 - 24mm - f/20 - 1/30sec



ISO100 - 24mm - f/4.0 - 1/500sec


ISO100 - 24mm - f/6.3 - 1/200sec

[kalniel]

Your camera has a really technological, highly developed, metering system. When you set the camera to manual you are saying "well I might let you advise me, but I'm not really going to use you".

IE: stay away from manual metering until you have more experience how cameras work.

Picture 1: This is exposed fine. Tiny bit dark but probably done to keep details and room to bring up on the computer as part of your normal editing process. Camera on auto metering.
2: You've gone to full manual mode AND fired the flash. Both are the wrong decision from you.
3: You have gone shutter priority and CHOSEN a shutter speed of 1/30. Why? There is nothing in the scene that benefits from such a shutter speed. As a result of the slow speed, the camera has had to stop right down to f/20 to try get the right exposure. Which it has managed, but your image quality will suffer.
4: Exposure's fine. Camera on auto metering.
5: You have gone aperture priority and chosen f/6.3. Why? It's too wide an aperture to get both foreground and background in focus at that close a focus distance. Nonetheless, as camera can control shutter speed it has done so and exposure is fine.

Basic message is think what on earth you are trying to do. If you don't have a reason to direct the camera to shoot at a particular speed, aperture, or both, then don't.

[dankellys]

Thank you, I think I am starting to understand it a little more now. What I was trying to achieve in number 5 was to focus on the statue in front and center, and then blur the others (and the background). I was treating the front statue as a person really, and pretending it was a portrait, but it dint work. Which settings would have been better suited to do this?

As for number 3, that was actually taken using the camera's "guide mode", which comes with the D3200. This was attempting to blur the motion of the water...Again, didnt achieve what I was trying to do, any advice?

[kalniel]

Thank you, I think I am starting to understand it a little more now. What I was trying to achieve in number 5 was to focus on the statue in front and center, and then blur the others (and the background). I was treating the front statue as a person really, and pretending it was a portrait, but it dint work. Which settings would have been better suited to do this?

Portrait mode

Seriously, I'd go aperture priority and widen up to the lens' widest setting - if it's a zoom lens that might be at the wide end rather than tele end. Then use ISO to bring shutter speed into a manageable range. Sometimes perceived blur is more when you shoot a tele shot even if the aperture is smaller, so try widest aperture at the tele end of the zoom as well (if it's a zoom lens). It digital - costs nothing to try both

As for number 3, that was actually taken using the camera's "guide mode", which comes with the D3200. This was attempting to blur the motion of the water...Again, didnt achieve what I was trying to do, any advice?

1/30 is not slow enough to blur water motion, but if it slowed down any more you'd have to drop to an even narrower aperture and the shot would degrade or if that's the limit of the camera it would start to over expose. You need to reduce the light via a ND filter, which will enable longer exposures (and use a tripod).

[dankellys]

Great thanks for the advice, Its just the standard kit lens i have at the minute (18-55mm). So are you basically saying the presets are generally fine for things such as portraits and landscapes, and I only need to start messing with manual mode once I have a more in-depth knowledge of how it all works? When in the preset modes, is it still possible to make small changes, such as aperture priority and ISO?

Think I might nip back out and have another go before the sun disappears!

[kalniel]

No, I'd argue that for almost all situations you don't need to mess with the full manual mode at all.

Again it's about asking what you are trying to do. What the reason for you taking control of the camera is. When I take a photo I think what story I want to tell, and what effects are available to me to tell it. Is there a reason, in a given scene, that you need to set a specific aperture AND shutter speed to tell the story that you want? If not, you don't need to use full manual mode for the shot.

It's not even a case of needing to ensure settings so that the image quality is OK - modern DSLRs are competent over a wide range of settings, and the kinds of minor improvements you'll get by picking the optimal settings are dwarfed by the disadvantages of getting the shot wrong.

Concentrate on the scene/story for now. If that means using the presets then don't be afraid to - just note what settings it chose and learn why it might have chosen them.

[Bobster]

why did your aperture numbers change?
http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Learn-And...apertures.html

SLR's takes more than just pointing and clicking - you need to think about the scene, and what you want out of your picture..

[pipTheGeek]

...
On some shots I could get it to go down as low as 4, where as in others it wouldn't go lower than 5.6, why is this?
...

Most probably because of the zoom. The more zoomed you are the smaller the largest aparture available becomes. I believe that actually the hole remains the same size but because you are collecting light over a smaller area it is equivilent to a higher F stop.

Good luck with learning your way around your new toy. I'd love to buy a DSLR, they are just so much nicer to use than the compacts. Sadly I don't really do enough picture taking to make it worth while.

[Bobster]

Most probably because of the zoom. The more zoomed you are the smaller the largest aparture available becomes. I believe that actually the hole remains the same size but because you are collecting light over a smaller area it is equivilent to a higher F stop.

its more to do with the sharpness of the lens when its zoomed, the cheaper the lens, the cheaper the build.. the aperture stops down to increase sharpness at the longer focal lengths..

while the front of the lens stays the same size, the aperture blades will stop down inside the lens..

[dankellys]

Cheers for the help. Went out and took some more photos this evening, here are a hand full of my favorites (on flickr):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84757628@N06

[Butcher]

Same goes for shutter speeds, some shots allowed my to go as high as 1/4000 and some would only let me go as high as 1/200.

1/4000 is the maximum speed of the camera's shutter. 1/200 means you have flash on and that is the maximum sync speed for the flash. For landscapes make sure the flash isn't firing, it just won't work properly.

FWIW I very rarely use manual mode; I mostly shoot in aperture priority mode as that gives the effects I want - you choose aperture based on how deep you want the DOF and the camera will give you a reasonable shutter speed.

[TheAnimus]

its more to do with the sharpness of the lens when its zoomed, the cheaper the lens, the cheaper the build.. the aperture stops down to increase sharpness at the longer focal lengths..

while the front of the lens stays the same size, the aperture blades will stop down inside the lens..

No he is right.

Take a toilet role and a kitchen role.

Both might have the same diameter, well the kitchen role is probably wider, but the look down the kitchen role with your right eye, and the toilet role with your left. The kitchen role will appear smaller.

[TheAnimus]

OP, I dunno what this place is like: http://www.southshieldsphoto.co.uk/ but you might find it good to join a local club, you might find it easier to learn in the physical presnse of others, look at their portfolios and work, find out what you want to do and ask them how they achive certan elements of the photo you like, at the very least you might meet a few like minded people.