Since Christmas, I’ve answered several photography/camera questions via phone and email. It appears that Santa brought new cameras to 80% of those reading whatifitdid.com and to my family/friends. The only thing I can remember from my training some 20-years ago is taking photos of fruit. Like — lots and lots of fruit. It was all about lighting and composition — very important — but was so boring I would’ve rather had a stick poked in my eye.
The last thing I would want is for visitors to get a stick in their eye here on a Monday morning, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I really hope this info is useful or at least interesting to some of you:
1. I shoot in manual mode. It’s really slow to learn at first, and when I first started out, I shot in shutter and aperture priority only, but now it’s natural for me. Like I know if I’m outside and it’s a sunny day in July, I’m going ISO 100, f/2.8, and 1/2000. If it’s a dreary day in January in the burg, and I don’t have much light in the room I’m in, I’m going ISO 3200, f/1.8 – f/2.0, and 1/125. You’ll figure out what works for you — just start playing around. As a rule of thumb, you’ll shoot extremely high ISO’s (1200-3200) in the burg from around October to February, and post-process lighten those images that are a bit too dark.
2. I always, ALWAYS, shoot in RAW (you never know when you’ll get that one awesome photo you want printed as big as the house), and I only use Photoshop and Adobe Camera Bridge to edit photos. If you don’t use these programs for editing software, I’m sorry, I can’t be much help. If you use Bridge, I would suggest you purchase Kubota Adobe Camera RAW Presets — it’s only $20 bucks and well worth the $$.
3. I don’t have a “favorite” lens. For portraits, I love my 85mm 1:18, but if you’re looking for something a little more versatile and cost effective, the 50mm 1.8 ($100) is an awesome lens.
And finally — for those of you with new cameras that want to learn something new (if you don’t know it already), and aren’t quite ready to shoot in manual mode…
- For details and shallow depth of field (quiet moments) – start with Aperture Priority. Set your lens to around 2.8 and let your camera do the rest.
- For energetic and action shots, head outside and try Shutter Priority. Start with 1/300 or 1/500 and let your camera do the rest.
- Don’t forget to share your comments/photos as you try AP and TV modes!