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Old 10-02-2008, 10:52 PM   #1
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Help me out, please.

Okay Guys,

So i recently picked up a Nikon D60 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR (Vibration Reduction), My first "real" camera, I love it. I have also added a polarized filter.

Well I have been trolling the forum you guys take AMAZING pictures, I especially like some of the shots from jspek the soft low light crystal clear images, these are the type of shot's I like to shoot. I have messed around with ISO and Shutter speed settings but some of these shots still come out grainy or slightly blurry, I pretty much always keep the camera on "No flash" Point shoot hold the camera as still as possible and hope for the best. These shots also sometimes grainy and slightly blurry.

Can you guys give some your tips and tricks to shooting these shots? Do you edit shots? Is most of this the lens you guys use? Tripod all the time? Are you using some type of flash? Or is it all in Practice?

I have looked at the Sigma 10-20mm, I'm interested in a more wide angle lens, and something that can get down to f/1.5-1.8. I tried to read a couple tech forums about the sigma but there seemed to be a lot of numbers talk that I really didn't understand, Anyone care to explain a little more laymans terms.

I understand the general basic of Aperture, Shutter speed, and ISO settings.
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Old 10-02-2008, 10:58 PM   #2
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i think you should post up some examples for us to critique, that would help a lot. you shouldnt be having grain issues unless your iso is super high. as far as jspeks photos, most of those are not straight out of the camera. he does very good post processing on his shots. pardon me, jspek, if i'm wrong. but definitely post up some shots, you shouldnt be grainy or blurry(the VR should reduce that)
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:01 PM   #3
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Few tips I learned:

1. Read the manual. When you are done reread it again.
2. Never and i might repeat it again never use Auto settings.
3. And the most important practice practice and when you think your done practice some more.


I would suggest maybe try shooting in A mode. This way you can pick your aperture size you want to control DOF and let the camera pick the shutter speed so you don't get camera shake or blur. If you keep getting blur turn up the ISO. Now I'm not sure with the D60 but when I shot with my D50 ISO 400 was the max I wanted to go before the grain started to become a problem. I'll let others chime in cause I'm falling asleep here.

Oh and for referance. I edit my photos probably like everybody else here, no tripod unless its night. Flash indoors (haven't messed around with flash)
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:06 PM   #4
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do you have auto iso turned on? i absolutely cannot stand auto iso. what shutter speeds are you working at? you should post some shots up so we can see what you mean exactly.
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:07 PM   #5
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These are some I shots I took at track as the night went on the shots got worse, much more blurry and way to dark.





I took this in Princeton.



These are some better ones i think personally.



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Old 10-02-2008, 11:13 PM   #6
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yea it looks to me like auto iso is turned on. id turn it off. as for the track pics, shooting at 1/13th unless you have a monopod and fast lens, you should expect blur. i know i cant pan for crap at that speed haha. but that brake shot is sick. the grain adds to it.
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:13 PM   #7
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doing panning shots at night with the terrible lighting at the track is going to be virtually impossible so dont get too upset about those. the priceton one is a tad overexposed or your iso too high.

the stills are not too bad, actually. the flower one is tough because the background is the same color as the subject so separation is more difficult. the wheel is pretty good but your iso is a bit too high so thats why you're seeing grain
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:21 PM   #8
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Thanks for the responses guys, The ISO on the track shots were hi 1, F6. The Porsche Wheel F6.3, ISO-400
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:31 PM   #9
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Now would be a good time to shoot in RAW format and add the post processing data yourself. Don't let the camera do the processing for you since it'll probably get it all wrong (white balance, sharpness, constrast, saturation, etc). RAW processing allows a much wider range to fix white balance and exposure issues. With exposure, you have a +\- 2.0 f/stops adjustment in RAW before the image begins to degrade. With JPEG, you'll start seeing a degradation around 2/3rd stops. It'll take some practice, both learning the camera settings, image framing, and post processing.

Personally, I spend little time on the post processing. Most images I'll spend 30-60 seconds, a few images I'll spend more time removing unwanted reflections on the paint.

If you're bored, I made a quick video of my post processing.
Step 1 - RAW conversion to JPG - Link - 46 MB
Step 2 - JPG post processing - Link - 24 MB
People ask what I do to my photos; there's not much to it.

Another reason I like shooting in RAW is the fact that making the adjustments is easy since most are done in one tab screen. With JPG, you'd have to go through 4-5 different menus to do all of the same adjustments.
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:38 PM   #10
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I did have the ISO on auto for the track car photos the ISO was at HI 1.

Another one I was just messing around in my Apt. I had the camera resting on the couch acting as a tripod. And I liked these colors. The red flowers, on the black table with the green backdrop. ISO 800, shutter 1/6, F5.6



These where taken on the same night as the other Princeton shots. I now see what you guys mean about the slight overexposure. Shutter 30sec. ISO HI 1





What is a good ISO for night shots?
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:40 PM   #11
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it depends on the lighting of your night shots. all of those looks like your iso is too high and/or your exposures are too long

edit: except for the one at the stop light
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:47 PM   #12
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Alright, So more practice. I stinks because when I would preview these pics on the small camera preview screen as i was taking them, i was like whoa these photos are going to be awesome no need to really mess with settings, than once you get them up on the computer screen, they look a lot different.

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Old 10-02-2008, 11:51 PM   #13
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yea i dont trust my playback too much. just keep at it and mess with all kinds of different settings combos. you'll get it.
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Old 10-02-2008, 11:54 PM   #14
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Use the histogram to judge the exposure on highlights, midtones, and shadows.
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Old 10-03-2008, 12:02 AM   #15
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I read that you want keep the Histogram graph mostly centered in the screen.

I Like Rice I watched the videos you posted, that is another thing I do need to invest in Adobe Photoshop, right now I have Paint.net, with I guess is the Mario paint of Adobe photoshop.
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Old 10-03-2008, 03:52 AM   #16
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There's a lot to learn... kids spend a semester on juts the basics. You seem pretty eager to learn and you're taking the suggestions people are giving you so i guess we can continue to try and help. I also recommend reading your cameras manual at least once, maybe twice. Understand what every button is on your camera and how it works and if you're not sure then do some research to look it up.

You'll definitely want to move away from shooting in an auto mode, but before you can do that correctly you need to learn the basics so that you understand how to use your camera skillfully as a tool and be able to effectively produce the photos that you intend to.

I ended up just putting together a pretty lengthy intro guide to photography here. I typed some of the info myself and referenced wikipedia for some other that I couldn't figure how to word/explain clearly. There is a lot of good info here and will get you started, but there is still a lot to learn. Its a process... we're all still learning.

I have not gotten into how to make a good exposure (which can vary a lot by the shooting situation)... but its really late so that will have to be left for another time. If someone else want to step up and write something out for that then awesome, or if not I'll try to get around to it.


ISO
Film speed is the measure of a photographic film's sensitivity to light. Film with lower sensitivity (lower ISO/ASA speed) requires a longer exposure and is thus called a slow film, while stock with higher sensitivity (higher ISO/ASA speed) can shoot the same scene with a shorter exposure and is called a fast film.
The lower the film speed the less sensitive it is to light and the higher film speed the more sensitive it will be to light. The lower ISO you use the less 'noise' you will have as well which means the quality of the photo will be better. The higher film speed you use the more noise you will have and the quality of the photo will drop, but when you need to use a high ISO, you need to use a high ISO. Rule of thumb is to only use as high an ISO as is necessary... sometimes it is and thats fine, but when its not, go low.
(read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_speed)

low iso/noise vs. high iso/noise



Exposure (part 1)
The "correct" exposure for a photograph is determined by the sensitivity of the medium used. For photographic film, sensitivity is referred to as film speed and is measured on a scale published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Faster film requires less exposure and has a higher ISO rating. Exposure is a combination of the length of time and the level of illumination received by the photosensitive material. Exposure time is controlled in a camera by shutter speed and the illumination level by the lens aperture. Slower shutter speeds (exposing the medium for a longer period of time) and greater lens apertures (admitting more light) produce greater exposures.
Ultimately, there is more than one correct exposure, as a scene can be exposed in many ways, depending on the desired effect a photographer wishes to convey.
(read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_(photography))


Shutter Speed
This is the length of your exposure. The shorter the exposure the less light allowed in. The longer exposure the more light it allows in. Shutter speed will also affect how much motion is stopped. A faster shutter speed will stop more motion and a slower shutter speed of a moving object may appear as a blur.
Also make sure that if you are shooting handheld that your shutter speed is fast enough that you don't cause any camera shake. Rough rule of thumb is your shutter speed should be 1/x where x = the focal length you are shooting at.
(read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_speed)

different shutter speeds



Aperture
This is the intensity of your exposure. There is a diaphragm inside the lens which adjusts larger and smaller to let more or less light through. Think of a pinhole's worth of light vs a quarter size opening's worth of light. Also remember that f/22 is a small aperture (small opening), and f2.8 is a large aperture (large opening)... so the numbers seem backwards.
(Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture)

Small vs. Large aperture





Exposure (part 2): How Shutter Speed and Aperture work together to make the correct exposure
Factors that affect the total exposure of a photograph include the scene luminance, the aperture size (f-number), and the exposure time (shutter speed); photographers can trade off shutter speed and aperture by using units of stops. A stop up and down on each will halve or double the amount of light regulated by each; exposures of equal exposure value can be easily calculated and selected. For any given total exposure, or exposure value, a fast shutter speed requires a larger aperture (smaller f-number). Similarly, a slow shutter speed, a longer length of time, can be compensated by a smaller aperture (larger f-number).


Depth of Field
The portion of a scene that appears sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused distance. A large depth of field would make everything in the photo in focus, no matter if its 2" away or 2 miles away... this is commonly used for landscapes. A small depth of field would mean that only the point that you focused on is sharp, and fades to a blur quickly. This is more commonly used for portraits or other situations where you want to isolate your subject.
You can achieve a large depth of field by using a smaller aperture, and you can achieve a smaller depth of field by using a larger aperture.
(read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field)

Shallow Depth of Field (DOF)


shot at f/32


shot at f/2.8


White Balance
Different light sources have different colors of light that they emit. The human eye is very good at adjusting to this so most dont realize that a flourescent light has a green tint and a tungsten light has a amber tint, for example. The camera will pick up these tints unless you adjust for it, either in camera, or in post processing. Its a good idea to try and make this adjustment in camera before you shoot, and do any fine tuning in post processing later if needed.
In photography and image processing, color balance is the global adjustment of the intensities of the colors (typically red, green, and blue primary colors). An important goal of this adjustment is to render specific colors – particularly neutral colors – correctly; hence, the general method is sometimes called gray balance, neutral balance, or white balance. Color balance changes the overall mixture of colors in an image and is used for color correction; generalized versions of color balance are used to get colors other than neutrals to also appear correct or pleasing.
(read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_balance)


RAW image files
A raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of a digital camera. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and ready to be used with an image editing program.
Because Raw files have minimal processing done in camera, they allow much more adjustment in post processing without as much image degradation. Basically, they are more forgiving in the cases where your exposure isn't quite right.
Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as film negatives in traditional chemical photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image.
(read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_image_format)
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Last edited by TROLL; 10-03-2008 at 04:17 AM.
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Old 10-03-2008, 08:44 AM   #17
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Thanks Bryan for that post one of the first things I read was wikipedia's write-up. Alot of usefull information in it. I did read the manual once but Im going to read it because there is so much information I just couldn't absorb it all. When you say try not to shot in auto mode, is just staying on "no flash" considered Auto? A couple weeks back I was trying to go out and take pictures, and it seemed like every shot I took was just crap, like photographers block. But I was able to go out the other day and take these in Pocono, and honestly think they are some of the best pictures I have shot so far.





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Old 10-03-2008, 08:50 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gtsiawd96 View Post
Alright, So more practice. I stinks because when I would preview these pics on the small camera preview screen as i was taking them, i was like whoa these photos are going to be awesome no need to really mess with settings, than once you get them up on the computer screen, they look a lot different.

i never thought the smilie face eclipses could look evil...
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Old 10-03-2008, 09:04 AM   #19
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I really want to go back and get this shot again now that car is lowered and there is nice front mount sitting behind that smile. Hmm, maybe tonights mission.
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Old 10-03-2008, 10:19 AM   #20
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thats a talon but yea it looks mean hiding in the shadows.
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