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Morning/Evening low light setting help?

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    Morning/Evening low light setting help?

    Hello all, i'm still just trying to get off the auto settings. I have some great photo ops but the lighting is making things difficult. What settings to you typically use?

    #2
    Okay - YouTube it is!

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      #3
      Shoot the lens "wide open" meaning largest aperture (smallest f value). Shutter speed needs to be slower. A tripod can help you shoot slower shutter speed eliminating potential hand shake from hand holding. Lastly, the higher the ISO the better. Keep in mind that higher ISO introduces more noise to the image so there is a trade off.

      There are no specific settings as light and equipment differs. There is only an approach as outlined above.

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        #4
        Originally posted by Casey View Post
        Shoot the lens "wide open" meaning largest aperture (smallest f value). Shutter speed needs to be slower. A tripod can help you shoot slower shutter speed eliminating potential hand shake from hand holding. Lastly, the higher the ISO the better. Keep in mind that higher ISO introduces more noise to the image so there is a trade off.

        There are no specific settings as light and equipment differs. There is only an approach as outlined above.
        Thank you sir!

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          #5
          What type of lens are you shooting with? As mentioned before, open up the aperture, increase shutter time and ISO. If it’s a stationary subject, try and decrease shutter speed and have a lower ISO to keep noise down.

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            #6
            Like others have said, open up the aperture as wide as you can, shoot as high of ISO as your camera can handle without being too grainy/noisy, shutter speed as slow as possible before motion blur becomes a problem, and last but definitely not least, get a tripod or a solid base.

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              #7
              Are you shooting landscapes or animals?

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                #8
                The analogy that I use for the 3 main settings (ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) is this....

                The aperture, designated by f/stop number, is similar to the pupil in your eye. The bigger the aperture/pupil, the more light comes in. The only thing that can be confusing is that lower f/stop numbers equate to bigger aperture openings. So f/22 is a really small opening that lets in only a tiny amount of light while f/2.8 is a really large aperture that lets in a lot of light. If you are shooting a scene in bright sunlight, then you can choose a small aperture setting (bigger f/stop number), because you have a lot of bright light to work with. If you are shooting a scene in dim light conditions, then you will probably need to set the f/stop to a low number so you'll have a big wide-open aperture to let in as much light as possible.

                The other thing that aperture size will do for you, besides regulating the amount of light passing through the lens, is that it will vary the depth of field. Depth of field is the depth of what is in focus in your image. A tiny aperture opening will bring more things into focus. Things that are both near and far away, relative to whatever you focused the lens on when you take your shot can generally be more in focus with a smaller aperture. If you want to have a narrow depth of field so that only your subject is in focus while everything else is blurred out, then you need to use a larger aperture (low f/stop number).

                Next we get to the 2nd setting: shutter speed. The shutter is similar to your eyelid. The longer it stays open, the more light it lets in. If it opens and shuts really fast, then only a small amount of light gets in. If you are in bright light, then you'll likely need to use a faster shutter speed. If you are in low light, then you'll probably need to use a slower shutter speed.

                Shutter speed variations do something else as well. If you want to freeze fast-moving objects, like stopping the action in sports photography, then you need a fast shutter speed. But if you want to show the blurred action of moving objects, then you need the shutter to be open for a longer time in order to pick up all the movement that you are after.

                The 3rd setting is ISO. A high ISO number (1600, 3200, 6400, etc...) is like your naked eye. It is very sensitive to light, and it picks up detail very easily. You may need to squint or open and shut your eyes really quickly when it is really bright.

                A low ISO number is like your eye behind sunglasses. It makes your eye less sensitive to light, so you don't have to squint and you can leave your eyes open longer in bright light. But in dim light you may not be able to see very well, so you'd need to remove your sunglasses.

                ISO also has another effect on the photo. Higher ISO numbers will make photos in low light situations brighter, but it comes with a price. Higher ISO settings cause the image to have more "noise" or grainy appearance.

                Everything about choosing camera settings is a trade-off. You have 3 different settings that you could adjust to make an exposure brighter or darker, and each of the 3 have side-effects. Which side-effect do you want? Which one do you NOT want? Which one can you live with if you have to, even though you'd prefer not to have it?

                I start with the side-effect that I want, and then I work from there. If I am shooting sports, then I definitely want to stop fast action. That means I must have a fast shutter speed. That costs me light, so if I am not shooting in bright sunlight then I have to open up my aperture and/or move to a higher ISO setting. I go to higher ISO as a last resort, because I want to minimize noise. But once you open up your aperture all the way, if you still need more light in order to get a good exposure with a fast shutter, then you have to start boosting ISO.

                If I am shooting a portrait or something and I want only my subject to be in focus while everything in the background is blurred out, then I must shoot the shot with a large aperture (low f/stop). That lets in a lot of light, so if I have fairly bright light to begin with, then I will need to shoot a low ISO and/or a faster shutter speed to keep from over-exposing the shot.

                There are always more than one combination of settings that will give you a proper exposure of light in a given situation. But the side-effects will vary, depending on which combination of settings you use. It's all about the trade-offs.....

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