Well, I did it! I took a picture with the camera set on something other than “auto” (and not by accident this time! haha!). The result… let’s just say the motto of the day is “practice makes perfect,” I think.

I made the mistake of letting the camera decide TOO much for me – which I can’t help yet, because I haven’t learned how to change what I needed to change.

All I did this time was change the shutter speed. It’s very easy. On my Canon Digital Rebel, I moved the top dial to Tv mode. (This means I set the shutter speed, and the camera manages everything else.) Then I moved the “dial” (located right in front of the big, main dial that has the pictures on it) until the upper RH number on the info display read 800 – a fast shutter speed, at 1/800ths of a second.

The problem that I immediately saw with my first picture was that such a fast shutter speed lets in very little light. I turned the little dial to adjust the shutter speed to 400 for the rest of the pictures.

This was fast enough to take shots of toddlers running around on the deck. But all the pictures were still underexposed, especially on a cloudy day. Next week I’ll learn to adjust the aperture as well. If the aperture is more open, then more light will be let in, even with a fast shutter speed… I think! 

This first picture is unedited. It’s not blurry, but it’s too dark.

fast shutter speed, too little light

This is the layout I made from it. I like the top picture, with all the strands of my daughter’s hair. I edited these pictures in Photoshop. The problem is that when you increase the exposure after the fact, the picture turns out grainy, and there is very little that can be done to fix it. You can’t see the graininess here, but when I print it 12″x12″ it will be apparent.

Meg spinning

And finally… HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Bekah! Where did the first two years go?! This photo also was taken this past week, with a shutter speed of 800. It is edited, and grainy.

the wonders of being a 2yo