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I’m doing double duty today, with two posts! (I’ll make up for it next week, as there won’t be a post.)

I’m loving “flash off” mode. Yesterday my son made a very sharp cap for himself, using a colander and a chain of plastic rings. At first I took this shot in “auto.”

I was disappointed that the flash washed out the points of light on his face from the colander holes. (Why didn’t I realize that would happen?!)

I turned the camera to flash-off mode and got this shot:

(The ISO of 400 and aperture of f/3.5 are fairly normal. A shutter speed of 1/13 is slow.)

The slower shutter speed, to accommodate the lower light, resulted in a less crisp shot. Oh well… leaves room for learning. If I knew how to do everything already, it would be time for a new hobby, right?

Like a techno-nerd, I’m fascinated with metadata lately. I’ve discovered that even when the camera is set on “auto,” I can go back and see what the camera chose for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Seeing what I should have chosen in previous situations takes away some of the intimidation factor of beginning to shoot in manual modes.

In the coming weeks I plan to explore the “exposure triangle” (ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) – WITHOUT having to take new pictures with completely manual settings! *sigh of relief*

This week I’ll start with the most complicated one: ISO.

ISO is a carry over from the days of film cameras, apparently. I vaguely remember something from my high school film photography class about which film speed to choose for various situations: 

100-200 lets in light slowly. It’s good for well-lighted situations, and it will produce a crisp shot (like details of flower petals on a sunny day).

400 is a good all-around film speed for most situations.

800 “absorbs” light very quickly, allowing well-lit (better exposed) shots even with fast shutter speeds. This is good for indoor sporting events. Unfortunately, the shots may be grainy instead of crisp.

This week, I decided to go through my previous pictures and see if I could find examples of various ISOs.

Shot #1 – low ISO of 100.

One bright, sunny day last year, I set my camera to “macro” mode (turning the big dial to the picture of the flower), and this is one of the shots I took:

A nice, crisp photo. The camera chose a low ISO of 100, meaning the light was “absorbed” by the film very quickly. The shutter speed was somewhat fast, at 1/500ths of a second, contributing to the crispness (no blurring). Speaking of crispness, that picture makes me think of bacon… and a leaf of lettuce…  Just add two slices of homemade bread!

Shot #2 – ISO 400. This is my daughter in the shade on a normal, sunny day. A normal lighting situation, normal ISO, normal shutter speed of 1/125th second.

Shot #3 – ISO 800

I couldn’t find a picture for this, so I had to take a new one. As it turned out, getting an ISO of 800 was a shot in the dark. (Haha! – I did end up with one shot that was completely black.)

Because this film speed was supposed to be for indoor sports, I tried putting the camera on the “sports” setting (on the big dial, the guy running) and then having my kids run around inside. Not only did the camera not choose an ISO of 800, but it did what it always does for me in the sports setting – gave me a very blurry photo. I ended up just setting the ISO manually. (How to’s to come in later posts.)

Incidentally, I love the resulting shot, graininess and all. But I’m still crossing ISO 800 off the list of potential good camera settings (at least for now).

Notice the progression in the photos from very sharp to very “soft?”

In all, I consider this week a success, with one more photography concept somewhat demystified.

ISO – Is Simple! Obviously.

BOOOOO… for posting late this week!

YAY for discovering a new camera setting!

And no, it’s not setting the aperture, as I had hoped last week. I needed a break from the intimidating process of learning which shutter speeds & apertures go with which lighting conditions. Not to worry – there are lots of easier options.

I bought a new book last week: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Guide to Digital SLR Photography by David D. Busch. It’s so much friendlier than the camera manual. And it includes lots of example photos to show what can be achieved with each setting.

Last night I used something new that I learned. “Flash off” mode is super simple: Turn the big dial on top (the one with all the pictures) to the square with a line crossing out the lightning bolt.

Yesterday my husband carved a pumpkin with the kids. I missed that photo op, but we made up for it tonight. My son was the one who held the most still, so he got to be in the pictures.

This was my first one, in regular automatic mode. With the automatic flash, you can’t even tell there’s a candle inside the pumpkin, or that the house lights were off. (Notice that lovely shadow behind my son’s face, too.)

I switched to “Flash off” mode, and the camera adjusted the shutter speed for me. With all the house lights off, it was VERY slow.

This was the picture I got. (By this time, the pumpkin had lost its lid, as it was starting to smell burned.)

Slow shutter speed + active toddler = very blurry picture.

I’m sure there are better ways to solve this problem, but for now we just turned on one of the lights that was several feet away. With the small amount of additional light, the camera chose a shutter speed that was fast enough to capture the shot before my son could blink.

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.

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.

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.

In this quest to take better photos, I have a few too many reminders that I’m doing this for the memories, in spite of my amateur status. I wish I didn’t make so many mistakes, but occasionally they end up as happy accidents.

In this photo, my daughter was running and dancing in circles around the newly cleaned living room floor. She looked beautiful, and I wanted to capture it. I should have set my shutter speed faster, but I didn’t know how. Every picture from that shoot was blurry.

I still love this picture, though, with her big smile and hair billowing out behind her. The blurring of the details reminds me of her happy energy that day. Next up: moving my camera out of automatic mode!

 

Layout element credits: Annarose by Mag Designs, Different Strokes brush by FeiFei Stuff

I like the look of photographing tiny details, like hands and feet. On my list of photos to shoot is one of me holding each child’s hand – just focusing on our hands, to capture a special relationship. 

For the photo below, I snapped some shots of my daughter’s feet, taken specifically to document something she said that I want to remember. The words read:

Title: “Mama, I wanna dance, but I don’t have no dancing shoes.”

Journaling: “These were your words this afternoon, as you tried to avoid your nap by tempting me into conversation. Your sister has dancing shoes – tap shoes handed down by cousins. I avoided the discussion for now. But someday you’ll know, daughter, that dancing can be a lot more fun without the shoes!”

tiny dancing feet

Layout element credits: Wildflowers kit by Che Yang

On my photography wish list is a lens hood. I’m getting better at recognizing lens flare (those green or yellow spots that show up on the photo when the camera is pointed toward the sun) so I can shade the lens with my hand before snapping the picture.

But sometimes, I like having the sun in the shot! I’m still waiting for that perfect photo with the line of lens flare circles perfectly drawing the eye to the subject. In the meantime, I’m practicing with rays of sunlight. 

This photo was taken for a July 2009 challenge at www.afterfivedesigns.com. (Challenge no longer posted.) The sun was low in the sky, and I positioned the camera so the rays would wrap around my daughter, warmly framing her face and chest.

 

Layout element credits:

Paper and most elements from Citrus Zest by Cinnamon
Frame from Cozy Cottage by Cinnamon
Green bow w white tag, curly green string from Pink Lemonade by K Studio
Butterfly from Sweet Temptation collab by K Studio and FruitLoop Sally
Gnarled wood walking stick from Wedding by Lily
Thin grapevines from Flitting Fall by Lorie Davison

I’m just getting this blog up and running. Please excuse the construction tape! For starters, I’m posting my first “Wednesday” self-challenge on a Thursday. I couldn’t wait almost a week to post the first photo!

I took this photo for the August 2010 Camera Corner challenge at www.oscraps.com.

The challenge: Instead of pleading with your tiny subject to look at the camera (which can lead to a spoiled moment or even tears), try a photo of him or her gazing off at something, or absorbed in a favorite toy. This was a good reminder that I photograph my kids because I love who they are. I don’t want them to act differently or unnaturally in front of the camera.

For this picture, I asked my 3-year-old daughter where the clouds were. I’m very pleased with her “gazing off” look!

hint of autumn

 

Layout element credits: Painted On I & II collabs by TaylorMade & Fei Fei Stuff, Different Strokes brushes 1-3 by Fei Fei Stuff, border papers from Symphony by NinaScraps