exposure question

VayCayMom

I have been reading about exposure..and what affects what shutter, A, flash... My question is, as I attempt to grasp this.. how do you know how to rank what is first? Does it depend on what you are shooting? I usually do portraits and I decide on my aperture first to be sure I get the right focus point.
I'd love to see some visuals to compare mixing up the formulas to see the difference, any out there?

Oh OK I am seeing an assignment here for me........ I hear you guys in my head whenever I post......:rofl

basflt

aperture is first

if you want to see the different , set camera to aperture more and shoot away w different values
DOF must be large enough to capture your subject , but not too large

shutter does nothing [ for you ] it only freeze motion [ races ]

ziggy53

Proper exposure is generally an appropriate mixture of 3 variables:

Aperture
Shutter speed
ISO setting

Yes, you generally start with your subject matter versus lighting conditions in determining your camera setup and appropriate exposure settings.

For instance, with stationary subjects and working on a tripod in good light you generally have more selection than you have with a moving subject (or if you and the camera are in motion relative to the subject) in poor light.

For an active subject, sports or fast-moving wildlife, you generally want a faster shutter speed and that may require either a high ISO setting, or a large aperture setting, or additional light (or some of all of these things). To automate some of those settings you might use shutter-priority mode on your camera, allowing you to choose the desired shutter speed and ISO and allowing the camera to choose the correct aperture.

For subject matter that requires more Depth-of-Field (DOF) you generally need small apertures and that can require slower shutter speeds and/or more light. To automate some of those settings you might use aperture-priority mode on your camera, allowing you to choose the aperture and ISO and allowing the camera to choose the correct shutter speed.

Edit: (Once again "basflt" types faster than I do. )

To be clear, for a portrait application I agree with basflt that aperture is generally the best starting point for a formal portrait.

VayCayMom

Thank you for your prompt help!!

basflt

one more thing , before i forget

i said shutter speed means nothing
not entirely true

when shooting handheld , you have a minimum speed ,
to freeze motion of the camera and yourself

a nice rule ;
1.6 times the length of your lens may be minimum [ handheld ]
[ ea , 100mm lens = shutter speed 1/160 ]
minimum that it , higher value may not be usefull
try it
i tried and it worked for me

jeffreaux2

Trudy,

As one portrait artist to another I can offer my reasoning and approach....

I generally set aperture first. I rarely use an aperture smaller than F4 and mostly shoot from F2.8 to F3.5. This....is so I can blur the backgrounds to isolate my subjects from their surroundings.

Next....I need a fast enough shutter speed so that hand holding ( I NEVER use a tripod) will not have an adverse effect on sharpness. I use stabilized lenses, but still try to stay with the old 2x focal length rule....wher you choose a shutter speed that is double the focal length of your lense. This works well until you choose wider glass. A 50mm by that rule would allow a 1/100 shutter speed. 1/100 isnt fast enough to stop motion blur for hand holding in my opinion. In my experience, always use at least 1/160 for any lens.

Lastly, I choose my ISO, and this is really simple. I choose the lowest ISO that will provide me with the shutter speed I need at my chosen aperture. The lowest ISO possible gives me my best image quality.


How to know what is properly exposed:

I use the "expose to the right" method.

I have two very important settings enabled on my camera.

-Highlight warning - enabled....any overexposed areas in an image will "blink" during review

-Histogram view- enabled ....shows the histogram alongside the image during review.

In exposing to the right I make sure exposures are captured that push all of the data hump on the histogram as far to the right (highlight) side of it as possible without over exposing (getting the blinkies!). This provides the brightest possible image without blowing a highlight. Now and then this method means I have to set a blackpoint in post...but usually not.

Its a very solid method. I promise.:D

VayCayMom

Basft, ziggy, thank you for the details and the input , much appreciated.
Jeff, thank you for the extra details about how you do it and the advice on the data hump! Taking the time to explain some of the little things can be a huge help in improving someone's images.

jeffreaux2

VayCayMom wrote: »

Basft, ziggy, thank you for the details and the input , much appreciated.
Jeff, thank you for the extra details about how you do it and the advice on the data hump! Taking the time to explain some of the little things can be a huge help in improving someone's images.

No problem.

When you are ready to add flash to the mix it can be super easy from here....especially if working with ettl fill. Need a guide for that?

Bakko

jeffreaux2 wrote: »

No problem.

When you are ready to add flash to the mix it can be super easy from here....especially if working with ettl fill. Need a guide for that?

I'd love a flash guide!
Also, a few questions...

Whats your reason for never using a tripod?
And you said that you don't recommend using a shutter speed under 1/160...but how about if your shooting in a low light setting? Whats your stats then?

jeffreaux2

Bakko wrote: »

Whats your reason for never using a tripod?

I find it to be too limiting when shooting on location portraits or events. I have used a monopod in the past, but not since going to all "stabilized" lenses. I change camera angles too often for a tripod to be practical.

And you said that you don't recommend using a shutter speed under 1/160...but how about if your shooting in a low light setting? Whats your stats then?

The numbers were to be used as a guide for shooting portraits. For portrait work, Id stand by that shutter speed as a low limit. If there isnt enough light, then light needs to be added either via ISO, or flash. The 1/160 will help to get super sharp image quality. Much less than that and even slight movements by the subject that arent ordinarily obvious can degrade the image.

A stabilized lens cannot stop the subject from moving.

VayCayMom

jeffreaux2 wrote: »

No problem.

When you are ready to add flash to the mix it can be super easy from here....especially if working with ettl fill. Need a guide for that?

Yes I do

zoomer

jeffreaux2 wrote: »

Trudy,

As one portrait artist to another I can offer my reasoning and approach....

I generally set aperture first. I rarely use an aperture smaller than F4 and mostly shoot from F2.8 to F3.5. This....is so I can blur the backgrounds to isolate my subjects from their surroundings.

Next....I need a fast enough shutter speed so that hand holding ( I NEVER use a tripod) will not have an adverse effect on sharpness. I use stabilized lenses, but still try to stay with the old 2x focal length rule....wher you choose a shutter speed that is double the focal length of your lense. This works well until you choose wider glass. A 50mm by that rule would allow a 1/100 shutter speed. 1/100 isnt fast enough to stop motion blur for hand holding in my opinion. In my experience, always use at least 1/160 for any lens.

Lastly, I choose my ISO, and this is really simple. I choose the lowest ISO that will provide me with the shutter speed I need at my chosen aperture. The lowest ISO possible gives me my best image quality.


How to know what is properly exposed:

I use the "expose to the right" method.

I have two very important settings enabled on my camera.

-Highlight warning - enabled....any overexposed areas in an image will "blink" during review

-Histogram view- enabled ....shows the histogram alongside the image during review.

In exposing to the right I make sure exposures are captured that push all of the data hump on the histogram as far to the right (highlight) side of it as possible without over exposing (getting the blinkies!). This provides the brightest possible image without blowing a highlight. Now and then this method means I have to set a blackpoint in post...but usually not.

Its a very solid method. I promise.:D

I do it EXACTLY like Jeffreaux described above, fastest most reliable method I have arrived at through a lot of trail and error.

jeffreaux2

VayCayMom wrote: »

Yes I do

Start here to add flash. Maybe zoomer can help translate the canon terminology to nikon-ese. Lol

Once you read through it lets see if you still have unanswered questions.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=164683