While in the midst of snapping shots of Hen on his birthday it occurred to me that I should try to use what I learned in class the other day, so I changed up the shot a bit with the help of a high aperture and two second shutter speed. Given the amount of blown out sections along the wall I probably could have closed the aperture a few more notches but I'm happy with these ghost shots of Hen playing with his new construction truck. If anything it gives you a sense of how much one little boy can move in two seconds.
Shutter 2 Aperture f/14.0 ISO 100
Shutter 2 Aperture f/14.0 ISO 100
8 comments:
You could try zeb's trick of figuring out the settings for the normal "correct" exposure and then adjusting the aperture and shutter equivalent stops around that balanced exposure shot.
Cool approach. I struggle to apply the techniques to mu kids but I really like your result.
That's pretty awesome. Back when I didn't understand all that much about photography, I was trying to get shots like that of Cayden riding by on his bike (under tress, on an overcast day with a simple point & shoot, just leaving off the flash). I was so confused because he was impossible to see in any of the shots since he was going by too fast. Needless to say, your ghost shots looks a lot better than mine. :)
Rachele,
Yeah, I know I could use math to figure out the settings but I wasn't going to stop shooting to figure out the math when Hen had already so patiently waited to open his presents. What I should really do is create a bit of a cheat sheet so I can quickly pull it out and check the ratios (aperture to shutter speed, etc.) so I at least can narrow down the place to start snapping.
Amber,
For some reason Napoleon Dynamite's "Yes, I love technology" song comes to mind. If only you had known then what you know now, eh? (And also had that kick@$$ camera.)
This is how I would do it on my Nikon, which I am sure works the same way on your Nikon. I don't know if there is enough time to do this approach, but figured I'd write it out to see if we're thinking the same thing. My way doesn't need a cheat sheet.
1) Find the "right" normal exposure (using P mode for me, or your normal excellent eye in M mode, for you).
2) rotate dial to get the shutter speed that I want, counting the clicks as I go.
3) rotate dial to get the aperture I want, counting the same number of clicks.
My first instructor said that our "clicks" when we rotate our dials are each equivalent to 1/3 stop. So if I close the aperture 9 clicks (3 stops) then I also slow the shutter 9 clicks (3 stops).
No math other than counting.
My Nikon also has an option to change the intervals of stops on my camera to 1/2 or other options besides 1/3, but I'm afraid to touch that.
The click per click thing will definitely come in handy. I remember Zeb mentioning the ratios - so aperture and shutter match one to one. For some reason I had it in my head it was much harder to think through on the fly. I guess then my issue would be that once the "perfect" (or perhaps "normal") shot is set up, how do I know how far to click in either direction to change it up. This is going to take a lot of practice. If I go up five clicks (adjusting both to ensure the picture stays close to how it was in the perfect/normal position), what if five clicks isn't enough or is too much?
"once the "perfect" (or perhaps "normal") shot is set up, how do I know how far to click in either direction to change it up."
Well, that is a good point, that is where your artistic choices will come into play. For these shots, did you know you wanted to blur two seconds of time? If so, you'd just change the shutter speed first until it got to two seconds, counting the clicks. Then counter your aperture with the same number of clicks, required to offset.
If you DIDN'T know you wanted 2 seconds to capture the amount of motion you want from Henry... well then I think that's where your trial and error come in.
Did you use a tripod for these? I can't hold my camera that steady for two seconds. I have always felt like you had a really steady hand in your pictures, though, so if you didn't use a tripod then this only reinforces my opinion. :)
OR (I just tried this) you can just use (s)hutter mode and set your time to 2 seconds and let the camera figure out the aperture. :)
I had to turn off my automatic focus for it to work, though.
I did not know I wanted/needed 2 seconds. I just started changing the aperture and shutter speed until I was able to see something (anything) that resembled a picture. I had the camera sitting on the floor. I need to get a tripod, though. I think it would be fun to play with that.
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