[csa]

+1 to what pathdoc said. My favourite book is 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson. Great fundamentals with small tasks every few pages to get you using your camera.

Plus 1 on this book! An excellent source for answering questions about exposure.

[BruceBanner]

one thing to practice when doing portraiture/subject isolation is the depth of the subject. like my dog from neck to tip of the nose is about a foot. if i want her whole head in focus i need at least that amount so i can stop down accordingly. you're shooting a 3d world so you need some depth of field. one discussion i learned a lot from was about an ideal f stop to obtain the "3d effect" and the consensus seemed to be just enough to get your subject completely in focus but to still blur the background. dof depends on how clsoe you are to the subject as others pointed out and the f stop. so like f5.6 will have more in focus than f 1.8. usually 1.8 is too thin to get the 3d effect bc only part of the subject is in focus. usually around f4?, depending on how much depth there is, is more of an ideal number. what you can do is set the camera to aperture priority and take consecutive snaps starting at 1.8 and working your way down to like f11 on different subjects and youll see the difference it makes. youll wind up deleting a lot of pictures but its a good visual. also if you only take one shot and its at the wrong aperture you missed a good shot so once u get the relative aperture you think youll want you can take one or two above and below that number and youll have a couple to chose from if the situation allows

Yeh I understand what you mean. Yesterday I met up with some friends and had a picnic, this was an opportunity to try some portrait shots. Here are some results below.

I purposefully shot at a high aperture for the baby shots (is high there right term?), like 1.8/2.2 etc, I tried to focus on the eye, reframe shot and then snap, so that the nose and other features was blurry but the eyes in focus. This to me looked better than the entire face in focus, perhaps it's a baby/pet thing.
Whereas the shots with the father I tried to have them both in focus.

See here;





The dad could be in slightly more focus but I think I got away with it.

Practice practice!

Find yourself a book on photography. It doesn't have to be a new one, because ultimately all photography technique boils down to shutter speed and aperture, and ISO is only the same as being able to put a different film in the camera with every shot. Reading this will set you well on the path to understanding what to do with your camera's controls when you take them off automatic, and why. The great thing about digital is that it costs nothing to learn by making mistakes - no film to buy; no prints to pay for - and you see the results of your endeavours instantly, so you learn to correct them sooner if it didn't work out as you expected.

+1 to what pathdoc said. My favourite book is 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson. Great fundamentals with small tasks every few pages to get you using your camera.

Plus 1 on this book! An excellent source for answering questions about exposure.

Thank you, will check that book out, tho I am not very good at reading, I learn more from doing and trial and error, but ta.