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04-17-2012, 05:20 AM   #1
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Landscape Settings

Hi everyone, I tried to shoot some landscape, sunset pics last eveining and did not really get the result I was looking for and had a few questions about settings?

Lets say I am doing a cemetery at sunset, facing away from the sun to get the shadows, light etc what do you focus on? There is tree line at the back with some clouds above, would I focus on the trees to get it all front to back with a small ap?

Also which focus point do you use, center? 11? 5?

Thanks, George

04-17-2012, 05:29 AM   #2
Ash
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George, I would set your focus point to manual and have it positioned at precisely where your subject is in the frame, then expose for the background to create that silhouette effect. Depth of field of f/5.6 to 8 will ensure your foreground and background are sharp enough, but it depends on how close you are to your subjects.
04-17-2012, 07:07 AM   #3
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I'll assume that you want details to show in your 'scapes. For most 'scapes, you want a tight aperture for thick DOF, so that much of your scene is in focus. For twilight 'scapes, you *need* a tripod, else you *will* suffer motion blur, even with SR on. Tripods improve daylight 'scapes too.

If you look at published collections of 'scapes, you'll see that most were shot in a range equivalent to 18-55mm. Exact settings in that range depend on the focal length used. Each FL has its own needs, and each lens has its aperture "sweet spot". With a modern zoom, that might be f/5.6-f/8. With an older prime, it might be f/8-f/11.

When I shoot 'scapes with a 24mm MF prime, I'll maybe go to f/11 and prefocus to 10ft / 3m for DOF from 5ft 1.5m to infinity. With an AF zoom at 35mm I'll set the aperture to f/8 and prefocus to 30ft / 9m for DOF from 15ft/4.5m to infinity. These numbers are easily handled on old MF lenses with DOF scales (*) inscribed on them. AF lenses lack those scales; you can get the DOF settings by plugging-in numbers at the online DOF calculator.

Besides focus, exposure can be tricky with twilight shooting. The solution: bracket bracket bracket. Not only do you increase the odds of getting an exposure you like, but you can assemble the frames for HDR images if you wish.

There are many ways to shoot many kinds of land-sea-sky-town 'scapes. I've suggested some of the more common techniques. Good luck!
_________________________________________

(*) There's a trick to using inscribed DOF scales of MF primes on APS-C cameras: fudge by one f-stop. If I set the aperture to f/11, I read distances just inside the f/8 marks. So for a 'scape I'll set the aperture, set the infinity mark at around f/7, and read the near distance from inside the other f/8 mark. I hope this isn't too confusing.

Last edited by RioRico; 04-17-2012 at 07:22 AM.
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