[Murphy2004]

Hi all

I'm a fairly inexperienced photographer and am after some advise for how you evaluate how to shoot a scene.

Are there any fixed things you go through to choosing and shooting a good scene ?.

Also when you come to take the picture is there an order you go through with the camera controls in deciding which mode/metering/focusing etc methods you use ?.

Thanks

Jason

[rburgoss]

Its all a matter of common sense:

1) Any scene is composed of different elements. Not precisely specific elements but of the nature of them. That is, elements that move or not, how bright or dark they are (and in relation to each other) and how far or close they are (and in relation to each other).

2) Depending on "elements" composition, you may well opt for depth of field (controlling via aperture how many from closer to farther elements you want if focus), or may opt for "movement control" (controlling movement through shutter speed).

3) No scene is perfect, then this is where aperture and shutter combinations come into play. You can get as many different aperture/shutter combinations that give you exactly the same amount of "light" hitting the sensor, but results will differ widely on how the "elements" are pictured.

4) Of course, the light metering is one big issue. where to meter? Remember that the camera sees "everything" as if it was 18% gray reflectance. Your judgment comes into play here deciding if your "scene" is brighter or darker than the supposed average of 18% gray. Think about this: A black cat on a coal pile and a white rabbit on snow. Both receive the same amount of light but your camera will measure either very different than the other. What to do? Use your judgment and experience to shift the exposure value accordingly.

Some matrix metering systems do consider this differences and try to adjust accordingly. Pentax is know to always keep highlight detail, thus "underexposing" scenes where there are highlights.

There are some reference books out there that can help you a lot, like Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure: Bryan Peterson: Books. Others here may suggest further reading.

Robert B

[Murphy2004]

Thanks for the imformative reply.

Jason

[k100d]

i second the book recommendation, it's a good book ... i'll try to follow up this post later with something more detailed

[Marc Sabatella]

Hi all
Are there any fixed things you go through to choosing and shooting a good scene ?.

1. be interested in the subject, and put it somewhere where it will be the first thing people notice
2. compose the shot so the big abstract shapes are interesting in themselves

Also when you come to take the picture is there an order you go through with the camera controls in deciding which mode/metering/focusing etc methods you use ?.

What's important is what exposure you use, what what exposure mode or metering mode you used to get there. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to ever change either of these settings - much better to simply how to use one exposure mode and metering method to get the results you want. I use M mode and center-weighted metering pretty much exclusively, but you can learn to do the same with P mode and multi-segment metering or Av mode and spot metering, etc. The trick is in learning how to decide what kind of exposure *you* want and then using the controls to make that happen, and rather than assuming that by putting the camera in the right mode, it will happen to choose an exposure you will like. A book such as the one recommended above will go a long way there.

Something I have done to help me in the past is;
1 - Take a picture of a scene that I know I can go back to. For me my garden was a perfect place.
2 - Take a shot and then download it.
3 - Work out what I could have done better.
4 - Take the shot again based on what I have learned from the previous attempt.

This may seem longwinded but in actual fact I didn't have to do it many times before I started 'getting it'.
Some may also call this method nothing but trial and error but that's how the wheel was made.

[Mike Cash]

There's lots that could be said, but I'll just offer one bit of advice that will immediately move you ahead quite a bit:

Be aware of your photo's background

Many an otherwise great photo has been ruined by paying attention only to the subject and forgetting that the bits to the rear are going to be recorded as well.

[k100d]

for focusing
AF-S is what i usually use
AF-C and selecting a point / use Auto, it works ell

for exposure
usually use Av because i can control the depth of field
or Manual if i'm shooting the same setting everytime, i use the histogram to adjust until i am happy, then all the photos will be exposed the same
i don't really use Tv, but you may need this for action photos when you want to have a certain shutter speed