6 replies to this topic

[dangzr1]

So I will be shooting my very first family photography this weekend. I'm using the Nikon d3300 with the 55-200 DX VR lens.

I also do own the 18-55 lenses.

I will be shooting the images raw and on manually mode. My question is that How can i capture the best photos with this camera if kids run around without it being blurry?

 

In auto mode, I just set the settings to sport and I snap away, but In manually mode i noticed the images get blurry if anything moves! Please help!!

[Jerry_]

If you have moving people or objects you need to freeze their movements by having an as short as possible shutter speed/exposure time (i.e. have the time that short that the distance that they move is so small that it is not visible on the image).

Overall, however, the sensor still needs to get enough light, for allowing for properly showing the capture (otherwise it would result in an underexposed capture).
The two other variables that you have to play with (on top of the shutter speed/EXPOSURE time) are
(1) the APERTURE (have more light falling on the sensor; pay attention that the aperture is a fraction of; i.e. an exposure of 3.5 is 1/3.5 and an exposure of 16 is 1/16, whereby the smaller the value, the larger the aperture) (the max aperture is a physical limitation of your lens and will be indicated, f.i. a lens stating 55-200/3.5-5.6 will have a max aperture of 3.5 at 55mm and 5.6 at 200mm) and
(2) the ISO setting (i.e How sensitive the sensor should be; the higher the value the more sensitivity).
Drawbacks on changing these values are that a larger aperture results in less depth of field, while a higher ISO value will reduce the dynamic range and cause grain to appear.

So, taking into account the drawbacks, start testing with shutter speeds (=exposure time) using values of 1/500 or faster, having the aperture wide open and the ISO setting set to Auto ISO.

If you are indoor, also try using the build-in flash (even so it may create shadows)

Before going to the family event test different settings beforehand in situations similar than you expect to have during the event, in order to become familiar with the best use of those settings.

[etphoto]

If the family pictures are important to you, you might want to shoot on auto until you feel more comfortable shooting in manual mode. I would suggest practicing shooting non moving objects to get your exposures down before playing with fast moving objects. Lol

[TBonz]

OK...here's my take...

 

First off, you can always shoot in Shutter Priority mode with your setting at 1/500 or above...Your ISO should be set to AutoISO up to a high enough level so your shutter is above 1/500 depending on the age of the kids.  For some kids you may have to raise that a stop or two and for some you can lower it a stop or two.  

 

Manual mode isn't that difficult...If you want to shoot manual, bump up the ISO until you can get at least 1/500 as a shutter speed and the aperture you want...(same cautions apply as to stopping motion)...that should stop most movement of the kids and shoot away.  You have a digital camera so take an image or two and see what you are getting and adjust from the images you are reviewing...Note that most folks find a wide aperture (lowest number) and higher shutter speed tend to result in more pleasing images since the background is a blur and the subject is sharp.  until you get some practice at that, you might want to go for a mid-range aperture (but still stoping motion at 1/500 or above) until you get used to focusing on moving subjects...not as easy as it looks...

 

Good luck!  Post some of what you get if you get it right and do the same if you need some guidance!

[Headstill]

Good points above, I too have a similar camera as yours and similar lenses.

 

No one has talked about the auto focus options so here goes...

 

1) high shutter (1/500 or above as other have noted)

2) Auto ISO (to compensate for as much light that's being allowed) If you have a decent sun light day, his will stay pretty low (800 or below is better)

3) AUTO FOCUS OPTIONS

    - in AUTO MODE

         AF-A (auto servo mode) for focus mode

       - AF-area mode

           A) If you have a steady hand and can keep the "focus square" on your subject, then I would set to 3D-tracking

           OR  If you do not not feel the tracking is getting the shots you want then set to Auto-area AF

   

 

     - In MANUAL MODE 

        - AF- A or AF- C 

         -AF-A will choose what type of subject you are taking and adjust (I am not much of a fan of this for motion pics)

         -AF-C will constantly refocus on the subject as you are taking the shots without pushing down the button half way (I have had the best luck using this for action photos)

          -AF-are mode

            A) again like above, steady hand try this to tell camera what to focus on

            OR  using the whole sensor to make an "average" of points to focus on

 

As always Nikon gives you the "?" button (the lowest button on the back of your camera) to explain what each function does and why you want to use it. It is like an advisory cheat sheet that reminds you of how all the functions perform on your camera without pulling out the manual or PDF.

 

I would also highly recommend doing a practice session with maybe a pet (ideal subject) because they are unpredictable.

 

I also agree, look at what your are shooting on your preview screen, if nothing seems to be looking sharp, go all AUTO till you get the hang of your camera. The worst thing that can happen is that you miss the shot because you were "over tinkering" with your camera....it happens to the best of us.

 

Good luck and yes, please do share your results!

[dcbear78]

My tips would be use auto ISO and manual. Set aperture to f5.6 as that is the lowest you can go at all focal lengths with those lenses. Find your location, get your people in position and then increase shutter speed until ISO reads 400. Hopefully you will get a shutter speed of 1/500 or faster.

Why this settings?

This will give you some leeway either side. If you happen to move somewhere brighter your camera has a couple stops up it's sleeve to bring down ISO. If you go somewhere darker or as light reduces you have the same.

This way you can just concentrate on your subjects while just keeping a cursory glance at what the ISO is going to. This also controls your two variables that will determine how the photo looks.

People think there is a massive nobility in shooting in manual. There isn't. For the most part all you are doing is following the exposure guide the camera is giving you anyway. You may as well offload some of the work to the camera.

I know for a fact one of the world's most awarded wedding photographers shoots in aperture priority. Why? Because getting a usable image is more important than feeling warm and fuzzy about the way you got it.

[TBonz]

Yup...I know a number of professional sports photographers who use Aperture Priority too...counter intuitive since shutter speed is critical, but a shot with some small blurry areas is better than no shot...On the flip side, I tend to go to manual more often than not - mostly because I have shot in manual since my first image with a 35mm film camera, I'm comfortable doing it and there are situations where it works best.  In some situations where lighting is variable, it helps to have automatic adjustments in camera to allow you to concentrate on what you are capturing vs. what your settings are.  In some other situations with light that isn't changing, I know what I want more than the camera does, so I do it myself.

 

To follow-up on Headstill's post, I always shoot AF-C, use back-button focus so I can focus where I want and recompose.  I usually reduce the # of focus points - frequently just a single point or maybe the surrounding points.  Again, I use back button focus (there are one or more threads on this in the forum) so I can pick any single point to focus and I can either continuously focus when keeping the button down or release / recompose to shoot, pressing the button again when I want / need to refocus.  When using multiple points, your camera may decide a focus point that isn't the one you were expecting when you shot the image.

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is focus speed.  Any lens will only focus in a given time and if you don't give it that amount of time, it will still give a blurry image.  I can't remember the exact menu item name right now and don't have a camera available to check but at least on some of the Nikons you can set it to take the image when you fully press the shutter or you can tell it to wait for focus before it will release the shutter.  You might want to check that setting as well.  I've tried release and focus priority - both work...with release you may get some blurry images, but you will get the images.  With focus, you may miss some images because the camera wasn't finished focusing but the images you get should be in focus based on the point or points your camera was focusing on.  Shooting moving subjects, you will definitely end up with images that "don't work".  Depending on your settings, you may end up with a blurry image or you may end up with an image that was shot after "that moment" of whatever you were trying to capture occurred.  Timing is the key and that takes time and practice - I know I'm still working on it...and you will need to vary your timing based on each individual as they all move differently with different timing on activities.