Shutter Speeds

This setting was a bit of challenge for me.  I had a hard time figuring out how to set it on my Nikon D90.  I’m supposed to be able to turn my setting to S mode and use the back dial to alter my shutter speeds.  However, this was not the case.  I set the mode but the shutter speed was not changing when I turned the dial.  I changed to the P mode and tried the same thing to no avail.  I finally googled my issue and felt relief when I found others were having the same issue.  I found two forums that helped immensely.  One responder said pushing the shutter release button half way down resets or unlocks the dials.  Another said pushing the live button worked as well.  I opted to use the second option.  It was easier for me at the time as I was chasing my son around our back yard while him and his dad played lacrosse. 

I started in a high shutter mode and everything seemed to freeze in time.  I started with 1/500 and my son is running towards me.  Everything is in focus and seems it as I have pressed pause on a video.  It seemed to do this at /180 and 1/125 as well.  I can see more of a difference as I get to the 1/90 setting.  The movement of their lacrosse sticks is blurry or in action.  I learned to pan last semester and this worked well with this setting.  The shot of them running is, I tried to be as smooth as possible and move with Hiram (my son).  I captured what I set out to do, which was to get them in focus but show their movement across the lawn.  I went down to 1/60 and this seemed more of a challenge to keep still.  The more I focused in on a specific subject that was still was the only thing to stay in focus.  The more I dialed down, the more I had to stay still.  I was quite proud of the image that is at a 1/6 setting and I managed to get Hiram’s face in focus while everything else is in motion.  The more I went down the more frustrating it was to keep my subject in focus but once I did, it felt great to be able to manipulate my camera. 

I tried to challenge myself by telling Hiram to jump in the trampoline while I shot in the lower settings.  This was very difficult because I could not stay still.  The constant shake from the trampoline was too much for my amateur skills especially at a setting of 1/4.  The setting that worked the best for me was the 1/90.  I was able to capture the shots in motion but still keep what I wanted in focus which is a big feat for me.  When I did this assignment similar to this one last semester, I am positive I had the ISO and the shutter speeds confused because of the setting on my camera.  Instead of changing the shutter, it changes the ISO so I was under the impression I had been changing my shutter speeds.  I am I figured this out, I tend to get confused when I am shooting and everything is happening so fast in front of me. 

In real life, this lesson has been very helpful.  Hiram plays lacrosse and does not sit still.  I almost always have to chase him to get a picture.  I like the effect of the motion the shutter speeds give a picture.  This will also help at work, we just put in a water wall and I am looking forward to getting some good water splashing shots of the kids.

The examples I have attached show the difference between a slow shutter speed that smears or blurs things together and a fast shutter speed that freezes everything and shows great detail.

Aperture Settings

These pictures display my aperture experiment per class assignment.  They are arranged by aperture settings on my camera.  I started with the highest one at f-22 and go all the way down to f-4.  On the top shot I had the lens all the way out and had it at the largest f stop of 22.  As you can see the entire picture is in focus.  For the second shot I dialed down two f stops to f16 just to see if I could see a difference and I really can not tell which one is which.  For the third shot I went down to f13 and I can start to see things closer to me coming more into to focus.  The yellow flowers are more visible than in the previous shots.  In the fourth shot, I zoomed in closer because I wanted to different angle.  Again, it seems the same as the previous shot to me.  The foreground (the plants) are in focus and the grass in the background is a little out of focus.  I can start to see more of a difference in the sixth shot.  I left the aperture setting at f13 but a different shot.  In this one (#5) I can see a bigger difference.  The one yellow flower to the left is in focus while the rest are a little blurry in the background.  The more I dialed down the more visible the foreground became.  The background seemed to become less visible. This tends to increase the more the pictures descend and I dial down the f stops.  However, I could not get down to f-4 and f-3.5 unless I brought the lens in.  It was quite challenging for a minute, I didn't know why that f stop kept disappearing whenever I tried to zoom back in.  My lens measures 18mm-150mm.  This was the first time I have actually adjusted the aperture settings manually.  I usually shoot in S mode and let the camera automatically adjust the aperture for me but this techique works better when I am shooting a specific shot.  I like tight close ups and with natural face expressions.  The infants and babies are my favorite to shoot, I like catching precious moments.

I can see how this would apply to my current position and in real life.  I take a lot of pictures of small children in a classroom setting.  Everyone who has ever set foot in a pre-k classroom knows it is very bright, busy, loud, and messy.  The kids' art is up, learning posters, schedules, potty charts etc.. It is hard for me to find a blank or drab background to take pictures of the kids.  At times when I am trying to take hand shots or physical movement, it can be hard to tell what is the background and what is the subject.  All the colors and patterns runs together and are hard to differentiate.  Being able to manually set my aperture settings will help me focus more on the subject and the foreground without all the business in the background. 

Working my D90...

My current camera of choice is the Nikon D90 DLSR.  I have owned this camera for about two years and am still getting familiar with the shutter speeds, aperture settings, and using the exposure measuring tool in the viewfinder.  The lens I ordered for my D90 measures 18mm-105mm which is a nice distance and good for shooting close ups indoors, which is how I usually capture photographs.  In my current position I take a lot of pictures of preschoolers who are always on the go and hardly ever stop to pose.  It can be a tad difficult at times and I have to remember which speeds to shoot at while I have teachers and students running around me, laughing, yelling, and talking.  It took me awhile to figure out how manipulate the camera in order to capture the perfect shot.  I normally use the aperture setting so the shutter is automatic.  Sometimes I get confused or mixed up as I am trying to configure ISO speeds and aperture settings.  I know what they mean but am still not confident when using them.  Action shots have always been a challenge for me.  I learned how to pan last semester where the background is blurry and the subject is in focus.  I use the automatic focus setting and push my button half way down till it gets in focus and the box inside turns green.  Sometimes when I shoot video I take the automatic focus off in order to get a specific shot.  I have used all but two settings on the mode dial.  I have yet to use the M (manual) and the P (program mode).  May be after this course I will be more efficient in all the settings my camera has to offer.  For white balance, I use the automatic setting all the time.  Last semester I took the Photographic Vision and learned to read the meter that measures exposure within my camera which has helped my shots tremendously.  Now I know the correct exposure when I am shooting and get less underexposed shots, which was one of my issues.  I rarely have to use my flash as much, which helps because the children are more timid when a big light is flashing towards them.  This lets me capture more natural shots because they are not aware that I am photographing them.  I do not know how to use the bracketing feature on my camera properly, which is something I hope to learn this semester.  I have also done a few videos on my camera, which was a little different as first since, I was taught on the bigger models with DV tapes.  The SD card is much more convenient than having to import the video directly from a camera while it rendered, this saves a lot of time.  I always look through the lens rather than use the view finder.  It makes me focus on the shot more than if I was looking at a screen.  I really enjoy working with this camera but it is the only DSLR I’ve become acquainted with.  I have used a Cannon during training in Nashville but I favor my Nikon.

My son Hiram

I enjoy taking action and natural shots of my three year old son, since he normally has a hard time sitting still.  These are some of my photos from last semester and my first post.