sigh, eh, u guys, stop messy with empty-ball head... lol he will be more confuse not knowing where went wrong

empty-ball: my advise, first, empty your head, its hard to teach a cup full of water, forget what u read online.

now, turn ur camera mode to P mode. set ur iso to auto. for the first 5000 picture, shoot with only P mode. everytime u shoot, when u review the picture, look at the aperture (F#.#) and shutter speed (1/###)  and iso used for that picture, understand why did it used F5.6 rather then F22, see why does the shutter speed is only 1/60 then 1/4000. why is the iso at iso800 or 1600 rather then 100 all the time. study ur environment too. after u get the general idea which setting goes for what kind of environment, u will slowly learn the A and S mode, and only lastly goes to M. do not jump to M mode directly, it will lead u nowhere.

empty ball, let me tell u of a story of my friend who brought a expensive camera not long ago...

he told me, he wanted to use M, because he silly dog cat friend told him that use M is = PRO, since his got pro camera, must shoot like PRO. alright... but his to get 1 photo right, he needs 5 min to set, or never able to catch a shot at all.
so he come to me... and ask why is so hard to shoot with a pro camera, arent PRO camera is design to be easy? i asked him back, why did he shoot in M mode? he told me the reason (above) that use M = more PRO. auto for kids.
next i told him, ur office, the computer, all throw away la all the computer, all the calculator... use ledger book and Abacus... all those FULL MANUAL, then u will LOOK damn PRRROOO in ur office lor. he laughed a while and ask me back why not?

let's see... there is Auto and Manual Transmission car, you usually buy which one? he smile back, AUTO Better. i know manual give u more PRO racing feel, but auto EASE your life.

you paid a lot of money for the camera.... you are suppose to let the camera Work For You..... not the other way around, not u susah susah work for it... right? so why not just use AUTO (or P mode) for a while until u get used to it?

end of story. have fun with your camera

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empty-ball, dont do panning right after you entered the world of dslr/dslt. Learn ISO, SS and aperture first. dont use manual, use A or S mode. Example using A mode, see what SS they auto help you use. And learn from there. Dont jump to panning. If you can't get what ISO, SS, Aperture does to yr exposure, you can NEVER do panning.

Don't skip the basics. If you skip the basics you will find it hard to understand the more advanced techniques. Once you understand the basics that understanding will help you quickly master the advanced techniques.

What is the basics in photography? It's how to get correct exposure on your pictures.

Wokeh! Time to get into explanation mode again...

For all the beginners out there. I know you are excited in getting brand spanking new DSLR/DSLT but you need to get one thing right first : how to get correct exposure on your pic before you leave 'AUTO' or P mode. Jumping straight to M mode is bound to be really frustrating if you don't understand the basics.

Exposure on your pic depends on 3 settings on your cam. In fact it's the same in EVERY cam. Just that some cameras don't let you fiddle with some of the settings.

The 3 settings are : Aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
What is Aperture?

It's the opening in your lens that control how much light can go through. You can control aperture by making the opening larger or smaller. It's denoted by the f number on your cam. E.g. f 2.8 / f5.6 /f8 etc.

Now one thing you need to understand is the bigger the f number value, the smaller the opening. Meaning at f11 your aperture opening is smaller compared to f4. So if you want to let more light through you need to set your f number to a smaller value. Confusing? Yes, it is.

To avoid confusion it's better to refer to aperture using 'bright' or 'dark' rather than large or small. Thus f 2.8 is a bright aperture and f8 is a dark aperture.
What is shutter speed?

It's the duration of time that the camera exposes the sensor to light. The longer the duration, the more light can reach the sensor.
What is ISO?

It's the sensitivity level of your sensor towards light. The more sensitive it is, the easier it is to capture the image.
How the 3 works together to determine your exposure:

First thing is aperture value. Depending on your lens, the range of aperture you can use is limited. E.g. your kit lens only allows the brightest aperture at f 3.5 thus let's use this as an example.

You set your aperture to f 3.5

Next your shutter speed. How long do you want to expose the sensor to light? 1/10th of  a second or 1/100th of a second?  Let's take 1/100th of a second as your second setting.

Lastly your ISO. Let's say you set it to ISO 200.

So you take a shot a f 3.5, shutter speed 1/100th of a second at ISO 200.

If the picture comes out dark. What do you do?
First let's explore aperture. It's at f 3.5 and your lens cannot allow any other brighter setting so you're stuck with that.
Next shutter speed. At 1/100th of a second the picture is dark. To make it brighter, what do you need to do? Extend the duration the sensor is exposed to light, right? So adjust your shutter speed to 1/60th of a second.

You take another shot at f 3.5, shutter speed 1/60th of a second at ISO 200.

The picture now is brighter but still not bright enough. So you adjust the shutter speed to 1/30th of a second and take another shot.

At f 3.5, 1/30th of a second, ISO 200 the shot is bright and just right but you see that people that are walking in your pic appears blurred due to movement. This is because your shutter speed is too slow to freeze movement. If you want to freeze the movement then you need a faster shutter speed. So up it goes back to 1/60th of a second.

But at 1/60th of a second the picture is not bright enough. What else can you do?
Let's check out ISO.

From 200 you increase it to 400 and take another shot.

At f 3.5, 1/60th of a second, ISO 400 the picture comes out just right because your sensor is now more sensitive to light.
And that's how aperture, shutter speed and ISO work together to get you your exposure level. Understand the relationship between the 3 settings will get you a long way towards getting the picture you want.

well done, william..my sifu..
sometimes theory and practical is big differences...even if you know alot about theory, does not mean u can shoot well....same to if you langsung dono theory, through practices u may excel those who pro theory....can understand well all the basics and able to apply to the photo as well as able to make a nice framing angle is a different thing..

as the saying goes: learn from experience...experience will teach u more..try try try..never give up..

empty-ball, why not post up some difficult shots that you think u need to know more here. we'll break it down for u on what you need to pay more attention at...

if you're afraid of ppl laughing at you, how are you going to learn?

if you post a picture at least we can guide you...you can choose either we guide you or you need a TT poisoning session...make your choice...

   



Camera Sony DSLR-A700
Exposure 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias +0.7 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

when shooting, know what you want to shoot, is the captured moment able to tell the story? you dont go taking a snapshot of a fire hydrant or a lens cap and post it up asking "C&C please". that, is kind of stupic.

taking a fire hydrant for example,

if you post this and ask for C&C



what we can say is just, "haha, cute hydrant". or at least some will say, "nice, u painted that?"

but if you post this



there's still something to be said about bokeh, depth of field, white balance, soft lighting, perspective, etc...

and then there's this...



NOW, you're telling a story...

Blur/Subject not in Focus....try to give attention to the subjects Face when taking portraits...

Focus on the model's face, and snap. Whats so difficult? the background will still be blur. Dont worry

can increase 1 more stop for exposure..will result in better skin tone...fairer..and try frame that model to the left..
use local AF mode...select the points on the model's face..lol..

u can try more...then u will get the feel...just shoot more..

iso100 to iso200 to iso 400 to iso800
F2.8 to F4 to F5.6 to F8 to F11
1/8 to 1/15 to 1/30 to 1/60 to 1/125 to1/250

all above is 1 stop.

newbieee, there's nothin wrong to use the centre focal point IF your subject is at some distance away. But if your subject is less than 1m away, using the middle to lock focus and then recompose, your focal will shift  and then your focus point will not be at where you want it to be.

find someone knowledgeable and ask him to guide you or WORKSHOP!

like this u will need wide angle prime lens..coz normal way, u cant get a super blurry background...worse, if u use a zoom lens where u can zoom close up, and the object is too big, u will need to be at a far far distance...

anyway, just try like this:

- try go as far as u can, zoom in with lower aperture, such as F5.6..if with zoom, u cant make whole image into the frame, means this method cant use..

- try go as near as u can, using widest focal length u can, such as 18mm..with a lower aperture like F3.5..and try..if cant get desired blurring, means this method also cant use...

if both fail =  u need wide prime...

btw, want to ask sifus as well,

i m opening a raw image using sony Image Data Converter SR, and Adobe Lightroom...proven that the image in lightroom is really different with that sony proprietary software..because i remember i took the pic correctly..but in lightroom, it seemed to be under-expose and very low saturation..no wonder i always see so damn nice in my camera but in lightroom so pale..

anyway to make lightroom behave the same?

wide prime is something like 35mm F1.8..

35mm means it is fixed at 35mm..cannot zoom in or zoom out..

wide means u can frame more item into the shot..

F1.8 means the lowest aperture value u can choose in camera is F1.8..F1.8 means the aperture can open very big...

in layman terms, wide aperture = the lens hole open big big..like on F1.8 on 50mm DT lens, the hole is approx the size of 5sen..

when on F1.8, u can get shallow depth of field which is the blurry background u want..but it depends on how u frame the shot..F1.8 does not always confirm will give u blurry background...same as F11 does not always means clear picture..

example, my prime lens..50mm F1.8:

on F2.2 give nice background blurring..this is because on F2.2 the lens hole open big big..


example, my 18-55 kit lens:

on F8, still give me nice background blurring..due to i go closeup...xD..

fixed focal length got advantage...most of the time, the images will be sharper...depends on how u use it, it can have many usage..

but, firstly, max out ur usage on kitlens..must shoot more..hehe..try liao and u cant achieve something, then only u ask whether is the hardware limitation of urs, or lack of skill to achieve that thing..dont be a gearhead..buy best body + get CZ lens..at the end, photos only so-so..then talk cock alot like a pro..but no photos presented..

and try to pickup some post processing skills...it is essential to digital photography nowadays..90% of the superb photos on the market have some processing on it already..it is more important, when u have only entry lenses or kitlens or noob lens..post processing can help u enhance the photo to look better..

u gearhead meh..lol..  
err..i just give example only la...35mm F1.8 somehow is wider than 50mm prime ma..lol..for me, it is wide prime liao..lol..i dont care is APSC or full frame..35mm just 35mm...better than 50mm..
like this:

-when u wan to get background blur, u will tend to use A mode..more..it is the same, just stick to low A, if u wan to shoot portrait...normal usage, i just stick to F8..i mean outdoor shooting la..for landscape, u can go up to F11..if u wan...just try it out..for myself, when on kitlens, i usually go A mode..F8..when on prime, i usually F2.2..thats all..haha..anyway, just experiment it on the spot..

-when u wan to shoot slow shutter, like smooth silky waterfall or water surface or light trail...use S mode...then try put 10sec - 30 sec..btw, this normally u cant use on daytime..hardly la i mean if without ND filter(which can enable u to use slower shutter)..for myself, i never use this mode...lol..if i wan to use slow shutter, normally i in the A mode too...i will turn to highest A..and see which is the slowest shutter i can use..hehe..coz, when u wan to use slow shutter, mostly u will want to go as slow as u can..so just bump up the A and use minimum ISO..u will be at the slowest shutter possible at that time(with correct exposure)..

well, at least this is wat i am doing la..i just share oni..correct me if i am wrong..