best way to take pictures

[betta lover1507]

am not much of knowing technology :P but the super macro thing was with the lens wasn't separate or whatever's

[copperarabian]

Originally Posted by betta lover1507

am not much of knowing technology :P but the super macro thing was with the lens wasn't separate or whatever's

Most of the point and shoot camera's will have macro settings built in, and the DSLR cameras need separate lenses for different focal lengths (fixed lenses, telephoto, macro, fish eye and so on).

[Hallyx]

TRIPOD

The fish have enough motion without your adding to it.

Lately I've been experimenting with shutter speed priority on my point-and-shoot. I set the shutter speed; the camera opens the aparature as much as it can. Then it's up to me to provide enough light. Shooting slower than 1/125 or 1/100 of a second is frustrating for me unless the fish is nearly motionless.

If I had Copper's equipment, training, experience, eye and talent, I'd bet I could take a pretty good pic too. Larsa is another competent fish photog.

Dig into this photography forum and see who knows how to shoot.

[labloverl]

Okay, well my camera has a manual setting where I can adjust the ISO, but everytime I take a picture, it clicks like it has taken, but then the screen goes black and stays black for several seconds and then takes the picture.

[labloverl]

Any idea why my camera does this? ^

[Youseph]

Originally Posted by labloverl

Any idea why my camera does this? ^

Here is my two cents and I am sure people are going to disagree with me even though I get wonderful photos. Im still semi new to photography so bare with me here.

With a manual camera or your camera set to manual mode you have to only worry about three settings.

APERTURE
This is the size of the hole the camera opens up to so that light can enter. You're default should be f/5.6. The primary function of these lens openings is to control the volume of light that reaches the digital media or film during an exposure. The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the lens opening; the larger the f-stop number, the smaller the lens opening

SHUTTER SPEED
The right amount of time this light is allowed to remain on the digital sensor. The Shutter speed controls the amount of time that the volume of light coming through the lens (determined by the aperture) is allowed to stay on the digital media or film in the camera.

Although standard shutter speeds are indicated on the shutter speed dial or in your viewfinder as whole numbers-such as 60, 125, 250, and 500-they are actually factions of time (i.e., fractions of 1 second): 1/60 sec., 1/125 sec., 1/250 sec., and 1/500 sec.

ISO
Sensitive to light. Default should always be 200. (I know a lot of people are going to argue with me here.)

EXTRA - WHITE BALANCE
This is something I have just learned through my limited experience. White balance is an over rated setting. The default white balance setting should be cloudy. Creates a “Warmer” shot.

- Default: Cloudy
- Household Lighting: Tungsten
- Office Lighting: Florescent
- Commercial Work using Strobes: Flash

If you pick the wrong setting and are shooting in RAW this can normally be fixed in post processing. (i.e., Photoshop) Gotta love RAW.

[betta lover1507]

am soo confused

[Hallyx]

@Youseph
Nice precis on photography, sir. But, for discussion purposes only:

f5.6 would have me shooting at 1/25 or slower and my fish would be a blur. Even at f3.5 (my largest ap with zoom and macro), I can't get enough light to shoot over 1/100.

The 'daylight' (light balance) setting on my Canon A610 is just right for my 6500K CFL tank light.

Considering my light limitations, I'd love to use an ISO of 200. But, by the time I crop, it gets grainy.

What is RAW?

Nice looking turquoise delta.

[copperarabian]

Originally Posted by Hallyx

@Youseph
Nice precis on photography, sir. But, for discussion purposes only:

f5.6 would have me shooting at 1/25 or slower and my fish would be a blur. Even at f3.5 (my largest ap with zoom and macro), I can't get enough light to shoot over 1/100.

The 'daylight' (light balance) setting on my Canon A610 is just right for my 6500K CFL tank light.

Considering my light limitations, I'd love to use an ISO of 200. But, by the time I crop, it gets grainy.

What is RAW?

Nice looking turquoise delta.

You can't say which settings are best for other peoples cameras because we all have different types, and possibly different lenses. The bigger the lens the more light you need while a smaller lens needs less light. Just play around with your camera until you find what works the best :)

RAW files are awesome. The best way to explain them is by also explaining JPEG, a JPEG file will see a white care fills it those areas with white, while a RAW file will have all the smudges and dust. It's nasically a file that has no process at all and it's photographing what you're seeing rather then making stuff up to safe space like a JPEG. DSLR's almost always have RAW files as a option, very good for printing too.

Because a RAW image has so much more information it's a much larger file, but if you take a over exposed image you can almost always .
I'll post a example in a little bit once I find the images

[Hallyx]

Originally Posted by copperarabian

The bigger the lens the more light you need while a smaller lens needs less light.

Hmmm....and here I thought it was just the other way around.

Originally Posted by copperarabian

a JPEG file will see a white care fills it those areas with white, while a RAW file will have all the smudges and dust.

I don't understand this at all. Why is this a good thing?

Originally Posted by copperarabian

It's nasically a file that has no process at all and it's photographing what you're seeing rather then making stuff up to safe space like a JPEG. DSLR's almost always have RAW files as a option, very good for printing too.

Because a RAW image has so much more information it's a much larger file, but if you take a over exposed image you can almost always .
I'll post a example in a little bit once I find the images

Oh dear, I hope so, as this makes little sense to me.

I looked it up. It seems to have something to do with compression and file size, computer concepts on which I am not totally clear. All my serious photography was with film. Processing comprised dodging and burning and playing with print exposure timing. The only processing I do now is a little lightening or darkening and simple cropping.