cesarakg Loc: Candelaria - Brazil

Do you know any "rule of thumb" ("an imprecise yet reliable and convenient standard" - Wikipedia) to photography? I'm collecting them...

-oOo-

Some of the rules I collected (you can find almost all of them in these forums):

1. keep your shutter speed at least as high as your focal length. (50mm, 1/50 s; 100mm, 1/100 s) http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=858358&t=52383

2. in bright sun, the correct exposure is 1/ISO at f/16. In other words, ISO 250, 1/250; ISO 1000, 1/1000 (a.k.a. "sunny 16"?). http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=413665&t=27591

3. table for average frontlit subjects from 2 hours after sunrise to 2 hours before sunset. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=416339&t=27591

Lighting Conditions Shutter Speed (second) Lens Opening
Bright or Hazy Sun on Light Sand or Snow 1/125 f/16
Bright or Hazy Sun (Distinct Shadows) 1/125 f/11
Weak, Hazy Sun (Soft Shadows) 1/125 f/8
Cloudy Bright (No Shadows) 1/125 f/5.6
Heavy Overcast or Open Shade 1/125 f/4

4. Rule of space in photography http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=268541&t=20231 http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/rule-of-space-in-photography/ (is that a rule of thumb?)

5. Rule of thirds http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-26861-1.html http://goo.gl/5wZgm

6. the optimum setting for prime lenses to avoid diffraction phenomenon is around 2 f/stops past wide open. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=630116&t=39548

7. lenses for portraits http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=834626&t=51186
50mm for full length portraits; (camera at waist level.)
85mm for "belt up" portraits (camera at "mid chest" level.)
135mm for head shots (camera at eye level.)

8. if you want the colors in your sunset/sunrise pictures to look like what you saw when you took the picture to underexpose by a stop or two (film photography). http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=361769&t=24960

9. to photograph the moon, set the aperture to f/11 and use the time equal to 1/ISO, and use the lowest ISO: ISO 100, 1/100 s (focal length?).

-oOo-

12 (more) "Rules of Thumb":

http://peterliuphoto.com/12-photography-rules-of-thumb/

-oOo-

Thanks in advance.

jim charron Loc: Ontario Canada

great source of info. thanks for the post and research. :thumbup:

cesarakg Loc: Candelaria - Brazil

I was hoping that the more experienced photographers would jump to share their wisdom with the inexperienced like me...

Well, I still have hopes.

ric158

just what I need- how do I make a print out or would my email be easier--ric158@comcast.net

ric158

I
I just tried to print and I got it am new thanks anyway Ric

cesarakg Loc: Candelaria - Brazil

The 12 rules of thumb collected by Peter Liu are in a different url:

http://peterliu47.com/12-photography-rules-of-thumb/

cesarakg Loc: Candelaria - Brazil

For fireworks

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-130344-2.html#2218073

"Fireworks;
Aperture set to f-16 initially.
Exposure mode: Bulb
Tripod
Shutter release cable
RAW
Manual Focus for hyper focal distance

Depending on number of shells going off at the same time, a 1 to 3 second exposure will render some great firework shots.

You can adjust f-stop or exposure time for those moments, like the finale when they shoot everything off.

If you have a netural density filter, say 3-stops you can also use it which will allow you to open the aperture a little and improve the overall colour without burn-out.

I would also shoot with the widest lens you have. This will allow you to capture those f/w with the large canopies without loosing any of the image. You can crop later."

- f4frank