darrelm1967 wrote:
First thank you for this site. I am trying to get out of "Auto/Scene" so please be patient when I ask the same old questions AGAIN since I am sure that they have been answered before many times. Also it is worth noting that I am blind in one eye and have no depth perception so I am not real sure how depth is supposed to look. So far has have not been able to equate something to help me determine depth. Now I have been this way all of my life and use small tells in everyday life to help determine distance like counting ceiling tiles or floor tiles, the size of an object, things of that nature. So short of getting a tape measure out and staging a shot I don't know how I need to compose things to make them not look flat to everyone else(they always look flat to me).
Here is my setup:
Nikon D7100
Nikon fixed 50mm 1.8 (currently used in these pictures)
Nikon 18-300mm 1:3.5-5.6
SB900 Flash (current not used in these pictures)
Mounted on Tripod and using remote trigger
So here is my understanding of what happens when you change different setting. Please correct me if I am wrong on any of these
1. ISO - sensor speed (how fast the sensor can capture the image)
2. Shutter - How much light enters lens(how long the shutter stays open)
3. Aperture - focus area meaning that at 1.8 I am wide open meaning by subject and background are in focus (how big the opening is to focus on)
So I took a series of pictures at 30" from subject to camera using on board flash all set at 1/20s ISO-100
So I have a couple of questions on what is happening and why?
1. Why are the pictures getting lighter as I decrease the f-stop as well as loosing detail?
2. On picture 4 why is it now blury as well as washed out?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
First thank you for this site. I am trying to get... (
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It sounds to me like your difficulties are partially related to not understanding how your camera works. There are a lot of sources for learning about the exposure triangle, how each lens affects the expansion or contraction of a scene [related to depth of field], and composition. Hopefully you have also read through your camera's manual more than once to learn its different capabilities.
Since you have been blind in one eye since birth, you have not had to make the adjustments of those who are blinded in one eye later on in their lives. Perhaps it is subconscious, but you are using clues from your environment every waking minute, that tell you how far it is from one thing/place to the next. What you see is processed by your brain, so it is even possible that your brain is interpreting your surroundings three-dimensionally!
I adopted 2 kitties who each had one eye removed as kittens. Sometimes they misjudge distances when something new is introduced into their environment, but for the most part they have no problem. One thing I noticed, when one of them wants to jump up from the floor onto furniture or my lap, it will pause and look carefully [it looks to me like the one eye is looking at different parts of the situation quickly which provides visual depth of field information]. You undoubtedly do something similar, whether it is moving your eye or moving your head. So although it can be an inconvenience, being blind in one eye , but not truly a handicap.
One more thing is that photography is usually a one-eyed activity! We look through the viewfinder with one eye, adjust settings, compose our shot, and snap the picture. If your composition is good, and you get the aperture, exposure and shutter speed correctly set, the image will turn out well. So study your manual, the exposure triangle, and composition. Auto-focus is great for getting the subject in focus - for that you need to know how to decide which focusing mode to use, and how to move the primary focus point around.
As for getting out of Auto, that is an excellent way to help you learn how to use your camera's capabilities. Learn what each of the other modes will do, and their effects on the images, try them out to solidify your understanding. Each one is useful in different situations, so it is handy to be aware of their special characteristics. A lot of people rely on Aperture-priority for all picture-taking. And a lot of others prefer to use Manual. It all comes down to knowing which ones work for you, so experiment and practice and learn!
Oh, and have a lot of fun, too...