boehdick

Shot this salamander last night in less than ideal conditions. Too dark for shooting without flash, Subject on the ground so I couldn't see it in the viewfinder. I compromised and shot automatic. I wanted better DOF but because I didn't know how long he would sit for the photo session I just shot automatic and hoped for the best. What settings should I have used?

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CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

You could have shot in aperture priority with Auto ISO on. You would have gotten the shot and the DOF you wanted. May have been some noise to deal with in post-processing?

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Not a bad shot.

boehdick

thanks CPR, will try that next time my other amphibious friend, the toad, pays a visit

boehdick

thanks ebbote, I was looking for more DOF so you could actually tell it was a salamander, and was disappointed I missed that. The last amphibious photo sitting was a toad that I just carried inside for better lighting so no flash needed. I used external flash with D3200 on automatic. This particular salamander moves quickly and doesn't for long settings.

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R.G. Loc: Scotland

It's one of those situations where the question is "What's going to be the most acceptable compromise". In this case it's a question of "What's going to be more acceptable - lack of DOF or ISO noise". My take is that the lack of DOF is the shot's biggest flaw. A smaller aperture would necessitate a higher ISO, but that to my mind would be the lesser of two evils.

As an added consideration, it looks like the salamander isn't moving much, and if the camera was resting on the ground you could have used a slower shutter speed, especially since you had the flash to freeze any movement. But as you pointed out, you didn't know how long the salamander was going to stay stationary, and getting a shot in auto is better than no shot. If you'd had more time to think, another possibility would have been to shoot in manual with auto ISO. That way you could have set your aperture to what you want and chosen a shutter speed that gave a not-too-high ISO.

As is often the case, aperture is the most critical setting here, with shutter speed and ISO both being less critical, so selecting aperture first then playing shutter speed off against ISO is probably the most appropriate approach.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Abso-frickin'-lutely NOT!

I would never use Auto ISO with any other auto exposure mode! That makes no sense. Auto ISO with Manual is "the fourth auto exposure mode"... after Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Program. Using it along with any of those AE modes actually makes for sort of an "auto auto" exposure mode... and it's anyone's guess what might happen.... and pretty much serves no purpose I can think of.

In this case I'd have set a fairly high ISO (how high depends upon the camera and how it handles noise) and... probably... Aperture Priority with a fairly small aperture set to maximize Depth of Field, which always tends to get shallow at high magnifications. I also might have used Manual with the camera set to it's flash sync speed or slower and the aperture and ISO of my choice, plus my flash set to ETTL (which actually is yet another auto exposure mode!) That would eliminate ambient lighting from the equation and probably cause the background to go dark, but "full flash" also would freeze any subject movement and avoid any camera shake blur, without risk of "ghosting" which can occur with "fill flash".

When I come up against a situation like this, I'll often use different setups and take multiple shots... as long as the subject continues to cooperate.

You shot the toad at ISO 3200, 1/30 and f11... but the salamander at ISO 500, 1/60 and f5.3. Could have pushed the ISO higher to be able to use a lot smaller aperture. The fact that you're using flash should make this easier! I don't see any significant advantage to shooting a close-up without flash... not sure why you would have "preferred" that.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. You got a pretty good shot, all things considered. Whatever you did, worked.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I don't know where you're getting that idea from. In manual mode with auto ISO you have full control over everything (with the exception that you can't force the camera to give you any kind of exposure compensation because it will always give you a neutral exposure). If his D3200 is the same as my D5200, the adjustment wheel gives direct control over shutter speed, so once he's decided on an appropriate aperture, all that's left for him to do is to adjust the shutter speed to give him an optimised choice of shutter speed and ISO. If ANY of the settings aren't to his liking he can change them quickly, and the settings info is visible at all times. I can't think of a less distracting way to get full control over all of the relevant settings.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Horror of horrors!! You actually made a shot in auto. You should be banished from the Hog for even having such thoughts. Kidding aside, This is a pretty good shot. If you have the time (which you didn't in this case) You can bracket the shot in many modes and/or settings. That said, you just have to take your chances and realize (of course) that every shot doesn't work.

Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE

You explained very well why you couldn't do the best settings. Enclosed is your camera data. It advises to use flash. I would set ISO to 800 or 1600. No problem with higher ISO on your camera. F stop could be tighter, F 11. Shutter speed could be faster too. I love discussions like this. Many post and don't give a damn about quality. David

boehdick

More time to think and better training on my part would have produced a better shot. Thanks much!!!

boehdick

Thanks RG. When I shot the toad I had beautiful color bouncing off of the wooden tray I had set the toad on. The salamander was practically pitch black so I couldn't make the shot without the flash. Flash tends to blue the image somewhat.

boehdick

Thanks boberic. Did a trip to Switzerland when I first got the camera and was just using all auto. Pictures were pretty good according to my local camera shop guy who is a great shooter himself. Auto was the goto mode because I'm inexperienced and didn't want to miss the shot totally.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Just a suggestion - click on Quote Reply to answer a post. It makes it easier to keep a track of who you're responding to.

boehdick

Thanks RG, don't know the protocol. I'll get there.