Questions and answers
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 Hints and tips by Philip Grosset If you'd like to submit photos for criticism, click here. |
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| This is a service for beginners. I'm afraid I can't give advice on specific makes of camera (see the My Camera page for this), on other equipment, or on film processing. Otherwise, you are welcome to email me your question about photography (but not about computers please). To find my email address (and how to send me photos for review), please click here. 1. Aperture/shutter speed relationship 2. Focusing problem 3. Filters needed? 4. Choosing a camera for sports 5. 45 or 55mm focal length lens? 6 Image editing software 7. Camera for wild life 8. f numbers and depth of field 9. Polarising and UV filters 10. Brightening scanned pictures 11. Avoiding red-eye 12. Wedding photography 13. Useful web links 14. Setting up a web site and getting photos published 15. Help with Nikon FM2 16. Camera for novice? 17. Photos at clubs, dances, and other groups 18. Photos at concerts 19. Grain and contrast with b & w 20. A home studio? 21. Rider comes out as a blur 22. Manual or automatic? 23. Photographing meteors There are more questions listed on the NEXT PAGE. |
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| 1. "I have recently purchased a Nikon N8008 with 35-70 mm lens and a 70-210mm lens and I need all the help I can get. My biggest problem is figuring out the aperture and shutter speed in relation to each other, could you send me some information? Thank-you, Karen."
For every stop you close down (for example, moving from f8 to f11) you need to double the exposure (for example, from 1/100th sec to 1/50th sec). Similarly, for every stop you open up (say from f11 to f8), you need to halve the exposure (say from 1/50th sec to 1/100thsec). Bi-focals shouldn't lead to focusing problems. Just look through the top part of the bi-focals when looking in the viewfinder. What looks sharp then should look sharp on the exposed film. Some cameras have a means of adjusting the viewfinder to suit individual eyesights so that the view in the viewfinder looks really sharp. If the picture in your viewfinder doesn't look sharp, check if your camera has this feature. "I thank you so much for your advice.....I see that maybe my problem has been that I am taking my glasses off to get a closer fit on the view finder! It was kind of you to reply so quickly......thanks again and have a beautiful day. Wendy." No! But I've now added a page about filters! |
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| 4. "My daughter Holly is 16 years old and plays fastpitch softball. She pitches which is an extremely fast movement. I have played around with several small cameras to try to get a great shot of her, but they are either blurry or I don't get the right pose when she opens up from her wind-up. I am wanting to purchase a camera with a zoom lens so I can get closer to her from the side lines without having to hire someoneto get the pictures for me. Can you give me suggestions for a good durable - easy to use camera. I am willing to invest as she is a great pitcher and will hopefully play collegiate someday. Any suggestions will be appreciated." Terry Schnurbusch. I'm afraid I can't recommend specific cameras, although there is some general advice on my Looking for a New Camera? page. It sounds as though you should be looking for a single lens reflex camera (so that you can see exactly what you're photographing) with a powerful enough zoom lens to take you as close as you want, a shutter speed of 1/1000th sec (or better still, 1/2000th sec) to freeze her movement, and continuous frame advance so that you can take several frames every second while the camera button is held down! A fully automatic camera would not be suitable, as you must be able to choose the fastest shutter speed. 5. "I have been given an old Yashica camera which has two lens sizes 45mm and the extra is 55mm. Which should I use for what?! I don't seem to be able to focus close shots (such as head shots), do I need another lens again?" Belinda, Australia. There's very little difference between focal lengths of 45 and 55mm, but you'll get a slightly closer view with 55mm. This would be better for portraits when the longer focal length helps avoid distortion. As long as you can focus it down for the appropriate distance for head shots, they should come out sharp. If not, you'll need a proper focusing lens. 45mm would get in slightly more of the scene so would be more useful when space is cramped, such as indoors. It may be that one of the lenses has a larger maximum aperture than the other which might explain why it was bought. 6. "I have been experimenting with photos too, thanks to a digital camera and scanner. Interested to know what image optimizing software you would recommend - the digital camera produces huge file sizes even at the lowest resolution setting, and I hate having to squash them so much to get them online." Giles Turnbull. I used to use Corel Photo-Paint 8 (included in Corel Draw 8) as it was possible to upgrade to this from any graphics program (no matter how simple) at a bargain price. I now use Adobe Photoshop which is the standard-setter, of course, but is much more expensive. Photoshop Elements 2 would be a good and much cheaper alternative. But the even cheaper Photoshop LE (that I began with, and that was included with my scanner) might do to start with, as would Adobe PhotoDeluxe, that was included with my digital camera. 7. "Hi. My name is Rick and I want to start photography. There is only one problem, I need a camera. I need a camera that will let me do the following: able to get for christmas/b-day, able to be taken outside in the cold (I want to be able to take wildlife photos), and most of all be a beginners camera not something that will scare me out of it. Will you please send me some links and some camera ideas. Thank you." James R Brack Rick, you'll find some general advice on my Looking for a New Camera? page. Also see my Photo Links page. For references to specific cameras, you might like to start off with the point-and-shoot page from Philip Greenspun's site.It's at: http://www.photo.net/photo/point-and-shoot.html. For wild life pictures, though, you'll need a powerful zoom so that you don't have to get too close! 8. "Hi Philip, I'm Azreen from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My qts are on the following:- 1) Aperture issues:- a) In lay man's language, does large aperture = large f stop number or vice versa? b) By having a large f stop, does this ensure that both the background and foreground are in focus or otherwise?" Azreen Aznan. It's vice versa : f4 is one stop larger than f5.6. The smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field, so very much more of the background/foreground would be in focus with, say, f16 than with f2.8. 9. "Hi. My question is: Can I use my polarizing filter over the standard uv filter I use to protect my lens? Do I really need to remove the uv filter each time I want to use the polarizing filter? I really appreciate this site because I am new to photography and every bit of info helps. Thanks for your time!! Oh, I have a Nikon N50 if that makes a difference. Alison." I don't see why you shouldn't screw in a polarising filter on top of a UV one, but are you sure you really want to add too much glass/plastic between your expensive lens and your subject? Current advice is that modern lenses don't usually need the extra protection of a UV filter anyway - but it's up to you! There's more about filters on another page. 10. "Wonder if you can help me improve the quality of my photographs My problem is that when I print my photographs they lose the "brightness" . For example bright reds come out as mid brown. Overall the photos print as if they are under exposed. I have tried using my printer's software driver to lighten the photos, but I can't see any difference.The photos can be sourced from a digital camera or a scanner and the same issue occurs. I use an Epson Stylus 600 printer and use photo quality ink jet paper. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. Regards. Bruce Orr." I'm no expert on scanning, but (presuming that you are not printing on the uncoated side of the photo quality paper!) it all depends on the software you have installed. If there is an auto adjust button, check that you have selected it. It's a great help to have a good image editor like Photoshop (or one of its cheaper versions). With this you can easily increase the brightness or even just change
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Prepare beforehand a list of the shots you must have (e.g. champagne being opened, as here) and position yourself close enough to grab them. If outdoors, it is easier because you can use a telephoto to take similar views from further away. | |||||||||||||||
| Watch out for humorous shots.Here's a baby apparently joining in the celebrations at his christening party! |
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18. "Could you please inform me as to what I'd need to do to obtain very good photos taken at concerts. I've recently taken a few photos with my Canon EOS 300 camera, but they are all blurred". (Byron Africa) If the entire picture (including the foreground) is blurred, you've probably not held the camera steady enough. It's very hard to take really good photos at concerts because it's difficult to get close enough and there isn't always much light - and usually you can't use flash! If you use available lighting which requires an exposure of longer than about 1/60th sec, or are using a powerful telephoto, you need a firm support for the camera. Sometimes the back of a chair can be useful - but a tripod would be even better! There's something to be said for just buying some of the official pictures.... 19."Black and White Photos. Hi ! I'm from Brazil. Please guide me on how to how to obtain finest grain and increase contrast : 1) ASA 100 or ASA 400 ? 2) time of the day 3) shutter speed 4) aperture. Thanks a million, Rui Wong." Use the slower film (100 ASA) for finer grain. For the best results, try early morning (or early evening).Use a small aperture to increase the depth of field and so make more of the picture in focus. This will determine the shutter speed. You can adjust contrast more easily at the printing stage or with a computer. 20. "Great site, quite informative for an amateur like myself. I'd like some information on how to set up a home studio ie: to photograph my children. Would I need a particular artificial light? I like the kind of black and white photos with, say a black background (would I put up a black sheet of fabric?) Any ideas?" (Coral, Australia) If you want real studio portraits, you'd probably do better going to a professional! What he/she can't do as well as you is to take all those charming off-the-cuff pictures of children busy about their everyday activities both indoors and out. However, it is easy enough to experiment with a black cloth background, and you can even use the light from the windows, preferably helped by a large white reflector board (or towel). Or, if you can lay your hands on a couple of photofloods in reflectors (and perhaps even a spotlight as well), it can be fun to experiment. If you're using colour, though, be sure to use film intended for tungsten lighting, and don't (usually) combine daylight with tungsten. A reasonably large room with a matt white ceiling is ideal, as you can bounce light off it. If your children are to be your subjects, move fast so that they don't get bored. If it's a very small child, stand to one side of the camera (it must be on a tripod, of course!) so that you can photograph him/her reacting to you. 21. "Dont have a scanner to send the photo to you but allow me to explain my problem. I would love it if you could help me remedy it. I am a keen mountain biker and my buddy is a photographer,well he is learning... He wants to put some photos of me jumping in his folio but the problem is we just got a whole roll of film back, and the background is all in focus but i am merely a blur as i pass. What should he do? Please help." (James Hindley) He is probably using too slow a shutter speed to capture your movement. If he can't adjust the shutter speed, there are two things he can try : either photograph you riding towards the camera instead of across the picture (this reduces any blur) or pan the camera with you to follow you as you ride past. This needs quite a bit of practice, but could produce a result in which you are sharp and only the background is blurred. 22. "My name is Amanda and my question is , I have a Pentax k1000 and i wonder if it is good or are there newer cameras out there that would be better for me, I am a beginner . But I also want to stay with 35mm. Sincerely, Amanda." This is really a question of manual versus automatic cameras. It all depends on how much control you want to have. With the Pentax K1000 there is a built-in exposure meter, but it is not fully automatic, and you also have to focus manually. If this presents no problem to you, why make a change? But if you don't like having to set controls, or would find a smaller camera much more convenient, trade it in! Your pictures won't necessarily look any better but could be a lot easier (so probably more fun) to take. There are currently good value 35mm cameras at a reasonable cost because of the increasing competition from aps and digital (also see my Looking for a New Camera? page). 23. "I have some simple questions... I hope you could help me. :) I want to take photos of meteors, during the meteor showers, and my question is: what do I need for that? How about a 50mm focal length, f3.5 (I can't go under 3.5), 4-5min exposure and ASA 400 film? If a meteor arives 1-2 minutes after I pressed the shutter, should I leave the shutter open for next 2-3 minutes or should I close it down immediately after the meteor tail fades? And finally, I've read specifications for various Nikon cameras, and I didn't find a "T" exposure mode in any model!? Well, it would be VERY frustrating for me to keep the shutter button pressed for 4-5 (or more!) minutes. Or maybe I can program the exposure time in bulb mode? Or else...I hope there is a way to do this - how? Pretty good site, by the way! :) Thank you. :)" (Ivan, Belgrade, Yugoslavia) Experiment with the settings you suggest, but the shorter the focal length, the more chance there is of covering a wide enough area to capture something. You could try different exposures of anything between about 1 and 10 minutes, as if you over-expose too much, the glow from the sky may hide the meteor. Use a tripod, of course. Close the shutter after the meteor has passed. You should be able to find a cable release with a locking screw to hold the shutter open until you release it. Warn the processing labs of the film's content. And the very best of luck! |
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| More questions are answered on the QUESTIONS (2) page |
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NEXT PAGE PICKING THE BEST VIEWPOINT |
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Some people's eyes very often show red-eye, while others don't, but the risk can be reduced by getting them to look up at the camera. It occurs more in dark conditions than in light ones, as the pupil opens up more, but eye color shouldn't make any difference. Usually, as the picture shows, it is only the pupil that is affected.