Advice for outdoor photos at the park

Rambojonil303

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Hi ,

I literally just got my dslr two days ago and I'm still getting familiar with it. I'm learning as I go and getting some info from tuturials. Im learning now on dof. I will be taking some outdoor pics at the park It's suppose to be sunny and i wanna get the kids playing in the park. I know to do that I need a faster shutter speed. My kit lens 18-135 I know is not a super great lense but I do have a 50 mm as well. I tried some practice pics with my kit lense and it didn't go over 300 for shutter speed on manual. Is this correct or did I miss something ?
 
Hi,
do I understand you correct that in manual exposure mode (M) you didn´t manage to get a faster shutter speed than 1/300sec?
That would be rather weird. The only thing I could think of is that you used flash. But usually max. flash sync speed is around 1/200sec or 1/250sec.
 
.. it didn't go over 300 for shutter speed on manual.
What didn't? Are you talking about the shutter speed? The shutter speed should go as fast you want if you are on "manual".

For the park: Pose the children in a place where the background is very far behind them. Say in the range of 200-300 feet or farther. The distance from the camera to your subjects should be somewhere in the range of 20-30 feet or so. Never mind about trying to frame tight, because you can do that later on the computer. Your aperture should be around f/4 or f/5.6 maybe? If your lens will open that wide.

Start with the aperture, then adjust the shutter speed to give a good exposure. My guess is that it will still be fast enough to "freeze" motion.

(edit) ps; post a photo of that session for comment and critique.
 
Welcome aboard.

Shutter speed is one of three elements that make up the 'exposure' of a photo. They are the basis of all photography.
The other two are aperture and ISO.

I'm fairly certain that your camera has the ability to set a shutter speed anywhere in the range from 1/4000 to 30" (thirty full seconds...or beyond that with the use of 'bulb' mode).

Of course, it's not as simple as that. The shutter speed that you use, has to jive up with the aperture and ISO to give you the right amount of exposure, for the amount of light that you are shooting in.

You are correct in wanting a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of kids playing. In many cases, something like 1/125 might be enough, but 1/200 or 1/250 would probably serve to freeze most kids. So if you can get to 1/300, that is probably more than enough.

I'm not sure about "didn't go over 3oo in manual".....
In manual exposure mode, you should be able to set it to anything. They may not work out, but you should be able to set it.
And shooting in manual mode is typically a more advanced way of shooting. It's a great way to learn, but it's a steep learning curve.
Are you possibly thinking of manual focus mode? Because that is something entirely different.

Anyway, the best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice.
 
.. it didn't go over 300 for shutter speed on manual.
What didn't? Are you talking about the shutter speed? The shutter speed should go as fast you want if you are on "manual".

For the park: Pose the children in a place where the background is very far behind them. Say in the range of 200-300 feet or farther. The distance from the camera to your subjects should be somewhere in the range of 20-30 feet or so. Never mind about trying to frame tight, because you can do that later on the computer. Your aperture should be around f/4 or f/5.6 maybe? If your lens will open that wide.

Start with the aperture, then adjust the shutter speed to give a good exposure. My guess is that it will still be fast enough to "freeze" motion.

(edit) ps; post a photo of that session for comment and critique.
I second all of what you said, but I have to disagree in regard to framing: while it is easier to not frame too tight when the kids move, the background will be more blurred, the closer you frame your kids. Plus: use the longest focal length to achieve the most blur in the background.
 
Hi,
do I understand you correct that in manual exposure mode (M) you didn´t manage to get a faster shutter speed than 1/300sec?
That would be rather weird. The only thing I could think of is that you used flash. But usually max. flash sync speed is around 1/200sec or 1/250sec.
Yes , I did use the flash. Is that why ?
 
Hi,
do I understand you correct that in manual exposure mode (M) you didn´t manage to get a faster shutter speed than 1/300sec?
That would be rather weird. The only thing I could think of is that you used flash. But usually max. flash sync speed is around 1/200sec or 1/250sec.
Yes , I did use the flash. Is that why ?
Very likely. What camera do you use?
 
.. it didn't go over 300 for shutter speed on manual.
What didn't? Are you talking about the shutter speed? The shutter speed should go as fast you want if you are on "manual".

For the park: Pose the children in a place where the background is very far behind them. Say in the range of 200-300 feet or farther. The distance from the camera to your subjects should be somewhere in the range of 20-30 feet or so. Never mind about trying to frame tight, because you can do that later on the computer. Your aperture should be around f/4 or f/5.6 maybe? If your lens will open that wide.

Start with the aperture, then adjust the shutter speed to give a good exposure. My guess is that it will still be fast enough to "freeze" motion.

(edit) ps; post a photo of that session for comment and critique.
Yes , my lense does go that wide.. I will try it with f/4. I will get photo shop soon. I view people's pics on here and notice a lot are super sharp I know I'm a beginner but hopefully mine aren't too blurry being that my chosen shutter speed makes my pics so blurry. I need to work on that big time.
 
Hi,
do I understand you correct that in manual exposure mode (M) you didn´t manage to get a faster shutter speed than 1/300sec?
That would be rather weird. The only thing I could think of is that you used flash. But usually max. flash sync speed is around 1/200sec or 1/250sec.
Yes , I did use the flash. Is that why ?
Very likely. What camera do you use?
I went from a canon point and shoot to canon 7d mark 2. A lot of stuff to learn.
 
Welcome aboard.

Shutter speed is one of three elements that make up the 'exposure' of a photo. They are the basis of all photography.
The other two are aperture and ISO.

I'm fairly certain that your camera has the ability to set a shutter speed anywhere in the range from 1/4000 to 30" (thirty full seconds...or beyond that with the use of 'bulb' mode).

Of course, it's not as simple as that. The shutter speed that you use, has to jive up with the aperture and ISO to give you the right amount of exposure, for the amount of light that you are shooting in.

You are correct in wanting a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of kids playing. In many cases, something like 1/125 might be enough, but 1/200 or 1/250 would probably serve to freeze most kids. So if you can get to 1/300, that is probably more than enough.

I'm not sure about "didn't go over 3oo in manual".....
In manual exposure mode, you should be able to set it to anything. They may not work out, but you should be able to set it.
And shooting in manual mode is typically a more advanced way of shooting. It's a great way to learn, but it's a steep learning curve.
Are you possibly thinking of manual focus mode? Because that is something entirely different.

Anyway, the best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice.
Thanks so much. I really could have sworn my shutter speed went faster than that but as the previous reply on post I did use the flash. I didn't even know that had anything else I do with it but now i know. Thanks I will try to shoot in manual mode but not manual focus. That's way to advanced for me. Yes , I will practice and hopefully I can get some pics to post.
 
Hi,
do I understand you correct that in manual exposure mode (M) you didn´t manage to get a faster shutter speed than 1/300sec?
That would be rather weird. The only thing I could think of is that you used flash. But usually max. flash sync speed is around 1/200sec or 1/250sec.
Yes , I did use the flash. Is that why ?
Very likely. What camera do you use?
I went from a canon point and shoot to canon 7d mark 2. A lot of stuff to learn.
The Canon 7DII is an awesome camera - congrats!!!
Haha, yes there is a lot to learn, but it´s all super exciting and interesting. Don´t be afraid to try things. Photographing kids is one of the most difficult things to do though. So whenever you have time, go out in the park and try to change the settings in your camera and see how these change your images. Just shoot some random stuff - it doesn´t have to be beautiful. But it helps a lot to understand what the settings do.
Flash Sync Speed is 1/250th for your camera - so I wonder why it would let you set 1/300th. Usually when the flash is on it will stop at 1/250th.
In regard to the f-stops. The f4 you mentioned above will only be availble on shorter focal lengths. If you zoom in completely, it will only provide f5.6. Anyway - set the lowest number possible to get the most blur in the background for your setup.
That sure sounds really complicated. But in general get familiar with shutter speed / aperture / ISO first - once you understand the idea behind it, it is all super easy.
 
Hi,
do I understand you correct that in manual exposure mode (M) you didn´t manage to get a faster shutter speed than 1/300sec?
That would be rather weird. The only thing I could think of is that you used flash. But usually max. flash sync speed is around 1/200sec or 1/250sec.
Yes , I did use the flash. Is that why ?
Very likely. What camera do you use?
I went from a canon point and shoot to canon 7d mark 2. A lot of stuff to learn.
The Canon 7DII is an awesome camera - congrats!!!
Haha, yes there is a lot to learn, but it´s all super exciting and interesting. Don´t be afraid to try things. Photographing kids is one of the most difficult things to do though. So whenever you have time, go out in the park and try to change the settings in your camera and see how these change your images. Just shoot some random stuff - it doesn´t have to be beautiful. But it helps a lot to understand what the settings do.
Flash Sync Speed is 1/250th for your camera - so I wonder why it would let you set 1/300th. Usually when the flash is on it will stop at 1/250th.
In regard to the f-stops. The f4 you mentioned above will only be availble on shorter focal lengths. If you zoom in completely, it will only provide f5.6. Anyway - set the lowest number possible to get the most blur in the background for your setup.
That sure sounds really complicated. But in general get familiar with shutter speed / aperture / ISO first - once you understand the idea behind it, it is all super easy.
Thanks so much. I like it so I hope I can continue trying to learn photography. I actually just pressed the info on the camera. It does say 250th. You're 100 percent right. I learned another thing on photography. Thank you.
 
I second all of what you said, but I have to disagree in regard to framing: while it is easier to not frame too tight when the kids move, the background will be more blurred, the closer you frame your kids. Plus: use the longest focal length to achieve the most blur in the background.
I didn't compose my reply accurately. What I intended to convey was to STAY BACK, and don't try to get close enough to frame tightly.

That.
 

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