new camera and just got back my first pictures

[poonie83]

I used a few rolls of film just to get started and just dropped them off at wal-mart having no pictures developed and everything put onto cd's. ALL of the pictures are blurry and a lot didn't even show up. Some even look like everything is moving in them when nothing is, and pretty much all look really grainy. I am new to photography and I have a Nikon N80 that I have been playing with since xmas. Anyone have any ideas why most my pictures turned out so bad??

 

[Azuth]

Can you post a couple of examples ?

 

[poonie83]

how do I post them, I have 2 I am trying to put on here

 

[hammy]

Have you studied how metering, shutter speeds and aperture works? Or are you completely new to everything?

 

[terri]

how do I post them, I have 2 I am trying to put on here

Try looking here...

 

[poonie83]

no clue why it did this....all my pics are either blurry or grainy looking

 

[poonie83]

or they turned out like this

 

[BernieSC]

the first one you posted just looks like the flash did not go off or was not used. It looks like it was in an arena? Sometimes the camera is tricked into seeing a certain amount of light and the flash is not activated. When you shoot in a arena or someplace like that find out how you can turn the flash on so that it goes off no matter what. Remember your eye is much more acurate than light hitting film so it might look like pleanty of light to your eye but the camera needs more to expose the film in fractions of a second. Thats why using a flash outdoors is as important sometimes as using one indoors with low light. The second pic is hard to tell when you are shooting with a flash indoors most of the time the camera will set to 1/60th of a shutter speed which is ok for hand holding but you still have to be fairly steady because that is getting into the slower speeds. Also make sure you are consentrating your focus on something on or at the same distance of your subject so the camera can focus at the distance you want.

Since you are just starting in photography you might want to use a higher ASA film like 400 asa that is a little more forgiving on various exposures. And when you are composing a shot look at your numbers in the view finder espcially your shutter speeds when you are hand holding the camera. Make sure you aim or put your focusing point on a good line of contrast so the camera can focus promperly. ex. the contrast of the dogs ear v the white fur.

Hope that helps.

 

[BadRotation]

First one is very underexposed. Learn how to use the light meter, and increase your exposure.


The second one is simply out of focus. Notice how stuff in the background is in focus, while the subject is not?

 

[poonie83]

so my pictures turn out grainy because of light exposure?

 

[Rob]

Yes, bad exposure will make a film go grainy. I suspect with the second one, that you half-depressed the shutter whilst pointed at the end of the room, recomposed to shoot the dog and then took it. This would have focus locked onto the end of the room.

As recommended, I would suggest trying Fuji Superia 400 ISO film. It suits Nikon cameras very well and is extremely forgiving without being too grainy (high ISO = grainy). Try a 24 roll of it and try and shoot in more conducive lighting situations until you've got the hang of things - indoor is always tricky, even if you've very experienced!

Rob

 

[poonie83]

so what would be a good exposure to be able to walk around and snap pictures

 

[Torus34]

Depends on the lighting. The film box may have information on exposures outdoors in various light conditions: full sun, cloudy, etc. For full sun, with the light coming from behind you, an old rule is to set the lens aperture at f16 and then set the shutter speed to 1/ASA. If you're using an ASA 100 film, the exposure would be 1/100 sec @ f16 in full sunlight.

Do get hold of one or more basic books on photography at your library and read them. If something in a book doesn't make sense, pop back here and ask.

 

[DocFrankenstein]

Read a book

 

[Dweller]

Here is a basic tutorial on the components that work together to determine exposure.

And I highly reccomend [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817463003/103-4662707-3996646?v=glance&n=283155"]This book.[/ame]

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) (Paperback)

I found it to be easy to read and started with the very basics of exposure and worked through some of the more advanced things you can do when you have the basics down.

With these resources you will learn everything you need to correct the 2 examples you posted in a few minutes time. For the first you need to increase the exposure overall and for the second you just needed a faster shutter speed.