First time shooting in Manual! C&C Welcomed

[ChristinaW]

So I've had my camera for a little less than a month. I have been learning as much as I can, and I just bought the book understanding exposure. It came in the mail yesterday and I read three chapters so far, right before I was going to take some pictures of my friends son for his Senior pictures.. I shot in manual and I'm so excited and proud of myself.. a little giddy..

I have found though that I'm cutting off his elbows or shoulder.. I am wondering if it has anything to do w/ my glasses?? I wear those smaller glasses where if you look up I can't see.. I found that when I was trying to look at the meter it was a pain and then to look back at what I was taking. Anyone else have smaller glasses and having issues or is just me? Guessing I should try my contacts and see if I still do it..



#1

#2

#3

#4

 

[Petraio Prime]

Almost all photos of standing people should be
V
E
R
T
I
C
A
L

 

[Bram]

You're right some of the photos look to me like they are a little out of focus #2 and #3 are definately a little grainy, IMO your first pic is the best. In #4 the guy kind of looks like he's emo, no offense just an opinion and what I get out of this. Shooting in manual really takes practise and a good eye.

What I would do since I have glasses as well, except mine are for far away objects, (i'm near sighted). I would definately try out contacts, just something where you can really look clearly through the viewfinder without anything obstructing your vision.
All in all I think you are well on your way, just practise practise and practise a little more. Definately keep reading the book you got that will definately help you out.
Hope this helps a little, and good luck in the future!

 

[echoyjeff222]

the sign in the background of #3 distracts for me. my eye went straight there for some reason.

 

[ChristinaW]

Ty! #1 is my fav as well.. lol not sure why you see emo in 4.. prob his hair?
I however now see some blurry parts, I didn't see before! I need to train my eyes to look at every part of the picture for that. I go directly to his face to see what it looks like... I will try contacts next time and see if it goes better..



Echo - I think it does as well.. ty... I think maybe because it's red?

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

The last one is my favorite of the bunch... But I agree it could benifit from a vertical framing... for example...

 

[Bram]

Yeah I think just because of the hair and the pose together. Kind of remind me of an emo kid I saw. Sorry just my opinion.

 

[tsblo]

Almost all photos of standing people should be
V
E
R
T
I
C
A
L

And the great thing about rules is once you learn them you can break em. Where would the environmental portrait be if they were all shot vertical?

If I were you I would have shot #4 so I was flush against that siding and used the siding as a leading line to him. Just an idea though. I'm not you.

Another comment is a few of them look under exposed. I looked at one and it said you were in pattern exposure mode. I would have personally shot it in spot, to meter for him and his skin and not worried so much if my background was a little hot.
A tip I know is try to find your open shade, under a try or from a side of a building. Sure you background might be a little hot, but meter for the subject and it will turn out.

As for your glasses you made need a diopter adjusting eye piece.

 

[SageMark]

First time on manual,.....I think you do good.

 

[ChristinaW]

What is pattern exp. Mode... where iss that on my camera...again still learning...
Busrider..ty i like that.. i will get the hang of it someday .. need to remember to try diff crops in pp...

Bram..we all have our opinions not a big deal to me just thought it was funny u saw it that way... i think it was last year i had to look up emo to see what it was..and the sad part is i am not that old...

 

[KmH]

That is a metering mode and your camera has 3 of them, called spot, center-weighted, and 3-D matrix (if Nikon) or evaluative (Canon)

Info on each is in your camera users manual.

Also check out this info:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-metering.htm

 

[ChristinaW]

Ty will do when i get home..on my phone now otherwise i would of looked it up before asking.. lol didnt know there was more thsn one meter mode....haha. ...i have canon

 

[KmH]

Ty will do when i get home..on my phone now otherwise i would of looked it up before asking.. lol didnt know there was more thsn one meter mode....haha. ...i have canon

There are also different auto focus modes, and different autp focus area modes.

To shoot in manual you must select at least 7 different camera settings.


I check them in this order:

1. white balance (WB) (adjusts the image processing for the type of ambient light)(auto is an option and can be useful depending on the camera model)
2. the camera's image sensor ISO sensitivity (exposure and amount of image noise)(can also be set to auto mode, not recommended for mmaking manual exposures)
3. metering mode: spot, center-weighted, evaluative
4. focus mode: single focus, continuous focus, auto
5. focus area mode: single point (and which point), dynamic, tracking
6. lens aperture (exposure and depth-of-field)there is a semi-auto setting, Av mode)
7. shutter speed (exposure and motion stopping)(there is a semi-auto setting Tv mode)

In general, portraiture is done using

1. the appropriate WB,
2. ISO as low as possible to minimize image noise,
3. spot metering,
4. single focus,
5. single focus point,
6. a wide lens aperture,
7. a shutter speed at least 1/the apparent focal length of the lens.

The eyes of the subject(s) are the most important element in the photo.

The eyes need to be sharply focused and properly exposed.

+2 on using vertical orientation more, at least until you understand when and how to effectively use negative space.

 

[Olympus E300]

The last one is my favorite of the bunch... But I agree it could benifit from a vertical framing... for example...

The last one is my favorite also. I like this edit. The vertical frame changes the photo greatly - for the better in my opinion.

- Daniel