Help ?

[ChristinaW]

I am planning to go back out for my grandmother's 70th bday party, back to the park/beach. It has many many trees that cast alot of shadows on people's face, and then of course there is the sun, where there is no tree's w/ the water behind it...

so here is my question.. what is the best thing for me to do?

I have been taking most of my pictures in AV mode. My aunt is up from SC and has an Nikon and she told me she shoots only in the portrait mode. I tried that last night... it used the flash and looks like the pictures came out good (at least in my house)..

Soo.. what do I do? I am not good enough to use manual yet.

 

[Buckster]

Hard sunlight brings little joy to photography anyway. Use the trees to your advantage: Put your subjects in the full shade from them and use your flash to fill light them, or bounce the existing light from a reflector - even cheap white poster card stock can help with that. Off camera flash would be even better, if you can manage it.

 

[Robin Usagani]

IF you are not really sure what to do, this is what I suggest. Keep using AV mode. Change your exposure compensation to -2/3 or -1 (change as needed when you look at the preview), and turn on your built in flash. By doing this you will underexpose the whole photo, but then you will light up the subject with your flash. This will really work if you shoot toward the sun.

 

[KmH]

Soo.. what do I do? I am not good enough to use manual yet.

Then you will have to acccept that the camera and it's programming will be making most of the critical decisions, even though it has little clue what is in the image frame and what you are hoping to accomplish.

Consequently, there will be technical issues with your photos. Being an amateur, I'm sure everyone will understand.

About all you will be controlling will be composition and perspective.

It is difficult for anyone to shoot in dappled light and pros usually do whatever they can to avoid having a subject(s) in direct sunlight.

Since you use the term "Av" I would suspect you are using a Canon camera?

 

[clanthar]

Leave the camera in AV mode.
Do not use the camera's flash -- force it off.
Control the quality of your photos by selecting the lighting.
Do not photograph people in direct sun.
Keith is right -- no dappled light either; it's trouble.
Find full shade and place your subject there.
Make sure there is no bright sun in the background!
Watch the shutter speed and raise the ISO IF NEEDED to keep the shutter speed up.
If you're in the shade it wouldn't hurt the set the WB to shade.

Joe