Help!

iShootYou · Nov 13, 2011

I wish I had the knowledge you all have when it comes to photography. I'm curently in school I just started 3 weeks ago and to be honest I still don't GET it!

I have the Nikon D90 and our instructor wants us to shoot on A mode Aperture P so when I'm on f5.6 and ISO 400 then I shoot the photos come out blurry and ugly. So I brought this to my instructors attention and he said to bring up my Shutter speed well when I'm on Aperture priority mode I can't change the SS. I only see on the small screen the f stop at 5.6 and the SS display diffrent numbers like 2,3, then and LO...I really don't understand what I'm doing wrong or what I should be doing.

I'm totally LOST! Then someone told me to change the SS go to M mode ok that work but then I go back to Aperture P and it only displays those numbers mentioned on top. What is wrong with this picture? Can anyone tell me why this is happening?

I should, but I don't want to ask my instructor again I don't want him to think I'm dumb ( which maybe I am) when it comes to photography!

Any sulutions to this problem? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Zoe

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jaomul · Nov 13, 2011

Hi Ishootyou.(you may know a lot of this but just in case) If you are in A mode aperture priority and you turn your dial you increase or decrease the size of your aperture. Bigger number aperture is smaller size and vice versa. Because shutter speed and aperture are relative you can change your shutter speed in A mode by increasing the or decreasing your aperture size. Make the aperture larger (smaller number) and your shutter speed will be faster, also vice versa.

If you change settings in another mode and go back to A mode, this wont change you settings in A mode, every mode settings are independent of other modes. You can google a lot of this stuff and practice, but truthfully if you are at school to learn there is no such thing as a stupid question so ask your teacher, its their job to get this stuff clear in your head

WesternGuy · Nov 13, 2011

Zoe, I am assuming that these are pictures that you are taking outdoors in sunlight - correct? You didn't tell us what lens you are using - let us know. If the Aperture and ISO are okay, and I am assuming they are, then the only thing that will cause blurry images is a shutter speed that is too slow for the focal length of the lens. For example, if you are shooting with a 100 mm lens, then the slowest speed you should be using is 1/(focal length x crop factor), which for a 100 mm on a Nikon DX would be 1/150 of a second, as the DX has a crop factor of 1.5. If your shutter speed is not fast enough, then you are seeing camera shake causing the blur. You are right that on Aperture priority you cannot "set" the shutter speed as the camera does this for you given the Aperture and ISO. If shutter speed is the problem (let us know what they were), then you either have to open up the aperture to give you a faster shutter speed, or increase the ISO setting. Not sure what else you can do, except put your camera on a tripod, if you have access to one. HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

joealcantar · Nov 13, 2011

This may help: Camera Exposure: Aperture, ISO & Shutter Speed
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Shoot well, Joe

KmH · Nov 13, 2011

You will also gain more understanding by reading the D90 user's manual, several times.

iShootYou · Nov 13, 2011

I'm using the 18-105mm lens it's a kit lens it came with my d90.

I had an assigment to shoot a portrait of someone. Well while on A mode like I stated before the photos were coming out ghost lik, some really blurry overall a disaster. So I tried to bring my iso up from 400 to 500 then 600 and still the pictures weren't what I was expecting.

In other cases my ss was so slow it took for ever to take the picture once I would press the shutter button. And of course those pictures were a disaster.

Now I know that by going into M mode and changing my ss from there then going back to A mode it won't work as far as the setting I set for ss.

I also want to be able to take a photo and have the background blurry and the subject sharp well this is just NOT happening to me. I do go into the widest opening which it's a small f#. This is how I've heard you accomplish this by doing so. Well it hasn't worked for me perhaps my lens are not good enough or I'm still not getting how and when I should change the settings.

Thanks all for your help!
Zoe

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SGorman · Nov 13, 2011

Yes, if your lens does not open more than 5.6, the camera needs more light if the pics are coming out blurry. The only way to do that if your aperture can't go lower in this situation is to raise your ISO.

Slow shutterspeed = camera shake = blurry pics.

enzodm · Nov 13, 2011

You cannot shoot with any triad ISO-shutter-aperture in any light condition. You are definitely shooting in a dark place.
Even if you are able to change also shutter speed in manual mode, most likely the result will be too dark (read Kmh link - which is likely what your teacher already taught you). Did you consider to change place to have more light, or just switch you flash on?
Regarding background blur, with your lens is more difficult than with some other, however is feasible - just put the subject far from background.

cgipson1 · Nov 13, 2011

post a picture with the Exif data still in it.. so we can see exactly what you are doing...... then we can tell you exactly how to fix it!

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...forum-functions-pictoral-guide-using-tpf.html

KmH · Nov 13, 2011

The problem was that there was not enough light. The camera needs quite a bit more light to work right than your eyes do. Cameras vs. The Human Eye

You need to understand the concept of a stop of exposure. Your D90 is set by default to adjust the exposure settings in 1/3 stop increments.

So you had your D90 set to f/5.6 and ISO 400. You were seeing shutter speeds as slow as 1/2 and 1/3 seconds.
To hand hold the camera steady and take a portrait requires about 1/100 of shutter speed. You can use a faster shutter speed if you increase the ISO setting which you tried, or open the lens aperture, or do a combination of both. Assuming the in the camera light meter was indicating a good exposure at f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/2 second shutter speed, you can figure out how much to increase the ISO to get to 1/100 for the shutter speed.

At 1/2 second shutter speed the next full stop of faster shutter speed is 1/2 x 2 or 1/4 second. The next full stop is 1/4 x 2 or 1/8 second.

So it looks like this; 1/2 , 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/120 - that's 6 full stops.

So you change the ISO 6 full stops: ISO 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600.

Unfortunately, your D90 only goes up to ISO 6400, so you were going to be 2 stops short no matter what, unless you added light to the scene you were trying to shoot.

cgipson1 · Nov 13, 2011

KmH said:
Unfortunately, your D90 only goes up to ISO 6400, so you were going to be 2 stops short no matter what, unless you added light to the scene you were trying to shoot.

or a Tripod!