Noob with D3100 & angry wife...HELP!

[Bram]

Looks like the OP neglected the advice on high ISO settings considering the popup flash. Some advice I would give is get faster glass, if you want better results you're going to want to invest in some nice fast glass. Trust me, you have invested maybe half a percent of what some people here have on their gear. You can't just buy a D3100 kit and become a pro sports photog. Good for scrapbooks I suppose but if you want to advance, your gear will have to as well.

 

[Andrei_316]

First how far are you sitting? Second Look for lightroom 4, you can ask your friends if you can take a look at their key, if not you have a 30 day trial, use that to edit those files, Shoot RAW or even RAW+FJPEG if you have a big fast SD card, You gotta bump that ISO, you can even shoot one or 2 stops darker to get fast shutter speeds (Shoot atleast 1/200), you can make those files brighter in lightroom and take away a bit of the noise. If you have friends who have telephotos, ask them to use it for the special day. Also if you're friends have fast primes like 50mm 1.8g/1.4g ask to borrow it also. Hope you have fun!

 

[skyy38]

An informative article about what you seek:

http://www.paullesterphoto.com/wordpress/2008/04/22/taking-basketball-photos-a-basic-guide/

 

[JodieM]

Hi Jay. Rereading your original post I see that you are brand new to DSLR cameras. I am going to assume that you are also pretty new to shooting outside of Auto mode.
Before your ball game, look in your manual and find out how to adjust the white balance. Gyms tend to use fluorescent light thus turning your images an ugly green color. If you set your white balance to fluorescent you will neutralize the color cast.
Secondly, there are several focus options to consider. On a Nikon you should see AF-C (short for auto focus continuous) and AF-S (short for auto focus single.) For shooting a moving subject, you would want AF-C. If you focus on your subject and hold your shutter buttonhalf way down, your camera will keep re-focusing as long as your subject moves (great for when the subject moves toward you or away from you).
Third, bump your ISO up fairly high. 1600, 2000, etc An ISO makes your camera more sensitive to available light. Thus allowing you to use a faster shutter speed in low light situations.
Forth, set your camera to S on the mode dial. S stands for Shutter Priority. You will adjust the shutter speed and the camera will set a correct aperture. Shutter speed stops motion or shows motion. The aperture is the opening in the lens allowing light and image to pass through to the sensor. A wide aperture (kit lens f/3.5) will let in more light in a low light situation. In Shutter Priority mode you don't have to think anything about that aperture. The camera will use the widest one it can in your low light gym. Set your shutter speed to 1/200. Take some test shots.
If your images appear a little dark, adjust your exposure evaluation. There is usually a little button with a +/- sign. Adjust to the + side.
If you still can't get enough light, adjust the ISO a little higher, or lower your shutter speed.
Lastly, move around. Look for a section of the court that has better light. Sometimes there is a skylight or a window in the gym. Maybe it is just placing yourself under a ceiling light. Look for dark spots and avoid shooting there.
Have fun! And don't be stressed and enjoy the game!
Jodie

 

[flow]

Clearly you've already done it ... but for the future, here's our solution. I am the DSLR user in the family, but we also have a P&S. It's slower on the shutter response, but it fits in a pocket and my husband prefers to use that most of the time. There's no rule that you have to be a 1 camera family! Let wife use the P&S if she's more comfortable with it, you can use the other, and you'll have 2 camera's worth of pics to choose the best from.
(And when DH does use the "big camera", I just dial it over to Auto and let him go to town. Works just fine for him that way.)

 

[Buckster]

Look for lightroom 4, you can ask your friends if you can take a look at their key, if not you have a 30 day trial, use that to edit those files

Are you actually advocating that the OP should engage in copyright infringement with Lightroom by using someone else's key instead of purchasing the program???

 

[pixmedic]

Look for lightroom 4, you can ask your friends if you can take a look at their key, if not you have a 30 day trial, use that to edit those files

Are you actually advocating that the OP should engage in copyright infringement with Lightroom by using someone else's key instead of purchasing the program???

i know! almost as appalling as trespassing!! such blatant disregard for the law. very sad.

 

[Buckster]

Look for lightroom 4, you can ask your friends if you can take a look at their key, if not you have a 30 day trial, use that to edit those files

Are you actually advocating that the OP should engage in copyright infringement with Lightroom by using someone else's key instead of purchasing the program???

i know! almost as appalling as trespassing!! such blatant disregard for the law. very sad.

Flippant, bullspit remarks from you notwithstanding, advocating copyright infringement on this or any other photo forum is a hanging offense, as it should be, and it doesn't JUST apply to the photos we make, but also to the software we BUY.

 

[pixmedic]

Are you actually advocating that the OP should engage in copyright infringement with Lightroom by using someone else's key instead of purchasing the program???

i know! almost as appalling as trespassing!! such blatant disregard for the law. very sad.

Flippant, bullspit remarks from you notwithstanding, advocating copyright infringement on this or any other photo forum is a hanging offense, as it should be, and it doesn't JUST apply to the photos we make, but also to the software we BUY.

seriously? I thought you were in on the last thread that covered this topic in which I was most definitely, vehemently against trespassing AS WELL as all manner of copyright infringement. I simply found it amusing that most people take software theft seriously, but not trespassing.
I consider my comment neither flippant nor bullspit sir. very sad indeed.

 

[Buckster]

i know! almost as appalling as trespassing!! such blatant disregard for the law. very sad.

Flippant, bullspit remarks from you notwithstanding, advocating copyright infringement on this or any other photo forum is a hanging offense, as it should be, and it doesn't JUST apply to the photos we make, but also to the software we BUY.

seriously? I thought you were in on the last thread that covered this topic in which I was most definitely, vehemently against trespassing AS WELL as all manner of copyright infringement. I simply found it amusing that most people take software theft seriously, but not trespassing.
I consider my comment neither flippant nor bullspit sir. very sad indeed.

It comes off in this thread as though you're dismissing it as no big deal. Just FYI...

 

[pixmedic]

Flippant, bullspit remarks from you notwithstanding, advocating copyright infringement on this or any other photo forum is a hanging offense, as it should be, and it doesn't JUST apply to the photos we make, but also to the software we BUY.

seriously? I thought you were in on the last thread that covered this topic in which I was most definitely, vehemently against trespassing AS WELL as all manner of copyright infringement. I simply found it amusing that most people take software theft seriously, but not trespassing.
I consider my comment neither flippant nor bullspit sir. very sad indeed.

It comes off in this thread as though you're dismissing it as no big deal. Just FYI...

well, you obviously did not see my very furrowed brow as I typed that post.
i consider both copyright infringement and trespassing very big deals.
I guess i need to find some "im actually serious" emoticons....
sorry for the confusion

 

[J.Griff]

Thanks to JodieM & NYC Photo!! those are ideas I can really use.

Bram,I am fully aware I will be needing better glass.I knew that before I bought the camera.With a family of four & everything that goes with it,I must crawl before I walk in photoworld.I am glad you pointed out that I have maybe half a percent of $$$ invested in this camera compared to,for instance,you. I'm sure you have great stuff,much better than mine.Congrats Bro!

 

[LungFish]

Why did you crop off his elbow?

 

[nycphotography]

Why did you crop off his elbow?

Because not cropping the elbow left a lot more of the player behind him which, being more or less in focus, was distracting from the subject. And also the third player back in orange. Further his elbow was not central to the subject which I interpreted as his expression and his (attempted) handling of the ball. Plus with the head already being cropped, cropping the elbow put it in balance w/ the cropped head, making the composition seem intentional rather than accidental.

I would prefer to put the subject at or near the 1/3 vertical, but alas, that wasn't really working w/ a simple crop.

Also, I spent less time cropping and adjusting he exposure than I just spent typing about it. My point was for the OP to get a free editing program and do some of this himself. To his own taste. As in whatever crop and adjustments I made were more for illustration, and not the "best I could do".

Ideally, the shot would have been at a longer focal length and a wider aperture, which would have blurred the background already, and allowed for a different crop. But it wasn't. My best effort for this image would probably include a layer mask so I could blur the #14 player considerably, and the rest of he background even more. In which case I may have cropped a little looser.

Now let me ask you: Why would you leave the elbow and distracting background?

 

[Bram]

Thanks to JodieM & NYC Photo!! those are ideas I can really use.

Bram,I am fully aware I will be needing better glass.I knew that before I bought the camera.With a family of four & everything that goes with it,I must crawl before I walk in photoworld.I am glad you pointed out that I have maybe half a percent of $$$ invested in this camera compared to,for instance,you. I'm sure you have great stuff,much better than mine.Congrats Bro!

With time my friend, I just wanted to make sure that you are aware as everybody should be, that just because you spend a couple hundred dollars on a (what they would call a "pro" camera) doesn't mean you will have great photos. Spending the thousands of dollars on high end gear and knowing what you're buying and how to use it, then you may be able to produce high end photos. Somebody insulted me with a compliment the other day actually, "woah! your camera takes amazing pictures" My camera simply freezes what I see. I take the photo, I set up the photo, I set up my rig so it can take the photo. Just some food for thought. Best of luck in the future.