Nothing crazy :/ Just my first thread and some advice needed. C&C welcomed.

[eUgalde13]

Hey everybody. I finally decided to join and make my first post. I recently got my first DSRL and upgraded from the P/S camera, I have to be honest I feel completely lost sometimes. I've been using it a couple of times and other than looking good my pictures don't seem like they have anything special. I started reading "Understanding Exposure" by B. Peterson and it has helped me a lot to understand my options. Here are 3 examples of pictures that got me frustrated:

1.


2.


I just couldn't get a clear shot of the squirrel after several tries not even on Auto

3.

I probably need a better zoom lens but I just can't believe on my P/S camera the moon looks closer.

4.

This one seems to be one of the best ones so far :/

Please any good advice will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Trever1t]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Great book to start your way in the hobby.

 

[Vtec44]

I think on the first two, spot metering and exposure lock would help.

 

[eUgalde13]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Great book to start your way in the hobby.

Thanks and yeah I love that book.

I think on the first two, spot metering and exposure lock would help.

I'm pretty sure I used spot metering, I found out yesterday about the other metering options :/ and what do you mean with exposure lock and how?

 

[eUgalde13]

This is my gear: Canon T2i, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS. Caselogic SLRC-205 Camera case.

 

[kundalini]

Welcome to TPF.

It looks like the scene with the squirrel will be hopeless for anything other than a silhouette without adding flash. The squirrel seems to be in deep shade with a brightly lit background. I believe this shot may exceed the camera's dynamic range capabilities.


Moon shots will be tough with a 250mm lens, but with a tripod, good atmospheric condition, some editing skills.... and a little dumb luck, it can be had. You might want to check out the Photo Themes forum, there is a Moon thread going. It may give you some pointers. It's an old thread, so some links are broken.
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photo-themes/4114-moon.html

Nice exposure on the cake. Keep reading Peterson's book and post your good stuff for C&C.

 

[eUgalde13]

Welcome to TPF.It looks like the scene with the squirrel will be hopeless for anything other than a silhouette without adding flash. The squirrel seems to be in deep shade with a brightly lit background. I believe this shot may exceed the camera's dynamic range capabilities.Moon shots will be tough with a 250mm lens, but with a tripod, good atmospheric condition, some editing skills.... and a little dumb luck, it can be had. You might want to check out the Photo Themes forum, there is a Moon thread going. It may give you some pointers. It's an old thread, so some links are broken.http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photo-themes/4114-moon.htmlNice exposure on the cake. Keep reading Peterson's book and post your good stuff for C&C.

Thank you. The squirrel was indeed under deep shade and a bright background. I thought about the flash but I couldn't get any closer without making the creature run away, I was handholding at 70 feet away. The thread that helped me with the moon shot settings was http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...oto-gallery/244172-trouble-moon-clouds-2.html and now that I'm reading Peterson's book makes so much sense lol.Again thanks for the C&C's

 

[Vtec44]

and what do you mean with exposure lock and how?

I typically zoom in as close to the area I want to lock the exposure as possible, lock the exposure using the AE-L button, then zoom to re-frame and take the picture. That will blow out your background but you'll have the correct exposure on the subject that you want.

I'm no expert, so that's just the way I do it.

 

[eUgalde13]

^ Thanks Vtec44 I will definitely check that out. My wife and I are having our first baby soon and that's one of the reasons I got the camera so I need to learn as much as I can before the baby comes