QUESTION

[terilynne]

Hi there Could anyone tell me why this photo has blur where her hand was moving the flag?? I am new, I thought if i set my shutter speed faster it helps with movement--am I wrong?? Also I amlearning to shoot in Manual, and sometimes I am noticing that it wont let me choose a faster shutter than 200?? I am using just my kit lens right now 18-55--I shoot with a Nikon D3000--THANKS!


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2777/5861516590_4d85f41f11_b.jpg

 

[Big Mike]

It's too small to really see the blur...but when it comes to freezing movement with shutter speed...it depends on how fast the movement it. 1/200 may be fast enough to freeze most things, but hands can move pretty fast. You might have needed 1/500 or 1/1000 etc.

Exposure is a 3 way street. If you want to use a faster shutter speed, you need to use a larger aperture and/or a higher ISO.

Your camera probably has a max flash sync speed of 1/200. That means that if you are using flash, you can't go over 1/200 because at faster and the shutter wouldn't be all the way open when the flash fires.

 

[480sparky]

It looks to me to be a blur caused by movement in ambient light, and the flash caught her hand and 'froze' it. The ambient lighting and flash are equal.

 

[Derrel]

This looks like a flash photo. The top flash speed with the D3000 is 1/200 second. Her hand is moving the "most" of anything in the photo. Imagine if she lifted her hand and the flag from a downward position, to over her head: her HAND would move, a LOT; her shoulder joint would hardly move at all. In a situation where the natural light is somewhat bright, and the flash is also used, the "natural" light can sometimes make up a portion of the overall exposure, and cause what is called a "ghost" image. When using a "smart" camera like a D3000, which has color-aware light metering and flash metering, when the camera's brain in an automatic mode has tried to balance the amount of flash with the daylight or natural lighting present, this type of flash + daylight exposure will sometimes show slight motion blurring on the fastest-moving parts of a scene.

Like, the feet on a running horse will be blurry, but the body will be, basically stopped in motion. The extremities of a running person will be blurred (hands, and feet) but their upper shoulders and torso and face will appear sharp,and frozen; the baseball coming off the bat will be blurred, since it is moving 100 MPH, but the bat will be frozen, etc,etc.

 

[KmH]

At issue is also the direction of movement relative to the plane of the image sensor. Motion parallel to the image sensor requires more shutter speed to stop than does motion diagonal or perpendicular to the image sensor.

 

[terilynne]

It's too small to really see the blur...but when it comes to freezing movement with shutter speed...it depends on how fast the movement it. 1/200 may be fast enough to freeze most things, but hands can move pretty fast. You might have needed 1/500 or 1/1000 etc.

Exposure is a 3 way street. If you want to use a faster shutter speed, you need to use a larger aperture and/or a higher ISO.

Your camera probably has a max flash sync speed of 1/200. That means that if you are using flash, you can't go over 1/200 because at faster and the shutter wouldn't be all the way open when the flash fires.

Thank-you so much this was VERY helpful!! So I have another question for you--I am trying to shoot in manual but I am needing to use my flash because the image is extremely dark--how can I go about fixing this?? Is it normal to have to use a flash outside?? THAN-YOU SO OOOO MUCH!!

 

[Big Mike]

Learning to use manual is great, but keep in mind that you will get the same photos at F8, ISO 400 and 1/200...mo matter what mode you are in.

If you don't have a good understanding of the three exposure factors; Aperture, Shutters speed and ISO and how they affect exposure, then it may be best to brush up on that or stick to the priority modes for a while.

For example, if you are in manual mode and your photos are 'extremely dark'...it's because you haven't adjusted the settings to get proper exposure. You can't just pick settings randomly, you need to measure the light and adjust your settings to suit that light. Your camera has a built-in light meter, which is how all the auto settings know what to do. You can also use the light meter in manual mode. When you activate the meter (half press the shutter button), you will see a scale appear in the viewfinder (and probably on the LCD screen). In auto modes, the 'needle' will probably default to the middle of the scale (zero) ...2...1...0...-1...-2... So when in manual mode, a good first step would be to get the needle to zero. You can do that by adjusting the shutter speed, aperture or ISO. Keep in mind that the camera is metering on what it 'sees' out the lens...so you should have the camera pointed at your scene while you adjust the settings. Once you get the needle to zero, you can take a photo and you have your 'working exposure'. This may not be exactly correct or exactly what you want...but it's probably close.

So from there, you can adjust any of the three settings to increase or decrease the exposure as you see fit. There are many techniques that will help you to get from 'working exposure' to 'proper exposure'. But maybe that's a lesson to learn after getting the basics down.

If you have a good understanding of the three factors, it will help you to decide which settings to adjust, in order to achieve your creative goal for the shot.

 

[terilynne]

Learning to use manual is great, but keep in mind that you will get the same photos at F8, ISO 400 and 1/200...mo matter what mode you are in.

If you don't have a good understanding of the three exposure factors; Aperture, Shutters speed and ISO and how they affect exposure, then it may be best to brush up on that or stick to the priority modes for a while.

For example, if you are in manual mode and your photos are 'extremely dark'...it's because you haven't adjusted the settings to get proper exposure. You can't just pick settings randomly, you need to measure the light and adjust your settings to suit that light. Your camera has a built-in light meter, which is how all the auto settings know what to do. You can also use the light meter in manual mode. When you activate the meter (half press the shutter button), you will see a scale appear in the viewfinder (and probably on the LCD screen). In auto modes, the 'needle' will probably default to the middle of the scale (zero) ...2...1...0...-1...-2... So when in manual mode, a good first step would be to get the needle to zero. You can do that by adjusting the shutter speed, aperture or ISO. Keep in mind that the camera is metering on what it 'sees' out the lens...so you should have the camera pointed at your scene while you adjust the settings. Once you get the needle to zero, you can take a photo and you have your 'working exposure'. This may not be exactly correct or exactly what you want...but it's probably close.

So from there, you can adjust any of the three settings to increase or decrease the exposure as you see fit. There are many techniques that will help you to get from 'working exposure' to 'proper exposure'. But maybe that's a lesson to learn after getting the basics down.

If you have a good understanding of the three factors, it will help you to decide which settings to adjust, in order to achieve your creative goal for the shot.

Oh my goodness THANK-YOU SOOOOO much!! This makes so much more sense to me now!!! I appreciate it--I am going to go try this now!!!

 

[terilynne]

ONE more question on this--Do most Photographer try NOT to use the flash?? What are the advantages versus dis-advantages of using/not using the flash??

 

[Big Mike]

Yes and no.

I would hope that most 'photographers' know that using a flash that is built into the camera, as the main source of light, is going to give them very flat (boring) lighting. So I would think that photographers would try to avoid using the built-in flash...unless, of course, it's the only option or maybe they want flat lighting.

I often use flash, even when shooting outdoors in the daytime....but in this case, I'm probably not using it as my main source of light. That will be the sun/sky and the flash is just to a 'fill light', to help fill in the shadows caused by the sun etc. Also, I don't use the built-in flash on my cameras...I use a hot-shoe flash on top of my camera.

When I'm indoors, I often use flash, but I tilt the flash so that I'm bouncing the light off of walls or the ceiling.

When I really want to get creative, I take my flash off of the camera and put it onto a light stand (or whatever). I use a radio flash trigger to make the flash fire. By moving the flash away from the camera, I can use it to create light that isn't flat...but rather gives my subject depth and texture.

 

[terilynne]

Yes and no.

I would hope that most 'photographers' know that using a flash that is built into the camera, as the main source of light, is going to give them very flat (boring) lighting. So I would think that photographers would try to avoid using the built-in flash...unless, of course, it's the only option or maybe they want flat lighting.

I often use flash, even when shooting outdoors in the daytime....but in this case, I'm probably not using it as my main source of light. That will be the sun/sky and the flash is just to a 'fill light', to help fill in the shadows caused by the sun etc. Also, I don't use the built-in flash on my cameras...I use a hot-shoe flash on top of my camera.

When I'm indoors, I often use flash, but I tilt the flash so that I'm bouncing the light off of walls or the ceiling.

When I really want to get creative, I take my flash off of the camera and put it onto a light stand (or whatever). I use a radio flash trigger to make the flash fire. By moving the flash away from the camera, I can use it to create light that isn't flat...but rather gives my subject depth and texture.

AGAIN--thank-you so much!!! I LOVE how you answer my questions where i KNOW what you are saying--lol--you dont know how much I appreciate it!! I do have a sb600 flash--but dont really know how to use it yet---I used it for indoor pictures over the winter and oh my goodness---shadows BAD!! So I haven't touched it since---do you have an email or anything where I can keep in touch with you??