Sharpness Priority - What is your secret?

[Mike_E]

Sharpness in a portrait is vastly overrated in my book unless the subject has perfect skin.

The only thing that needs to be tack sharp is the leading iris.

Real people have blemishes, splotches, wrinkles, scars, moles and so on that only detract from the image (unless you're using it as a tool for some medical prognosis). Just a bit of softness saves you tons of time in post.

 

[Braineack]

I bet youre one of those people who apply gaussian blur layers to photos...

 

[astroNikon]

If I was the OP, to learn, I would set the camera to Sharpness Priority - aka Shutter Priority - to about 125ish
with AUTO ISO. Take some test shots and note the ISO & aperture and compare his test photos to his past photos.

 

[ORourkeK]

If I was the OP, to learn, I would set the camera to Sharpness Priority - aka Shutter Priority - to about 125ish
with AUTO ISO. Take some test shots and note the ISO & aperture and compare his test photos to his past photos.

I think I may take this advice as it has been mentioned a few times. I wanted to jump right into using manual mode, but perhaps I need to learn more first. I picked up a couple books last night, hopefully they will help.

 

[Braineack]

There's nothing wrong with using manual mode, but if A or P gets you to the same result, faster, then what's the point. Plus without have two wheels, changing settings on the D3x00 and D5x00 takes a bit more effort and requires diving into the menus to change the ISO (unless you've setup a function button).

 

[robbins.photo]

If I was the OP, to learn, I would set the camera to Sharpness Priority - aka Shutter Priority - to about 125ish
with AUTO ISO. Take some test shots and note the ISO & aperture and compare his test photos to his past photos.

I think I may take this advice as it has been mentioned a few times. I wanted to jump right into using manual mode, but perhaps I need to learn more first. I picked up a couple books last night, hopefully they will help.

To be honest I rarely shoot in manual mode. I generally only use it when I have plenty of time to prep a shot and nothing in the photo is going to be moving or at least not moving to any great extent. Manual mode is great for getting just exactly the settings/style you want, but truthfully at least for me it is entirely more hassle than it's worth in most of the real life shooting situations I generally find myself in - for those I use either Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority - by controlling either the shutter and ISO or the aperture and ISO I can get the kind of shot I want with a minimum of fuss, and I'm always ready to shoot should a great shot present itself and I just don't have time to make much in the way of adjustments.

I do recommend you shoot in manual mode when learning exposure, it's a great way to test out for yourself and see how things like Aperture, shutter speed and ISO all affect the final image. Gives you a much better feel for how high you can go with the ISO before you really start to notice the noise, for example - which does vary from camera to camera. Also gives you a much better feel for Aperturre seetings and depth of feild. But honestly for me at least that was the most useful thing about manual mode, was just using it to take a couple hundred test shots and try out some various things I'd read about for myself.

After that, well I probably only use manual mode once in a blue moon or so - Shutter priority probably 80% of the time, Aperture Priority roughly 20%.

 

[ORourkeK]

There's nothing wrong with using manual mode, but if A or P gets you to the same result, faster, then what's the point. Plus without have two wheels, changing settings on the D3x00 and D5x00 takes a bit more effort and requires diving into the menus to change the ISO (unless you've setup a function button).

There is a button on the front left of the camera that I can hold down while using the wheel to change the ISO. I have become pretty comfortable changing ISO, aperture, and shutter speed quickly.

 

[astroNikon]

I tend to shot in Manual *alot*

I've noticed when I shoot in manual, even sports, the shot only needs a little tweaking in post. But yes, I'm busy with the ISO and shutter speeds to keep the exposure good.

versus when I use Aperture priority where the shots usually need *alot* of Post exposure tweaking.

I never use Shutter Priority

usually I get more annoyed with Auto WB issues nowadays that I have to correct in post.

 

[robbins.photo]

I tend to shot in Manual *alot*

I've noticed when I shoot in manual, even sports, the shot only needs a little tweaking in post. But yes, I'm busy with the ISO and shutter speeds to keep the exposure good.

versus when I use Aperture priority where the shots usually need *alot* of Post exposure tweaking.

I never use Shutter Priority

usually I get more annoyed with Auto WB issues nowadays that I have to correct in post.

I think a lot depends on your shooting style too - with me a lot of the shots I take are at the zoo, so I'll be going from bright daylight conditions to horrible dungeon like lighting and back to bright daylight again multiple times in an hour usually. By using shutter priority even when I walk into say the cat complex from outside if I see a shot I really want just as I walk in a quick spin of the command dial to set the shutter speed is all I need, and I'm ready to shoot. Takes only a fraction of a second really and I've got a shot - the camera will set the aperture and ISO automatically unless I override them so I don't have to worry so much about exposure I can just concentrate on getting the picture. If I have a bit more time then I can set the shutter speed and adjust the ISO so I get the aperture/iso balance I think is best, etc - but if I don't have the time I know I can still get a usable shot firing from the hip. Just seems to work best for my shooting style, my equipment (the D5200 only has the one command wheel and fairly limited control buttons compared to say something in the 7X series), and the shooting situations I usually find myself in.

But hey, if your coming home with the shots you want, well then whatever method your using must be a good method for you.

 

[astroNikon]

Yes, being comfortable with your shooting style is key.

I found my peace with Manual last year shooting sports outside with a train of clouds .. dark . bright .. in between. My finger was busy on ISO and shutter while I was fixed at f/2.8. Now i'm very comfortable in Manual but you are busy checking settings.

 

[Braineack]

I find A and P much easier. My approach, in uncontrolled settings, is typically first: what aperture/shutter will be best for this shot?

If I decide I want a shallow DOF, i'll use A. So then it's a matter of turning the finger wheel to set the aperture. Then ill use the thumbwheel to set the ISO, while metering, until the shutter is at a speed I'm happy with (typically a min of 1/125 with the short lens and 1/300 with the long*). Then I take the picture. I'll typically leave the setting until the situation changes. *If I notice a shutter speed of above 1/500 I'll turn off VC.

I spend much less time chimping and fussing over setting this way, and typically do it initially while looking through the viewfinder; it's that easy.

I used to shoot in manual almost exclusively because I liked the control, but in an ever changing environment, it's not the best approach, for me, anymore. Having the dual wheels helps--manual on a consumer-level camera is a lot tougher to switch between settings; no LCD panel and only one wheel.

 

[jjtarnow]

Does D3100 have an Auto ISO mode with a shutter speed limit? If yes then I think the OP should try a completely different approach.
Try shooting in aperture priority mode. Make your priority the right DOF for the image.
Limit the minimum shutter speed to what you need. I would recommend, to start with, 1/125 for still objects and 1/250 for people.
And let the camera set the ISO. I think you should trust the camera more in this respect, Nikon has a good Auto ISO algorythm.
Other things that will help:
A good modern noise filter, like Topaz, it will give you another stop or two easily.
Unsharp Mask used very lightly

I would agree with sashbar....let the camera do the ISO work for a while and shoot in Av or Tv..when you are reviewing your images make sure you look at the metadata too. This way you can see what the exposure algorithm thought was "best" for a particular shot based on your choice of aperture or shutter selection. It will help guide you when you go back to manual mode to get a sense of what ISO to choose. I say "best" because best isn't always based on objective inputs. Algorithm's work on a given set of variables...photography is an art form and art is based on appeasing the subjective...we have all seen incredible artwork that has been achieved through unconventional means...meaning...sometimes what seems completely off kilter and random creates great works of art.

Good luck!

jj

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

The op mentioned ISO and noise but one thing I don't think has been talked about is if he's shooting jpg instead of raw. If that's the case then you will start to see noise earlier (lower ISO) than with raw.

 

[ORourkeK]

The op mentioned ISO and noise but one thing I don't think has been talked about is if he's shooting jpg instead of raw. If that's the case then you will start to see noise earlier (lower ISO) than with raw.

I shoot RAW.

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

I shoot RAW.

That rules that out then.