Shooting in Automatic Mode Issues

[Kreative Kris]

I recently did some school pictures for a school and noticed when I got home that my photo's were all different. I shot all the pictures in automatic mode, so I figured the camera would take care of all the guessing for me, since I did have allot of pictures to take. I did use some lighting from a boom kit I bought on line and I put it above the children's head to give them a little light on their hair, I also used a speed light to the one side of them for extra flash in case I needed more light. My background was a light gray with white speckles. I got all types of pictures ..perfect, blurry, blendy, bright, dark..etc. I use a Canon 60D and I used an 85mm f1.8 lense, I did stand back about 85mm away from the subjects to ensure I had enough of the background to crop later if I needed. I am really not sure why I got so many different results and I was wondering if anyone out there could shed some light on this for me? Thank You!

 

[biggoron]

Take the camera off Auto mode.
Read the manual.
Read books about photography or read the forum.
Your pictures will come out much better.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Because you let the camera pick the exposure for you. If the subject wear white, vs someone is wearing black, you will get different exposure. Also depend on where you point the camera. On automatic mode, it will use the whole frame to figure out the exposure, so the more dark color, the brighter the exposure going to be. The more lighter color, your shot will be underexposed. If most of the thing in the frame is gray tone (18% gray), you will get perfect exposure.

 

[DiskoJoe]

I recently did some school pictures for a school and noticed when I got home that my photo's were all different. I shot all the pictures in automatic mode, so I figured the camera would take care of all the guessing for me, since I did have allot of pictures to take. I did use some lighting from a boom kit I bought on line and I put it above the children's head to give them a little light on their hair, I also used a speed light to the one side of them for extra flash in case I needed more light. My background was a light gray with white speckles. I got all types of pictures ..perfect, blurry, blendy, bright, dark..etc. I use a Canon 60D and I used an 85mm f1.8 lense, I did stand back about 85mm away from the subjects to ensure I had enough of the background to crop later if I needed. I am really not sure why I got so many different results and I was wondering if anyone out there could shed some light on this for me? Thank You!

because people are not all the same color. This will effect the exposure and white balance.

How did you get this job being such a n00b? Seriously.

Also why did you not at least use A-mode. Better would have to use manual so the exposures were exactly the same aperture and the timing would have been identical. This would have made thing more consistent. Were you not reviewing this information while shooting? Blunders like this can ruin a reputation.

and 85mm is only 8.5 centimeters or about 5 inches. So you were 5 inches away from your subject?

I know I am being harsh here but I think you really need to hear things in this light. Parents will not be half as nice as I am being.

 

[KmH]

Now you know that the camera is just a stupid machine that cannot think, and cannot make consistant photography decisions. The camera does not know what you are photographing, though it has been programmed to guess. But, being juat a stupid machine it very often guesses wrong.

As far as why the wide range of variability in your results, as pointed out, each person and the color of the wardrobe they are wearing change the exposure needed when in AUTO mode.

You now also know that there is a lot more photographer knowledge and skill involved in doing photography, than just pointing the camera and pressing the shutter release button.

The place to start improving your photography knowledge is the 60D user's manual. The user's manual describes what tools/features/functions the 60D has available for you to use for making photographs.

A place online you can visit that will expand on a lot of what is in the user's manual, and give you a good start on a basic grounding in the technical aspects of doing photography - is found here: Digital Photography Tutorials

 

[gsgary]

If you are shooting with off camera flash you should be shooting on manual, but someone who's shooting school photographs should know that, this is the sort of post a facebook photographer would post

 

[ababysean]

Is this post for real?

First, the camera is picking the exposure so when you fire the flash, it is going to overexpose the crap out of it. The automatic mode has NO IDEA you are going to use flash so when you press the shutter, it picks settings based without flash....

Really I find it really hard to believe this post.

How do these people get jobs like this and know NOTHING yet I am having a hard time finding any work at all. I guess I should just go shoot in auto. sigh.

 

[MLeeK]

You've learned a valuable lesson here: Auto is not good in any way shape or form and this is why the pro's preach to get out of auto. Now you know why they say you can't just buy some equipment and be in business. So, it's a lesson learned, water under the bridge.

You probably got a little nervous and thought instead of taking a chance in manual, you would go with auto. Or at least I hope that was your thought.
You had a simple enough set up to use in manual. You should have arrived early and set up. Stopped, slowed down and thought. Until it's second nature MAKE SURE you give yourself that extra time to stop and have a few minutes to think.
So you had a light gray background and you knew what kind of light shape you wanted to use. Place someone or something in position (a chair would be fine.) Your camera should be on a tripod and you should have a mark of some sort for exactly where you want your subjects to stand or sit or whatever. That way if the chair moves, you can move it right back or each child can be told to stand on the feet or the x or whatever. With the marked spot and the tripod in the exact same spot for every shot that makes every shot uniform. There is no changing settings ever.
Put your camera in FULL MANUAL mode. Not a priority.
Your sync speed with flash is 1/250 so there is your shutter speed done for you.
You start at your lowest ISO, so your ISO is done for you.
Now you need to determine the aperture. I am going to guess you used the kit lens that is f/3.5-5.6, no zooming in. So set your aperture at 3.5,
Why did I choose 3.5? You were photographing one subject with a fair distance between you, so your lowest aperture was going to give you adequate depth of field.
Shoot a test shot firing the flashes.
Stop, look at the test shot and it's exposure. If it was dark you can lower your shutter speed to anything you need to or you can raise your ISO. Flash stops motion, so you could have gone as low as maybe 1/50 on the shutter, or you could have raised the ISO.
Fiddle until you get exposure to the point just before you would have a blow out. Don't forget the screen on the camera kind of lies to you and things LOOK brighter than they are.

Once all of that fiddling and thinking was done? you don't have to do it again. It's done. Your exposure doesn't change because your light is the same every time.
In a situation like that it's nice to have a remote even. You can move the kids in, pose them perfectly and fire, move the next and so on.


Better yet? Buy a light meter that you can trigger your flash with and it will tell you what your exposure settings are.

Now what? You probably need to do a re-shoot.

 

[KmH]

How do these people get jobs like this and know NOTHING yet I am having a hard time finding any work at all.

People today think it's all about the equipment, and don't understand how much knowledge and skill a person has to have to consistantly produce high quality photographs.
There to, what passes as high quality photography has gotten lower and lower in recent years.

I want better looking photos, so what camera and lens should I upgrade to?

After all, there's a computer in there, and it looks like a professional camera. So IT has to take professional photos right?

I bet the OP doesn't know that the actual professional cameras (the 60D is an entry-level camera) don't even have an AUTO shooting mode. It seems the OP has no idea how the camera actually works.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke

 

[Kreative Kris]

Thank you for all your help on this issue, its nice to know that people are willing to look at what others are struggling with and help them. Just so you know, I do know that manual mode is better, i just assumed that automatic would be ok too. I am currently enrolled in photography school and I did this job at cost for our Christian School that wants to keep their costs low. So anyone who wants to do God and Others a favor and shoot for free to get a job..go for it!

 

[gsgary]

Thank you for all your help on this issue, its nice to know that people are willing to look at what others are struggling with and help them. Just so you know, I do know that manual mode is better, i just assumed that automatic would be ok too. I am currently enrolled in photography school and I did this job at cost for our Christian School that wants to keep their costs low. So anyone who wants to do God and Others a favor and shoot for free to get a job..go for it!

The Lord may be able to sort out you bad photos, Divine intervention

 

[tirediron]

I do know that manual mode is better...

No mode is better than another; they all have different applications. You, as the photographer need to understand the differences between them, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each are.

I am currently enrolled in photography school

Ummm... this is about as basic as the technical side of photography gets. What is your school teaching you?

...I did this job at cost for our Christian School that wants to keep their costs low.

What costs?

So anyone who wants to do God and Others a favor and shoot for free to get a job..go for it!

Out of respect for those who may not share your faith, may I suggest leaving the ecumenical aspects at home?

 

[clanthar]

Shoot a test shot firing the flashes.
Stop, look at the test shot and it's exposure. If it was dark you can lower your shutter speed to anything you need to or you can raise your ISO.

If the exposures are in fact flash exposures, lowering the shutter speed won't lighten a too dark flash exposure.

Joe

 

[ababysean]

Shoot a test shot firing the flashes.
Stop, look at the test shot and it's exposure. If it was dark you can lower your shutter speed to anything you need to or you can raise your ISO.

If the exposures are in fact flash exposures, lowering the shutter speed won't lighten a too dark flash exposure.

Joe

Not really true... If he is doing this in a well lite area it most def will affect the exposure.

 

[Robin Usagani]

He said if it is mostly flash.