16 replies to this topic

[King Mustard]

I am going to a fairground tonight and want to take some photos without a tripod using our D3100.

We are using the stock 18-55mm lens.

Got any tips to avoid blurred photos? Settings etc. (new to photography)

I guess we'll be taking photos of a bonfire, fairground rides, fireworks etc.

[HawkMan]

High ISO, large aperture, experiment.

[King Mustard]

High ISO, large aperture, experiment.

Which mode do you suggest I be in?:

• Mode M (Manual)
• Mode A (Aperture-Priority Auto)
• Mode S (Shutter-Priority Auto)
• Mode P (Programmed Auto)

Which ISO do you suggest? 3200? Hi 1? Hi 2?

Which aperture do you suggest? f/2.8? f/4?

When in M (Manual) mode, the command dial changes something with numbers like: 2", 1.6", 1.3", 1", 1/1.3 1/1.6, 1/2 etc. No idea what it is. What should I use?

Also, when in M (Manual) mode, I can't change aperture. I can only change the aperture in A (Aperture-Priority Auto) mode.

I took this two years ago with my iPhone 4, surprised how well it turned out

[HawkMan]

A and S are the modes you should always use, M is for when those don't cut it and you need to take control, remember, when shooting in raw, you can digitally increase the exposure level two levels without quality loss on the computer.

so since I said use a large aperture, set it to A mode and crank that aperture up, which is a bit backwards since large aperture is low number

The numbers that change from single digits with ¨ behind it to 1600+ is the shutter speed, ie how fast it takes the picture. in A mode you wno't see this, this one gets changed automatically
The number with a point separation is the Aperture, for night shot, keep isn't as low as possible, on your lens that is probably somewhere int he range of 2.8-4,3 ish, the reason for the range is that it is a "cheap" zoom lens, and on larger zoom you lose light and the aperture gets numerically higher, the actual aperture I believe is the same but it's more about the amount of light coming through.

You could also shoot in night mode, but then it might take to long to take the shots and be blurry.

So, Set your aperture to the largest opening/lowest number, in A mode, and change the ISO to really high, I believe your camera shoudl be able to handle 1600 with acceptable nose levels. at 800-1200 you'll have less noise but may need to sacrifice more blur.

[King Mustard]

A and S are the modes you should always use, M is for when those don't cut it and you need to take control, remember, when shooting in raw, you can digitally increase the exposure level two levels without quality loss on the computer.

so since I said use a large aperture, set it to A mode and crank that aperture up, which is a bit backwards since large aperture is low number

The numbers that change from single digits with ¨ behind it to 1600+ is the shutter speed, ie how fast it takes the picture. in A mode you wno't see this, this one gets changed automatically
The number with a point separation is the Aperture, for night shot, keep isn't as low as possible, on your lens that is probably somewhere int he range of 2.8-4,3 ish, the reason for the range is that it is a "cheap" zoom lens, and on larger zoom you lose light and the aperture gets numerically higher, the actual aperture I believe is the same but it's more about the amount of light coming through.

You could also shoot in night mode, but then it might take to long to take the shots and be blurry.

So, Set your aperture to the largest opening/lowest number, in A mode, and change the ISO to really high, I believe your camera shoudl be able to handle 1600 with acceptable nose levels. at 800-1200 you'll have less noise but may need to sacrifice more blur.

Tar for the advice

Blur is the thing I'm trying to avoid the most.

I now have the camera in Mode A (Aperture-Priority Auto).

The largest aperture (lowest number) I can use is 3.5. When I move the camera around, the 1/25, 1/400 thing adjusts itself automatically.

Is there anything else I need to adjust (apart from putting the camera in Mode A, using aperture 3.5 and setting 1600 ISO)?

Currently I have "Focus Mode" set to "Auto-servo AF" and "AF-area Mode" to "Auto-area AF". Metering is set to Matrix.

[HawkMan]

yeah, 2.8 was a bit optimistic on a kit lens, 3.5 sounds more realistic :)the 1/xx number that change automatically in A mode would be the shutter time/speed.

nah, leave the rest as is, you "MAY" want to change metering mode to center weighted, but this is something you need to experiment with and depends on what you're shooting and how you want it to look. but if you use center weight it will use the center light where you point the camera and will probably shoot faster, not trying to make all the blackness around the target visible.

And experiment with the ISO beforehand and during to make sure it's not to noisy for you. but remember good apps like lightroom, or even Windows Photo Gallery can remove a lot of the noise, but it will smooth out a lot of details. basically faces can get more of a "glamour" shot look.

[King Mustard]

yeah, 2.8 was a bit optimistic on a kit lens, 3.5 sounds more realistic :)the 1/xx number that change automatically in A mode would be the shutter time/speed.

nah, leave the rest as is, you "MAY" want to change metering mode to center weighted, but this is something you need to experiment with and depends on what you're shooting and how you want it to look. but if you use center weight it will use the center light where you point the camera and will probably shoot faster, not trying to make all the blackness around the target visible.

And experiment with the ISO beforehand and during to make sure it's not to noisy for you. but remember good apps like lightroom, or even Windows Photo Gallery can remove a lot of the noise, but it will smooth out a lot of details. basically faces can get more of a "glamour" shot look.

I won't be taking photos of people.

I have changed "Metering Mode" to "Center-weighted".

I won't know if 1600 is enough because it's hard to tell if the photos are blurry until I get them home.

On the other hand, if I take them all at 3200 to be safe that there is minimal blur, I will get noisy photos.

I'll stick with 1600 and hope for the best.

[HawkMan]

You can zoom in on the previews on the camera to check if they are blurry/noisy.

[King Mustard]

You can zoom in on the previews on the camera to check if they are blurry/noisy.

Yeh but to me, it's just not the same.

But sure, it'll tell me if they're very blurred

[King Mustard]

Here are the photos I took last night: Link

Any comments/tips would be appreciated

[MidTxWRX]

Link doesnt work, its a private page

[Hendrick]

Agree, link doesn't work, but I'd like to see them. I love pictures of rides at night.

[King Mustard]

Link doesnt work, its a private page

Agree, link doesn't work, but I'd like to see them. I love pictures of rides at night.

Try now.

[Detection]

Once you have some decent still photos using the advice above, some Long Time Exposure shots would look pretty decent at night with all those bright rides lights

EDIT - Just realised it was the other night lol

[MidTxWRX]

Try now.

Nope