Taking fairground (night) photos without tripod using D3100 - tips?

By Elliot B.
in Digital Camera Lab

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Grand Master

Elliot B.

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Posted

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.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

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  • Author
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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 :p

post-645-0-86601400-1352042396.jpg

Grand Master

HawkMan

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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.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
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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.

Grand Master

HawkMan

Posted
Posted

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.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

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.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

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 :)

  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

Detection

Posted
Posted

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

Grand Master

I8PP

Posted
Posted

I'm sure it's been discussed already... proper exposure is a combination of shutter speed + aperture + ISO

If you don't want blur, you need to keep the shutter speed pretty quick. 1/2s, 1/5s, 1/25s shutter speed = blurry but properly exposed picture. 1/100s, 1/200s = not blurry, but much darker picture. VR lens can allow you to be a little more shaky (and using a slower S value).

So if you used S (or Tv for Canon) on the PSAM dial and set a value, the brains of the camera will automatically adjust to the appropriate aperture to get the best shot; generally at night, it will use the largest aperture (smallest aperture number) possible for your lens (unless you are spot metering). What do you have left to control? ISO. If shutter speed + aperture is still too dark, bump up ISO. It will cost you in terms of increased noise in the picture.

Get a feel of what your camera is capable of... what its limits are and what settings generate the most acceptable image. Use a constantly moving object (i dunno... a fan of some sort) in a low light environment (not completely dark mind you, some light) and shoot it. Play with shutter speed and ISO. If no fan, just go out on a main street, or a pet. As a point of reference, i am in a room lit by a single ceiling light (60W i think) with a decorative glass thingy. I used A and set 3.5, ISO is 1600, matrix meter and the camera is thinking of using 1/8-1/50s shutter. It's not dark by any means, but it's not bright either. Using aperture 1.8, the camera thinks 1/20-1/250. Doesn't mean you should go grab fast lenses to achieve what you want because larger apertures have their own characteristics - mainly objects in front and/or behind the point of focus can get out of focus.

If you didn't already know, your camera does tell you if it thinks your image will be too dark, too bright or just right. The scale in the viewfinder -...0...+ will guide you.

On a plus side, Lightroom is able to clean up noise in photos if you shoot RAW. You lose a little bit of detail but really who looks at photos at 100% crop anyways. :p

edited for some clarity.

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