The Shutterbug Society; Activity #3: Ask and Answer

[ed1nburgh.livejournal.com]

Activity: Ask and Answer
Points: 10 points participatioon
Dates: NOW until Thursday, July 1 at 22:00 PDT.

Details: Since this is a photography club and we have members of all skill levels, for this activity, you're going to have the opportunity to ask or answer photography questions you've always wondered!

FOR QUESTIONS: Be sure that it is a question of substance. Asking, "What's a camera?" will not get you points, but asking something of more substance, such as "What is the rule of thirds?" or "What's the difference between digital cameras and film cameras," will count towards points. If you are only planning on asking questions, you must ask THREE questions to get participation points.

FOR ANSWERS: If you know the answer to a question you see, feel free to respond! In order to get participation points, you must answer one question with at least five, complete sentences. It is encouraged that you post an example of what you're talking about, to make your answer totally clear.

Of course, feel free to go beyond the minimum! You may ask more than three questions or answer more than one, or any combination thereof.

If you have any questions for me, please respond to the thread below!

Shoot things, legally! Join The Shutterbug Society today!

Comments

[mel-tatsuya.livejournal.com]

Sunset photos. They NEVER work for me. Sometimes too bright and you can't see anything, others they don't look nearly as awesome as they really are. Tips please?

Melanie//Gryffindor

[ed1nburgh.livejournal.com]

Sunset photos are difficult, especially depending on where you take them.

The brightness is from overexposure. I'm not sure what type of camera you are using, but if you're using a point-and-shoot, the problem is sensor size. The sensor is the part of the camera that measures brightness; in point-and-shoots, it's fairly small and thus doesn't get great exposure. To fix this, you'll have to switch out of the AUTO mode on your camera and go to the Manual mode. Set your ISO lower (because of the darkness, the camera will compensate for it and will end up boosting ISO, blowing out the highlights in the sunset.) This will help a bit. Also, if you can change the aperture, boost it a bit to a higher f-stop. That will also help, and will make the colours more true.

NOW, if you're using a DSLR or something that has a lot of shutter speed control, I prefer doing long exposures of sunsets. This here (http://kalbaxecnailla.deviantart.com/art/Just-Another-Sunset-63663062?q=1&qo=1) was a thirty-second exposure; this (http://kalbaxecnailla.deviantart.com/art/Sunset-Delicacy-63465906?q=1&qo=1) was two-minutes and thirty seconds; this (http://kalbaxecnailla.deviantart.com/art/Over-and-Out-133889953?q=1&qo=1) was twenty seconds. You'll want to boost the f-stop to compensate for a longer shutter-speed, and use the lowest ISO possible. I'm not really sure WHY the longer shutter speed makes it look better, but in my experience, I get a better looking sunset when I let the shutter stay open for awhile.

Also, all of them were taken with a "graduated Neutral Density" filter, meaning that it's darker at the top and graduates to clear. What this does is make the sky darker while leaving the foreground the same colour, meaning that the sky won't be blown out and washed out and too bright. If you're using a camera capable of taking filters, I CANNOT recommend a graduated ND filter enough for landscapes. It's absolutely indispensable.

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask me to clarify anything.