{Finally} Learning to Use my DSLR - Manual Mode

I finally found a very small amount of time to play with my camera some more and take a few pictures in manual mode.  It wasn't quite as scary as I was expecting it to be, but it is a bit tricky.  I can tell that it will take some getting used to, but I'm really looking forward to practicing with it more and feeling more comfortable shooting in manual. 

I tried to drag my almost 4 year old out back with me one day so that I could try taking her picture in manual.  I knew that it wouldn't be easy because she's my one kid that always looks in the opposite direction of the camera when I say, "smile!", but it was worth a shot.  In the first picture I was just trying t get my aperture and shutter set to the right settings so that my picture wouldn't be over or under exposed.  It took metering a few times and playing around with it, but I eventually got it right.  This one was perfectly exposed. Yay!  I love the bright colors in it thanks to her shirt, headband and Pretty, Pretty Princess jewelry.

f/10, S: 1/125 sec., ISO 400

I realized that I was running short on time, so I decided to switch to subjects that stand still on their own because I wanted to try using manual to shoot up close, like I would want to for portraits.  I'm really happy with how the aperture worked for me on this next picture because the leaf, {which isn't even a very pretty one, ha!}, is clear and crisp and the background is nice and blurry, so your attention is automatically drawn to the leaf.

f/5.6, S: 1/160 sec., ISO: 400

I used the same exact settings for this last one of our little dear statue that sits in our planter.  He was here when we moved in and I've grown attached to him.  I call him Van Gogh because he's missing part of his ear.  Is that distasteful?  Any-who, in comparing this to the picture of the leaf, it is a good example of how having the background farther away from the subject helps it to blur more, and having it closer keeps it in slightly better focus.  I hope that makes sense!

f/5.6, S: 1/160 sec., ISO: 400

I didn't think the shots were too bad for round one of shooting in manual.  I want to venture out though and find some fun subjects to practice on.  Or maybe I'll bribe my 6 year old to sit still long enough for me to get some good practice time in with her!

{Finally} Learning to Use my DSLR - Aperture

This morning I decided to get my three ring binder out again and move on to lesson two of the photography class I started two and a half years ago.  : )  {See previous post.}

I knew it was on aperture/depth of field, and for some reason, this part always worries me.  It's simple enough, right?  You use depth of field to determine what area of your picture is in focus.  Is the background in focus, or is it blurred?  The higher the number, the more in focus the background is.  The lower the number, the less focused {or blurred} the background is, causing your eye to be drawn to the main subject of your photo.  Then why have I had such a hard time getting it right when I've practiced this before???  Maybe it's because I needed my trusty tripod to help keep the camera steady enough to take a clear picture.  You see, when you adjust the aperture, you're adjusting the amount of light that comes into your lens, so when you use a small number or small depth of field, your shutter has to stay open long enough to get the right exposure.  So, when I took the first photo below, I was shooting in A mode  on f/36 {the highest f stop my camera lens has}, and my camera decided for me that the shutter had to stay open for 4 seconds to get a photo that was exposed correctly.  I could never hold my camera still enough for four seconds to get a clear shot.  I do not have a steady hand.  It is a good thing that I never wanted to be a surgeon.  So, all of those times that I tried before and thought I failed, I just couldn't hold my camera still enough for long enough to get a clear shot because all of the camera shake I was causing.  I made my pictures blurry. I fixed the problem today.

I just used what I had on hand - Christmas decor - to practice with, but taking my time with this lesson and typing out why it worked this time really helped me to better understand aperture and depth of field.  The part that still confuses me though, is how I can manage to use aperture mode without enormous amounts of light to help keep the shutter speed fast.  Otherwise, I'll just end up with blurry pictures again.  Oh well, there is a reason I signed up for this class so long ago.  So I could figure this stuff out!   
On to lesson three - Manual Mode!  I'm scared.  I just don't see yet how I am going to make it all work together, but I am sure going to try.  I'm hoping to get lesson three done this week and post about it by Friday.  Check back soon!

Edited Friday, December 2nd:
I read lesson three this week and so far it all seems to make sense. Now I just need to get my camera out and practice using manual!  The last few days have been busy, {and insanely windy here}, so I haven't gotten around to trying it out.  I'm hoping I can this weekend though!

{Finally} Learning to Use my DSLR - Shutter Speed

When my husband finished his MBA program about 2 and a half years ago, he bought me a Nikon D60 as a graduation present.  He's the one who finished his Master's Degree in what must have been record time, but he bought me a gift for being so supportive.  He is awesome.  It is one of the favorite presents I have ever received.  I LOVE my camera!  I really wanted to jump right in and learn how to use it.  Really use it.  Like, use the manual mode.  I'm embarrassed to say that this much time has gone by and I'm still shooting with the various automatic modes 90% of the time. 

I took photography in high school, {and a little bit in college}, and I loved it.  It was a whole lot different then though.  We used film and even got to develop it in the dark room!  I loved that part of it too and I even miss it.  When I got my camera, I signed up for a digital photography class online.  I took this class through Jessica Sprague's site and it is great! I did the first lesson and kinda did the second one, and to be honest I really don't remember why I slacked off after that, but I did. Maybe it was because I knew that I had all of the lessons in PDF form and I could access all of the class info forever through her site.  Or maybe I just got busy with our kids.  Or maybe I was just lazy.  It was probably the latter.   

So this summer I got out my three ring binder full of all of the lessons and I decided to start with lesson 1 again - Shutter Speed.  The shutter speed determines how long the shutter on your lens stays open to let in light.  The assignment was to take one shot of a moving object with a fast shutter speed, letting in lots of light and capturing the movement.  And then I had to shoot the same thing with a slow shutter speed, letting in less light and blurring the movement.  Then I had to compare the two.  I always have moving objects fluttering about so this was easy for me.  Here is my proof:

I've always understood shutter speed pretty well, so I didn't feel intimidated by this assignment at all. It was also a nice sunny day out, so I had ample light to shoot in.  This made the assignment even easier for me.  Thankfully, I didn't have to adjust the ISO (or how sensitive the camera is to light) while taking these pictures. That part confuses me a little bit too, so I'm hoping to learn more about it in the next few lessons.  I was happy that lesson one was something that I felt familiar with.

Not the case with Assignment number two - Aperture.  {See my next post.}

I am also happy with how these pictures turned out, even 3 months later {haha!}, when I was finally ready to move on to lesson two.

I have decided to post all of my lesson assignment results.  You see, if I post them here, I'll feel more encouraged to keep moving right along so that the two and a half people that might actually read this little blog can see how I am progressing with my photog skills. 

I am also testing myself to see if I have the self discipline to take on and commit to a project 52, {my smaller version of project 365, where you take and post a picture a day for a whole year}.  I'm a pretty realistic gal and I just know that if I start a project 365 I will be lucky to make it a whole week before I miss a month.  I'm hoping that the smaller task of taking one picture a week and posting it will be much more do-able for me.  I wanted to do it this year, and clearly it never happened, so I plan to start it in January. 

I am excited to learn more about my camera and hopefully take some great photos along the way.  Wish me luck!