monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

well the other day i picked up the XSI from a buddy of mine. Im completely noob when it comes to DSLR's so im asking the community for help.

Im planning on doing a photo shoot of my friend white GS300 and possible my friend and mines blk 3g TL, anybody have any tips on settings. i heard changing the appurature (spelling) would make photos come out clean. once again i really dont know anything about this camera or professional photography, but your help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

matt

Dan Martin

green box = win

JLatimer

Hahaha. Like Dan said, the auto settings are a great starting place. The detail stuff like aperture settings are kinda beyond the scope of what can be discussed in a thread like this.

I would recommend the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson as a good read... It was recommended to me by a number of folks here...

monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

thanks alot ill be sure to pick that book up. anybody else have any opinions on settings?

jupitersolo

You need to get the book, trying to tell you about how your camera works without you knowing what we're talking about is going to be very hard.

You ask about adjusting the aperture, but you also have to adjust shutter speed and ISO. And then you have to know why you adjust those three items to get the effect you want in your images.

Leave it on green and get the book.

wackjum

These sort of posts make me cringe. I am sure you meant well, but for some reason there's just no respect for photography.

It's a science and an art. Don't think there's a magical setting you can turn on that will get you great pictures. I don't jump on a skateboard, ask what kind of wheels Tony Hawk uses, and expect to do anything close to what he can do.

stogie1020

f3, 1/275, ISO215.

Not knowing why that isn't going to really going to happen is why you should probably set it on green box and read the book mentioned. There are no magical settings that someone can give you to make cars, or people or sunsets looks good. It's kind of like asking "Hey, I want to be an artist, how do I paint?"

NWI_#73

Low ISO's for sunny days and bump the ISO up for indoor darker photos. Keep your f stop as low as possible to blur out the background (depends on lenses). I use Av (I think it is) which allows you to adjust the f stop and it chooses the corresponding shutter speed. Always works great for me.

monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

thanks for the help guys, i know i have to understand my camera before going all out with taking crazy shots. but someones gotta start somewhere. trial and error is how everything goes. i just figured someone might be able to give me a jump start, guess ima just have to research.

jupitersolo

w/o knowing what your camera will do it's hard to explain to you what you should do. If anyone of us was standing next to you as you did it, it would be a whole other story as to what we could help with.

moeronn

The place to start out is with Auto (i.e. green box). From there you will see what different settings will give you.

But here is some general info that might help:
ISO - film speed lower number for brighter scenes higher number for darker scenes
- the higher the number the more noise/grain you are likely to get.

Aperture (f-stop/f number) - the lower the number the more light you let in, the higher the number the less light you let in.
- the lower the number the shallower your depth of field (DoF), the higher the number the more DoF. DoF means how much of the scene is in focus

Shutter Speed (SS) - this is the length of time the shutter is open expressed in terms of seconds (usually fractions of seconds 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, etc.)
- the longer the exposure, the more light on the scene
- used to control motion in the scene - faster SS stops action, slower SS allows motion.

Of course, each of these items is interdependant. All of these need to be balanced to produce a correct exposure. And if you read Understanding Exposure, you will find that while there are many combinations for a correct exposure, there are few "perfect" exposures. I hope I got the terminology right, but the meaning should be there.

Anyway, good luck and post your results. From there we can give you more useful and specific information.

dom

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

this was a big help, thanks you very much for the information and the tips

monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

thanks this site will be very helpful in what i need to learn,ill be sure to post some test shots for the community, thanks

jupitersolo

Let me ask did you buy the book that was mentioned? It's less than $20.

monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

i plan on purchasing the book today...

is300eater

I'm kinda surprise no one's asked, but to the OP what lens do you have to work with?

dom

I'd imagine its the 18-55 IS.

monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

yup 18-55

LuvMyTSX

Since you don't have a tripod, I would do this photo shoot during daylight hours, so you have at least a chance of getting the proper exposure.

Read that book that was mentioned, as well as look up threads in here, to get yourself started. There's quite a learning curve. Canon's site also has some tips/lessons to get you on the right track. It takes a lot of practice.

monstaxmatt

iTrader: (1)

i actullay have a tripod now thanks for the help