I'm going to try and shoot in manual mode for the first time tomorrow. I'll be going to an ice sculpture exhibit. The ice sculptures will have lighting within and around them, but it will be in a dark room. I'm guessing I should open up my aperture and shutter speed doesn't need to be super fast. I don't think I would have to change my settings much unless I wanted to get different effects. Tips would be great.

here are pics I found of the place online

 

If you are going to be indoors and is going to be dark, I recommend you to practice and get familiar with what setting does what. You are either going to need to use the flash or if you don't like that then a tripod. But practice it before you go out there and use it so you don't come home a see a bunch of blurry images that are either too over or under exposed. Practice makes perfection.

 

If you have a tripod, set it for the lowest ISO possible. Also use the timer function so that you don't get any camera shake when you push the shutter release (unless you have a remote trigger).

Use the camera's histogram and look at the exposure; it should be a bell-shaped curve if properly exposed.

To keep everything in focus, you'll want to use a small aperture, which require a longer shutter speed. If you shoot at f/10, iso 100, your shutter speeds could be around 2-5+ seconds depending on the lighting.

 

What camera you using?

 

I like the photos, but have several suggestions:

Clutter. I would be more enthusiast if you had one or two subjects.

Lighting. Not that the lighting is in your control, but its flat. I suspect that this is front or overhead lighting. I see little if any contrast. Side or back lighting would be interesting.

Focus: Photos should be sharp. Very difficult under low light. The camera will “pick” a focal point, and everything else will be foggy. You may be able to increase focal length by decreasing the aperture setting.

So experiment and have fun.

 

Those aren't my pics...they're just ones I found online of the place to give you guys an idea of what my subject matter will be. I have a Canon 40D

 

Use manual focus if you don't like what the camera does for you in the focus department.

And take lots of pictures too and at maximum resolution. That way you can always crop out stuff around the edges that isn't quite right.

 

I would just bring the ISO up and play with the rest.

 

I would definitely recommend a good flash and diffuser for that place... looks real dark.

 

LOL. I hate those photos.

 

What ever setting you do use, make sure you set the 40d in RAW file format. Im in the same boat as you and learning to use my 40d.

 

OMG! I HATE YOU ALL! im still saving up for my 40D. It will be my first Digi slr. Maybe, as an entry level camera, you should've gone with a rebel?