Ok so I'm headed to the island of Antigua for my honeymoon in June. We bought a decent camera for my fiance' this past Christmas, but I don't know the right methods for great picture taking.

Can a local photographer give me some tips? Maybe check out the camera one of these days and help me figure out what's what.

 

typically unless youre doing some really professional photos... just to stick to the "Intelligent" mode included on most cameras today. The intelligent mode on my camera for instance, will automatically adjust the aperature, shutter, and whatever else that i forgot to capture the best image... messing with the other features is tedious but has its benefits. for instance this picture:



I cant even remember what i did but i think it had something to do with the shutter speed.

I would only mess with the custom settings if you really know about the shutter speed, aperature speed, exposure, and whereever else might be available on your cam.

Just make sure to focus before shooting, most digi cameras will autofocus before capturing by pressing the shutter button halfway down, and the then pushing it further down will capture your image.

only other thing to take note of is to keep as steady as possible while taking the picture, otherwise without a camera that has image stabilization, you will get a blurry photo...

you can use a flash in any light, but sometimes it is not necessary, just depends, the best way to get the best shot, is simply to take the same shot with multiple settings, flash, no flash, partial flash etc... I'm sure one of the other photogurus in here can answer more questions if you really want to use the more advanced features of your camera.

 

That picture is just a slightly slower shutter speed. (1/2 sec)

What camera did you get? Most of your snap shots would be fine with it on Auto (green) setting. Unless you have specific plans on taking pictures at night or action photos, etc. Then you could mess with the settings, or use the proper mode. Theres alot of websites that show you photo composition which IMO is really important for a nice picture.

 

Sorry if that last post is confusing, I just got done taking my last exam for this semester. =)

 

Like everyone else has said, you are better off sticking to the auto settings. But if you wanted to know more about it, the best way is to experiment. Here are a few key terms to know

Apature is how big or small the whole letting light in is. the smaller the number the more open it is. so a 2.8 is really open.

Shutter speed is how long the shutter stays open. The longer it is open the more light comes in.

Depth of field (DoF) How much of the picture is in focus, sports photography has no depth of field, as the subject is in focus and the background is all blurry. For nature shots typically have everything in focus and crisp.

Im not that good at explaining things, so hopefully that helped a little. If not check out this site, it does a better job at it

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

 

What kind of camera is it Eric?

 

Eric,

I can help you out with a few things....just call me and we'll set up a time to meet.

If your like me sticking to an auto setting will limit your ability to experiment and get some fun stuff.

 

I usually just use P-Mode or Av w/ MF.

There isn't really a need to go in to full manual mode unless you are doing some artistic/model photo shoot. Manual mode, especially if you are just starting, takes much more time to set up and you just might miss your shot because of that.

Manual mode does let you experiment more with your shots but if it's just honeymoon photos that you will be sharing with friends and family, Av or P-mode will be sufficient.

 

Aside from camera settings think about your composition and framing of your subjects. If you're shooting people. focus on their eyes. If you're shooting scenery, try to get good angles from things in your viewfinder. Also look up the "rule of thirds". Simple but effective for composition.

 

Start here

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-...2428224&sr=8-1

And memorize the owners manual of your camera.

The best thing to do is get a very good knowledge of aperture and shutter and how they effect the picture. That book will be very helpful for you.

 

Ok so I already know how to use "auto" on any camera. Maybe that's good advice, but I was looking for a bit more.

Chris... I'll get with you about it so you can help me out. I also need to get your breaker bar back to you. I just realized it's still in my garage.

The camera is a Fujifilm S2000HD. It's only like a $250 camera, but it's a damn good one for what it is. It shoots 1080i pictures and films 720p movies with great audio. There is alot to this camera. I just haven't read through the manual yet. I'm more of a hands on learner that likes to be taught by someone else. I'm not a big fan of manuals, but I'll utilize it when I have some free time.

 

If you are bored one night, just start messing around with the settings and it wont take long to figure out what does what.

 

does your camera have a "A" and "S" modes (Aperature and Shutter priority)? If so, those are the best way to learn. Put it in Aperature priority mode and just start taking pictures. Shoot a stationary object without changing positions at different aperatures.

Then do the same thing with it in Shutter priority mode. Find a moving object to shoot. Sitting near a road shooting traffic works well for this. Shoot cars moving across the frame with a very slow shutter speed and very fast shutter speed.

Then compare them on your computer at home. You'll easily be able to see what each of the settings do.

 

Also, I'd like to stress what like moog mentioned about the rule of thirds. It's one of the best things to improve the overall quality of your pictures.

http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/tips/thirds.asp

 

Trentor,

Thanks for the solid sounding advice. I'll have to take some time to play with the camera and use your suggestions.