My Photography teacher sucks. I need help?

Question

My photography teacher really didnt teach us much. I have no idea how to work my camera and alot of my photo's are coming out grey.

Basically what's an ISO and what setting should i have it on at different times of the day?

I hate using the built in flash in my Nikon D40SLR but i can't get a good light without using it unless i depend on photoshop which is cheating. How can i get a sharp, focused photograph without using automatic mode.

Im into fashion and portrait photography the most. What setting should i use to ensure i get the best out of my camera?

PLEASE HELP ME!

Massive thanks in advance for whoever answers my question right :]

I

Answer 1

In order to get good exposure you need to dose the film (the image sensors in the case of a digital camera) with the right amount of light.

There are four factors that determine the 'right amount of light'.

First and most important is the amount of light around when you take the photograph. Obviously there is more light around outdoors in bright sunlight than in a candlelit room. Other things being equal you need less from a bright sunlit scene than from a romantic dinner.

Next up is your aperture (how wide the lens opens at exposure). Clearly the wider the lens opens the more light gets in (other things being equal - as always). But aperture size (which is measured in f stops - the higher the number the smaller the hole) also affects other things (mainly depth of field). So you don't have total freedom of choice on that.

The shutter-speed (how long the shutter stays open) is also important. You can have the shutter open for a long time with a narrow aperture, or for a short time with a wide aperture, to get the same amount of light. Most of the time you will control the light dosage mainly by playing shutter-speed off against aperture size.

The final ingredient in the mix is the ISO. This is a measure of how sensitive the 'film' (photocells) is to light. If you need one amount of light at ISO 100 (a typical value) you will need half as much at ISO 200 or twice as much at ISO 50 (and so on).

Outdoors working in bright sunlight ISO 100 is a good place to start. But take a few shots. If they seem dull and grey (underexposed) increase the sensitivity by going to ISO 200. If they seem faded and whitey (overexposed) drop down to ISO 50. Take a few more shots. Adjust the ISO up or down until you get the balance you want.

The question you ask about flash suggest to me that you probably should not be using it at all. But this is already too long an answer for me to explain why.

Certainly camera-mounted flash has almost no place in fashion photography - and not normally in portraiture either.