Lens (mm): 400mm  zoom – 80-400mm Nikon lens
ISO: 800 (that may seem high for 10am – but you’ll understand… keep reading)
Aperture: f 5.6 (wide open when zoomed to 400)
Exposure Compensation: -0.7  (read on)
no flash
Program: Aperture Priority (I LOVE to use long lenses and low aperture to blur backgrounds)
Focus Mode: AF-S (single shot so I can pick the focus point)
White Balance: CLOUDY

Great Egret in breeding plumage visits my pond for breakfast with 2 friends.

Thats exactly what I did when 3 large white visitors dropped in for breakfast this morning.

Lesson #1 – BE READY!

Even when you’re not…

It’s ALWAYS a good idea to:

1. charge your batteries and keep them in the same place.
2. have a media card with room ready in the camera
3. reset your camera to 400 iso and have your favorite lens on it when you put it away each time.
4. know where your gear is at all times.

I knew my battery was charged so I placed it on the kitchen island to take down to the garage to reinstall it on the next trip.

I knew I had the 80-200 on the camera and media card ready (helps when you sometimes chase news – you NEVER know what’s coming next!). And yes, 400 iso.

So – picture me running to get the camera & install the battery when this trio stopped by for breakfast at 10 am. Their silhouette was stunning as they flew in for a landing. Definitely not your “run of the mill” canada geese! Yes, I keep nikon 8x binoculars handy too… but 400 mm lenses do the same thing.

EXPOSURE
Light fast-moving subjects on darker background

I didnt want to miss them so I shot a few frames with the 200 mm lens. I checked the exposure and because the water and trees are dark and the birds are small in the frame and WHITE – i wanted to be sure I had detail in their feathers. It’s not every day an egret in breeding regalia drops by! (NEVER!)

UNDER EXPOSE

To keep detail in light subjects on a dark background, I use exposure compensation (+/-) button and override the camera by setting it to (-0.7)  or -2/3 of a stop. I was also shooting in RAW mode to be able to tweak a bit later – especially contrast.

A slight bit of under exposure helps keep detail in the highlights. Once it’s “blown out” beyond the histogram, it’s GONE and you cant get it back! Better to err on the dark side just a bit.

SPEED

Problem # 2 is these birds were HUNGRY! They were hunting like crazy for breakfast – fish & frogs. Ever watch a bird like this hunt? Lightning fast strikes! Not to mention flapping wings!

Shutter speed is directly linked to ISO. The higher the iso, the faster the shutter speed (and the more noise – it’s all about balance).

Even at 10 am, iso 400 wasnt nearly fast enough to give me wing & strike stopping speed! I cranked it up to 800 to be able to use a FAST shutter speed and hopefully freeze the action! Otherwise they look blurry from movement. So 800 is 2x the speed of 400. And 2x the action stopping capability.

PROGRAM MODE

Aperture Priority (A on Nikon, AV on Canon cameras) is my go-to mode of choice – I can quickly adjust 1 button to control the blur (or sharpness) in the background. I also just flip it to WIDE OPEN when I need action stopping capability.

Yes the shutter speed varies based on the camera’s decision for exposure. Yes Shutter Priority guarantees me a certain speed to freeze the bird. But hey, I’m shooting FAST remember?

If you know you’re going to a kids sports game, by all means, use SHUTTER PRIORITY (S on Nikon, TV on Canon cameras), and pick a high speed to stop the ball. You set the speed, the camera picks the aperture, and varies aperture (f-stop) based on exposure changes. Shutter speed stays consistent.

So for the bird shot, I was able to shoot at 1/2500 of a second to freeze the flight of the bird, but had to use 800 iso to get there since the morning was rather gloomy. And set the aperture to “wide open” – it doesnt go any lower than 5.6 on that lens.

DRIVE

And speaking of fast  - I never take my drive mode off continuous. If I want 1 frame, I shoot 1 and unpress the shutter, but I never have to change it when action happens. It’s always set to keep shooting as many frames as possible.

Dont think – SHOOT!

Aperture Priority gives me one less thing I have to think about when trying to make a picture. And that lets me concentrate more on composition and “feeling” the moment, and less on technical stuff, thank you very much!

The more you stick with the same basic settings on your camera, the less you’ll have to THINK about making the photo and just RESPOND to the images that present themselves to you.

Remember, in the end, it’s the emotion of the moment that matters. But you have to BE READY for them when they happen.

I’d love to hear your feedback! Feel free to post questions too! And I hope to see you at an upcoming class or 1-1 Workshop.

And gang, it’s not just me. I’ve always said I think the buttons on Nikon are more “ergonomic”. Nathan, who’s used Canon for years before switching agrees with me. It’s just easier to get to the settings you need to change fast in real-world situations. I’ve used both too, and was glad to go back to Nikon after having to use Canon at the newspaper.

It’s hard to see close up details on video with compression but it does appear that the gradation between highlight & shadow is “prettier” on the Nikon D800. I can’t wait to see one up close myself!

Check out a few of the images on Nathan’s blog.

http://nathanelsonblog.com/for-photographers/nikon-d800-vs-canon-5d-miii-a-portrait-photographers-perspective/

It’s all about Aperture!

Aperture is the same as f-stop, usually designated by f-# . The # is a fraction of the lens opening. The lower the number, the larger the opening – yes it’s math. Sorry about that. So f4 is 1/4 of the entire lens opening.

I frequently use a 70-200 f2.8 lens so I can blur out distracting backgrounds. Yes, it gets a bit tricky to nail focus, but done well, the results are so worth it!

Back Up & Zoom In

Also remember that the more telephoto the lens, the more blur in the background. Although you can get great shots with a 50mm f1.8 (and I dearly love my 50!), I feel like 200mm zoom (or 4x closer than 50mm – 4x narrower field of view), gives me even better backgrounds. It “compresses” and “narrows” the field of view (angle of the lens left to right), concentrating that much more attention on the subject.

back up and zoom in

Want an easy formula? Here we go…

1. Start with your most telephoto lens
2. Set your ISO first – always! For still subjects outdoors, 200 should be fine. If your subject is moving, you can go to 400 iso.
3. Place your subject far away from any background objects if possible (not up against a wall please!). Watch so that there are no bright colors, high contrast shapes behind them. If there are, start by YOU moving from side to side just 1 step and see if that distraction is out of the picture?
4. Back up – you need to start about 10′ away from your subject or so…
5. ZOOM IN – depending on your lens, 200mm or 300mm is what you’re looking for. Crank it out until it stops.
6. Set you aperture! The easiest way for me is to set the top dial to A mode for Nikon, or AV for Canon, and then turn my thumb wheel to the lowest number. Typically f5.6 in most consumer lenses.
7. For SLR users – Look through the lens – eye to camera. See the numbers on the bottom of the viewfinder? Make sure your shutter speed  is at least 60 – or 1/60 of a second. If it’s lower, adjust your ISO to a higher number.
8. Remember to check your background! Sidestep to avoid poles, bright spots, distracting colors & shapes.
9. USE FLASH! Which is also a whole other multitude of posts. Lets just say if you’re within 15′ of your subject, flash outdoors can REALLY improve your images! Yes, even the tiny built-in flash on the top of the camera. Push the little lightning bolt button to make it pop & fire!

If I’ve confused you at all, I hope to see you at the next Digital Photography 101 class where we get you started in the direction of learning more about your camera. I’m sure your people photos will improve even just doing the BACK UP & ZOOM IN trick.

Want to learn more? Join me in an upcoming photography class at Evendale Cultural Arts Center in Cincinnati Ohio.

Clouds are awesome for photography!

Cloudy days filter the sunlight, softening contrast & shadows, allowing for richness in small details.

Clouds even out colors, which can then be adjusted in photoshop or photoshop elements.

Cloudy days are great for wildlife and walks in the woods. This weather is perfect for getting great details and lovely landscapes.

Cloudy days are especially amazing for shooting portraits! The clouds soften shadows, allowing you to use more natural light and less flash.

Yes, I still used flash to fill in eyes, adding a bit of spark, but “dialed down” the flash with flash exposure compensation. That way it looks much more natural.

Use Flash Outdoors

Honestly this is where Nikons really shine. I can almost always trust by Nikon flash set to TTL – Through The Lens – which balances with existing ambient light – to deliver without “thinking” about it.

But on soft cloudy days like this, you really don’t need much – so I tend to hit the minus (-) button to reduce the flash output to -1 EV. That means the flash is set to underexpose by 1 stop below the ambient light exposure. We call that a “kiss” of flash, just a bit to fill in shadows, but not overpower the softness of the available light.

White Balance Tips

Granted, cloudy days can appear “blue” or gray. That’s a good time to take your white balance setting OFF of auto – where I normally keep it – and change it to cloudy. Or if you shoot raw – which I tend to do for portraits so I have more control over contrast – you can adjust white balance and warm up your shots as you like.

Add A Bit Of Sunshine

One of my favorite things to do when the sun does sneak through the clouds is backlight someone. I look for a spot far away from a dark background where the sun just rims my subjects’ hair. That little extra oomph of light can really make a difference. And by using the sun as a backlight or hair light, like I would in the studio, again I can add flash to fill in someone’s face.

The other advantage to using the sun behind someone is it’s NOT in their eyes, causing them to squint. It’s also not casting wacky shadows on their face that I have to deal with. All I need to watch for is lens flare, which seems to be popular to include in images these days, although it’s not a look I enjoy except on rare occasions.