I go to many small venues where local bands are playing (sort of small bars). Its dark, minus the lights that are cast on stage, and of course the musicians arent going to keep still. How should I set my camera so that I achieve the most clear professional photograph?
any advice on what settings to set my camera to on different locations?
A fast lens a tripod and a class in photography.
6 Responses to “What settings should I use on my Nikon D40?”
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Indoor shots of performing arts are hard to shoot. It’ll be nearly impossible (without a flash larger than the built-in) to get a clear AND not blurry photo. If you increase the ISO, it’ll allow you to have a quicker shutter speed, which will give you a grainy but less blurry photo. If you decrease the ISO and slow the shutter speed, it’ll give you a cleared but blurry photo. Ideally, you should get a flash, cause that would allow you to use a low ISO for clarity without having to compensate with a slowed shutter. If that’s not a possibility, I recommend getting as close to the stage as possible, because A) you’ll be able to feed off of the house lights much easier and B) you’ll not have to increase the aperture as much by zooming and decrease your light intake.
If this is too much manual work for you, because of constantly changing lights, stage arrangements, subjects, etc… Then either let your camera do the work on auto (which may not do too terribly much better) or set it to aperture mode, so you can let he camera pic the appropriate shutter speed.
References :
Newpaper/freelance photographer
March 9th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
use a tripod if you can to minimize motion blur.
use a good flash if allowed to increase shutter speed.
using a faster film (iso setting) may also help.
just experiment and good luck.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
A fast lens a tripod and a class in photography.
References :
March 10th, 2010 at 12:16 am
well you should get a lens with a good apperature for low light
maybe the 50mm 1.8
or get a flash
always use full manual
never use those auto settings
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March 10th, 2010 at 12:31 am
Flash on camera isn’t strong enough–and it can be very distracting to them. If they use any fancy lights, it can ruin it, too.
Use a fast lens with high ISO.
Like this:
(Click on ALL SIZES to see larger one)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pooky/2580210072/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pooky/2582337555/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pooky/2581731985/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pooky/2579339701/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pooky/2498863246/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pooky/2420512804/
If you can bring a monopod, it would be helpful.
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March 10th, 2010 at 12:46 am
When I’m at a show I generally set my shutter speed at 1/30, depending on the light.
I set my ISO to 800 and my aperture to f5.6
My conditions are undoubtedly different from yours, however these setting generally work for me.
References :