best settings for T2i

[che13bear]

I just got my new camera and now I need to set it up. I am new to DSLR and if I understand this right, the P on the dial can be set however I need....any suggestions to how to set it OR any other feature.

I am looking to take portraits of my children

[atmenterprises]

You can always select the green box option on your T2i and take your shot and see if you like the results. Using green box, the camera will set aperture, shutter (and maybe ISO...can't remember) for you automatically based on the shooting conditions.

However, if you want the background to be more out of focus so the photo places more attention on your subjects, you may want to go into Aperture Priority mode (the Av option) and lower the aperture number (which opens the aperture so it gathers more light) as that will help blur the background some on the portrait. The camera will still set the shutter speed for you manually.

If you want to set aperture and shutter speed, I generally inverse one to get what I should use for the other. For instance, if my aperture is set for f/2.8, I set the shutter speed to the closest value available in my camera to 1/280, which is probably 1/250. The inverse also applies.

For ISO, the lower the number the more sensitive your camera's sensor will be to light. If the subject is well-lit, try ISO 200 or 100. For lower-light situations, try a higher ISO number, maybe 400 or 800. Keep in mind, though, that the higher your ISO number, the longer your shutter speed may need to be to capture enough light OR the more open your aperture needs to be to capture the light. Longer shutter speeds means your subject needs to be stationary unless you want a blurry picture.

My suggestion is to take lots of shots and tinker with the settings as you go to see what works best for you.

Michael

[RichardTaylor]

Have a look through this tutorial of mine, on this site, it will give you an idea of how to set your camera up.

Exposure (1) A balancing act