Lighting and Shutter Priority

[bcummings88]

I went on a hike today and was messing with the shutter speed while taking pictures of the river. I was just wondering why I couldn't seem to get the river and the flowing action. Was it the lighting or was the aperture set to high?




Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/20s
Exposure Mode: Shutter Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 64)

[autofocus]

Looks like you seriously over exposed...I don't believe you mentioned what camera you have. A slightly faster shutter speed, say 1/30th, and a smaller aperture setting may have helped the exposure. I know my G2 won't close down beyond F/8, and having an ISO 64 available leads me to believe it's a point and shoot, and you may not be able to close your lens down any further.

[bcummings88]

sorry. It's a Nikon P90. It's a point and shoot with a little more power over how it's used. I can put it in manual and change the settings. And to be honest, I'm not 100% sure what ISO is. A little help?

[autofocus]

ISO is a standard in digital photography like ASA was for film. Adjusting your ISO settings up or down controls the sensitivity of your sensor to light. It is one of the three elements (shutter speed, aperture, and ISO) that the chip in your camera will use to calculate exposure settings. Adjusting it up as in ISO 400, or ISO 800 will allow you to shoot in lower light situations. Adjust it down for bright light applications. Depending on your camera settings, it may do this automatically as it calculates the correct settings for a particular exposure...you also should have manual control over this. And like high speed film, the trade off of higher ISO settings will result in digital noise (grain in film) Hope this clears it up a little

[bcummings88]

I have a feeling that I will be using manual settings over the others just so I can get the better shot. Thanks for the help so now I have to mess with the manual settings to see what I can do.

[autofocus]

will your lens shut down to F/11 or smaller? To get the blurred water that you want a slow shutter setting will require a smaller F/Stop (larger number)

[OsmosisStudios]

auto-focus has it pretty much dead on: the image is blown out (overexposed).

Im not 100% familiar with the P90, but I doubt there's any way for you to really get the aperture any smaller. Prove me wrong, though!

Failing that, you could try to throw a Neutral Density filter in front of it. It doesnt have to screw in: as long as it's flat on the front of the lens. Elastics or some tape should do the trick. Neutral Density filters block light (uniformally), usually by a few stops.

[Chip]

Or just wait until there's less light - very cloudy day, early in the a.m., late in the p.m., a shady spot, etc. Anything besides full sun will help lessen the amount of light that goes through the lens, thereby increasing the chance of a better exposure.

[bcummings88]

Thanks for the suggestions. It was the middle of the afternoon and very sunny. I can go back when it's not as bright out.

[JMS1980]

I haven't tried shooting water yet, but I know that if you are going to go back when there is less light with a slow shutter speed, you might want to bring a tripod to help with camera shake:-)