Photographing a christmas tree with a nikon d3000

[kmundy]

Hi everyone. I'm new here, so I am very sorry if I am missing something that has previously been posted.

I'm looking to take a picture of my christmas tree where I can achieve the "starburst" effect with the lights.

I have a Nikon d3000, and from the research I've done I think this is what I should be trying to do:

F22 or so
shutter speed around 1/20
no flash
ISO at around 800

I really don't know much about this, so I'm sorry if my terms are off-I'm trying to learn.

My problem is that I can fix everything-f22, 1/20, ISO 800, but then I can't get the flash to turn off. How do I fix this? When I put it in manual mode, there's only 3 options I have-full flash, rear, and then one with a picture of the flash an an eye.

Any tips?

Thanks so much!

[IABoomer]

Push the flash down. It won't pop up in manual mode unless you hit the flash release button.

[Digidave]

f/11 to f/16 should be fine. If you have your camera set to Aperture Priority the flash should not go off automatically. Set your ISO to it's lowest setting to avoid noise & use a tripod.

[motomedic23]

If you want the star affect, you either need to do it in photoshop, or buy a cheap filter at your local camera store

[IABoomer]

Originally Posted by motomedic23

If you want the star affect, you either need to do it in photoshop, or buy a cheap filter at your local camera store

Not necessarily. Small aperture will do it. No filter or Photoshop here. Just f/11 on a D40.


Iowa state capital dome by IABoomerFlickr, on Flickr

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by IABoomer

Not necessarily. Small aperture will do it. No filter or Photoshop here. Just f/11 on a D40.

It's aperture related: straight blades give stars, the number of points on the star being double the number of blades.

[kmundy]

Thank you so much for all your responses. I took a few pictures tonight; they have the "starburst" effect, but I feel as if they're too dark-is there any way I can fix this?



This was a close up, and the photo info was this:
shutter 2.5
f/32 aperture
f/5.6 max aperture (I'm copying this from iPhoto, photo info)
focal length 52mm
flash off
ISO 800



This was further away, and the photo info was this:
shutter .625
f/22 aperture
f/3.5 max aperture (I'm copying this from iPhoto, photo info)
focal length 18mm
flash off
ISO 800

I tried to use a lower aperture, but the twinkling effect wasn't really there. I shut off all the lights in the room, and use a tri-pod. What else should I fix?

Thank you all again for putting up with my novice attempts at photography!

[OsmosisStudios]

Turn the ISO down and let the shutterspeed go longer.