This is my camera : It’s a Nikon D80

I’ve had this camera for about 5 years now. I think the newer version of it is a Nikon D90. The best site I’ve found for camera reviews and lenses is at Ken Rockwell. You can look up whatever camera you want and it has excellent tips and reviews.

I personally would NOT buy a camera kit. If you are thinking of purchasing a nice camera I would buy the body and lens separately. Usually the lenses that come with camera kits are crappy. The key to a great photo is a great lens. One of my favorite lenses is the Tokina 11-16 mm lens

Here are some pictures I took with this wide angle lens :
Here I am standing right in FRONT of Connor, but you would never know because it gets the whole room in

I’m standing really close to the living room and I got the WHOLE thing in the frame

Here I am standing right in front of the doorway to the kitchen and I got the entire room in again

You get the point – Wide angle lenses are GREAT if you have a large area to cover or a whole lot of people to fit into a frame.

Another program I could not live without is LIGHTROOM. This program is not as fancy as Photoshop, but if you can’t afford the steep price of Photoshop then I would recommend Lightroom to anyone! It’s great because you can change the white balance, exposure, and enhance colors in your photos….as well as many other features.

I also own Photoshop and it’s a great program and you can do so many wonderful things to photos. I love using “actions” in photos, with the click of a button you can totally transform a photo! I may talk about that in my next photo post.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT LIGHTROOM CAN DO :

Here is the photo straight out of the camera

Here it is after I’ve enhanced it with Lightroom

As you can see it just gives you that little extra “sparkle”

I guess that is about all for todays photo lesson 🙂

If you have anymore questions just be sure to leave a comment and I’ll try my best to answer!

In this picture, we move up to f-5 (shutter speed ¾ second). We are still focused on the berries but notice how you can start to make out the objects behind it.

In this picture, we move to f-16 (shutter speed 8 seconds). Notice how you can make out the chairs in the background AND how the counter in front of the berries is more detailed.

With F-values, you have to understand that when F-values are lower (1.4) the camera requires less light. The lens acts like your eye. If your eye was f-1.4, they would be VERY dilated, letting in lots of light. However, during high f-values (16), the camera requires much more light.

Aspect 2 – Shutter Speed

The below 3 pictures are all shot in f-4. In the first picture, we are focused on a candle holder. The shutter speed is balanced with the f-value to create a clear picture. (f-4, shutter speed 1/3 second)

In this picture, the shutter speed was open too long, allowing too much light to enter the camera. (f-4, shutter speed 3 seconds)

And in this picture, the shutter speed wasn’t opened long enough, making the appear darker. (f-4, shutter speed 1/13 second)

As stated earlier, the higher your f-value, the longer your shutter must remain open. (Look at “Aspect 1” again and how f-values relate to shutter speed). The longer your shutter is open, the easier it becomes to have blurry pictures (without a tripod). So, when in lower light where a slower shutter speed is required, how do I keep my pictures from being blurry by trying to hold the camera still for 2, 3, or 8 seconds? For starters, try a tripod. If not, there is one more aspect we can discuss.

Aspect 3 – ISO
ISO is like the old time film speeds. Basically, the way I see it is that the lower the ISO (100), the more detailed a picture is but requires slower shutter speeds. It basically allows the camera to “capture” as much detail as possible. The below image is shot at an f-4, with a shutter speed of 1/2 second, and an ISO of 100. Notice how clear, detailed, and smooth it is.

This next image is shot at f-4 with a shutter speed of 1/25 second, and an ISO of 800. Notice how it’s maybe not quite as smooth and detailed. See how we actually had a faster shutter speed here than the previous picture with the same f-value?

This last image is shot at f-4 with a shutter speed of 1/100 second. This is a much faster shutter speed than both the previous pictures; however, notice it’s grainier and definitely not as smooth. Basically, Higher ISO = faster shutter speed = decreased chances of blurry pictures due to movement in darker rooms, but = less detail in the picture.

In most of our pictures, I use a low f-value (1.4, 2.8, 3, or 4). I then set the ISO normally to 100 (the lowest setting for the most detail). Then, our camera helps us know which shutter speed to pick based on those 2 setting. If the shutter speed is too slow to use by hand, I adjust the ISO up and the f-value up until the camera says it is all in balance and the shutter speed is fast enough that I can take a picture without it being blurry.

I hope this helps all you bloggy friends out there. Many of you have asked how I take my pictures…the best way is to get out there and practice! Feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll do my best to answer! A great resource that I found was Ken Rockwell’s site and more specifically his pages on “Taking Better Pictures”.