I am really having trouble knowing what ss to use when shooting. I am comfortable with ISO and aperature, but still I notice alot of my pics come out too dark. I am making sure the meter is centered in my camera, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I tried to attach one, but I don't know how to change the size. It was taken yesterday. It was very sunny, but we were in the shade of the house. I was shooting my two dogs playing tug of war. My ISO was 400, my aperature was 3.5 and my shutter speed was 1/400. What should my settings have been? (Again, let me say my meter was in the center!) Thanks so much!


Lisa

It was very sunny, but we were in the shade of the house.

Were you shooting in Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual or one of the Scene modes?

The settings by themselves don't tell the whole story. Sometimes, it's all about manipulating the light - and in this case, you may have needed to fire the flash to give the scene a bit of additional illumination. The shade hints at this, but until we can see some samples with the EXIF information intact, we can only give approximations.

My suggestion to new SLR owners is to consider shooting in Program. Granted, Scene modes (Sports, Portrait, Landscape, etc.) have their uses, but if part of the objective is to learn how to better control your image creation, Program is a good place to start. Program will also pop the flash or give indications in the viewfinder (blinking lighting bolt) that flash should be used to "fill-in" the scene because it's too dark.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

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I was in manual mode. Thank you!

Lisa

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Hi Lisa,

Since you say your meter was centered, it sounds to me like you problem is with metering, not with shutter speed.

What metering mode were you using?

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

Spot metering.

Lisa

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Lisa,

With spot metering, the meter will recommend a shutter speed to render the area under the spot as a middle tone. If you spot meter on some snow, the meter will recommend a shutter speed to render the snow middle gray (underexposed). If you spot meter off a black tux, the meter will recommend an exposure to render the tux middle gray (overexposed).

Generally spot metering is used when you know exactly what tone you want to render the thing you're metering. If you're metering a middle tone then just center the meter. If, for example, you want to render that snow white but still hold some detail, then you know you want it 2-3 stops above middle tone, so meter off it and add 2-3 stops for your exposure.

In situations where you don't want to work in such a labor intensive way, then center weighted or matrix metering are better choices.

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

Hi Lisa,

Did you have any Exposure Compensation dialed in?
What metering mode were you using; Matrix, Centerweighted, or Spot?
If the backround is brighter than your subject, Matrix metering will tend to under expose the image. You can avoid this by using fill flash as stated above or using the Spot meter and adjusting the exposure based on the light falling on your subject.
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty

Hi Lisa,

I think by now you realize we need some more information to help you.

• You have a D300 and according to your profile you use Aperture Priority most of the time. When you're having the exposure problem are you in Aperture Priority, or in some other exposure mode. Are you having the problem in multiple exposure modes? (P, S, A, M)
  
• What is your meter setting, and are you changing it to improve your exposure setting; matrix, center weighted, spot?
  
• Are you using any Exposure Compensation (EV)?
  

Hi Ned. I'm sorry, I will try to be more clear.

I was in manual mode. No, I haven't tried changing off of spot metering mode yet. No, I didn't use EV.

What I'm referring to as my "meter" is actually my exposure display.

No, I didn't get a meter reading off of them. They were running around, so I thought my shutter speed should be around 400, and when I adjusted the aperature, 3.5 put the bar in the center of the exposure display.

I'm starting to think I should sell my camera and buy a point and shoot. Thank you all so much for your help!


Lisa

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Hi Lisa,

No reason for you to be sorry.

Here are some of my thoughts.

OK, with manual mode you've got to set the triumvirate yourself; ISO, exposure, shutter speed. I normally set the ISO according to conditions. On a sunny day, I'm going to set my ISO typically to 100. If I'm taking a photo which has some motion in it, I'm then going to set my shutter speed next, to either freeze the motion to have whatever is moving to be in sharp focus, or to allow the motion to have some blur, to announce to those looking at the photo that there is motion there, such as letting the water in a stream or waterfall be a bit blurry so you know it's moving. If there is no motion, such as in a typical landscape photo, I'm going to set my aperture first to have depth of field control. Whichever setting is left, shutter speed or aperture, I'll set it according to the meter, to get the right exposure.

You're using spot metering. I use it sometimes, but most of the time I use matrix metering. Personally, I think most of your problem is your use of spot metering instead of matrix metering, and how you're using spot metering to set your exposure.

Matrix metering uses a significant amount of the framed image to judge what your exposure should be. It takes into account the foreground and background and tries to balance the overall setting, generally with priority to the subject (foreground) according to the scene being photographed. Matrix metering is darn accurate for most situations.

Sometimes though, such as if you're trying to catch a photo of a particular subject which is dark, with a bright background, matrix metering will not give a great result for the subject because it takes the background too much into account. That's when using spot metering is particularly helpful. It allows you to precisely choose what you want to base your exposure on.

You've got to be very careful in your setting your exposure through spot metering. It's very easy to set the exposure on the wrong "spot" to get an overall great photo. Getting dark photos when using spot metering isn't atypical.

Spot Metering is ideal if the subject has a large dynamic range, if the background is much brighter than the foreground, if the overall feel of the subject is too bright or too dark, if the photographer is looking for a "desired exposure" rather than the correct exposure (Silhouette), or in the case of a subject with the large dynamic range, where the range of the subject exceeds the dynamic range of the film, or sensor in your case, and the photographer has to compromise and to favor one part of the subject over another.

Try switching to Matrix metering and I think you'll see a significant difference. Also, I think you need to do some research to better understand the implications of the various metering modes.

Let me know if these ideas help you, and how you make out with matrix metering.

Oh, and don't give up your D300 for a point and shoot. You've got a great camera. It just takes more effort to use it compared to a P&S, but in the long run, the effort is very much worth it.

Let me know if you have more questions. I'm happy to help.

Ned
-----------------------------
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There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.
Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984)

I would really recommend Program Mode with either Matrix or CW metering. Spot is very labor-intensive and ifthe intention is to shoot candid photos, it's not the most optimal. And pop-up the flash.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

I would not give up either.... use P, I use it almost exclusively, with a moving target it could simply be that M is not real functional... P is not as basic as AUTO but is more forgiving then A, S, or M modes...

Once your good with P, shouldn't take long, play with S and A modes for a while, then try out M....

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Personally guys, I use Aperture Priority (A) most of the time, for static images, mostly so I can control depth of field, Shutter Priority (S) when the photo involves motion and I want to control how it looks in my photographs, and Manual (M) when necessary, such as if I'm taking a panorama and stitching multiple photos together, so the photos are consistent and look right stitched together.

While Programmed Auto (P) works fine in many situations, I prefer more control. Personally, I believe when you understand the relationship between Aperture-ISO-Shutter and what controlling each does for you, eschewing Programmed Auto improves your photos because you are then making the decisions, and controlling how you want the image to look. Moreover, I don't think there is any secret to learning how to use the other modes.

I only recommend Programmed Auto, or Auto for beginners, so they can get some good photos while they are learning about photography and their cameras. That is not to say you're wrong in suggesting and using (P) yourselves, as after all, this is just my personal opinion and we're each entitled to our own opinions.

You can get so much more out of a quality DSLR using the non-auto modes (A,S,M) that I always recommend learning how to use them and then using them instead of any auto mode.

Regards to all,

Ned
-----------------------------
Visit my Travel Photography Blog and my Galleries.

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.
Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984)

Actually, I was doing exactly what Ned said. I would shoot in aperature priority (A) most of the time, and in shutter priority if I was shooting action. That worked pretty well for me, but I just finished a digital photograpy course, and the instructor was recommending we shoot in manual. I just don't have the concept of the whole "photographic triangle" yet. I can do okay with getting a good aperature for a scene, but have no idea what shutter speed I should use with it. I think I will go back to what I was doing before, and leave the manual mode for the pros! Thank you all so much for your help.

Lisa

Nobody learns that overnight Lisa. I think the instructor has a great idea of having you use manual to force you to learn about how the three interact.

The main thing for you at this point, in my opinion is to move your meter to matrix from spot. Matrix is more appropriate for far more situations than spot. I never use center weighted now that matrix is so good. It takes the idea of center weighted metering to a far higher level.

As to ISO-Aperture-Shutter Speed, here are my quick rules thumb.

• Set your ISO first. Set it as low as you can for the light conditions you have to reduce noise and increase photo quality. Outside on a sunny day - 100, and go from there.
  
• Think about how you used Aperture priority and Shutter priority to set those two. If there's motion in your scene, you'd want to set your shutter speed first to get a particular look in your shot. If you're taking a landscape or macro shot, you'll likely want to set your aperture first so you can control your photo's depth of field.
  
• According to your thoughts in the above point either set your shutter speed or aperture to an appropriate setting. You might want to set your shutter speed to 1/30 or 1/60 to show the water in a stream is moving, or perhaps a bit higher. You might want to set your aperture to 5.6 or less if you want to have a shallow depth of field for a macro shot.
  
• Now that you have 2 of the 3 setting in place, just center the needle in the viewfinder to set the 3rd setting.
  
• You're done and now have a great exposure. See...Manual isn't too hard after all. (LOL)
  

Hey, that's not a bad idea! ISO is easy - I always do that first anyway. So then I can do my Aperature or Shutter settings depending on the shot, and then just center the needle for the last one. Now I can't wait for the sun to come up so I can try that! Thanks again, Ned!


Lisa

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It's a pleasure. Sometimes you've just got to simplify things.

Let us know how you make out.

Ned
-----------------------------
Visit my Travel Photography Blog and my Galleries.

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.
Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984)

Hi Lisa,

Sorry to hear that you've been a little frustrated by under-exposed pics. I've been reading the replies to your question, and I'm seeing lots of good advice. I am not surprised to hear that at the settings used, subjects in the shadow of the house were underexposed. I am also pretty sure your problem in this case was likely metering -- or to be more accurate, the metering mode being used. However, as I read through all that good advice, I became a little concerned that you might experience information overload. My fear was confirmed when I read that you wondered if perhaps you might consider aborting on the SLR idea, and switching to a point-and-shoot. If I may, I would like to make just two very simple recommendations to help get you back on track.

1. Please don't give up on the D300. You have made an excellent choice, in both camera and lens, and I guarantee that with just a little guidance, you will be extremely happy with what you can do with it. The D300 is the top-of-the-line Nikon DX format SLR. There's no doubt that if you want to dig deep into learning every one of its features and options, and take complete control of everything it does, it can seem overwhelmingly complex. However, part of what you have paid for in selecting the D300 is that it also has the power to function in way that is just as user-friendly as any point-and-shoot, except it will do a much better job at it, with far superior results.

2. Try starting again with letting the D300 take control for a while to see what it can do. I have the D700, which has a virtually identical feature set, except with a full-frame (FX) sized sensor. I have been into photography for quite a few years, and started out with a fully-manual film camera, so I was reluctant to trust the D700 to get the exposure right in many cases. But the more I have used it, the more I agree with the comments I have read from others, that say in spite of our experience, this camera will often do a better job than we do when it comes to nailing the right exposure. I think that for some of us with experience, there's a bit of an ego thing involved in letting the camera's brain take control -- kind of like a pilot letting the aircraft do an automated landing. Some situations can definitely be improved with a little "manual override" applied, but I tend to shoot AUTO first, and make sure I've got something useable, then do any tweaking on additional shots.
So, having said that, here are the settings I would recommend trying as a starting point:
Exposure Mode: P (Programmed Auto)
Metering: 3D Color Matrix
ISO Sensitivity Control: Auto
The D300 Auto-Focus is accurate and fast, so I would highly recommend using it. I tend to use Single-Servo Mode, with Single-Point (Center) AF Area for static subjects - zoom in, auto-focus, then zoom to whatever focal length you want, re-compose, and shoot. For moving subjects, such as your latest situation, I would recommend switching to Continuous-Servo Mode, and selecting Dynamic-Area AF, with the default 9-points area selected. Then you can simply follow the action, and the D300 will adjust as you go.

I really hope this helps you feel better about the D300. Please don't hesitate to keep asking questions, though. Once again, congratulations on a great choice of camera.

Jim - Nikonian in Ontario, Canada

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A real fun way to experience the impact of camera settings is to sit outside in a relaxing environment with your favorite soda and pizza and take many, many photos of the same thing. Make a new adjustement to your camera each time you take a photos. Make adjustments to shutter speed, ISO, use of fill-flash, exposure compensation, etc. Load your photos in the computer and study each and use your photo information to see how the settings impact the photo. Do the same kind of thing indoors, outside in bright light, outside after sunset, etc. It won't take long to develop the skills you need to get the quality of photo that you want. Also, continue to get information from other photographers. There are many resources available on this web site and others. Most of all, have a blast with your camera. Photography can be a wonderful hobby and, for some, a profession. Best wishes.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

I am making sure the
>meter is centered in my camera,
>
>Lisa

Did they (the class) teach you about the zone exposure system? Centering the meter is 18% middle gray so shooting into the shade you should be opening up one to two stops, be it with aperture or shutter speed.

Bob