It’s really hard to take good photos in low-light conditions. In late August, I had posted some recent photos taken by Michelle, along with an explanation/disclaimer that she’s still learning to use the camera…
On Saturday, October 31, 2009, I played a very last-minute gig with Alabadlo. Their bass player had gone to rehearsals and all, but flaked out at the last minute, so I got a call about thirty minutes before the show was supposed to start… I was on my way home from my sister’s house when I got the call so I had to get my stuff ready in a hurry. No problem.
Anyways, back to the point, it did give Michelle another opportunity to take some photos. I set up the camera’s settings for her (set it to Aperture priority, set the ISO speed, auto-focus, etc.) but unfortunately, I think I set the ISO speed too low. The lighting in the room when I was setting the camera for her was not the same as the lighting while we were playing, so the shutter speeds were around 0.5-1 seconds long, making for extremely blurry pictures. (It’s also hard for her to hold the camera steady since it’s too heavy for her small hands.) I’m pretty sure I had the ISO speed set pretty high though, but obviously not high enough…
There was only one picture (out of more than 100) that did turn out somewhat decent. Here it is:
I also editted the photo a bit using Aperture…
(In an unrelated matter, I’ve been going back-and-forth on the idea of buying a new strap for my bass. I think I need to lower the bass about an inch or two… My current strap is very short (intentionally) and I have it fully extended, but I think I may need just an inch or two more length on it… Hm.)
So, other than using the camera’s AUTO mode, (or the obvious long-term solution of having Michelle learn about Aperture, shutter speeds, ISO, how to use the camera, change settings, etc.) I’m wondering what I can do for next time to set her up for success and help her get better shots. Any suggestions?
Post a comment and let me know your thoughts.
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I usually do what you did, use aperture priority, select the highest possible aperture, then crank up the ISO.
Alternately, I sometimes set the camera to shutter priority, select a fast shutter speed, open up the ISO, and hope for the best ;-)
I’m always in full manual mode, and only sometimes in Aperture priority, but yes, setting it to Shutter priority would probably do the trick. I’ll have to figure out how to set the ISO speed to AUTO in this mode – I’m sure it’s possible (and easy) but I’ve never done it, so I’ll have to give it a look… I’ll give it a try and then see how Michelle’s pictures come out this way…
Thanks.
Any other suggestions, anyone?
DM