I wasn't actually trying to shoot something per say, I was trying to mess with the manual settings so I would know how to fix them and to set it up for optimum shooting. I will admit I am somewhat new to an advanced camera, but is it correct to say that if I am not in the right light (darkness before the fireworks) that the camera will not physically let me set the aperture and the shutter to where I want it to be?
No, that is not correct. In Manual mode (M) you can set the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to whatever you want. You are in complete control of all those settings. That's the beauty of manual mode.
In Aperture Priority (Av) mode you can choose whatever aperture you want and the camera will decide what shutter speed is appropriate. Therefore, this is considered a partially automatic or a partially manual mode.
In Shutter Priority (Tv) mode you can shoose whatever shutter speed you want and the camera will decide what aperture is appropriate. Therefore, this is considered a partially automatic or a partially manual mode.
Can I ask you when you like to shoot in for fireworks? I'm guessing this is going to be a more trial and error thing, but I like to know others opinions.
thanks for the help!!
You're right; it's trial and error. I Generally I keep ISO low, like around 50, 100, or 200 (no higher than 200). I set the focus on infinity. I zoom out for a wide angle. I use an aperture of around f/8 or f/11. I start out with a shutter speed of 2 or 3 seconds. I'll take a couple of shots with these settings, and if the exposure is off I simply adjust the shutter speed up or down.
PS (previous poster))-I think that ISO 800 is a little "noisy" but I see how it would help without the tripod. Try using a tripod and I think you may get some better shots.
With any picture you've got to decide what is most important for this shot. Is it depth of field? Is it freezing motion? Is it accentuating subject motion blur? For example, if I'm doing an outdoor portrait of a person, the most important thing for me is that I have shallow depth of field so the subjects "pops" in the image and so the background doesn't distract from the subject. Since aperture primarily affects depth of field, aperture is the primary variable. I set my aperture to the size that gives me precisely the amount of depth of field what I want and I leave it there.
I adjust the ISO and shutter speed around the aperture. A second example: I'm photographing a moving child or pet and I want the subject to be clear and in focus, so in this case the most important variable is shutter speed to freeze motion. I set the shutter speed to a fast speed (1/500 sec) leave it there.
I set the aperture and ISO around the shutter speed. Third example: I'm photographing a waterfall. Rather than freezing the action of the water (boring), I want to accentuate the motion of the water, so it appears as soft, silky streaks. In this case the most important variable is a slow shutter speed. So, I set the speed slow (1/8 sec) and leave it there.
I adjust the aperture and ISO around the shutter speed.
When I'm shooting fireworks the most important thing is that I use a slow shutter speed (2 to 4 seconds) to get a nice, full bloom of light streaks. So, I'll first set the shutter speed that gives me the bloom that I want, steady the camera, then I'll set the aperture and ISO around that shutter speed. For fireworks it just doens't make sense to make ISO your primary variable and then set your aperture and shutter speed around the ISO setting. That's putting the cart before the horse.
