Not Good with DSLR. Should I buy Point and Shoot?

[nat8199]

I love the idea of the DSLR. When my kids are sitting still, and I have time to work at the shot, I am pretty good at it. The problem is that my kids are never still, that there is never enough time to get everything set up right, and I am just not good enough at it. I feel like my focus is always off. I am probably being a bit too critical of my self, but I feel like I miss out on good shots because I am just not good enough.

I need more practice, obviously, but I have three kids and am in school for my Master's and I just don't have time.

I am thinking that I should get a point and shoot for Disney. Something that can still get great pictures, but that I cannot mess up. I guess I could just leave my DSLR on auto all the time. I don't know what to do. Or maybe I should just make myself practice more.

Sorry I don't know what I am looking to get back here. Maybe this is just more of a vent than anything.

 

[fractal]

Don't think a P&S is going to help with fast moving kids. Actually will be worse. put your camera in sports mode and try that with the wee ones.

If you don't have time to learn more about photography, just get to know the different camera modes and let the camera do the work for you.

 

[sharona]

There's nothing wrong with being overly critical in order to improve but not if it's stopping you from shooting! When you first step out of Auto mode, there is a period where your pics get worse before they get better. At least for me there was. I wouldn't want that to be while I was on an expensive vacation. I'd stick with auto mode for the vacation shots and just keep practicing with the various other modes until you get more experience. Shutter priority mode is helpful when fast moving subjects are involved.

 

[WebmasterPete]

I can completely relate to how you feel. I desperately wanted to be good at shooting with a DSLR, but couldn't get the hang of it. It didn't help that I'm surrounded by great photographers (Corey Martin - the DIS webmaster - is an amazing photographer). My late father was also a whiz with cameras, and tried to explain the concept of shutter speeds, f-stops, lighting and composition to me - all the while I was looking dazed and confused. I come from the 'instant gratification' school, so if I couldn't master it right away, I gave up. There's nothing worse than knowing the picture you want to take and not being able to get the camera to do what you want. But, I kept at it - and eventually did two things. First, I asked for advice (I'm not good at that) - I talked to people who took great pictures and picked their brain. A friend also recommended a great book that I highly recommend - Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. There's also a podcast that I love (the only one I listen too, actually) called Tips from the Top Floor. After focusing on it for a bit, I was able to understand more and improve (I'm still nowhere near Corey, and probably never will be), but I have the satisfaction of liking more of my photos now

In the interim, your DSLR in its auto modes will almost always be better than a standard point-and-shoot. Start there. When you get a picture you like, be sure to see what settings the camera chose (you can get this information in most photo software) and you can start picking up trends. As Sharona mentioned, putting the camera in shutter priority mode when dealing with fast moving subjects is a great place to start. When all else fails, go to auto - but be aware that auto isn't fail safe by any means (and that applies to any camera - DSLR or point-and-shoot). No sense wasting money when you (presumably) already have a good camera to use.

 

[xlxo]

Some thoughts...

• P and S typically have SLOWER autofocus. Some mirrorless cameras have faster auto-focus, but not all.
• how are you focussing? With auto-focus or manual? Could the diopter of off for your eyes?
• which DSLR do you have? which focus points are you using? Are you using the cross-type focus point?
• Are you spot, group, or all focus points?
• what are you focussing on? clothes? face? eyes?
• could the camera "sharpness" be incorrectly set?
• do you need faster f/2.8 or prime lenses?

 

[mom2rtk]

I totally agree with what has been posted so far.

A DSLR can grow with you AND your kids. I bought my first DLSR in 2004 and shot in auto for 5 years. I had 3 kids and a job, and no time to study or take photography classes. Eventually I found this forum and someone recommended "Understanding Photography" referenced by WebmasterPete above. A light bulb went off for me. Between that and all the questions I could ask here without fear of overbearing attitudes, I finally figured it all out. My photos from the early days of shooting on auto could be better, but they are far better than I was getting before the swap to DSLR, and I'm still happy with most of them.

Your kids are young. You have no idea what your photo taking needs will be as they age. Sports? Plays? Vacations? At least you know the DSLR will grow with you.

 

[sharona]

+1 for Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Coincidentally, I recommended it in a different thread earlier today! It really should be added to all dslr kits.

 

[nat8199]

Thank you all so much!

I actually read Understanding Exposure 2+ years ago when I got the camera (and before I started school), but I seem to have forgotten most of it. I just realized that I didn't even use my camera from October to March. No wonder I don't remember anything! I am going to make it a goal to brush up on everything before our Disney trip and to use my camera as often as possible so that I can start really learning it.

I love taking pictures, so letting myself get so discouraged is silly. I just need to relearn my settings and photography basics. Knowing what I am doing for our vacations this summer before Disney will also be good for me.

Thanks so much for the encouraging words.

 

[mom2rtk]

If you're not sure of your skills again by your Disney trip, you can use program mode, where you get to set the ISO and decide whether to use a flash, but the camera chooses shutter speed and aperture.

 

[nat8199]

I have actually never used program mode, only auto, manual, and aperture. I think just switching to sports mode might have helped a lot of the frustration I was having.

Disney specific, I got very frustrated at the character meals. The pictures tended to come out dark and blurry.

 

[mom2rtk]

I have actually never used program mode, only auto, manual, and aperture. I think just switching to sports mode might have helped a lot of the frustration I was having.

Disney specific, I got very frustrated at the character meals. The pictures tended to come out dark and blurry.

Did you use your flash at the character meals? Without a "fast" lens you really can't get good photos indoors at Disney unless you use a flash.

In program mode, you could have forced the flash. Or you could have turned up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed. If your photos are blurry (barring some sort of focus issue), you need a faster shutter speed.

 

[nat8199]

I did for some, but not others. I only had the pop up flash then, though I was gifted a flash since then that I don't think I have ever used. I will have to practice with that too, before our trip.

 

[mom2rtk]

I did for some, but not others. I only had the pop up flash then, though I was gifted a flash since then that I don't think I have ever used. I will have to practice with that too, before our trip.

If you are shooting in auto mode, the flash might pop up sometimes, but not others. I would choose an option in that setting that engages the flash on every shot.

If you like "Understanding Exposure", the same author wrote a companion called "Understanding Flash Photography".

 

[sharona]

I like the strobist website too for flash.

 

[xlxo]

I did for some, but not others. I only had the pop up flash then, though I was gifted a flash since then that I don't think I have ever used. I will have to practice with that too, before our trip.

Understand the benefits of an external flash.

• faster recycle as you are not relying on the camera battery. Your camera battery lasts longer too
• faster low light auto focus with a bigger IR light
• less red-eye as the flash is further away from the lens
• no lens shadow if you have a long lens, especially with a hood
• ability to do bounce lighting to soften harsh shadows
• practice off camera flash to minimize side shadows when you take pictures with the camera on it's side.
• love my flash with a flash bracket to minimize side shadows...
  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...GITALPROMK_Digital_PRO_M_Camera_Rotating.html

BTW... which flash did you get? Love my SB900. SD-8a for even quicker recycles.

 

[nat8199]

Thank you for those recommendations about flash photography. I definitely have even more to learn in that area than others.

I took my camera out today and played with it while taking some pictures of my kids. It was a lot of fun and I experimented with some of the different modes. If the weather is nice today I am going to take it outside with the kids and practice more. Hopefully I can get in the habit of practicing a few days a week.

Thank you all so much.

 

[mom2rtk]

Understand the benefits of an external flash.

• faster recycle as you are not relying on the camera battery. Your camera battery lasts longer too
• faster low light auto focus with a bigger IR light
• less red-eye as the flash is further away from the lens
• no lens shadow if you have a long lens, especially with a hood
• ability to do bounce lighting to soften harsh shadows
• practice off camera flash to minimize side shadows when you take pictures with the camera on it's side.
• love my flash with a flash bracket to minimize side shadows...
  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...GITALPROMK_Digital_PRO_M_Camera_Rotating.html

BTW... which flash did you get? Love my SB900. SD-8a for even quicker recycles.

Yes to all of that. There's a reason my full frame camera didn't even come with a pop-up flash.

 

[havoc315]

Yes to all of that. There's a reason my full frame camera didn't even come with a pop-up flash.

Truthfully, it's silly when full frame cameras omit the pop-up flash in an effort to seem more "serious."
It is true, that I prefer an external flash 99% of the time. But a pop-up flash is still useful for a very occasional fill flash, and even more useful as a wireless flash trigger. Use as a master flash trigger alone, is a huge benefit to having a pop-up flash.

 

[mom2rtk]

Truthfully, it's silly when full frame cameras omit the pop-up flash in an effort to seem more "serious."
It is true, that I prefer an external flash 99% of the time. But a pop-up flash is still useful for a very occasional fill flash, and even more useful as a wireless flash trigger. Use as a master flash trigger alone, is a huge benefit to having a pop-up flash.

That's a good point. I haven't used mine as a trigger before, but I can see where that would be really useful.

Using it for fill flash is sort of moot for me since I think it would cast a shadow with every single lens I own.

 

[havoc315]

That's a good point. I haven't used mine as a trigger before, but I can see where that would be really useful.

Using it for fill flash is sort of moot for me since I think it would cast a shadow with every single lens I own.

I had the Sony A99, which excluded a pop-up... So I had to buy a small external flash, in addition to full regular flash(es) to use off camera flash.

Now on the D750 -- which has a far better flash control system than Sony, but I can't compare it to Canon -- I can really fully use the pop-up flash as a full master controller. And with the placement, even with most large lens, it pops up high enough that I *can* use it as fill flash. Admittedly, that's very rare.

But I really do like off-camera flash:

Sushi by Havoc315, on Flickr

untitled-17.jpg by Havoc315, on Flickr