Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

[HPS3]

Port Orleans Riverside by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[SgtClaymore]

Wishes - f6.3, 1.6 sec, ISO 2OO

Wishes - f6.3, 1/10 sec, ISO 200

Fantastic pictures my friend!

 

[mummygina]

Right guys - i've only just found this thread (I've spent far too long over in the creative disign section!) and I leave for the world in less than 2 weeks. I'm a point and shoot girl, but own a Sony Alpha 350 which I've always been meaning to learn how to use since purchase!!

i will probably be using the point and shoot or the alpha in auto mode to capture our family pics, but would also like to "play" with the alpha and try something new.

Can anyone pass on any tips on how to get it out of auto mode and attempt to take some good pics please? I love the blurred effect in the Expedition Everest pics. Can anyone dumb down for me how that is achieved?!

Also any tips on taking fireworks pics?!

Any advice greatly received!! thanks, Gina

 

[HPS3]

Can anyone pass on any tips on how to get it out of auto mode and attempt to take some good pics please? I love the blurred effect in the Expedition Everest pics. Can anyone dumb down for me how that is achieved?!

Also any tips on taking fireworks pics?!

Any advice greatly received!! thanks, Gina

If your talking about my shot of the entrance to EE. To get the movement of the people you will need a Neutral Density Filter for the daytime in order to get a slow shutter speed. I use a Hoya ND400 (9 stop) to get a shutter speed around 1-10 seconds. I like this affect because it shows the crowds and flow of foot traffic.

 

[HPS3]

Distant Expedition Everest by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Distant Expedition Everest by Harry Shields, on Flickr

Awesome!

 

[HPS3]

Thank you

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Skeeball by Tropical Wilds, on Flickr

 

[HPS3]

Tropical Wilds, I love the skeeball shot. That's one of my favorite games.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Thank you. Still learning about the camera and picture-taking in general. If I'd had time, I'd have done a slower shutter speed to get the movement on the ball. I had the speed higher because I was trying to catch pictures of the kiddos and on slower shutter speeds it just doesn't work out... That said, I'm happy with what I got. And I got good ones of the kids too. Had fun playing with the focus and how it can totally change a picture.


Rolling the Ball by Tropical Wilds, on Flickr


Keep Your Eye on the Ball by Tropical Wilds, on Flickr

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Right guys - i've only just found this thread (I've spent far too long over in the creative disign section!) and I leave for the world in less than 2 weeks. I'm a point and shoot girl, but own a Sony Alpha 350 which I've always been meaning to learn how to use since purchase!!

i will probably be using the point and shoot or the alpha in auto mode to capture our family pics, but would also like to "play" with the alpha and try something new.

Can anyone pass on any tips on how to get it out of auto mode and attempt to take some good pics please? I love the blurred effect in the Expedition Everest pics. Can anyone dumb down for me how that is achieved?!

Also any tips on taking fireworks pics?!

Any advice greatly received!! thanks, Gina

There's a very nice thread here with advice for shooting at Disney.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1413123&highlight=how+to+shoot+fireworks

This post shows a bit what changing your shutter speed can do. You would do this by changing the setting of your A350 from Auto to S mode and selecting the slower shutter speed. The camera will then choose the appropriate aperture setting to get the correct exposure for light.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=18095514&postcount=53

There are several posts about shooting fireworks but one of the main tips for the best firework or long exposure shots is to use a tripod and a remote shutter release for your camera. Here's a link to an excellent article about shooting fireworks.
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks#more-94

 

[mummygina]

There's a very nice thread here with advice for shooting at Disney.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1413123&highlight=how+to+shoot+fireworks

This post shows a bit what changing your shutter speed can do. You would do this by changing the setting of your A350 from Auto to S mode and selecting the slower shutter speed. The camera will then choose the appropriate aperture setting to get the correct exposure for light.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=18095514&postcount=53

There are several posts about shooting fireworks but one of the main tips for the best firework or long exposure shots is to use a tripod and a remote shutter release for your camera. Here's a link to an excellent article about shooting fireworks.
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks#more-94

Thanks for those tips Kathy. I'll head over and check them all out! It will definitely give me some great starting points.

 

[mummygina]

If your talking about my shot of the entrance to EE. To get the movement of the people you will need a Neutral Density Filter for the daytime in order to get a slow shutter speed. I use a Hoya ND400 (9 stop) to get a shutter speed around 1-10 seconds. I like this affect because it shows the crowds and flow of foot traffic.

Cool, thanks for the tip. Just googled the filter now, so I know what I'm looking for.

You have taken some amazing pictures! You have a great talent!

 

[DisneyDreamersAreWe]

If your talking about my shot of the entrance to EE. To get the movement of the people you will need a Neutral Density Filter for the daytime in order to get a slow shutter speed. I use a Hoya ND400 (9 stop) to get a shutter speed around 1-10 seconds. I like this affect because it shows the crowds and flow of foot traffic.

Okay, stupid question: why do you need a ND filter? Why not just use either Manual or Shutter Priority modes to manually select a slow shutter speed??? I'm just learning.

 

[HPS3]

Beautiful Morning by Harry Shields, on Flickr

 

[HPS3]

Okay, stupid question: why do you need a ND filter? Why not just use either Manual or Shutter Priority modes to manually select a slow shutter speed??? I'm just learning.

The reason for the ND filter is to reduce light. During the day at ISO100 and f22 you still wouldn't be able to get a shutter under 1 second. I think with the lighting that day without the filter the slowest I could get was around 1/60- 1/80.

 

[HPS3]

It also was you to shoot at f2.8 during the day without maxing out the shutter speed.

 

[DisneyDreamersAreWe]

The reason for the ND filter is to reduce light. During the day at ISO100 and f22 you still wouldn't be able to get a shutter under 1 second. I think with the lighting that day without the filter the slowest I could get was around 1/60- 1/80.

Hi, HPS3! so are you saying that the available shutter speeds are based on the amount of light? I thought that you ALWAYS had the full range of shutter speeds available -- you just had to select it in either Shutter Priority or Manual??? But it sounds like the lighting conditions dictate what the camera will allow you to choose from, even in Manual??? I have a LOT of learning to do.

BTW, your pictures are beautiful!!!! I'll never even get close to your abilities.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks for those tips Kathy. I'll head over and check them all out! It will definitely give me some great starting points.

You're Welcome!

Also, the Welcome to the Photography board sticky has some links to other threads with tips that you might find useful. If you have any questions about using the tips on your A350 let us know.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2603154

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Hi, HPS3! so are you saying that the available shutter speeds are based on the amount of light? I thought that you ALWAYS had the full range of shutter speeds available -- you just had to select it in either Shutter Priority or Manual??? But it sounds like the lighting conditions dictate what the camera will allow you to choose from, even in Manual??? I have a LOT of learning to do.

BTW, your pictures are beautiful!!!! I'll never even get close to your abilities.

It's correct that you have access to all the shutter speed settings on your camera but the problem is the exposure. Even though you can select anything your selections could cause you to just have a washed out or blank picture from over exposure. How much light is allowed in to your camera is based upon your ISO setting, aperture setting and shutter speed. When you use a slow shutter speed like HPS3 did to get the ghosting images it allows a lot more light in to the sensor. The compensation is to use a low ISO and a small aperture but you are limited in how far you can stop down (most camera's it will be somewhere around f/22) and ISO may be 100 or 200. In bright light this will still allow too much light in so that's why you need the ND filter which blocks light and allows you to get a correct exposure with the very slow shutter speed.