Adjusting For Wind

[ilovelucydog]

Usually I shoot in Aperture Priority and sometimes in Manual but I'm not confident in manual... okay, I'm not confident in either, but less so in manual. I've been trying to get some images of some flowers, but being that we are one block from the beach it is always breezy or window and the flowers won't cooperate and hold still.

Today is a bit cloudy so no harsh sun, but it's windy. If I shoot in manual can I set the aperture at, say, 2.0 or whatever, and then compensate for the wind by setting the shutter speed a bit faster, or... and this is most probabable... am I totally clueless?

Thanks.

[Donald]

If I shoot in manual can I set the aperture at, say, 2.0 or whatever, and then compensate for the wind by setting the shutter speed a bit faster, or... and this is most probabable... am I totally clueless?

Thanks.

1 You are not clueless
2 Do exactly what you suggest

Think of it in one of two ways:
a) what shutter speed do I need to achieve (i.e. if the flowers are blowing violently and you want to freeze them, you'll need a high shutter speed)?
b) what aperture value do I want to set (what depth of field do you want to achieve)?

Let one be the dominant aspect. Set it. and adjust the other to get the exposure you want.

Remember as well - the ISO speed is the third element under your control. If you need to up the ISO to reach the desired shutter speed, then do that also.

Remember too - the indicator at the bottom of the viewfinder is, as Colin said a few in a post a few days ago, now a guide for you to use in setting you speed and value. Go out and try it - and have fun.

[ilovelucydog]

1 You are not clueless
2 Do exactly what you suggest

Think of it in one of two ways:
a) what shutter speed do I need to achieve (i.e. if the flowers are blowing violently and you want to freeze them, you'll need a high shutter speed)?
b) what aperture value do I want to set (what depth of field do you want to achieve)?

Let one be the dominant aspect. Set it. and adjust the other to get the exposure you want.

Remember as well - the ISO speed is the third element under your control. If you need to up the ISO to reach the desired shutter speed, then do that also.

Remember too - the indicator at the bottom of the viewfinder is, as Colin said a few in a post a few days ago, now a guide for you to use in setting you speed and value. Go out and try it - and have fun.

Thank you, Donald. I will see what I get.

I know a tripod would help... but... I'm a sling my camera over my shoulder and go kinda girl.

So, this is how I'm understanding this: I want the background blurred so I will use the aperture as the dominant setting, adjust the shutter speed to get the exposure and if needed adjust the ISO... take a deep breath and click.

I remember the post from Colin.

Thank you so much... I appreciate it a ton.

[Donald]

Go for it. Set the aperture. Leave it. Then start moving the shutter speed up and/or down and watch the needle in the viewfinder. Don't just aim for the needle in the middle. Try it a few different shutter speeds, with the needle more to one side than the other and see what happens. You'll start to get a feel for it.

Once you feel that the world is not going to end, then you can start thinking about metering modes. Pop it into spot metering and do all of the above again. Now you'll really be flying solo.

[Geoff F]

But, Mary, be careful not to open the aperture too far so that you get shallow depth of field problems on the flowers.

This high tech gizmo may help to steady the flowers, I haven't actually patented it yet!



The alternative is some form of portable windbreak.

If possible, however, I would advise using some form of tripod or other steady support for your camera in this situation. Even one of the lightweight mini tripods will help if you are going out to specifically photography flowers.

[ktuli]

Mary,

First, to add to your confidence about using M over Av, just remember that all you're doing in M over Av is setting two items instead of one. As Donald pointed out that Colin pointed out the camera tells you what it would have set the second setting to, so if you're comfortable setting the first (aperture), then reading what the camera is telling you on the exposure meter scale and setting the second variable should be no problem. You can definitely do it!

Also, as Donald points out, you can use ISO as the third variable to help you out. Recently, with my flower photos, I've been fighting the same issue you are having with the wind. To help counter balance that, I'm setting my shutter speed up around 1/125 at a minimum, but leaning towards 1/200 or 1/250. When I had the camera set to ISO 200, it would suggest 1/40 for my shutter speed, and that was too slow to eliminate the movement caused by the wind. I flipped to ISO Auto mode, and found that it was quite happy with only bumping up to ISO 400 for a lot of the shots.

Granted that does nothing to help when the wind movement is enough to move my subject completely out of my frame with the macro stuff I've been doing, but it does help when things do line up.

However, one thing you can console yourself with is the fact that a tripod would not help at all. If your subject is moving, the only thing that is going to help is a faster shutter speed. In fact, a tripod might actually make things worse! With handheld, you could actually compensate a little for the movement caused by the wind - though it'd be really hard.

Go to M and set your preferred shutter speed and aperture, and see what Auto ISO mode does for you.

- Bill

[ilovelucydog]

But, Mary, be careful not to open the aperture too far so that you get shallow depth of field problems on the flowers.

This high tech gizmo may help to steady the flowers, I haven't actually patented it yet!



The alternative is some form of portable windbreak.

If possible, however, I would advise using some form of tripod or other steady support for your camera in this situation. Even one of the lightweight mini tripods will help if you are going out to specifically photography flowers.

This is perfect. I know a patent lawyer. I always, always, always open the aperture too far. But, then I go back and give it another shot. Live and learn.

[ilovelucydog]

Mary,

First, to add to your confidence about using M over Av, just remember that all you're doing in M over Av is setting two items instead of one. As Donald pointed out that Colin pointed out the camera tells you what it would have set the second setting to, so if you're comfortable setting the first (aperture), then reading what the camera is telling you on the exposure meter scale and setting the second variable should be no problem. You can definitely do it!

Also, as Donald points out, you can use ISO as the third variable to help you out. Recently, with my flower photos, I've been fighting the same issue you are having with the wind. To help counter balance that, I'm setting my shutter speed up around 1/125 at a minimum, but leaning towards 1/200 or 1/250. When I had the camera set to ISO 200, it would suggest 1/40 for my shutter speed, and that was too slow to eliminate the movement caused by the wind. I flipped to ISO Auto mode, and found that it was quite happy with only bumping up to ISO 400 for a lot of the shots.

Granted that does nothing to help when the wind movement is enough to move my subject completely out of my frame with the macro stuff I've been doing, but it does help when things do line up.

However, one thing you can console yourself with is the fact that a tripod would not help at all. If your subject is moving, the only thing that is going to help is a faster shutter speed. In fact, a tripod might actually make things worse! With handheld, you could actually compensate a little for the movement caused by the wind - though it'd be really hard.

Go to M and set your preferred shutter speed and aperture, and see what Auto ISO mode does for you.

- Bill

Thank you, Bill. I'll go out and do it... it can't be that bad, right.

[ilovelucydog]

Am I the only one here that has these moments where the realization hits home, that yes, Mary, you are clueless. Go ahead, say it. I won't cry for too terribly long.

Out back of the haunted house on 42 street is a beautiful yellow rose. I'm partial to hot pink, but yellow will do for today. I look at the area, find what will be the best background etc., take a deep breath and flip the dial to 'M', set the aperture, set the shutter speed, click the button... the screen is white... completely white. Go ahead, laugh, I'm sure you see where this is going. Yes, I thought that there was something wrong with the camera and it took a good long while to calm myself down enough to realize the shutter was open so long that the whole thing was blown. You all promised that I could do this.

Anyway, once the crisis was averted I took a bunch of images at different settings. I'll upload them and see what I got and what I think worked... then I can post it and you can tell me it didn't really work as well as I thought.

Thank you for your help and the pep talks. I love you guys.

[ktuli]

But, Mary, be careful not to open the aperture too far so that you get shallow depth of field problems on the flowers.

This high tech gizmo may help to steady the flowers, I haven't actually patented it yet!



The alternative is some form of portable windbreak.

If possible, however, I would advise using some form of tripod or other steady support for your camera in this situation. Even one of the lightweight mini tripods will help if you are going out to specifically photography flowers.

Geoff,

Awesome little gadget there. A bit bulkier than a Wimberley Plamp, but probably doesn't even come close to the $35 price tag...

- Bill

[Donald]

I look at the area, find what will be the best background etc., take a deep breath and flip the dial to 'M', set the aperture, set the shutter speed, click the button... the screen is white... completely white. Go ahead, laugh, I'm sure you see where this is going. Yes, I thought that there was something wrong with the camera and it took a good long while to calm myself down enough to realize the shutter was open so long that the whole thing was blown. You all promised that I could do this.:

Yes. That's called learning. And it's the most wonderful gift that we humans have.

[ilovelucydog]

Yes. That's called learning. And it's the most wonderful gift that we humans have.

Yes, it is. I just wish I didn't feel so completely stupid at times.

[Wirefox]

Compensating For Wind

Charcoal tablets maybe?

[ilovelucydog]

Charcoal tablets maybe?

I'm sorry, Steve... I don't get it... I'm easily confused today.

[Donald]

I'm sorry, Steve... I don't get it...

Mary

You don't want to ... believe me !!!!

[ktuli]

Charcoal tablets maybe?

Blamin' Lucy, eh?

[ilovelucydog]

I sort of feel like I'm having this conversation with my 18 yr old... laughing hysterically because I am clueless... see, told you... I am clueless.

This image is one of the better ones... I think. The wind was blowing a lot and since I had no clue, really as to what the outcome would be... what do you think? This was Manual Mode, F/2.8, 1/4000s, Center-Weighted, ISO 200

[ktuli]

This image is one of the better ones... I think. The wind was blowing a lot and since I had no clue, really as to what the outcome would be... what do you think? This was Manual Mode, F/2.8, 1/4000s, Center-Weighted, ISO 200

Unless you're shooting in a hurricane, I think 1/4000s is a little aggressive on the shutter speed. You can probably scale that back a little and stop the aperture down a little for a bit more DoF.

- Bill

[Colin Southern]

So, this is how I'm understanding this: I want the background blurred so I will use the aperture as the dominant setting, adjust the shutter speed to get the exposure and if needed adjust the ISO... take a deep breath and click.

I remember the post from Colin.

We taught you well

I think that the thing a lot of people forget is that even in situation where you need a specific (or minimum) shutterspeed, Tv mode still isn't necessarily the best choice because aperture then becomes a "lottery". When people say "I need X shutterspeed" what they're usually meaning is "I want control over my aperture to retail control over my DoF - but - I want control over my shutterspeed AS WELL" - in which case the only other variable is ISO.

Use manual if yo like (it's great for consistency), but at the end of the day it's usually easiest to select the aperture you need, and then just crank up the ISO until you get the shutterspeed you need.

[Colin Southern]

Mary

You don't want to ... believe me !!!!

But I think she might already have it!