Tuesday, March 13, 2012

High Flying Fun

Over the weekend we took the boys up to the park for a little kite flying.  It was very windy so they didn't last long (the boys or the kites).  We had a good time anyway.  Of course I had my camera in tow.  For these shots I used my 50mm f/1.8 lens (this one is my fav and is hardly ever off my camera).  I was playing around in manual mode again too.  If you haven't used manual mode before or aren't really familiar with it, get out your camera manual and read up on it.  It really isn't that hard to shoot in manual mode once you get the hang of it.  It can change your photos a lot too.  You can see the differences the shutter speeds make in the colors of the sky in these pictures.  And as for why I was shooting at ISO 400 on a sunny day is beyond me.  I just never changed it.  Which brings me to a great tip I learned in a photography class.  Zero out your camera after a shoot, especially if you are shooting in manual mode.  Basically that means set all of your settings (white balance, ISO, exposure compensation, etc) back to a normal setting.  That way you won't miss a shot the next time you pick up your camera.  There are times that I just have to pick up my camera and shoot with the boys and if my camera wasn't back to a 'normal' setting I would miss some great candid shots.  Anyway, here are some pics and don't be afraid to play around in manual mode.  See how it changes your shots the next time you are out taking pictures.  Enjoy and thanks for stopping by. 

Alex and Bill, 50mm, 1/2000th at f/11, ISO 400

Looking up, 50mm, 1/2000th at f/11, ISO 400

Zach's kite, 50mm, 1/200th at f/11, ISO 400

Alex, 50mm, 1/200th at f/11, ISO 400

Sturdy Alex, 50mm, 1/200th at f/11, ISO 400

Zach, 50mm, 1/400th at f/11, ISO 400

Alex slant, 50mm, 1/400th at f/11, ISO 400

Zach slant, 50mm, 1/400th at f/11, ISO 200

3 comments:

  1. Absolutely awesome!

    -Trish

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  2. Jen, I love your pictures. Thanks for putting the camera information for each. Where do you take your camera classes?

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    1. Thanks Kim. I took some photo classes through Metro Comm College for fun. The teacher was George Sinos. I don't see it on their offerings this spring but they do have Basic Tech of Taking Better Digital Photographs 1 & 2. I took those as well and then took the other class which was the same thing only much more in depth. I really learned a lot through those classes. I also learned a lot from The LIFE Guide to Digital Photography by Joe McNally. It's a great book full of lots of tips and awesome photos. Hope that helps.

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