tell me everything wrong with these pics...

[Troylee]

im trying to get this dslr thang down lol....
i got a nikon d3000 like a month ago but can't figure it out everything yet but i snapped a few pics ...no processing or anything, that is just to much for me lol... pretty much point and shoot...
what do you see wrong?? i know the color is off a tad but im working on it.. white balance is a pain under 20k with vho actinics lol...

 

[wicked demon]

I would say~~ white balance, shutter speed, and a tripod.:wink:

 

[Hammmerhead]

A few things you might try. Try all the white balance settings until you find what is the most realistic with the results. If you can adjust the white balance in manual mode take it up to 10K, if you cant then shoot in RAW format and adjust the WB accordingly with your software. Set the focus to a single center dot so the camera wont grab whats closest instead of what you are aiming at. Shoot directly through the glass and not at an angle. Angle shots require manual focus on most cams to get accurate results. If you are hand holding the camera you might try and bump your ISO up to increase the shutter speed to avoid the shots being slightly out of focus or (OOF). If you have a tripod, use it so you can take the cleanest shot at the lowest ISO and you dont have to worry about shutter speed and the pic being a little OOF. Mess around with the F stop. F8 is great for getting the whole picture in focus, but slows the shutter. A higher F-stop lets say 1.4-3.5 increases the shutter speed but will blur the background more and center the attention on the subject better. BTW, thats a great camera!

 

[CHALICEKEEPER]

:crossedlips: JK YOU WILL GET THE HANG OF IT :)

 

[wicked demon]

sorry I was vague, my bad.

 

[Hammmerhead]

sorry I was vague, my bad.

Well, I was too winded so we evened it out:wink:

 

[Troylee]

I got a el cheapo tripod but I'll give it a shot.. As for the white balance it has all different settings and a manual mode that's what it is making rough on the color.. I haven't tried raw yet and doing a post process ifthats even what or how you do it... I actually just installed the software from Nikon that came with camera and it just depressed me more..:( to much playing lol..

 

[joelq]

It's a great start. You'll be taking pro-looking shots in no time! :-) Some things to think about:

1. Shooting in RAW will do the most in helping your White Balance issues. You mentioned the software that came with your camera - install them. ViewNX is a great app for viewing RAW pics. You can use it to tweak the White Balance and export to JPEG as well.

2. Some of the pics are overexposed, washing out the brighter areas of the picture. The best way to check this is with the camera's histogram. Not sure if the D3000 is similar to my D60, but in preview mode, press up (or down) on the 4-way until you see a graph. If you see the graph pegged all the way to the right, then you've got over-exposure.

Try this: shoot in either Manual or Shutter priority. Set your shutter speed to 1/80. Take a picture. If the histogram shows overexposure, in Manual mode, adjust the aperture so the light meter shows a slight underexposure. In S mode, give it a couple steps of - exposure compensation.

3. There's some focus issues. Someone already mentioned using a tripod, which is a must. Also avoid shooting into the tank at an angle - it distorts the image. Shoot straight into the tank.

Hope that helps! Post back if you have any questions!

 

[ReeferBen]

Not just tripod, tripod and timer.

 

[joelq]

Not just tripod, tripod and timer.

Good point. I forgot to include that in my list.

Specifically, on the D3000, you should be able to assign one of the buttons to turn on the 2 second timer for the next shot.

 

[mcliffy2]

Click on the sticky in this forum that Junior posted about how to take photos of corals. This will walk you through everything that everyone is telling you here.

 

[Troylee]

thanks guys for sharing your thoughts....
i have read all the stickys in the forum and there is a ton of info but half the stuff they are talking about i cant find on my camera.. i know its there just gotta actually dedicate a full day and play with it.. normally i get 15 min here or a half hour if im lucky..:(
i agree with the remote button i am waiting for them to come in... they were out of them when i bought the camera i will check today and see if they have some yet....:) i guess i will just keep reading, reading, reading..:P im more of a hands on guy, once someone shows me in person i owuld be all over it no time...hmm gonna have to hit up my local club and get a camera guru to come over, it will make my life alot easier.....:(

 

[joelq]

You know, one other thing that has helped my tank and, more specifically, macro photos immensely is tethering my camera to a laptop.

Do you use a Mac, by chance? If so, check out Sofortbild - Mac Tethered Shooting. This app allows you to assume complete control of your Nikon via a Mac over USB. You activate the shutter via the Mac, which solves the remote issue, but more importantly, it automatically downloads the picture taken, giving you a fullscreen preview of the pic.

If found this to be immensely valuable in terms of double-checking critical focus. Especially with macro photography, your depth-of-field is in the order of a couple millimeters, it's easy to miss the focus completely!

If you're on a PC, there's DCamCapture (DCamCapture (engl.)). It's not quite as polished as Sofortbild, though.

Both apps are free.

 

[Troylee]

not on mac yet but would love to do so soon....iphone is about as close as i got lol....
i will have to check those programs out that sounds really cool...

 

[JNye]

all the info is here for the taking. I am learning too...slowly. I think the single best thing that has helped me is just doing it. I have read plenty and it doesn't make sense till you do it. compare your shots. Understanding the relationships between shutter speed, f-stop, and iso can't be taught IME:tongue:. its ended up being Latin to me. It takes alot longer then 1 day too. like anything else just keep practicing. after a session of practice i usually re-read alot of the sticky info and then i see and actually understand something i read and it clicks. good luck, have fun with it.