As well as being one of the most expensive hobbies around, photography is also one of the more technical pastimes you can pursue. But it doesn’t have to be confusing!
We’ve spoken to numerous experts over the years, as well as photographers like you, who may either be just starting out or have been taking pictures for a while but keep encountering the same nagging problem.
From all our conversations, we’ve noticed some common photography problems that seem to plague snappers of all ages and abilities.
Below, we’ve put together 99 of the most common photography problems and offered solutions to get round them, so you never have to be in doubt ever again!
We’ve offered a mix of camera tips, explanations, definitions and more to help answer your questions. And we’ve also provided links, where appropriate, to some of our photography tutorials covering these problems in more depth.
Finally, if you have a nagging photography problem and we didn’t cover it… let us know!
General photography problems we all experience
Problem No. 1: I want to invest in a really good DSLR, but I’m torn between the full-frame and APS-C sensor sizes. What are the pros and cons of each?
A full-frame camera uses a sensor that’s the same size as a frame of 35mm film. APS-C cameras have a smaller sensor based on the size of an Advanced Photographic System film frame. Your choice depends on what type of photography you’re into.
At any equivalent or effective focal length, larger sensors will give you a smaller depth of field – the depth of apparent sharpness in a picture. As a result, the full-frame sensor size is ideal for portraiture, where you want to use a wide aperture to blur the background and make main subjects stand out (to learn more, see Full frame DSLR: do you really need one?).
The flip side is that APS-C cameras can be more useful than full-frame models when you want a large depth of field. If you’re shooting landscapes and want to keep the foreground as well as the horizon in focus, for instance, this can be difficult on a full-frame camera unless you use extremely small lens apertures, which can mean slow shutter speeds (click here for more quick, but great, landscape photography tips).
For sports photography, a top-end APS-C camera such as the Canon EOS 7D or Nikon D300s is a better choice, especially if you’re on a budget. This is because the crop factor gives you a longer effective focal length.
For example, a relatively lightweight 70-300mm zoom lens will give an effective maximum telephoto reach of 480mm on a Canon camera body and 450mm on a Nikon, Pentax and Sony.
Problem No. 2: What’s the difference between the Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds camera systems? Are lenses compatible between the two?
Unlike most DSLRs, Four Thirds cameras use a four-thirds aspect ratio and a large crop factor of 2.0-1.5x – 1.6x is the norm. This is also true of Micro Four Thirds cameras, but those are more compact because they don’t have an optical viewfinder or mirror assembly.
They require Micro Four Thirds lenses, but you can also fit regular Four Thirds lenses via an adaptor.
Problem No. 3: Should I buy a DSLR with a twisting LCD screen, or is it just a marketing gimmick?
Some of the latest DSLRs, including the Canon EOS 600D, Nikon D5100 and Sony a390 feature articulating LCD screens. The Canon and Nikon screens are fully articulated, whereas the Sony is a tilting LCD that can be angled up or down. In all cases, they’re very useful when taking pictures from very high or low angles, and particularly good for shooting HD movies.
Switch to live view mode and you can hold the camera above your head and shoot over the top of a crowd, or hold the camera at ground level without having to roll around on the floor to compose the image through the viewfinder.
A fully articulated LCD adds even greater versatility, because you can twist the screen around or even have it facing the front of the camera. It’s a real bonus when you’re taking self-portraits with the camera on a tripod.
Fully articulated LCD screens can also flip around and fold back into the camera with the screen facing inwards. This keeps the fragile surface of the LCD safe from picking up any knocks or scrapes when you’re carrying the camera around.
Problem No. 4: I’ve been comparing digital camera spec lists, but what’s the difference between types of autofocus points, and how many do I really need?
Some entry-level DSLRs – such as the Olympus E-450 – only have three AF points, whereas the upmarket nikon D300s has 51. An advantage of extra AF points is that it enables the camera to track moving subjects more precisely in continuous autofocus mode. You can also use a single point that exactly matches a small object you want to focus on, so there’s no need to recompose after focusing.
The individual AF point or points that you’re using will normally illuminate in the viewfinder to give visual confirmation that it’s locked on target, but this isn’t always the case, as in the Pentax K-x. Basic AF points work in either the horizontal or vertical plane and are unidirectional.
Cross-type AF points use a pair of sensors working in both planes simultaneously, so they are more accurate when focusing on tricky subjects. In many DSLRs only the central AF point is cross-type, but advanced models tend to feature more.
For example, the Canon 7D has 19 AF points that are all cross-type, as are 15 of the nikon D300s’s 51 points. DSLRs also often feature a high-sensitivity AF point at the centre, which focuses faster and can give greater accuracy when using a fast lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or larger.
Problem No. 5: I’ve heard photographers talking about using a ‘wide’ aperture or a ‘small’ aperture, but what do they mean?
Those terms refer to the size of aperture being used. It’s a bit confusing, because the smallest f/stop numbers (such as f/2.8 and f/4) represent the widest aperture settings.
A photo shot using a wide aperture
However, when a photographer says they’re using a ‘small aperture’, they actually mean they’re using f/stops with the highest numbers (f/16, f/22 and so on). If you think of the aperture as a fraction instead of an ‘f-stop’, it makes more sense.
A photo shot using a narrow aperture
For example, 1/4 is bigger than 1/16, so an aperture of f/4 will let more light in than f/16. As well as affecting exposure, your choice of aperture also gives you control over the depth of field in an image, and this is one of the most potent weapons in the creative photographer’s arsenal.
To learn more about how your aperture works, download our Free f-stop chart for understanding aperture, which is part of our ongoing photography cheat sheet series of infographics.
Problem No. 6: I understand that I need to use a small aperture to increase depth of field – why would I want to do that?
Think of depth of field as a zone that extends in front of and behind the point of focus in which elements still appear acceptably sharp. By reducing the depth of field, you can make a precise plane of a shot appear in sharp focus and allow other areas to become blurred. This enables you to draw attention to key parts of the image, and conceal elements that might otherwise prove distracting.
Increasing the depth of field has the opposite effect, making more ‘layers’ in a scene appear sharp. While depth of field in a photo is influenced by several factors, including focusing distance and focal length of the lens, in terms of aperture selection it boils down to this: the wider the aperture you use, the less of depth of field you capture; the smaller the aperture you use, the more depth of field you capture.
Or to put it another way, Big holes = more Blur, Small holes = more Sharpness. If you want to know more, find out how to master depth of field in 8 easy steps from the comfort of your own kitchen!
Problem No. 7: I’ve been using my DSLR with a variety of lenses for about a year now and am concerned that I may have some dust on the sensor. how can I tell for sure?
Find a clear, bright subject, such as a blue sky. Set your camera to Aperture Priority mode and use a small aperture of f/22. Zoom your lens to its maximum telephoto focal length and manually focus on infinity.
Take a few pictures and compare the shots at 100% on your computer monitor. Any dark spots that are in the same place on each shot will be specks of dust on the sensor.
Problem No. 8: Many of my indoor photos have a nasty yellow cast. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong?
The likely cause of this is an inaccurate white balance. The Auto White Balance setting of DSLRs typically does a good job of reacting to varying daylight conditions, such as bright sunshine, cloudy skies or shade, but the colour temperature of indoor lighting generally falls outside of the range covered. The usual result is that interiors lit by general-purpose lights have a yellow colour cast.
The quickest solution is to switch to the Tungsten (also called Incandescent) white balance setting when shooting under standard interior light bulbs, or the Fluorescent setting for strip lighting. Things get trickier when you have a mix of lighting – when daylight is streaming in through a window and you’ve got interior room lights switched on as well, for example.
To ensure accuracy in these conditions, it’s best to use a grey card like the Lastolite EzyBalance, but a sheet of white paper usually works as a budget solution. In either case, hold the card or paper as close as possible to the object you want to shoot, then capture a Custom White Balance setting on your camera and use this for successive shots.
To keep your options open, shoot RAW, then you can adjust the white balance setting to your liking at the editing stage.
Problem No. 9: I’ve taken some photos in JPEG mode but the white balance is wrong. I know I could correct this while editing if I’d shot them in RAW, but is there anything i can do to rescue the JPEGs?
It’s easy to change the white balance of RAW files, since RAW editors usually offer a pull-down list of settings such as daylight, cloudy, shade and tungsten. JPEGs are trickier, but still possible to correct.
View a JPEG in Adobe Bridge and go to File > Open in Camera Raw. This will enable you to change the white balance the same way as you do with RAW files, in Photoshop’s Adobe Camera Raw plug-in. Alternatively, Adobe Photoshop Elements has a tool called Remove Colour Cast, found in Enhance > Adjust Colour.
This has an ‘eye-dropper’ tool, which lets you to click on any point in the image that should be white, black or neutral grey. It works in a similar way to swapping to a white balance setting that gives correct results.
An excellent photo-editing software that’s often overlooked is Corel Paintshop Pro X5. This has an advanced and effective Colour Balance tool, which you can use to correct white balance and tint, and to apply enhanced colour balance for the desired result.
Problem No. 10: I took some sunset photos, but they don’t look very colourful. Why is this?
The problem is that the auto white balance of digital cameras will typically try to cancel out any shift in colour temperature, with the aim of producing results that are more neutral. As a result, the AWB setting can leech all the orange light out of sunset and sunrise shots, giving rise to insipid images as a result.
The solution is to switch to a preset white balance mode. The regular Daylight or Sunlight setting will often yield fairly accurate results, but the best way to emphasise the golden quality of low-level sunlight is to change to the Cloudy white balance setting. Moving to the Shade setting will further exaggerate orange hues.
Problem No. 11: I took some indoor shots at ISO 3200 on my Canon DSLR and they’ve all got tiny red dots in the same places on each image. Why is this and how can I fix it?
It sounds like your camera has some hot pixels on its image sensor, also referred to as stuck pixels. To try to clear them, remove the lens and fit the dust cap to the camera body.
Now run a manual sensor cleaning routine via the camera’s menu. Leave the dust cap attached because you won’t actually need to clean the sensor. Once the cleaning function flips the mirror up and opens the shutter, leave the camera switched on in this state for about one minute.
Finally, switch it off, so that the shutter closes and the mirror flips back down. With the dust cap still fitted, take a few 30-second exposures in manual shooting mode at various ISO settings, then review the images at 100 per cent zoom on a computer screen to check that the hot pixels have cleared.
It may be necessary to run the whole procedure two or three times to clear the hot pixels. If they’re still stuck after that, you’ll need to send your camera for repair.
Using Lenses
Problem No. 12: I tried using a lens with a built-in optical stabiliser for the first time the other day, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. Is it really worth having?
Image stabilisation is a complex, computer-controlled process, in which a group of elements in the lens is moved by servo motors to ofset the effect of any vibration. The latest generations of optical stabilisers in Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Tamron lenses work well, generally living up to their claims of a three- or four-stop advantage.
You can expect consistently sharp results, but bear in mind that stabilisation can’t counteract any movement on the part of the subject. For maximum benefit, you usually need to allow about a second after half pressing the shutter button (or AF button) before stabilisation reaches optimum performance.
Some lenses feature multiple stabilisation modes. a panning mode applies correction in only the vertical or horizontal plane, depending on whether you’re panning with the camera held in landscape or portrait orientation.
Many lens designs now feature automatic detection for panning or tripod use, and Nikon VR lenses often include an ‘active’ mode for shooting from a vibrating or unstable platform.
Problem No. 13: I’ve used the smallest aperture on my lens to get everything sharp, but the picture looks soft – have I done something wrong?
Most lenses have a minimum aperture of f/22, although some (such as macro lenses) offer an even smaller setting of, say, f/32. But why is the minimum aperture of a lens rarely listed alongside the focal length of a lens, as its maximum aperture is?
This is because the smallest aperture is rarely recommended to be used, as this setting leads to softer, lower contrast images caused by an optical phenomenon known as diffraction. Diffraction occurs when light waves entering the lens are ‘bent’ by the hard edges of the aperture. Every aperture setting causes this, but the bending is generally minimal. However, as the apertures gets smaller, the effect becomes more significant.
At the smallest aperture, the light waves are bent and spread out so much by the aperture blades that the image appears fuzzy, even though it’s been focussed correctly.
So, while a lens’s smallest aperture might enable you to maximise the depth of field when you’re photographing landscapes, the resolution will deteriorate. Try opening up a half or one full stop instead to improve picture quality.
Problem No. 14: What’s the ‘sweet spot’ of a lens, and how do I use it?
Lenses generally struggle to produce pin-sharp images when used at their maximum aperture. At very narrow apertures of around f/16 to f/32, diffraction also becomes more of a problem, again impairing sharpness.
The sweet spot, or point of optimum sharpness varies from one lens to another, but it’s usually around f/8. To make the most efficient use of this, switch to aperture-priority or Av shooting mode and set the aperture accordingly (for more on this, see our tutorial on How to find your lens’ sweet spot).
Problem No. 15: What is the significance of the second f-number listed on a zoom lens (such as f/5.6 on a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom) – and do I need to worry about it?
Most zoom lenses have two f-numbers quoted, because as you zoom in from a wide-angle setting towards the telephoto end, progressively less light is able to pass through the lens. In this case, its maximum effective aperture at a 28mm setting is f/3.5, but it’s only f/5.6 at 135mm.
This has implications if you’re handholding the lens – as the aperture gets smaller as you zoom, the exposure time gets longer, increasing the chances of blurred shots.
Problem No. 16: I’ve read that petal-shaped lens hoods are more effective than round ones for preventing ghosting and flare. So why can’t I find a petal-shaped hood for the 18-55mm lens that came with my camera?
Most ‘kit’ 18-55mm lenses don’t have internal focusing, so the front element of the lens rotates as you move from one end of the focus range to the other. This means that the hood also revolves, so a petal-shaped lens hood can’t be used. Instead, you’ll need a regular, round-shaped hood.
Problem No. 17: I’m a bit confused about which lenses are designed for APS-C cameras and which are full-frame compatible. Is there any sure-fire way of telling, both for own-brand lenses and for third-party manufacturers?
You can use full-frame lenses on APS-C cameras, but you usually can’t use APS-C lenses on full-frame bodies. The most common APS-C lens designations are Canon EF-S, Nikon DX, Sigma DC and Tokina DX. The respective full-frame lenses are Canon EF, Nikon FX, Sigma DG and Tokina FX (to learn more about lenses and their different abbreviations, see DO or Di? Your lens markings explained).
Problem No. 18: What are the differences between standard autofocus motors, ultrasonic motors and ring-type ultrasonic systems – and which is the best?
Most modern lenses have built-in AF motors, rather than being driven from one in the camera body. The simplest use gears driven by an electric motor for actuating autofocus. Ring-type ultrasonic AF uses two large rings to create a rotational force for autofocusing the lens.
The main advantages are very fast AF performance with near-silent operation. The manual focus ring doesn’t rotate during autofocusing either, providing full-time manual override in single or one-shot autofocus mode. There’s a less advanced type of ultrasonic autofocus, using a small ultrasonic motor in place of the basic electric one.
This uses gear wheels to drive AF, which make a little noise. These systems are often as slow as basic motors, and don’t enable full-time manual focus override. Canon USM (UltraSonic Motor), Nikon AF-S (AF-Silent Wave) and Sigma HSM (HyperSonic Motor) apply the same designations to lenses that feature either basic or ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, so it can be hard to tell which type is used.
Tamron is more up front, differentiating between PZD (Piezo Drive) for its basic system and USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) for ring-type AF.
Problem No. 19: I’ve often read about chromatic aberration, but I don’t know exactly what it is. Can you explain?
Chromatic aberrations are caused when a lens focuses different wavelengths of light at different points. There are actually two types of these aberrations. With longitudinal chromatic aberrations, different wavelengths are focused at different places along the path in which the light is travelling. With lateral chromatic aberrations, different wavelengths are shifted in a transverse or sideways direction.
The effect is often called ‘colour fringing’, because it produces either red/cyan fringing or blue/yellow fringing around high-contrast edges within images. You can also get green/ magenta fringing, which is a mix of the two primary types (see our illustration of What is chromatic aberration?).
To reduce chromatic aberrations, lens manufacturers typically combine pairs of elements that have different refractive indexes, called ‘achromatic doublets’, which work together to cancel out refraction.
High-quality lenses also often include elements made from specialised hybrid glass to minimise the dispersion of light, such as Nikon ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and Canon UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) glass. Current DSLRs from Nikon and Pentax have built-in features for automatically correcting chromatic aberrations, therefore placing less demand on lens performance in this respect.
However, these corrections won’t work if you shoot in RAW and convert files to JPEGs using Adobe Camera Raw. Canon DSLRs have no built-in corrections for chromatic aberrations, although you can shoot in RAW and tune them out using the Digital Photo Professional software supplied with the camera.
Problem No. 20: I’ve often heard about barrel and pincushion distortion on zoom lenses – what is it exactly, and can it be corrected during editing?
Zoom lenses often suffer from barrel distortion at the wide-angle end of the zoom range, and pincushion distortion at the telephoto end. if you shoot a rectangular box that fills most of the frame, its edges will appear to bow outwards with barrel distortion and inwards with pincushion distortion.
Most image-editing programs include tools to correct distortion (see our tutorial on How to correct distortion in Photoshop Elements).
Problem No. 21: I’ve bought a new superzoom lens, but when i shoot into the light I’m getting a lot more ghosting and flare than usual. is there any way of reducing this effect?
Superzoom lenses tend to have rather more groups and elements contained within them, so light bouncing around inside the lens is more of a problem and ghosting and flare becomes an issue. The easiest way to minimise this is to fit a lens hood, because this will instantly cut down the amount of light that enters the lens from oblique angles.
Next, ensure that the front element of your lens, and any filters that you have fitted to it, are as clean as possible, without any specs of dust, smears or droplets of water on them. Anything that can catch the light and add spurious reflections adds to the risk of unwanted artefacts.
Unless you’re shooting directly into the light, you can often position the front of the lens so that it’s in shadow. Try using a baseball cap or a sheet of black card to shield it from the sun. Just be careful that it doesn’t creep into the resulting image.
Problem No. 22: Will changing lenses mean I end up with dust on the camera sensor?
So much has been said about ‘dust bunnies’ (small particles of dust that can land on your camera’s sensor and cause dots in images) that many DSLR photographers seem paranoid about changing lenses. Yet being able to use the best lens for any particular shot is one of the best attractions to DSLR photography.
Don’t be afraid to change lenses when you need to, but take a few precautions. Always switch the camera off, as this removes any static charge from the sensor that can attract dust particles. Where possible, choose a dust-free, non-windy location when changing lenses.
Next, get the replacement lens ready to fit so that you don’t have to waste time with the camera internals exposed. Finally, keep the camera’s lens opening pointing downwards when changing lenses, to minimise the risk of anything falling into it.
Problem No. 23: My zoom lens says it’s ‘macro’ but I can’t get anywhere near as close to subjects as I can with my compact camera. What’s going on?
True macro lenses have a reproduction ratio of 1:1, which means they can image a subject the same size as the camera’s sensor; on most D-SLRs, this is about 24x16mm. Many ‘macro’ zooms boast ratios nearer 1:4, so the smallest possible subject is about credit-card size.
It’s true that many compact cameras do allow close focusing, but they only do so with the lens at its wide-angle setting. So the smallest subject they can capture isn’t as small as you might think. It can also be hard to get enough light on the subject, which ends up in the camera’s shadow. A slightly longer working distance is much more practical (find out How to set your autofocus for macro photography)
99 Common Photography Problems (and how to solve them)
Digital camera accessories
Problem No. 24: Should I use a skylight filter on my lens?
Skylight filters have two jobs. One is to reduce the cool, slightly blue colour cast that you might see in some of your shots, especially those taken in shade under a blue sky. With the sophisticated white balance abilities of today’s DSLRs, this is less critical than it was when photographers were using film (especially slide film).
However, skylight filters play a second role, protecting the front element of the lens from accidental scratches and splashes. If your camera resides permanently in an orderly studio, this might not be an issue, but if you do most of your photography in the great outdoors, it certainly will be. Replacing a filter is a lot cheaper than writing off a lens!
Problem No. 25: Is it possible to use a Skylight or UV filter and polariser at the same time?
UV filters are less important than they used to be, because DSLRs seem less sensitive to UV light than film cameras are.
However, many photographers like to use UV filters to protect the lens’ front element. In theory, you could use a UV or Skylight filter and polariser together, but there are two possible drawbacks. One is that using filters can cause slight degradation of image quality, so fitting two will make that worse.
The other danger is vignetting, also called corner shading, which happens when filters extend too far in front of the lens and the mount starts to appear in the corners of the picture. So why not use the polariser on its own? If you’re concerned about protecting the lens, it will be just as effective as your UV filter.
Problem No. 26: I’ve bought a circular polarizer filter to darken blue skies, but it only seems to be working on a small section of the scene. Why is this?
Circular polarizing filters are very direction-specific, and when shooting skies, they work at their best at an angle of 90 ̊ to the sun. After you’ve rotated the filter for maximum effect, there should be a pronounced darkening when using lenses with moderate focal lengths.
But with wide-angle lenses that take in a larger area of sky, the effect can be much stronger in one section than in others.
Problem No. 27: Can I use yellow, orange and red filters on a DSLR for increased contrast in skies when shooting in black and white?
It’s a much better idea to shoot in raw mode, which captures colour images anyway, and to post-process the images on a computer. You can then apply increased or decreased gain in different colour channels independently, for greater control when creating all manner of coloured filter effects at the editing stage.
Problem No. 28: I want to get a fill-in reflector to use when taking portraits, but which size and colour is best?
When it comes to reflector size, bigger is usually better. Larger reflectors will create a softer quality of light that’s more flattering for portraits. White reflectors give the most subtle effect, whereas silver reflectors make for more dynamic results. The advantage of a gold reflector is that it warms up skin tones.
Problem No. 29: I want to buy a tripod – should I buy one with three leg sections or four?
Tripods with four or five telescopic sections per leg usually extend to a generous height while also folding down to a relatively small length. However, each joint is a potential weak point, so fewer leg sections generally give greater rigidity (check out our 4 tips for sharper shots when using a tripod).
Problem No. 30: Should I have one tripod leg facing the rear and risk knocking it as i move around, or should I have one leg out front and the other two legs either side of me? Which is more stable?
For longer, heavier lenses, it’s best to have one leg out in front as there’ll be less chance of the tripod toppling over. For wide-angle lenses, positioning the lens over the gap between two legs reduces the risk of a tripod foot ending up in the picture.
Problem No. 31: I’ve never been into shooting video before, but the HD capabilities of my DSLR have won me over. The only thing I’m disappointed with is the poor sound quality. How can I improve it?
Apart from entry-level models such as the Canon EOS 1100D, most DSLRs have an audio socket for attaching an external microphone. This will radically improve sound quality and will also prevent the in-camera mic from recording clicks and thumps every time you touch the camera. Expect to pay upwards of £100 for a quality microphone.
Want to know more about HD video, see our guide to How to set up your DSLR for video recording.
Problem No. 32: I’ve bought a couple of extra lenses and now I can’t fit all my photography equipment into my bag. Would you recommend a bigger camera bag, or is a photo backpack a better option?
There are pros and cons for both large camera bags and photo backpacks. One of the major things to consider is how long and how far you’ll be carrying your camera kit. Backpacks help to spread the load, not only with padded shoulder straps, but also because much of the weight rests on the back of your pelvis.
The downside is that, in most cases, you need to take the backpack off and lay it down so that you can open the main compartment and remove your camera and whatever lens you want to use. This can make for slow access, you may end up with a muddy backpack to put back on, and the fuss may result in you missing your shot.
By comparison, you can quickly delve into a camera bag without even needing to take it off your shoulder. Messenger-style bags can offer a good compromise
Digital camera settings & controls
Problem No. 33: Which autofocus mode should I use?
The two basic autofocus (AF) modes are Single and Continuous, often also referred to as One-shot and Servo. In most cases, the Single mode works best because autofocus locks onto its target when you apply a light press to the shutter release button and remains fixed while you maintain the light press, until fully pressing the button to take your shot.
Continuous autofocus mode is better for moving targets, such as kids running around, because focus continually tracks subjects. Continuous AF might not keep up with extremely fast targets (such as racing cars), so switch to Single AF and pre-focus on a place the target is moving to (for more on this, see How to choose the best AF mode for your digital camera).
Problem No. 34: My camera seems to autofocus in the wrong place in some shots. How can I make best use of the different AF points?
The multi-point autofocus function uses all the camera’s available AF points, although some cameras also enable smaller groups of AF points to be selected. In either case, focusing locks onto the closest point in a scene that lines up with one of the points.
For more critical focusing, for example when you want to keep a subject’s eyes sharp in a portrait, it’s best to switch to single-point AF so that you can take complete control of what to focus on.
Problem No. 35: I find manual focusing quite difficult, because it seems hard to judge the effect of slight adjustments through the viewfinder. Is there a way of getting more precise results?
Most new DSLRs have Live View, complete with magnification options. Preview the image on the LCD instead of in the viewfinder, switch to the maximum magnification, then use the direction buttons to display the part of the scene that you want to focus on. This enables precise manual adjustments, although it’s best used with the camera mounted on a tripod as you do so.
For step-by-step instructions on focussing manually with Live View and other options, see Manual Focus: what you need to know to get sharp images.
Problem No. 36: I find that autofocusing is so much slower when I’m using Live View. Why is this, and how can I get round it?
Normal autofocus uses dedicated focus sensors coinciding with the focus points you see in the viewfinder (the number varies between different cameras). These sensors use something called phase-detection AF, and DSLR lenses tend to be optimised to work with them.
Live View, on the other hand, uses information from the camera’s main imaging sensor, and relies on contrast-detection AF. For various reasons, this is slower. When you shoot in Live View or record movies, the focus system often fails to keep up with rapid movement (find out What your Live View screen is telling you).
However, Live View focusing might be slow, but it’s extremely accurate, and it allows you to set the focus point anywhere you like. This is great news when precision matters more than speed, such as in macro photography.
Problem No. 37: My camera has the option to set the AE-L/AF-L button to lock the exposure or the focus or both at the same time – which setting should I use?
The simple answer is to choose whichever you find more valuable. Having this button set to lock both exposure and focus essentially doubles up on the role of the shutter release button. Instead, we’d recommend starting out using it for exposure lock on its own – and set to hold this reading without having to keep your thumb pressed on it.
This allows you to quickly lock in a meter reading, then reframe the shot and lock the focus with the shutter release. Changing the AE-L/AF-L button to just lock focus can be useful in action photography – you’ll be able to switch off focusing if the subject becomes temporarily obscured by an object in the foreground.
It’s also dead handy for portraits, as you can focus on an off-centre subject and then take your thumb off AF-L, freeing you up to recompose the shot without the focus shifting.
Problem No. 38: I’m a fairly experienced photographer and never used shooting modes such as Portrait or Landscape on my 35mm camera. Is there any reason why I should use them on my DSLR?
As long as you know what you’re doing with exposure settings when it comes to shutter speeds and apertures, and how they govern aspects such as depth of field, freezing the action and so on, there is little to be gained by using shooting mode options such as Portrait, Landscape and Sports on a film camera.
With digital SLRs, things are quite different. A variety of imaging parameters can be altered with a simple twist of the shooting mode dial, tailoring camera settings for optimum results without the need to make numerous changes via various buttons and menu options.
Choose Landscape mode, for instance, and both sharpness and contrast are increased, while blues and greens are more saturated. This gives a much more punchy and vivid look (for more on shooting landscapes, see our in-depth guide The 10 Commandments of Landscape Photography – and how to break them).
Problem No. 39: I’m trying to move on from my camera’s auto ‘scene’ modes, but am a bit confused about when to use the Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes. Can you help?
One of the main problems with ‘scene’ modes (Landscape, Portrait, Sports etc) is that they often prevent you from making changes to other useful shooting parameters, such as ISO, autofocus mode and white balance. Switch to your camera’s more advanced modes (P, A, S, M) and you can put all of your camera’s settings under your control.
The Program (P) shooting mode is a good place to start, as it gives an ideal balance of aperture and shutter speed for most scenarios, linked in to the zoom setting of your lens. You can also ‘shift’ exposure settings, enabling faster or slower shutter speeds, just by turning the main control dial.
Aperture Priority (A or Av) should be used when you want to select a large aperture to blur the background, or a small aperture for extending your depth of field.
Shutter Priority (S or Tv) is the mode to use when shutter speed is all-important, either fast for freezing the action or slow for creating blur.
Finally, Manual (M) is perfect in studios, or in very high-contrast scenes where the exposure compensation you need exceeds the range offered by the camera.
Problem No. 40: What’s the difference between RAW and JPEG image quality settings?
The JPEG format was made for digital photography and is now a universal standard, viewable anywhere, straight from the camera. By contrast, RAW images are specific to individual makes and models of camera and require specialist photo editing programs to open, view or edit them, but they too have some specific advantages.
Shoot RAW and you can carry out alterations to many of the camera’s image settings even after shooting, using the camera manufacturer’s software or the RAW import plug-ins of programs such as Photoshop or Lightroom.
These typically include being able to change the white balance, colour mode, saturation, contrast, sharpening and even the exposure value by a couple of stops either way.
Problem No. 41: When shooting RAW files, my 8GB memory card was full in only about 300 shots. How much quality will I sacrifice when shooting smaller JPEG images?
When you’re confident about getting accurate exposure settings and white balance, shooting in JPEG should still deliver very good image quality. Another factor is how big you want to print your images. For example, if you only want to look at your photos on a computer or TV screen, or make prints up to A4 in size, the ‘small JPEG’ option on most DSLRs will suffice.
This can stretch your shooting range with an 8GB memory card from about 300 shots to around 3,500 shots, making a massive difference. Bear in mind, however, that you won’t be able to crop images much, as you’ll have a much lower resolution to start with. A good option is to stick to JPEGs for general snaps, and to switch to RAW for more important projects.
Many recent DSLRs enable you to shoot small or medium-sized RAW files, rather than only giving you a full-sized RAW option, at the camera’s maximum resolution. This gives you the flexibility of shooting RAW images without the overhead of huge data files.
Problem No. 42: What’s RAW+JPEG mode?
This mode lets you save RAW files and JPEGs at the same time. It’s handy if you want to view a JPEG straight away but have a RAW file for editing later.
Problem No. 43: Should I Delete All or Format to remove pictures from a memory card?
Formatting the card is quicker, so is nearly always the better option. However, if images are ‘Protected’ during playback, they won’t be erased when you press Delete All but will be wiped if you format the card. You can flag photos as ‘Protected’ by pressing the appropriate button.
Problem No. 44: I’ve noticed that my camera has a ‘low-level’ option when formatting memory cards, even though this isn’t the default method. What’s the difference and when should I use low-level formatting?
Similar to a quick format on a PC, regular formatting deletes the data from a memory card so that you can start saving files on it again from scratch. A low-level format carries out a more thorough reformat. It’s good to use this option on any occasion when the card has been used in a different camera.
Problem No. 45: I’ve noticed that my camera has different options, including Continuous and Auto Reset, for its file numbering method. Are there any particular benefits of using either option?
We tend to stick with the Continuous file numbering option because, even after removing a memory card, copying the files and then formatting it, the numbering system will carry on from where it left off. This is also true when swapping memory cards. The advantage is that, even over long periods, all of your camera’s image files will have unique file names.
Problem No. 46: I’ve noticed that my camera offers fine-tuning options for white balance settings. In what situations should I use these, and how can I make the best use of them?
If you consistently get a slightly warm or cool colour balance in your shots, it can be useful to make corresponding adjustments to the auto white balance setting, or any of the other presets. A better bet, however, is to shoot in RAW so that you can fine-tune white balance at the editing stage, enabling you to make corrections on a shot-by-shot basis.
Problem No. 47: My camera’s sensor-cleaning system operates every time I switch the camera on. I find it frustrating if I want to shoot quickly – is it really necessary?
This feature is worth having because it helps to minimise the build-up of dust on the sensor. Some cameras enable you to customise sensor cleaning so that it happens when the camera switches off. Another alternative is to disable the automatic routine and to operate the cleaning cycle manually every once in a while when it’s more convenient.
Problem No. 48: I’m having trouble setting my camera’s dioptre adjustment, or at least judging which setting makes the viewfinder image look sharpest. Is there an easy way to do this?
Lightly press the shutter button so that the viewfinder’s information display is switched on for aperture, shutter speed and so on. It’s much easier to adjust the dioptre setting when your eye is focusing on the information display rather than the viewfinder image itself.
For more on using a viewfinder, see our infographic How to use a viewfinder.
Problem No. 49: Should I use sRGB or Adobe RGB?
The Adobe RGB colour space was developed to enable the largest gamut when printing an RGB image on a CMYK printer. The sRGB colour space (‘s’ stands for standard) is best for viewing images on a screen or distributing them electronically. It’s also the best option for inkjet printing, even if you’re sending your files to a printing lab.
Problem No. 50: My camera has recently started using different style file names, so I get an underscore at the beginning of the file name instead of the usual characters. They now read _MG rather than IMG. Why is this?
This means you’ve selected the Adobe RGB colour space instead of the default sRGB colour space. Adobe RGB will give you a slightly greater gamut (range of colours), but images will look dull and subdued on most computer screens unless you’re using software that’s compatible with Adobe RGB.
Problem No. 51: I’ve been using Picture Styles such as vivid and neutral, but they don’t have any effect when I shoot in RAW and edit images in Photoshop Elements. Why?
Picture Styles or Picture Controls let you dictate how colour rendition, contrast and sharpness are controlled in advanced shooting modes such as Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual.
Picture Styles work in both JPEG and RAW quality settings, but when shooting in RAW, they’ll only be handled correctly when using the camera manufacturer’s own editing programs, such as Canon Digital Photo Professional or Nikon Capture NX. They get lost in translation if you process RAW files in adobe Camera Raw, the plugin for Photoshop CS and Elements.
That said, the latest editions of Adobe Camera Raw include a Camera Calibration section, which gives a good approximation of many of the Picture Styles available in most current DSLRs.
Problem No. 52: The video menu on my DSLR gives me a choice of 24, 25, and 30fps frame rates. Which one should I use?
For TV viewing, standard frame rates are 25fps in countries that have 50hz mains electricity and 30fps in those with 60hz. In the UK, which has 50hz mains, you’re therefore best sticking with 25fps.
The 24fps rate is a more popular standard in cinematic film photography. If you edit video clips on your computer and burn them to disc, it’s best to use the same frame rate for the editing as you did for recording.
Problem No. 53: I’ve been trying to use the depth of field preview button to gauge how much of a shot will be sharp when using small apertures, but the viewfinder image is very dark and I find it’s impossible to make any judgements. Are there any alternative methods?
With film photography, DoF preview was your only option, but it’s easier with digital. You can use live view, or take a test shot and review it on the camera’s rear screen. You can then zoom in to get a good idea of how much depth of field you have.
Problem No. 54: When I playback images on my camera’s LCD screen, parts of them are flashing – is that a fault?
This is simply a ‘highlight alert’ feature that is usually activated or deactivated via the camera’s playback menu. With it switched on, areas of the picture that are (or are close to being) overexposed will flash or blink between black and white.
This warning enables you to instantly see, for example, if you’ve lost all the detail out of the sky or other very light areas in an image. It’s very useful when you’re trying to retain highlight detail, as you can dial in some underexposure compensation and re-shoot.
Problem No. 55: Should I set the aperture/shutter speed/ISO adjustments to 1/3 or 1/2 or 1EV stops?
Setting aperture and shutter speed to 1/3EV adjustments will give you greater control, however it can save you time trawling through overly fine ISO adjustments by setting the ISO step to a full 1EV stop.
Problem No. 56: I often forget to adjust the ISO setting in my camera when switching between indoor and outdoor shooting. Is there any way of setting a reminder?
The sound of very slow shutter speeds is often a good reminder that you’ve forgotten to increase your ISO setting when shooting indoors or in low light! Going outside is more of a challenge. If you’re sightseeing, shooting a wedding, or in other situations where you’re switching between indoor and outdoor settings, it’s worth considering Auto ISO.
This will keep the sensitivity as low as possible without giving shutter speeds that are so slow that camera-shake results. As lighting gets dimmer, Auto ISO will raise the sensitivity by only the amount that’s really necessary, so you should always get a good trade-off between sufficiently fast shutter speeds and the best available image quality. That’s because pictures taken at very high ISOs are likely to have increased noise and a drop in fine detail.
With many DSLRs, you can customise the way Auto ISO operates, choosing the slowest shutter speed you want to use as well as defining the maximum ISO permissible. There are times to avoid Auto ISO.
For example, if you want to use a slow shutter speed to create motion blur, you’ll need to apply a low sensitivity setting manually. Similarly, if you want to freeze action, you’re likely to need a faster shutter speed than Auto ISO will deliver, especially in dull lighting conditions.
Problem No. 57: I’ve noticed that the Custom Functions on my DSLR have an option to set high ISO noise reduction to Standard, Low, Strong or Off. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t set it to Strong?
Stronger noise reduction will certainly give you smoother-looking images at high ISO settings, but it’s not all good news. It comes at the expense of a loss of fine detail, so images can appear to lack sharpness.
Problem No. 58: I’ve only ever used the single-shot drive mode on my digital camera, because I don’t shoot sports photography or take self-portraits using the timer delay. But I’m wondering if other drive modes can be useful for other things?
Alternative drive modes can be very handy, apart from their conventional uses. For example, if you’ve set up your camera to take bracketed exposures, the continuous drive mode will automatically advance from frame to frame and then stop once the end of the bracketed sequence has been reached.
Continuous drive is also a good choice for group portraits because it maximises your chance of getting at least one shot in which nobody’s blinking. The two-second timer delay is also useful in conjunction with the mirror lock-up custom function on Canon cameras.
It provides a short delay between the mirror flipping up and the shot being taken – ideal for avoiding mirror bounce, which can cause blur
Camera Exposure
Problem No. 59: If my photos are coming out too light or too dark, how do I fix them?
This is where the exposure compensation function of your DSLR comes in. By pressing the button marked ‘+/-’ and rotating your camera’s control dial, you can correct the meter’s interpretation of the scene.
Your camera’s exposure level scale, measured in stops, is visible in the viewfinder and LCD screen(s), and this is your visual guide to getting it right. The marker in the middle of the scale represents the ‘correct’ exposure, according to the exposure meter. As you rotate the dial, you’ll see an indicator mark move up and down the scale.
When it moves towards the ‘+’ end of the scale, you’re making the image brighter; turn the dial in the other direction and the marker moves towards the ‘-’ end of the scale, making the picture darker.
If you’re using an optical viewfinder, you won’t see this change happening to the image as you do this, but the effects of exposure compensation are simulated in live view and electronic viewfinders (EVFs).
Of course, the amount of compensation you may need to apply depends on various factors, such as the tone of the subject, the lighting and the type of metering being used.
Problem No. 60: The multi-zone metering mode on my DSLR seems to have a habit of giving me over-exposed pictures. Is it better to use one of the alternative options?
The multi-zone metering mode, whether it’s Evaluative (Canon), Matrix (Nikon) or similar, should work fairly well in most situations. But if you’re consistently getting pictures that are too bright, it’s worth dialling in a little negative exposure compensation.
Some cameras enable you to set this as a default value. For high-contrast scenes where you want to set the correct exposure for shadowy areas and let the highlights wash out, or retain highlights and submerge shadows into darkness, it pays to be more selective with metering, using the partial, spot or centre-weighted options.
Spot metering is the most accurate mode, disregarding everything except for a small circle around the centre of the frame or the active focus point (depending on camera model). But it can be the trickiest to use. Green grass is usually good as an outdoor target for taking a reading and locking the exposure setting in.
Canon’s partial metering is similar, but uses a larger area. It’s particularly useful in backlit situations. Centre-weighted metering uses the whole scene, but the exposure is weighted around 75% towards the centre of the frame.
Problem No. 61: I’ve heard photographers talk about ‘clipping’ before – why is this such a bad thing?
The histogram is simply a visual guide to the range of brightness in a scene – from shadows on the left through to highlights on the right. It can be viewed alongside an image once you’ve taken it, or displayed in realtime during Live View shooting, but it still shows the same thing: an organic shape on a small graph.
If the brightness histogram runs off the left or right of the scale, it means that part of that picture information is being lost, or clipped. There will be no detail captured in the parts of the picture that contain these ‘missing’ brightness levels, because they exceed the dynamic range of the sensor.
If the histogram is clipped on the left, the darkest shadows are said to be ‘crushed’, as they will be pure black and hold no detail (to see this illustrated, check out our infographic How to read a histogram).
But the results are nowhere near as ugly as when the histogram is clipped on the right. If this happens, highlights will be ‘blown’, rendered pure white and detail free. In a digital photo, the transition between bright areas and blown highlights is frequently very harsh, which is why it’s more preferable to ‘expose for the highlights’ in order to retain detail in them (by slightly underexposing the picture) and allow the shadows to block up a little instead.
Problem No. 62: I’ve read that it’s a good idea to take a meter reading with your camera in tricky lighting conditions, but how do I do this?
Digital cameras use a multi-zone metering pattern by default. This analyses the scene and tries to come up with an exposure setting where detail is retained in bright and dark areas alike. In many cases, however, the results can be poor. Switch to centre-weighted, partial or spot metering, which concentrate metering or bases it exclusively on progressively smaller areas of the frame, and you can use your camera as a light meter.
If you’re using a zoom lens, zoom in to fill as much of the frame as possible with the area you want to take a meter reading from. For example, green grass works well in a landscape shot, or you can take a meter reading directly from a portrait sitter’s face (although consider adding between half a stop and a full stop of positive exposure compensation to lighten pale skin tones).
To capture and lock the exposure setting, press the camera’s auto exposure lock button, then adjust the zoom and recompose the frame as required before shooting.
Problem No. 63: When I focus on a particular object in a scene, then tilt the camera to recompose the frame before shooting, I often end up with metering errors. Why does this happen?
This is most common if you’re using a relatively dark foreground object to focus on, then repositioning the camera to take in a large expanse of sky. The result is likely to be that the shot is over-exposed and the picture will be too bright.
Canon DSLRs lock the exposure setting completely at the time of focusing, while Nikon cameras bias the exposure when AF is captured, and only allow a fairly limited change in metering. The problem is easily fixed. First position the camera for taking the light reading.
Now press the auto exposure lock button to capture and lock in the exposure value. Next, swivel the camera, apply a light press and hold down the shutter button to lock the focus on your chosen object.
Finally, swivel the camera to compose the frame and fully press home the shutter button to take your shot. You should get accurate metering every time, but review each shot on the LCD screen and if it’s too light or dark, dial in some exposure compensation.
Problem No. 64: Why does my camera give different light metering results when I switch between single- and multi-point autofocus modes, even when I’m using multi-zone metering in both cases?
It’s only natural to think that your camera’s multi-zone metering mode bases the exposure value on the whole scene, so it shouldn’t matter how many autofocus points you’re using.
In reality, though, many current DSLRs use focus information in addition to the overall brightness in the scene. The reason is that ‘intelligent’ metering modes think that you’ll be focusing on the main point of interest, and aim to ensure that this is exposed correctly. Linking the exposure value to focus points can be a big advantage when you’re shooting things like backlit portraits.
In this situation, you’re only really interested in exposing the face correctly, regardless of how bright the background is. The catch is that if you’re using single-point autofocus in general shooting, and the focus point falls on a particularly light or dark part of the scene, you’re likely to get under- or over- exposed results respectively. For this reason it’s often better to use multi-point autofocus for landscape photography.
Alternatively, you could switch to the centre-weighted or spot metering options and use the camera’s light meter to set the exposure using a part of the scene that’s of average brightness. In any case, it’s always a good idea to check the histogram on the camera’s LCD display and re-shoot using exposure compensation if necessary.
Bleached skies are the bane of any landscape photographer
Problem No. 65: In many of my landscape shots, either the ground is too dark or the sky is too bright. Pale skies in particular seem to fade to white and lose all their detail. Is there any way around the problem?
Pale skies are usually much brighter than the land, so if the ground is correctly exposed the sky will wash out. You can use an ND grad filter, but they’re quite fiddly. Another workaround is your DSLR’s facility for compressing tonal range, such as Nikon’s Active D-Lighting or Canon’s Auto Lighting Optimizer.
A better solution, though, is to use a tripod and take two shots; one exposed for the sky, the other for the ground. You can then merge them together using an image-editing program such as Photoshop Elements. Even then, branches and leaves that move between shots can cause problems.
The answer is to take a single shot in RAW and ensure the exposure is sufficiently dark. You can then process this RAW file twice to create two images to merge together.
Find out step-by-step how to fix bleached skies in Photoshop.
Problem No. 66: Why do exposures look correct on my camera’s LCD and computer screen, but too dark when I print them at home or send them to an online printing service?
We’ve often wondered if camera manufacturers make their LCDs artificially bright so that reviewed images look really zingy when people try out cameras in photographic shops. Similarly, computer monitors are often set up by default to look good in brightly lit showrooms and shop windows, and are actually too bright for viewing in normal home or office surroundings.
If you’re using a good quality photo printer at home (Canon and Epson lead the way), it’s better to trust the results of the printed photo and to reduce the brightness of your computer monitor to match. If you want to be high-tech, a ColorVision Spyder 3 Pro is a good gadget for calibrating your monitor, and costs about £100.
Once your computer monitor is set up properly, download some photos from your camera to your computer, but don’t delete them from the memory card. Look at the images on the camera’s LCD and your computer screen simultaneously, then reduce the camera’s LCD brightness until the images look the same.
One thing to bear in mind is that looking at your camera’s LCD in bright sunlight may make images look darker than they really are, so it’s best to shade the screen in these conditions. For the greatest accuracy when checking exposures, use the camera’s histogram function.
Problem No. 67: Why are some of the ISO ratings on my camera unavailable as standard settings, forcing me to switch to an extended range?
One of the greatest advances in recent DSLRs is noise reduction at high ISOs. That said, many cameras split their total sensitivity range into standard and ‘extended’ ISO sections.
For example, the Canon EOS 600D and Nikon D5100 both have standard ranges of ISO 100-6400, and enhanced limits of ISO 12800 and 25600 respectively. Digital cameras deliver optimum quality in their standard ISO range, with maximum detail and the least amount of digital image noise at their base ISO settings. For DSLRs, this is usually either ISO 100 or ISO 200.
As you increase the ISO rating, more gain is applied, like turning the volume up on a hi-fi, so system noise becomes more apparent. In this case, it takes the form of digital grain rather than the hiss of a hi-fi.
In-camera noise reduction or smoothing reduces the appearance of noise at higher ISO settings, but this usually results in a loss of detail and image sharpness.
To enable reasonably fast shutter speeds in poor lighting conditions, when you can’t use a tripod or you need to freeze motion, then you may need to switch to your camera’s extended range of extra-high ISO settings.
Even greater gain is applied, which is likely to result in very noticeable image noise that photographers would normally find unacceptable, so these settings are often only enabled by custom functions.
At the other end of the scale, low ISO settings that are one stop below the base sensitivity of the camera are sometimes available. These are handy if you want to use a large aperture to minimise depth of field, or create motion blur with a slow shutter speed.
The trade-off is that you’ll typically lose about one stop of dynamic range in the highlights, so they’ll wash out to white more readily.
Problem No. 68: My long exposures look grainy. I’ve seen a Long Exposure Noise Reduction setting on my camera, but it’s switched off by default. Why is this?
Despite what you would expect from a noise reduction system, this one serves a different purpose that’s specifically for long exposures, and won’t reduce the grainy appearance of regular noise. The problem with long exposures of several seconds or more is that so-called hot pixels can randomly generate bright dots throughout the frame.
Recent DSLRs tend to suffer from the effect much less than older designs do, but it can still be a problem. Long Exposure Noise Reduction works by taking a second exposure straight after the main exposure, but with the shutter closed. Often referred to as a dark frame, the whole picture should be black, so any hot pixels are immediately obvious and the camera’s processing system can subtract them from the final image.
The drawback is that the time required to take each shot is doubled. For example, if you take a 5 minute exposure, you’ll have to wait 10 minutes before you can take another. The camera’s battery life, always at a premium for long-exposure shooting, is also halved.
Many photographers therefore prefer to leave Long Exposure Noise Reduction switched off and remove any hot pixels at the editing stage.
Problem No. 69: I’ve been told it’s best to use exposure bracketing for important shots, but I can’t find a mode for this on my camera. How does it work?
Exposure bracketing allows you to take a sequence of images while varying the exposure from one shot to the next. For example, if your camera’s light meter thinks the correct exposure should be f/8 at 1/125 sec, you could hedge your bets by shooting three images all at f/8, but with shutter speeds of 1/80, 1/125 and 1/200 sec.
This would give you one shot at the recommended exposure, plus one two-thirds of a stop darker and one two-thirds of a stop brighter. You can then be more confident of getting a shot with exactly the right exposure.
For step-by-step instruction on how to use this DSLR feature, see Auto-exposure bracketing: how to conquer high contrast.
Some entry-level DSLRs don’t have an exposure bracketing feature, in which case use the exposure compensation control in increments.
Problem No. 70: Because I can alter the aperture/shutter speed combination in Program mode, does that mean that the Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes are redundant?
Program shooting mode is great when you need to react to unexpected opportunities without much time to think about exposure settings. The camera takes into account the lighting conditions, as well as the focal length of the lens (or the zoom setting) and sets a sensible combination of aperture and shutter speed to deliver great results, while minimising the risk of camera shake.
This is especially true if you’re also using the Auto ISO function. Most modern cameras go further still, with what’s often called a ‘Program Shift’ mode that replaces the conventional Program mode.
For example, if the Program mode automatically sets an exposure of f/8 at 1/250 sec, you can simply turn the camera’s main dial to shift the exposure to, say, f/5.6 at 1/500 sec or f/11 at 1/125 sec.
The overall exposure value remains the same, but you’re able to enlarge or reduce the aperture, while correspondingly increasing or decreasing the shutter speed. However, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority shooting modes are still useful.
If you want to maintain a large or small aperture for minimising or maximising depth of field, or simply to keep the aperture at the sweet spot of the lens for maximum image quality, switch to Aperture Priority.
When you want to select a slow or fast shutter speed for creating motion blur or freezing the action, use Shutter Priority
Using Flash
Problem No. 71: Why do my flash shots keep coming out dark?
The most likely explanation is that you’re trying to shoot subjects that are too far away. Flash has a limited range, and built-in units are weaker than external flashguns.
Problem No. 72: When I use a flashgun with my DSLR, foreground areas usually look nice and bright, while the background detail is thrown into darkness. How can I fix this?
Flashguns offer effective illumination for foreground objects, but when these are correctly exposed, background areas can look dark. the trick is to balance the flash output with ambient light. Many DSLRs offer a slow-sync flash mode, which combines flash with a slow shutter speed to give a balanced exposure.
With Canon cameras, you can do the same by switching to Av (Aperture value) shooting mode when using flash. To fine-tune the balance, apply exposure compensation in the camera to brighten or darken the background area, then apply flash exposure compensation to adjust the foreground brightness.
Slow-sync flash can result in slow shutter speeds, so camera shake can become a problem. Increase your ISO, typically to between ISO 400 and ISO 1600, to enable faster shutter speeds.
Problem No. 73: My flash exposures seem to vary. Portraits against white come out dark, and off-centre subjects are too bright. What’s wrong?
The TTL flash metering system should give good results in most conditions but it’s easily fooled. Very light areas often result in underexposure, and you may need to add around +1EV of flash exposure compensation for white whites.
With off-centre portraits, the metering system aims to correctly expose what’s at the centre of the frame. If this corresponds with an area of background that’s significantly further away, then the subject can be extremely over-exposed.
Zoom in to fill as much of the frame as possible with the person’s face, then activate the Flash Value Lock. Now zoom out again, recompose the frame and take your shot.
Problem No. 74: I’ve tried freezing motion with flash, but get ghosting around moving people. Can I fix this?
The pulse of light from a flashgun is short, at 1/1000 sec or faster, so can help to freeze action and avoid camera shake. But most cameras default to a slow shutter speed of 1/60 sec when using flash.
You can still freeze action if the ambient light is dark, since the flashgun will be the only effective light source. But brighter ambient lighting will affect the exposure, so you’ll probably get a ghost image of anything that doesn’t stay still.
The best solution for this is to increase your shutter speed to the maximum sync speed available in your camera, which is often 1/200 to 1/250 sec (check the camera manual). But here you run the risk of making backgrounds look dark compared with flash-lit foreground areas.
For a more balanced, natural-looking exposure, free of ghosts, increase the camera’s sensitivity to around ISO 800-1600.
Problem No. 75: I use my Canon DSLR in Av mode practically all the time, as I like to have full control over the aperture setting. The only problem is that some of my shots are quite blurry when I’m using flash. Why is this?
When you use a Canon DSLR in Aperture Priority (Av) mode, either with the pop-up flash or with a separate flashgun, it tries to balance flash with available light as much as possible. This makes for more natural-looking photos, especially with fill-flash in sunny portraits.
But under very dull lighting, you can end up with slow shutter speeds – the resulting effect often being referred to as ‘slow-sync’ flash. You can use slow-sync flash to your advantage, freezing the foreground with a very short pulse of light, while enabling plenty of motion blur in relatively distant background objects.
However, you can also end up with unwanted blurring of the background due to camera-shake, while even close or midrange objects that are moving can also take on a ghostly blurred appearance. To tailor the flash effect, you can adjust Av flash mode in Custom Functions.
The Canon 550D, for instance, has three options: the default Auto setting; to limit shutter speed to between 1/200 sec and 1/60 sec; or to fix the shutter speed at a fast 1/200 sec. The last of these is good for freezing action, but can make backgrounds very dark.
Problem No. 76: What’s the best way to avoid red-eye in portrait photos?
Red-eye is caused by the flash reflecting off a subject’s retina. With digital SLRs, you’re most likely to notice this with distant subjects shot in dark settings. Your DSLR has a red-eye reduction flash setting, which in the majority of cases uses the AF-assist illuminator lamp.
Shining this for a second causes the subject’s pupils to contract, reducing the appearance of red-eye. However, the delay involved is hopeless with moving subjects, and kills any spontaneity. Plus, on-camera flash can look ugly.
One option is to use a separate flashgun, so the flash can be angled or bounced to change its direction. But don’t forget that any recent DSLR will perform well at ISO ratings of 1600 or 3200, if not higher. With the aperture wide open, you can shoot in most lighting conditions without flash.
Or failing all that, find out how to remove red eye in Photoshop in 4 easy steps.
Problem No. 77: When using a flashgun for indoor portraits, I usually end up with a dark shadow on the wall to one side of the person’s head. Is there any way of avoiding this?
Try and keep some distance between your portrait subject and the wall behind them, then bounce the flash off the ceiling to reduce the harshness of shadows. Better still, use a diffusion dome and an off-camera flash cord, so you can hold the flashgun higher up and slightly to one side.
Problem No. 78: The lighting from my flashgun seems very harsh for portraits and doesn’t do my subjects justice. How can I get a softer lighting effect?
The softness of light depends on the relative size of its source. On a bright, sunny day, the physical size of the sun is enormous, but it’s so far away that you can cover it with the palm of an outstretched hand.
On a dull, overcast day, the whole dome of the sky becomes a vast light source, giving a much softer light – ideal for portraiture. A flashgun head is small, so it will produce a hard lighting effect.In portraits, this will accentuate every flaw and blemish, and produce dark, unsightly shadows.
An effective way of softening the quality of light from a flashgun is to bounce the flash off a white wall or ceiling, as this makes the light source much bigger. Better still, you can fit a flash diffuser such as the Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce to your flashgun, then angle the flash head to about 45 degrees.
The diffuser will throw some of the light forward as well as bounce it off walls and ceilings. When there are no bright walls or ceilings available, a more sophisticated flash diffuser is required.
It’s also a good idea to use a slower shutter speed, or to increase your camera’s ISO, to balance ambient light with the output of the flash, and avoid overly dark backgrounds.
Problem No. 79: How can I get better looking portraits on sunny days? In most of my shots, people’s eyes are dark and there are deep shadows on their faces – but I’ve heard that flash can help here.
Sunshine is the enemy of portraiture, as it creates a hard and unflattering light. When the sun is low in the sky, people will squint, and when it’s overhead, there will be deep shadows that turn their eyes into black holes.
The answer is to get your subject to turn away from the sun, so they can pose naturally, and to use fill-flash to banish shadows. When using a flashgun with TTL (Through The Lens) metering, most cameras will do a decent job of balancing flash light with ambient light, giving fairly natural results.
Canon DSLRs do this best in Av (Aperture value) mode, while Nikon’s BL (Balanced Light) flash mode is similarly good. To tailor the results, switch to Manual and select an aperture and shutter speed that gives the correct exposure for the overall scene.
Use the camera’s metering system as a guide, but don’t exceed the maximum shutter speed for flash synchronisation – the flash sync – typically around 1/200 sec. The TTL flash exposure system should enable the right amount of illumination for fill-flash, but be prepared to dial-in some positive or negative flash exposure compensation. Again, for ultimate control, switch to manual power settings on the flashgun and adjust the power for the best balance.
Another good option for natural-looking fill flash is to use the flashgun off-camera, holding it high and to one side of the subject, using an extension cord or wireless connection.
Problem No. 80: Why does the pop-up flash on my Canon camera flicker?
Many Canon DSLRs, including the more advanced 60D and 7D, have no AF illuminator to help them autofocus under very dull lighting. Instead, the pop-up flash emits a brief series of pulses of light to illuminate the target.
You can switch this off in the Custom Functions menu, or ensure that only the less annoying infrared AF beam is triggered when using a compatible external flashgun.
Problem No. 81: Should I set the flash to first curtain or second curtain sync?
Most flash settings work in a ‘front curtain’ or first curtain mode – and it’s this mode you should stick with for the majority of situations. The term itself is a hangover from bygone times but basically means that the flash fires just after the shutter opens, making it excellent for situations that require precise timing.
Rear curtain or second curtain flash mods is a more rarely used setting, where the flash fires at the end of the exposure, just before the shutter closes again. Imagine photographing a car with its lights on, coming towards you at night, using a long shutter speed of around three seconds.
Rear curtain flash would illuminate the car when it was closest to you, with light trails appearing to stretch out behind it. Front curtain flash would have illuminated the car at the start of the exposure, when it was furthest away – the light trails would then appear to stretch out in front of it, providing a less ‘natural’ result.
Problem No. 82: I’ve got an old flashgun from decades ago, which I used to use on my film SLRs. Is it possible to use the flashgun on my DSLR, albeit without dedicated functions such as TTL metering?
There’s a big risk involved with using old flashguns on new cameras. Even if they physically fit the hotshoe, and the trigger connection is in the right place, some old flashguns use voltages that run into hundreds of volts. This is more than enough to zap the circuitry in most DSLRs, which are designed for a voltage of just 5V to 12V
Photography Technique
Problem No. 83: What camera settings should I use for night photography?
To take control of your exposures it’s best to shoot in Manual mode so you can choose the best narrow aperture and slow shutter speed for night photography.
Begin by composing and focusing your shot, set a narrow aperture around f/16, then dial in the right shutter speed until the exposure level mark is in the middle of the exposure level indicator. Take some shots and review them on your LCD.
Remember this is what your camera thinks is the best exposure, but if your shots are looking too bright, underexpose by 1-2 stops so that they actually look dark!
Shooting at night obviously means there will be less light and therefore slow shutter speeds, anywhere from 1-30 seconds – that’s way too slow to shoot hand-held. So you’ll need to attach your digital camera securely to a tripod if you want sharp results.
Make sure your tripod is set up correctly and rock solid – it’s easy to end up with soft images because you haven’t double-checked. And don’t hold onto your tripod as you’re shooting with slow shutter speeds because any slight movement can mean blurred photos.
For more on how to shoot night photography, see our in-depth guide to the 12 common errors of night photography (and how to fix them).
Problem No. 84: What’s the best way to photograph the moon?
Beware of automatic settings! Instead of using Auto ISO, keep the sensitivity at its base setting of ISO 100 to retain maximum sharpness and minimum image noise. Select the central AF point and keep this positioned on the surface of the moon itself.
Camera shake can be a big problem here too, so mount your camera on a sturdy tripod and use the self-timer delay, selecting the mirror lock-up function in the Custom Settings menu. Manual exposure mode is the best bet for accurate exposures.
Try starting with an aperture of f/11 for optimum optical quality and a shutter speed of 1/60 sec. Take a shot and review the results on the LCD, using the histogram display to check the exposure. The brightness of the moon in the dark sky should be displayed as a small peak about 75% of the way across to the right of the histogram chart.
If the peak is further to the right, you should successively increase the shutter speed in small increments; if it’s nearer the middle or to the left, decrease the shutter speed accordingly. Air pollution in built-up city areas is notorious for degrading shots of the full moon, giving it an off-colour glow and obscuring fine detail.
To achieve great moon shots, it’s well worth taking a trip out of town to get a little clean, fresh air.
Problem No. 85: I’ve upgraded from a compact camera to using a DSLR with 18-55mm and 70-300mm lenses. Some of my shots are quite blurred, particularly at longer zoom settings on the telephoto lens. I suspect this is due to camera shake, but how do I avoid it?
It certainly sounds like camera shake is the culprit, something that becomes more problematic with longer focal lengths. The easiest way to avoid it is to use faster shutter speeds, even if this requires increasing your camera’s sensitivity (ISO) setting.
As a rule of thumb, the minimum shutter speed you can use to avoid camera shake is 1 divided by the focal length (eg 1/300). However, you need to take the crop factor of your camera into account as well.
On Nikon, Pentax and Sony cameras with a crop factor of 1.5x, your 70-300mm lens would have an ‘effective’ focal length range of 105-450mm. At the longest zoom setting, you would require a shutter speed of at least 1/450 sec. The nearest available shutter speeds on the camera are 1/400 or 1/500 sec, with the latter being the safer of the two options.
Image stabilisation can also be a big help in reducing camera shake. Competing optical and sensor-shift systems give an advantage of anything from two to four stops. With a three-stop stabiliser you can expect consistently good handheld results even when reducing the shutter speed from 1/500 to 1/60 sec, when using an effective focal length of 450mm.
Problem No. 86: I’ve been told I might be able to get sharper telephoto shots if I use my camera’s mirror lock-up function. How does this feature work?
One thing common to all DSLRs is that the reflex mirror needs to lift up just before the shutter opens to capture a shot, so that the path of light from the lens is redirected towards the sensor instead of upwards into the viewfinder. Even when the camera is mounted on a hefty tripod, the mirror action can be enough to unsettle the camera, resulting in a slight judder.
It’s not normally a problem with wide-angle or standard focal lengths, but it can noticeably degrade sharpness in telephoto and macro shots, where any slight vibration of the camera has a much greater effect. Mirror lock-up for taking pictures is not the same as mirror lock-up for cleaning the camera sensor – you’ll typically find the photographic option in your camera’s Custom Settings menu.
When mirror lock-up is activated, the first full press of the shutter button lips the reflex mirror up and locks it in place. A second press of the shutter button is then required to open the shutter. Naturally, touching the camera when it’s mounted on a tripod can also introduce vibration, so it’s best to use mirror lock-up with a remote shutter release.
If you don’t have one, a handy alternative is to use mirror lock-up with a two-second self-timer delay. Some cameras, such as the nikon D300s, don’t enable you to use a self-timer delay with the mirror lock-up function. In this case you can use exposure delay mode instead.
Problem No. 87: I’ve tried motorsports photography, but in all of my panning shots the background is too sharp or everything’s blurred. Can you give me any tips?
It’s difficult to find a shutter speed that’s slow enough to create motion blur in the background but fast enough to stop unwanted camera shake blurring the car or bike that you’re shooting.
Bear in mind that you’d normally aim for a shutter speed of about 1/500 sec to avoid camera shake when using a 300mm lens on most DSLRs. This is because the crop factor of about 1.5x or 1.6x gives you a longer effective focal length of 450mm or 480mm.
To create attractive motion blur in the background, you need a much slower shutter speed of about 1/60 to 1/125 sec, so developing an effective panning technique is a must. To get panning right, place your feet comfortably far apart, so that when you’re facing forwards you’re aiming at the position the vehicle will be in when you shoot it.
As the subject passes, swivel from your hips rather than your upper body as smoothly as possible, and gently squeeze the shutter button rather than stabbing at it. Continue the panning movement for as long as possible, even after you’ve taken the shot.
(Pssst… don’t tell anyone we told you this, but here’s a quick guide showing How to fake panning photos).
Problem No. 88: I’m having problems tracking moving subjects in continuous autofocus mode. Am I doing something wrong?
Modern DSLRs and lenses should do a good job of tracking moving subjects in continuous autofocus mode, apart from when they’re moving towards you or away from you at too fast a speed for the system to keep up. The situation that causes most people to experience problems is when the subject is fairly small or moving in an erratic manner, and they’re using a single AF point.
If the object strays from the AF point you’re using while you’re panning, the camera will lose its focus. The solution is to switch to a multi-point autofocus setting.
For example, when using AI Servo (continuous) autofocus mode on Canon SLRs, the central AF point is used to capture the initial autofocus setting but, crucially, if the object strays from the centre of the frame, the camera will automatically switch to other AF points.
The 3D tracking option on Nikon cameras such as the D90 and D300s, which feature Dynamic area AF, is particularly good at locking on to objects using multiple autofocus points.
Problem No. 89: What’s the best way to photograph big groups of people?
Big group portraits are a real challenge and one that often sends photographers scurrying for a wide-angle lens. This is actually a bad idea because, due to the inherent distortion of wide-angle lenses, the people towards the edge of the frame will end up with very wide-looking faces and bodies, which they probably won’t thank you for.
It’s a much better idea to use a more moderate zoom setting and move further back, but this also presents difficulties if you have to shoot indoors, as you might not be able to get far enough away and will literally have your back up against the wall.
Another problem with shooting indoors is that if you have to use flash, the people at the front of the group will probably be effectively illuminated but those towards the back of the group will be in relative gloom. It’s much better to get outdoors and use natural daylight.
Overcast weather is no problem at all, as it has the benefit that people won’t be squinting into the sun. To see everybody’s faces, you really need to be higher up than the group you’re photographing, so a step ladder or something else to climb on is ideal, or try shooting from an upstairs window in a building.
Finally, take plenty of pictures in continuous drive mode because someone will inevitably be blinking in any given shot, but you can copy and paste faces from different shots in Photoshop to make sure everyone looks their best.
Problem No. 90: What does shooting with a camera ‘tethered’ mean?
Tethered shooting enables you to control your camera directly from a PC or Mac and to download photos automatically while you’re shooting. Software for tethered shooting and RAW editing is included free with all Canon DSLRs, whereas Nikon charges extra.
To enable tethered shooting, you’ll need to install the appropriate software on your computer, then connect your camera to your computer via the supplied USB cable – or via a wireless transmitter if your camera has this feature, thereby avoiding trailing wires.
Problem No. 91: I’ve bought a macro lens for my DSLR and have been trying to shoot close-ups of flowers and insects in the garden. But most of my pictures are blurred. How can I get better results?
A macro lens enables extreme close-ups, but places great demands on the photographer. The first challenge is depth of field – or rather the lack of it. At its closest focus distance of around 30cm (measured from the camera sensor rather than the front end of the lens), the depth of field of a 100mm f/2.8 macro lens can be as little as half a millimetre, when used at its largest aperture.
Reduce the aperture to f/11 and you’ll still only get a depth of field of about 2.5mm, so highly accurate focusing is critical. Macro shots are also notoriously prone to blurring caused by even tiny movements of the camera or the object being photographed, so small lens apertures can mean unworkably slow shutter speeds. Even if you’re using a heavyweight tripod, a DSLR is unsettled by the mirror flipping up immediately prior to the exposure, and any slight wobble as it settles again will cause camera shake.
To avoid this, use a remote shutter release in conjunction with the mirror lock-up function, also called exposure delay in some DSLRs. This instigates a time lag between the mirror flipping up and the shutter opening.
When shooting macro with flash, it’s not so much of an issue because the short duration of the flash effectively makes for a very short exposure, freezing any movement. Switch to Manual exposure mode and use a small aperture of around f/16 with a shutter speed of about 1/125 sec (for tips, see our 25 flower photography tips for beginners).
Problem No. 92: I’d like to shoot coastal scenes with smooth, glassy seas. I’ve often seen examples of these long exposure landscapes, but I can never seem to get a sufficiently slow shutter speed. Can you help?
For slow shutter speeds in daylight, you’ll need to use a narrow aperture of around f/16 or f/22, but even at ISO 100, this may be insufficient to enable a long exposure. The trick is to use an ND filter such as the Hoya ND8, which reduces exposure by three stops (for more ideas, see our 10 tips for better coastal landscapes).
Problem No. 93: I’ve tried taking sequences of shots to stitch into panoramic images, but they never seem to match up properly and the brightness and colour is often different from one shot to the next. How can I get better results?
To ensure consistency in colour and brightness, first select a Manual White Balance setting that most closely matches the ambient lighting conditions – Sunny, Cloudy or Shade, for example.
Next, set your camera to Manual exposure mode and take a light reading of the scene using the multi-zone metering mode. Adjust the aperture and shutter speed for a correct exposure and keep the exposure locked for each shot in the sequence.
It’s good to use a tripod when taking sequences of shots for panoramas, as this enables you to level the camera and pan accurately between each shot. Ideally, set up the camera in upright (portrait) orientation and aim to leave an overlap of about a third of the frame width in successive shots.
This will give you plenty of room for manoeuvre when aligning them at the stitching stage. Take as many shots as required to capture the whole panorama.
Problem No. 94: I’ve tried taking shots with my camera’s monochrome setting, but they always seem to end up looking a bit dull. Is there a better way to go about creating black and white photos?
Digital cameras see in colour, and the conversion to greyscale often loses something in translation when you shoot in monochrome. A better idea is to capture your shots in colour and then convert them to black and white at the editing stage.
You’ll have more control of the overall contrast and how individual colour channels are treated, so you can create more dramatic mono pictures. There are various ways to convert colour images to black and white in Photoshop, such as Converting to Grayscale in Adobe Camera Raw or creating a Black and White adjustment layer.
Recent editions of Photoshop Elements have a black and white conversion tool built in, which runs in a separate window with a preview facility. This makes a wide range of controls readily available for getting the best out of your source image, and it’s easy to use. Adding artificial film grain makes a nice finishing touch, too.
If you’re shooting landscapes, here’s a quick guide to black and white landscape conversion for giving your pictures extra impact.
Problem No. 95: I’ve often noticed that when I take photographs of buildings, walls and roofs appear to bow outwards, and high towers appear to lean inwards towards the top. I’m finding it really frustrating. Just what am I doing wrong?
This is most likely caused by photographing these buildings from a fairly close distance, using a wide-angle zoom setting. Wide-angle focal lengths can result in noticeable barrel distortion, making the top, bottom and sides of the building appear to bow outwards.
You’ll also need to point the camera upwards, which accentuates perspective and makes the sides appear to lean in towards each other towards the top. The solution is to keep your distance so you can use a moderate zoom setting of around 35mm (50mm on a full-frame camera).
For photographing tall buildings, it’s ideal if you can find a vantage point that’s higher than ground level – such as another building. You could apply perspective correction when editing – using Photoshop Elements, for example – but you’ll lose part of the frame, so leave plenty of space around the building when shooting.
Some of the latest DSLRs also have built-in distortion correction for the manufacturer’s own-brand lenses, so it’s worth checking your camera’s shooting menus too
Problem No. 96: I’ve heard that using something called hyperfocal distance can help to keep foreground and background sharp. What is this and how do I do it?
The hyperfocal distance is the focus setting of a lens at which everything in your image appears sharp, from the closest possible distance right through to infinity. It’s particularly useful when shooting with wide-angle lenses in landscape photography, where you want to keep foreground objects sharp as well as distant areas stretching to the horizon.
Essentially, you’re maximising depth of field. As such, the hyperfocal distance is governed by the same factors as depth of field, including the focal length or zoom setting of the lens you’re using, the aperture, and the size of the image sensor in your camera. At any ‘effective’ focal length, a DSLR with a smaller APS-C sized sensor will provide a greater depth of field, and therefore a shorter hyperfocal distance, than the equivalent focal length on a full-frame camera.
Using an 18mm lens on most Nikon, Pentax and Sony DSLRs with APS-C sized sensors will give an effective focal length of 27mm. on Canon bodies, it’s nearer 29mm. Shooting with an aperture of f/11, the hyperfocal distance would be 145cm (153cm for Canon).
With an equivalent 28mm on a full-frame camera, the hyperfocal distance at f/11 is a lengthier 234cm. In every case, the depth of field will extend from half the focus distance to infinity.
In the above examples, hyperfocal distances of 145cm, 153cm and 234cm would therefore give depths of field stretching from 72.5cm, 76.5cm and 117cm to infinity respectively.
For more on how to do this, see our guide What is hyperfocal distance: 6 tips for sharper landscapes. Or you can drag and drop download our hyperfocal distance calculator.
Problem No. 97: I’ve seen landscape shots with really strong reflections in ponds and lakes, but haven’t been able to capture this effect myself. What am I doing wrong?
Strong sunshine is great for creating mirror-like reflections in water – whether you’re shooting huge lakes or tiny puddles – but the position of the sun is crucial.
If the sun is high in the sky, or even if it’s lower in the sky but positioned in front of you or off to one side, you’ll get a lot of glare reflected off the surface of the water, which reduces the reflections you’re trying to capture.
For best results, it’s best to use your feet to change your position, or pick a time of day to shoot when the sun will be as directly behind you as possible. You can also increase the appearance of reflections of objects in a scene by shooting from as low down as possible, even if this means positioning the camera just a few inches above the surface of the water.
Not only does this aid reflectivity, but you’ll also get more of the whole scene mirrored in the water, rather than mostly sky. It also helps to shoot reflections on a still day, so the surface of the water is as smooth as possible.
Problem No. 98: I have often seen great photographs where it looks like multiple fireworks are exploding all over the sky. Is there a technique for shooting this effect, or should I just do it in Photoshop?
You can create this effect from multiple exposures in Photoshop, using several exposures as Layer Masks and drilling through to the areas where fireworks are going of in each, but you can get the same effect in-camera.
Switch to Manual exposure mode and set the shutter speed to Bulb, with an aperture of about f/8. Next, select the base ISO setting, usually ISO 100 or 200, to keep image noise to a minimum, and then set Manual Focus (MF) to infinity.
Mount your camera on a tripod and use a remote control to avoid camera shake. When the first firework that you want to capture leaves the ground, open the shutter in time to catch it exploding.
After it’s finished, don’t close the shutter again but place a baseball cap or light-blocking shield over the front of the lens, then remove it just in time to catch the next firework. In this way, you can build up multiple fireworks in one image, before closing the shutter at the end of the sequence.
Problem No. 99: What are the best flash settings to use to take ‘newborn’ baby shots at a hospital?
The relatively hard light of a flashgun generally makes for poor baby photos. You’re better off sticking with ambient lighting. Most current DSLRs are capable of low-noise images at high ISO settings, so increase the sensitivity to around ISO 1600 or ISO 3200 to avoid camera shake.
Room lighting usually provides pleasant soft lighting, but keep an eye on white balance and switch to a Tungsten or Fluorescent setting if the shots look yellowish. One neat trick is to use an angle-poise bedside light, which you can reposition for the best effect.
If it’s daytime and you’re near a window, try using daylight as the main light source. A sheet of white card or A4 paper can work well as a reflector to fill in the shadows.
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