 Jennifer E. Fitzsimmons |
Indoor Portraits with Manual Mode I am currently learning how to shoot in manual mode with my Nikon D60. I feel like I pretty much have it down when it comes to outdoor photographs, but indoor is another story. How should I set up the manual mode to take a picture with enough light without having to have the flash on? In the manual mode with the flash, there is a delay in taking the picture once the shutter release is pressed. I am missing out on a lot of great photos of my children because of this. If I don't use the flash, the picture is way too dark. I keep changing back to auto mode and that makes the pictures look a shade of blue (which I then have to edit). Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Lisa C. Lloyd |
Try using Aperture mode. You still have creative control over Depth of Field, but the camera sets the remainder of the exposure. Otherwise, I worry that you'll have to decrease your shutter speed to such a low number that you'll be bombarded with blur. Happy shooting!
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Lynn R. Powers |
Set your ISO to 800. Your meter should still read the light so center the little arrowhead in the middle of the scale (in the viewfinder). Try to shoot at least 1/100 second. After your first photo, you can decide if you want to adjust your shutter speed or aperture. You may want to adjust both. Don't worry if when doing this adjustment that the little arrow indicates that you are overexposing. Remember, you are controlling the camera and not letting it decide everything. If ISO 800 isn't fast enough and you want to avoid noise, I recommend that you use the built-in flash. If it still comes out too blue, set your color balance to shade or cloudy. Take a few test shots when the kids aren't around so you will have an idea where to set it when they are inside playing. The great thing about digital is you can see the results immediately and it doesn't cost anything but time. Did you set the camera for flash when using it? If not, that could be a problem with the color balance. Good luck.
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Jon Close |
"...In the manual mode with the flash there is a delay in taking the picture once the shutter release is pressed. I am missing out on a lot of great photos of my children because of this. ..." My guess is the delay is due to the camera's red-eye reduction feature. This will flicker a lamp for a second or two to get the subject's irises to close. Try turning it off (see p. 65 of the D60 instruction manual).
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Jennifer E. Fitzsimmons |
Thanks everyone for your feedback! Jon, I did take a look at the flash and you were right, I had it on the red-eye reduction. I turned it off and now the picture takes right away! I can't believe it was that simple to fix! Thanks so much.
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