What settings do you put your camera on to get more CONTRAST?

Question

How can you adjust the apeture or shutter speed say for outdoor photos to make shadows darker and patches of light glow more??

Answer 1

Usually, close the aperture and overexpose 1/2 stops.
Digital cameras have also often a menu item with low-medium-high contrast setting - in this case set the setting and use a normal exposition.

in films - kodak is more contrasted than fuji.

Contrast :
- tonal = difference between whites and blacks
- color = opposing colors.

look at your composition, often by changing your slightly your position, you can get a more/less contrasted picture.

If your camera diplays histograms, use them :
a U curve is a dark/light picture without grey
a narrow bell shaped is a grey picture without contrast.
a wide bell shaped occupying the whole range is a well exposed picture.

Histograms are probably the most interesting innovation since the first camera was invented.

you start by making a first metering and you adjust according your wishes.

Personnaly, I work on A (aperture mode) and let the camera deciding for speed.
I have customized the 2 sliders of my camera so one let me adjusting the aperture and the other the over/under exposition. (once again a in deep reading of the manual is recommended)

cheers,

Answer 2

you need to read your light meter and learn the zone system. the zone system breaks everything down into 10 zones from white to black and all the grays in between. to get good contrast you need to decide where in the zone everything should lie and go from there. just remember your light meter is guaged to make everything middle gray. which makes for very little contrast.
basically what you need to do is meter your picture so it's at middle gray. then figure out where the picture needs to be on the zone system. more or less contrast. then you adjust your aperture or shutter speed accordingly. either more or less light.
also, if you're shooting outdoors try using a low iso film like 100 or below. you can also buy filters for your camera that increase contrast (like filters on an enlarger). but those usually require more light or longer exposure times.
the real explanation is long and complicated. but that website might help.

Answer 3

The best way to get the most out of your pictures is to shoot in RAW if your camera supports this type of file and adjust the leves and curves in Photoshop or any other photo editing software. RAW captures a larger dynamic range than jpeg. The camera can only capture what it sees. Adjusting any aperture or shutter settings will darken or lighten the entire picture. If you shoot in jpeg format, there might be a funtion in your camera menus that will allow you to set the amount of contrast. Every camera is different, so check your manual for this function.

Answer 4

Every camera has different ways of adjusting the aperture and shutter speed, and you will have to read the manual to learn how to do it on your camera. I have a Canon A700 and to do this on my camera, I rotate the control to the "P" mode, press a button that is labeled "+/-" and then it gives me a sliding scale on the LCD screen. Using the circular main control switch, I can increase or decrease the exposure.

I do this all the time and it works very well, However, your camera is almost certainly different and you'll have to figure it out from the manual. If you list the model of your camera, maybe someone can explain how to do it.

Answer 5

To great great exposure use a film speed of like 90 with a small aperature such as F16 or F11. For the shutter speed set it at either 1/60 or 1/90

That's the settings normally used for a fine portrait image and should produce a great range of shadows and highlights.