HELP! My pictures aren't turning out. Can someone help me know what F-stop to use in which situation?

Question

I'm taking a photography class right now. I took a roll at the beach with 11-14 F-stop and 1000-2000 shutter speed on all the pictures. Those turned out good for the most part but since then hardly any pictures are turning out. My negatives are too light or too dark and they are so extreme( to one side of the other) that I'm not finding any way to print good shots ( even with filters and such).

In anycase, can someone please give me examples... 14 at the beach, ? during the day.... or just difference examples of Which F-Spot to use when...

Please help!

Answer 1

bright sunny days are F16 @ 125 (100iso) - so you can work to that - in the shade will be two stops less

the pain you are experiencing is growth - growing pains.....dont panic all good fotogs went thru what your going thru now - well i did and all those i studied with also, some persisted like me, the others when auto and then got jobs doing stuff not photography related cause on auto they failed the flash conponents of the course - off camera flash etc

theres no way to answer you really because just giving you an Fstop does nothing for you because of the other factors involved such as: the light you are in, the iso you are using, the stutter speed etc.

buy a "grey card" and use it, or learn to meter off white or black or do what i do "hand readings" - you meter of your palm and add a stop - been using it for years and it always works..........

your in a learning curve so its annoying that your exposures are all over the place - this is a good thing because learning from mistakes is the best way really........unlike those that "self teach" themselfs you can just goto school and get a teacher to teach you...so you will learn alot faster than those just keep messing it up then go back to auto

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Answer 2

Does your camera have a light meter? If so, you need to learn to use it. Knowing what camera you are using would help.

The f-stop (aka aperture) controls the amount of light admitted by the lens. It is an inverse relationship, with f1.4 the largest opening and f16 the smallest. At a given ISO, the larger the f-stop the faster the shutter speed.

ISO is a measurement of the sensitivity of an imaging surface to light - film or sensor. At ISO 100 our imaging surface is slow to react to light and requires a longer shutter speed at a given f-stop. At ISO 400 our imaging surface is faster to respond to light and requires a shorter shutter speed at a given f-stop.

This example is purely hypothetical and is for illustrating the f-stop/shutter speed relationship at a given ISO. We are shooting on a sunny day at ISO 100:

f1.4 @ 1/1000 sec.
f2 @ 1/500 sec.
f2.8 @ 1/250 sec.
f4 @ 1/125 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/60 sec.
f8 @ 1/30 sec.
f11 @ 1/15 sec.
f16 @ 1/8 sec.

Note how the shutter speed becomes longer as less light is admitted as we "stop down" our lens. This is because each f-stop admits 1/2 as much light as the previous f-stop. So f2 admits 1/2 as much light as f1.4; f2.8 admits 1/2 as much light as f2, etc. With less light admitted by the lens the shutter must stay open longer to allow sufficient time for the light to properly expose the imaging surface.

Now lets look at ISO 200 under the same conditions:

f1.4 @ 1/2000 sec.
f2 @ 1/1000 sec.
f2.8 @ 1/500 sec.
f4 @ 1/250 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/125 sec.
f8 @ 1/60 sec.
f11 @ 1/30 sec.
f16 @ 1/15 sec.

And if we were using ISO 400:

f1.4 @ 1/4000 sec.
f2 @ 1/2000 sec.
f2.8 @ 1/1000 sec.
f4 @ 1/500 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/250 sec.
f8 @ 1/125 sec.
f11 @ 1/60 sec.
f16 @ 1/30 sec.

If we were using a camera with "AUTO" or "A" ( Aperture Preferred Mode, we set an f-stop, the camera sets the shutter speed) our results would be the same. Well, maybe not identical if our camera has an electrically controlled "stepless" shutter. This type shutter might give us a speed of 1/975 in our first example - but the relationship holds.

If our camera has "Shutter Speed Priority" our results will be the same. As we change the shutter speed the camera will change the f-stop to give correct exposure.

If our camera has a Manual "match needle" metering system it will show in our viewfinder. It could be a moving "pointer" that we "trap" inside a circle or a "bracket" ] with a + at the top and a - at the bottom. Centering the "pointer" in the ] shows correct exposure. -]

Manual, Aperture Preferred or Shutter Preferred it doesn't matter. The relationship between f-stop and shutter speed remains the same at whatever ISO we are using.

Answer 3

Antoni hit it on the head and there is little I can do but expand on what he has already said.

Using f16 at 1/125 sec for ISO 100 film is called the Sunny Rule of f16. It works wonders in bright sunlight. What it basically says is you set your aperture to f16 and your shutter speed to the closest setting you have to the ISO rating of the film. That's why Antoni said for ISO 100 film you would set your shutter speed to 1/125 sec. Once you have the basic setting, you can change the aperture and shutter speed as you need to as long as the exposure is equivalent.

Metering off the palm of your hand is also a time honored method of setting the exposure. You're substituting your hand for an 18% gray card. I open up 1 1/3 stops, but that's my camera and my skin. He's also right about the approximate setting for shade if it's open shade and the environment is reflecting a light into it. Otherwise, use 3 stops down.

He shoots a lot of architectural stuff and that's like having a bunch of reflectors around!

It's been a long time since I read the inserts that came with film. I just pull the film out and set the ISO and go, but they used to print a chart of suggested f stops and shutter speed combinations for different conditions like overcast, etc. You can take a look at them.

Anyway, like Antoni said, welcome to the club. There isn't a photographer in the world who hasn't gone through the process your going through now as you learn. As much as I love digital, I learned my craft and discipline with film and it has made me a much better photographer.

Here's some suggested settings for you:

seashore or snow under bright sun f/22
bright sun f/16
hazy sun f/11
cloudy but bright f/8
cloudy or open shade f/5.6

remember to set your shutter speed to the ISO of your film, or the closest setting just above it.

Also, don't forget that your teacher is there to teach you! You can always talk to a photography teacher. Or at least, every one that I have ever met. They generally love helping out.

Vance

Answer 4

Are you using your meter at all or are you supposed to guess? After a while, you probably WILL be about to set many (or most) exposures without using a meter, but you have to start somewhere.

Either use the meter or, if you are not supposed to for your class, just accept that you will have to ruin a lot of film before you get it right.

The experts have given you some values above. You might even find a chart printed on the inside of each box of film.

Mostly, it takes time and experience to learn this if you need to it without a meter and nobody can give that to you but yourself. Just keep track of what you have done so that you will know how to interpret your results. If this means you need to carry a little notepad with you to write stuff down, just do it.

Answer 5

In short according to the light availability you can use any combination of f-stops and shutter speeds. So, you have to read your light meter settings and choose f-stops accordingly. in reality an f5.6 at 1/1000 is equv to f8 a 1/500 or f11 at 1/250 or f16 at 1/125. if you shoot 4 diff pictures with all those diff combanitions your pictures will be exposed exactly the same but your depth of field will differ. I hope I have explained this in simple way.

Answer 6

Your shutter speed is too short resulting in underexposure (light negs). You didn't say what ASA film you were using but go with daylight film, ASA 200, and try starting at f/8 at 1/250th of a sec as a general starting point. Most cameras have a built in light meter. Adjust your exposure to that.

Didn't want to give you exactly what I'd use because you need to learn how to properly expose your shots but I got you in the ball park.

Answer 7

Use 100 iso film for the beach, f8 at 250 shutterspeed should get you nice shots during the day outside. if u use 200iso film go up one stop with either the f-stop or shutterspeed not both, that's f11 aperture or 500 shutter speed. Bare in mind that if ur using flash, chances are that it will only be visible well at shutterspeeds of 250 and slower.
Best

Answer 8

for the portrait you should use f8 that is the f8 rule. It get the best depth and colors. Also why shoot 400 out doors. you should be using 160 or 100 firm. 400 is to fast. As far as the landscape shoot a slower shutter and like f8 f16. make sure you take your flash and use it for the portraits. It is hard to say what f stop to use but f8 is the portrait setting.