Chester Zoo Some Advice
- Thread starter LeeMac13
- Start date
Even though I use 35mm film, I work at a photo lab and teach a beginning digital camera class, so I may be able to help. I will offer a couple possibilities, but if this isn't the problem then it's hard to diagnose without seeing the camera in person. If there is a camera store or lab in your town, that may be the easiest place to get a definite answer.
Firstly, I assume you are using automatic or program mode? If you are in manual, then your exposures can be way off if you don't know how to read a light meter. One guess is that maybe you have the ISO (the digital equivalent of film speed) set to 100 instead of auto. If this is the case, low-light photos will be too dark because the camera doesn't want to go to a really long shutter speed for fear of blurry pictures. Set it in the menu to auto ISO and it will automatically go up from 100 to 400 or 800 or whatever it needs. The other possibility is that you are including a lot of sky in your photos. (If indoor pictures look fine, then this is probably the problem). The sky, especially a light gray overcast sky, is often much brighter than the foreground subject. If the camera meters off the sky, it will try to darken the sky and result in the foreground subjects being way too dark. The solution here is to eliminate the sky, hold the shutter down halfway, then recompose for sky without lifting up your finger before you press all the way.
Firstly, I assume you are using automatic or program mode? If you are in manual, then your exposures can be way off if you don't know how to read a light meter. One guess is that maybe you have the ISO (the digital equivalent of film speed) set to 100 instead of auto. If this is the case, low-light photos will be too dark because the camera doesn't want to go to a really long shutter speed for fear of blurry pictures. Set it in the menu to auto ISO and it will automatically go up from 100 to 400 or 800 or whatever it needs. The other possibility is that you are including a lot of sky in your photos. (If indoor pictures look fine, then this is probably the problem). The sky, especially a light gray overcast sky, is often much brighter than the foreground subject. If the camera meters off the sky, it will try to darken the sky and result in the foreground subjects being way too dark. The solution here is to eliminate the sky, hold the shutter down halfway, then recompose for sky without lifting up your finger before you press all the way.