Need help please - Newbie who can't figure out how NOT to take a dark picture

L

LDB

New member
Hi there,

First of all, thank you so much to anyone who can help me on this. I have spent so much time trying to figure this out to the point where I'm wondering if there's something wrong with my camera, despite it being brand new.

Here is basically the problem. No matter what kind of lighting I take my photos in, they come out dark. I've taken photos in direct sunlight and they come out dark. Today, I have some examples I took.

1.jpg
This photo was taken with an artificial light source mere inches from it, and a reflector card. My settings I believe were Shutter speed about 20, aperture 7.1, and ISO 100.

I tried lowering the shutter speed all the way down to 2 and got this.
2.jpg
One after another, blurry photos, even on my tripod. I assume it's because the shutter speed was taking too long and that left a split second for it to wiggle, I don't know.

If someone could tell me what I'm doing wrong, I'd appreciate it immensely. I'm so disheartened because I want to get better at photography, but I just can't get over this hurdle. Thank you.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
Maybe opening the lens a bit more?

f/25 doesn't improve the light collecting.

What mode are you shooting in because your settings aren't very good for those shots?
 
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R

rocketman122

Senior Member
LDB said:
Hi there,

First of all, thank you so much to anyone who can help me on this. I have spent so much time trying to figure this out to the point where I'm wondering if there's something wrong with my camera, despite it being brand new.

Here is basically the problem. No matter what kind of lighting I take my photos in, they come out dark. I've taken photos in direct sunlight and they come out dark. Today, I have some examples I took.


This photo was taken with an artificial light source mere inches from it, and a reflector card. My settings I believe were Shutter speed about 20, aperture 7.1, and ISO 100.
Click to expand...

you sure? the exif shows something else.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
The Exposure Compensation has been set to a value of -1.00EV on your camera (the EXIF data is telling me so) which is what is making your shots appear a little dark. Press and hold the Exposure Compensation button (the one with the "+/-" markings that's on the top of your camera and near the shutter button) while turning the Command Wheel. Do this until the readout displays 0.0 (no Exposure Compensation). Now try taking your shots again.

Helpful Link on Exposure Compensation

....
 
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P

paul04

Senior Member
Welcome to the website.

Like J-see said F25 is a little high, try F10, and put the exposure comp back to 0, its on -1 at the moment.

Looking at the 1st picture. The light looks like its on the left hand side, just looking at the shadows, so maybe change your poisoning to get the best of the light.
 
L

LDB

New member
@J-see I was shooting in Shutter Priority, thanks for the advice
@rocketman122 No I was trying in both Aperture and Shutter Priority

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my post and try to help me out, I really appreciate it. It seems Horoscope Fish, paul04, and Don Kuykendall, you were spot on. As soon as I changed the Exposure Compensation, the shots looked totally normal. I would've never known to do that.

Thanks everybody!
 
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