Hello everyone, sorry for long delay. Truly appreciate your in put. I jumped from a Panasonic Lumix FZ200, which I shot in M mode, to the D7100, think the transition would be an easy one. Boy, was I wrong. I'll try to post a pic later today or over the weekend. I am taking pictures of groups of dogs to share with clients on Facebook. I've been training for almost 25 years, and finding this photography thing much more complexed than any dog I've ever come across.
One day I seem to be "Yes! I finally got it!" The next" You really have no clue at all!" Never consistent results. White dogs over exposed, black dogs perfect. The next, black dogs underexposed, white dogs near perfect. I struggled tremendously with blowing out,overexposing white dogs coats. But, since I can't really dictate whether we are in direct sunlight or not(back yard) and the blown out sky in the background, I've learned to live with some slight blowout on the white dogs. Other pics are taken in the woods with lots of contrasting background, with mixed sun and shade. I'm shooting in Raw, and just starting using Lightroom to fix my extreme blunders, something I couldn't do in ViewNX2. I also struggle with choosing the right matrix and metering. A single dog, I use Single, Spot, and portrait which works just fine, with crystal clear eyes. However, trying to get clear eyes and sharp images with every dog in the group shot has been difficult to say the least. I work with timid and some extremely fearful dogs, so their patience and self control is a work in progress, and they don't always remain perfectly still as a human would, or as still as some of the other dogs that have been with me for a while. Baby steps with lots of rewards. So, I attempt to use a fast shutter speed to stop motion, in return I get dark pictures. I then step iso and aperture one step at a time but can't find a happy medium, because then the black or dark dogs are under exposed. Am I expecting to much having to some times shoot in direct sunlight? Greatly appreciate you advice and input.
Thank you again!