Need review on my landscape photo experiment

blackstar

blackstar

Senior Member
Hi,

As a newbie here did an experiment on landscape photos. The primary aim is to find the best settings for my landscape photo task (but not into Manual mode yet). Four images are picked out from my experiment result for your review, comparison, critic, and selection for the favorite. Thank you for your input. (the scene isn't an ideal one and all images are original without PP)
pic 1
2020-07-18 14.19.15-s.jpg

pic2
2020-07-18 14.19.38-1-s.jpg

pic3
2020-07-18 14.19.56-s.jpg

pic4
2020-07-18 14.21.21-s.jpg
 
hark

hark

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There is a +/- button on the top right of the D3500. Since I never used that body, I have no idea where you'd look, but most likely it will display +2.0 somewhere if you press that button.

If you are looking to do landscapes, stick to a smaller aperture such as f/8 or smaller (f/9, f/10....or smaller). Your aperture controls your depth of field (DoF). A smaller aperture gives you a greater range for DoF than a larger aperture such as f/5.6.

Keep at it! :)
 
blackstar

blackstar

Senior Member
Hi Cindy,

Thanks for replying. Now I see there is EV+2 set in camera. I don't know how, why, when it happened. AW, I have set it back to 0. So maybe I'll do my experiment again and see how it works. Basically, I want to find out which shooting mode (except M) is best (create best landscape photo) for me to use: pic1- P and iso100, pic2- S and pic100, pic3- A and iso100, pic4- A and auto iso. I also did P and auto iso, S and auto iso, but camera didn't change iso, so they are all same as pic1 and pic2. My own impression is that other than M mode, A mode is the best for landscape as to control DOF covering long range of the landscape scene.

Ok, I see Sparky's 2nd post and I think this is also the response to you.
 
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hark

hark

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I'll be honest and say I am not a fan of Auto ISO when in Aperture Priority. When I do landscape photos, I use Aperture Priority and manually set my ISO. Since I handhold my camera, my ISO tends to be somewhere between 200 and 640. There are times when I have to raise my ISO - especially when there isn't a lot of sunlight.

For the most part, my landscape aperture tends to be between f/7.1 to f/9 or f/10. My shutter speed is the value that changes automatically since the other two values (aperture and ISO) are fixed by me. But when doing that, I have to watch my shutter speed to make sure it isn't too slow for handholding.

If you are using a tripod, you can get away with slower shutter speeds. BUT you'd need to watch on windy/breezy days. If your shutter speed is too slow, flowers, branches, and leaves will sway causing a little blurred movement.

Right now you are in the learning process. Just try out some different settings until you find something that works for you. What works for me not be exactly the best for you. There is no one right answer. ;)
 
hark

hark

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Oh...and if there is a great deal of sky present in your image, you might need to use that +/- exposure button. When your scene is really bright (sand, snow, water, lots of sky, etc), the camera will want to underexpose to compensate for the brightness. When your scene is on the dark side (evening, shade, dark subjects, etc) the camera will want to overexpose to compensate for the darkness. The camera wants to produce an image that is part way between black and white. This is called 18% grey but looks to be a middle-tone grey.

So the rule of thumb is this: When the scene is bright, go brighter. When the scene is dark, go darker. What that means is when you are shooting a bright scene, use the +/- button and increase your exposure. It might only need +0.7. Or it's possible it needs +1.3 or more. And when your scene is somewhat darker, then use the +/- button and lower your exposure. This will require looking at the image afterwards to help determine just how much exposure compensation you should dial in. Just try to remember to reset your +/- to 0 when you are finished. As you already found out, if it isn't reset to 0, it can adversely affect your images the next time you pull out your camera.
 
blackstar

blackstar

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hark said:
Oh... So the rule of thumb is this: When the scene is bright, go brighter. When the scene is dark, go darker. What that means is when you are shooting a bright scene, use the +/- button and increase your exposure. It might only need +0.7. Or it's possible it needs +1.3 or more. And when your scene is somewhat darker, then use the +/- button and lower your exposure...
Click to expand...

Thanks, Cindy, for the great tips. Now I am a bit confused with this rule of thumb that seems contradictory to me. Say I set iso=100 for the daylight scene and it's a bit bright day, would I lower exposure compensation rather than increase? When I took those experimental shots, I was aware of it's pretty bright there, so I set iso to the lowest 100 without knowing exp comp was set to +2. The result was over-exposed images and I thought it was because of +2 exp comp. So what's the catch?
 
B

Bengan

Senior Member
Landscape photography and Aperture priority go well together. Auto ISO is fine as long as you keep track of it.
Your best friend is always the histogram. Make sure it is visible on preview and learn how to use it. It will help you with exposure/exposure compensation as well as keeping blacks and whites within range.
 
hark

hark

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blackstar said:
Thanks, Cindy, for the great tips. Now I am a bit confused with this rule of thumb that seems contradictory to me. Say I set iso=100 for the daylight scene and it's a bit bright day, would I lower exposure compensation rather than increase? When I took those experimental shots, I was aware of it's pretty bright there, so I set iso to the lowest 100 without knowing exp comp was set to +2. The result was over-exposed images and I thought it was because of +2 exp comp. So what's the catch?
Click to expand...

The best way to explain it is to show you. Here is an image that had a great deal of sky in it. No adjustments were made other than to resize for the forum. Since I knew I had to raise my exposure - when it's bright, go brighter - I adjusted in camera for EV +1.3 stops.

As Shot.jpg


So I took this same image into Camera RAW and lowered my exposure to -1.3 to simulate what the image would have looked like if I hadn't adjusted the exposure in camera (as if it was shot at EV 0). Can you see how much darker it is? That's because when a scene is very bright, the camera will want to lower the exposure to bring the brightness down to be halfway between white and black.

If no exposure adjustment was made in camera.jpg
 
Browncoat

Browncoat

Senior Member
blackstar said:
Basically, I want to find out which shooting mode (except M) is best (create best landscape photo) for me to use...
Click to expand...

Full stop. This is the issue right here.

Camera auto modes suck. They're designed to get people taking pics quickly and most people just stay in that comfort zone. It's like riding a bike and never taking the training wheels off. If you have any interest in taking your photography to the next level, the first step is ditching auto mode by learning the Exposure Triangle:


  • Shutter speed
  • Aperture
  • ISO

There are a lot of great articles on the interwebs, which are a great place to start.


triangle-960x469.jpg
 
4

480sparky

Senior Member
blackstar said:
...... Basically, I want to find out which shooting mode (except M) is best (create best landscape photo) for me to use: .........
Click to expand...


Mode is not relevant.

1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Manual mode is identical to 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Auto mode, 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Shutter priority mode, 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Aperture priority mode, and 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Program mode.

Understanding how shutter speed, aperture and ISO affect the final outcome is what matters.

Bryan Peterson has an excellent book titled Understanding Exposure. Check it out.
 
Browncoat

Browncoat

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480sparky said:
Mode is not relevant.

1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Manual mode is identical to 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Auto mode, 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Shutter priority mode, 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Aperture priority mode, and 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 in Program mode.
Click to expand...

If the perfect exposure for a scene is 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 - the odds of auto mode landing at that exposure are almost zero, especially for landscape photography. You probably wouldn't get that in 10 tries or more.

Mode is relevant. Otherwise there wouldn't be modes at all.
 
4

480sparky

Senior Member
Browncoat said:
If the perfect exposure for a scene is 1/125, f/8 ISO 200 - the odds of auto mode landing at that exposure are almost zero, especially for landscape photography. You probably wouldn't get that in 10 tries or more.

Mode is relevant. Otherwise there wouldn't be modes at all.
Click to expand...

If there were no modes, your camera wouldn't function. Modes are merely means to the end. You need to understand shutter speed, aperture and ISO, then use the mode that best gets you the results you desire.

There's no one-size-fits-all mode that will work best in all situations. Shooting in Aperture mode may work fine for landscapes, but fail miserably when shooting sports.
 
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