Looking for Photography Tips for Family Graduation Photos

Hello,

I am rather new to the DSLR, and learning the basics of good combination of ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed. I just got a new camera (D5200) in time for a relatives graduation that will be in a stadium environment. Does anyone have any tips for shooting pictures at the ceremony? Things to keep in mind etc.. I do not have my tripod yet, so I won't be able to use it.

Also any tips for shooting pictures for the reception afterwords? I am basically at square 0. Should I bother taking pictures in RAW format, or just use JPG for now? I do own photoshop and lightroom, but mostly use photoshop in the past for other projects.

My lenses are 15-55 kit lens, and a 70-300 nikkor (old film kit model that does not autofocus with dslr). I also have a UV filter and a polarized filter.

First of all read the manual cover to cover. If you do not have one, download the PDF from Nikon site.
Do a similar exercise for View NX-2.

. Before the D-day, try out your camera in similar light. Start with aperture priority - ISO 100, and fastest aperture on your kit lense. Then cycle at different ISO - 200 to 6400.
. If the kit is 18-55, try a few shots at 18, 35 and 55mm, to get an idea of the field of view.
. If you find that the speed is too low and your images are blurred, then up the ISO gradually till there is no blur.
. The older 70-300 is pretty bad at 300, but workable between 70 and 200. Try to be within this range if you require the reach, else avoid it.
. Do your trial photography both with and without the inbuilt flash. To use flash in aperture priority mode, just pop it up manually - there is a button on the side which does it.
. Once you figure out what is the maximum ISO that gives you least acceptable noise, use it indoors if flash is not allowed, else better stick to ISO 100 with flash.

As a last resort, if are getting no where after following the above steps, then use the idiot proof mode - "P". That makes your camera a P&S, so you aim, press the shutter half way to focus and then press it fully to shoot.

Shoot RAW, and view them in View NX-2 which comes with the camera. If it is not there download the software and load it in your computer. The advantages of shooting RAW is that you can recover a lot of highlights and shadows, which is difficult (if not impossible) in jpeg. Once you are satisfied with the RAW image, convert it to jpeg from View NX itself.

As you shoot and process the images, you can come back here and clarify your doubts and seek further guidance.

Here are three things I tell people who need to learn photography in just a few minutes. Following these guidelines will drastically improve your shots overall:
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Your 18-55mm should be fine for most of these shots; you can forget about the filters. I would suggest you shot RAW + JPG so you can minimize processing time. JPG's will be fine for most shots right out of the camera, but if you feel like you really nailed a shot, you can go to the RAW version and really work with it.

ProTip: If you haven't already done so, go into the camera menus and adjust the "Sharpening" setting. This one adjustment will make a huge difference in the overall sharpness of your shots:

Menu > Shooting Menu (camera icon on left) > Set Picture Control. Click right using the four-way button and then drop down to "Standard". Click right again and then drop down the "Sharpness" setting. Increase this setting +6. Press OK, OK, etc. If you want better saturation I suggest you try using "Landscape" instead of "Standard" but that's a personal choice sort of thing. You'll need to adjust the "Sharpness" setting in whatever mode you choose to use (Standard, Vivid, Landscape, or Neutral) however.

Key Words: Fill the frame; Clean backgrounds; Rule of Thirds.

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Thanks for the tips. For the reception pictures, should my cameras flash be enough to kill shadows, or should I bring my flash attachment (sb-600)?

BJM said:

Thanks for the tips. For the reception pictures, should my cameras flash be enough to kill shadows, or should I bring my flash attachment (sb-600)?

Click to expand...

Hard to say if the on-board will be enough. You can bounce the '600, though, which you can't do with the on-board flash and that's reason enough to bring the big gun right there in my opinion.
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