DSLR setting Cheat Sheet Required

[smokes]

Hi I have been forced by my wife to buy a DSLR. As I have to go to a big fat 3 day indian wedding in Mauritius and put up with the mother in law for 2 weeks.....

I am looking for a cheat sheet to set the focus aperture and iso and shutter speeds for a Nikon DSLR D5300 with a kit 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens

For Taking photos of the wedding and people with various skin tones from very light to very dark with brightly coloured dress in strong outdoor daylight and indoors in a temple /marquee

And also for taking pictures of people outdoors at night in in lit environment or a marquee.

Also I am looking for recommendations on using a lens filter to reduce the shininess of sweaty skin. it tend to be worse at night.

I am also looking at a 35mm f/1.8 prime lens to use in darker environments. would you recomend a cheap flash as well.

Regards Sammy

[VintageRacer]

Wow, I wish my wife would force me to buy camera kit!

Definately get a 35mm f1.8, you won't regret it and may find it's on the camera more than the 18-55. You may find you only use the 18-55 for the 18-24 ish range. I use a 10-24, 35, 50, 80-200 and don't feel I am missing any focal lengths.

I would suggest considering hiring (or buying if your budget stretches far enough) a telephoto for head+shoulders shot portraits of one or two people. Longer lenses, 100mm+ are much more flattering and if you get a fast one can soften the background nicely. Something like the 70-200 f4 would be a good choice (the f2.8 version would be nicer but a bit heavy for travel(?) and more expensive).

Flash wise, I'd go for a Nikon SB-400 for just over £100. The only reasons I have a bigger flash is to allow tilt and swivel rather than just tilt, and to allow off camera operation with my camera's flash commander mode which I don't think the d5300 has.

As for camera settings:

I think your biggest problem will be the overly bright sun creating large contrast giving you over exposed bright areas and/or under exposed shadow. There are some good tips here http://neilvn.com/tangents/photograp...arsh-sunlight/

Assuming you are getting your camera kit in plenty of time, I would spend time learning how to
* use the different metering options so you can correctly expose for the subject rather than the background.
* use the flash to fill in shadows when the sun is behind the subject.

Avoid the sun falling across the face as this gives nasty looking shadows.

As the light fades, avoid using the flash as much as possible, they tend to give un-natural images unless used well, use the 35mm at f1.8 and as high ISO as you think your camera can manage without getting too noisy. Most modern digital SLR's will go to 1600 no problem. As long as you hold steady and your subject doesn't move, you should get sharp (enough) shots at 1/40s. But go higher if you can, subjects tend to move a lot when they dance!

If you have to use the flash, bounce it off the ceiling or wall (preferably not a coloured one, but that is out of your control) to avoid the harsh direct light.

Another technique you may like is slow sync flash. The fast burst of light from the flash freezes motion at that moment but the slower shutter speed (experiment to find what works) blurs the movement. It is an interesting way to capture the atmosphere of a party. http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/09/...ing-reception/

[smokes]

Got a month to learn how to do this.

I don't want to be lugging lots of kit around or learning new equipment.

I think I will buy the lens its cheap at 129 quid new.

I just need to figure out best option for the flash so i can use it after many beers.

[VintageRacer]

Originally Posted by smokes

I don't want to be lugging lots of kit around or learning new equipment.

Another option is to pay for my flights, accomodation and food for a few days in Mauritius and I will carry your equipment for you (and even lend you some of mine).

[Coastal]

If the camera has the setting shoot in RAW mode, you can then process the images far easier, even to altering your exposure if you got it wrong, adjust highlights, colours, remove any colour cast due to lighting and loads of other adjustments

[The Doktor]

heres the best cheat sheet ever...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understandin...nding+exposure


don't waste your time with ANY other books until you read that. Youll get through it in a couple of hours and it will have u taking decent shots in no time.

though after reading it, you will forever think of ISO as bees with buckets of light...........

[VintageRacer]

Originally Posted by Coastal

If the camera has the setting shoot in RAW mode, you can then process the images far easier, even to altering your exposure if you got it wrong, adjust highlights, colours, remove any colour cast due to lighting and loads of other adjustments

Given that OP has lots to learn already, I don't think adding RAW processing into the mix would be a good idea. At most I would suggest RAW + JPG option, at least then there is a JPG ready to use immediately and RAW if it is needed.

I'd say they would be better shooting more frames and learning what makes a good photo before getting concerned with RAW.

Another thought: I would advise taking a netbook or some other way to backup your photos while you are there. Pack the backup in a different bag to your memory cards on the way home.

[Coastal]

Originally Posted by VintageRacer

Given that OP has lots to learn already, I don't think adding RAW processing into the mix would be a good idea. At most I would suggest RAW + JPG option, at least then there is a JPG ready to use immediately and RAW if it is needed.

I'd say they would be better shooting more frames and learning what makes a good photo before getting concerned with RAW.

Another thought: I would advise taking a netbook or some other way to backup your photos while you are there. Pack the backup in a different bag to your memory cards on the way home.

RAW processing is quite simple if you are just adjusting exposures, highlights & shadows, agree though RAW + jpeg would be a good option.

[smokes]

Starting to figure it out the 35MM 1.8g prime lens is really good, but it even better with a polarised filter for bright days and UV filter for the rest.

I am figuring out that the

ISO = the exposure rate the higher the number the noisier the picture due to the fast exposure rate. Not sure how much I will notice the noise unless I magnify the pictures up on a big print. No one seems to use ISO 100 though. Any tips on what iso to use in taking pictures of people?

Aperture = lower the number the more light can be focused on to the CMOS sensor which will allow you exposed the picture faster. if you have low light conditions 1.8g is awesome especially with the built in flash for night time or indoors. going up a few stops for brighter days help with over exposure.

Shutter speed = need to experiment more with it on moving objects to show motion blur on slow shutter speeds.

Does any one have any quick tips on focusing to generate what is call Bokeh I have got it to work by getting the the lens to focus on the object closest to the lens. Am I doing that right?

Need to play with the white balance setting and exposure a bit more but I think the Camera LCD does not give a true representation of the picture.
Any recommended setting for a d5300?

Also I have been using Manual mode most of the time. any tips on when to use aperture and shutter priority mode?

Also do you take your laptop with you on holiday to save the pictures on?
I am really trying to keep the amount of electronics that I take with me down to the bare minimum.