Getting the best cruise pictures...?s for the experienced...

Going on our first cruise at the end of April. Purchased an entry level Canon DSLR for the trip. I was hoping some of the pro's here could share tips on how to get the best pics in difficult situations.

Example my understanding is that a bright sunny day at the beach is a nightmare to get the settings right. I really want to get some of those pics that I see of the white sand, blue sky and blue water.

Another is sunsets. How to get the best picture where the colors all show and the sun itself doesnt wash the picture out etc. Ive tried pictures of sunset with a P&S camera where the baby blue sky and bright orange of the edges of the clouds are fantastic but the picture looks so blahhh and not even close to what the true sight was....

These are the couple that come to mind, but any others you can think of would be appreciated!

I rely on Lightroom or Picasa for editing the colors of my pics to reflect what I saw if it didn't come out the way I liked.

The best way to manipulate colors is to shoot in RAW format and then edit photos in lightroom or Picasa. I personally haven't done this yet, but going to experiment now that I have my SL1!

I always got pretty fantastic photos using auto focus mode on my DSLR (my old 2006 8MP Rebel XT canon took great shots).

If you can, keep sunlight behind photographer if you are shooting a particular subject/person. Shooting directly into sunlight is no bueno. Unless of course you do it on purpose to get those pretty rays of sunlight and reflections in landscape pics.

Use the rule of thirds for composing pics - if you have a pretty landscape and you are taking a pic of your SO, put the SO off center so you get both landscape and SO in pic :)

I rely on Lightroom or Picasa for editing the colors of my pics to reflect what I saw if it didn't come out the way I liked.

 

The best way to manipulate colors is to shoot in RAW format and then edit photos in lightroom or Picasa. I personally haven't done this yet, but going to experiment now that I have my SL1!

 

I always got pretty fantastic photos using auto focus mode on my DSLR (my old 2006 8MP Rebel XT canon took great shots).

 

If you can, keep sunlight behind photographer if you are shooting a particular subject/person. Shooting directly into sunlight is no bueno. Unless of course you do it on purpose to get those pretty rays of sunlight and reflections in landscape pics.

 

Use the rule of thirds for composing pics - if you have a pretty landscape and you are taking a pic of your SO, put the SO off center so you get both landscape and SO in pic :)

Post processing is key. Lightroom is sort of the standard. Adobe basically took all of the relevant PS features and put them into a cheaper, standalone. I use Lightroom for 95% of my post-proc work. It's quite easy to use once you learn what different things do. There are plenty of good youtube tutorials.

For actual photography, yeah...keep the sun behind you if you can. There's nothing "wrong" with using automatic mode, but I think the sooner you learn manual mode, the better. Autofocus is good these days and other than specific scenarios (fast moving stuff, dark stuff, etc), you don't really need to worry about manually focusing. I use AF probably 80% of the time (and 100% of the time when I'm taking more candid type pics). For the most part, the camera will be quicker than you will.

Since it's digital, don't be scared to take A LOT of pics. SDcards are cheap and take up zero space, so no real reason to worry about filling up a card. I regularly filled up a 16gb CFcard every day on my honeymoon cruise (my wife and I enjoy taking pics....maybe a bit too much). We might get 10-20 good pics out of it, but it wasn't like we lost anything by doing that. Experiment with settings and exposure levels. If the subject(s) are getting blown out, turn down the exposure (increase the shutter speed or aperture) a half step or so.

Also, circular polarizers are fantastic for bringing out some great color. I keep one attached to my 70-200 almost all the time.

Most DSLR cameras come with a lot of different shooting modes based upon your specific situation. On my Nikon, I can choose the Scenes, such as Indoor Party, Outdoor beach or snow, Candlelight, Sports, Night time, etc.

Works pretty well. But, like anything, practice practice practice. Also, make sure you understand how aperture and shutter speed effect your pictures.

Going on our first cruise at the end of April. Purchased an entry level Canon DSLR for the trip. I was hoping some of the pro's here could share tips on how to get the best pics in difficult situations.

 

Example my understanding is that a bright sunny day at the beach is a nightmare to get the settings right. I really want to get some of those pics that I see of the white sand, blue sky and blue water.

 

Another is sunsets. How to get the best picture where the colors all show and the sun itself doesnt wash the picture out etc. Ive tried pictures of sunset with a P&S camera where the baby blue sky and bright orange of the edges of the clouds are fantastic but the picture looks so blahhh and not even close to what the true sight was....

 

These are the couple that come to mind, but any others you can think of would be appreciated!

I just posted a high-level approach to settings in the 'Photographing Dolphins' thread here, so I'd start with that.

For your beach shots, learn to experiment with your exposure compensation knob. Consider bumping it down to keep the brightest areas from being washed out. I live with -1/3 dialed into all but two of our cameras (two of them allow me to dial in "AE microadjustment", for which I've chosen -3/8, so I can leave the exposure comp at default most of the time). When I use flash outdoors, I find a lot of success with -1EC and letting the flash bring my subject up to normal brightness. That tends to give great wispy clouds.

For sunsets and such, consider exposure bracketing to get a range of intensities, then explore your software editing tools to really pull the colors out of your shots.

Invest in a circular adjustable Polarizing Filter. You will need to step down the f stop and shoot a little slower speed, but you will capture good color of the water and sand. Other filter such as Neutral Density (ND2) provides good detail in bright sunlight. But it does take practice, most important keep sun behind you. With no filters except you should have UV shooting with sun toward your back set your ISO to 100 and use 1/125 for speed, and f11 you will get good results.

Invest in a circular adjustable Polarizing Filter. You will need to step down the f stop and shoot a little slower speed, but you will capture good color of the water and sand.

You're going to have to explain to me why there's a need to stop down with a CPL. You're already losing light through the CPL. It'll help with the color of the water if adjusted correctly, but the sand should stay the same color (CPL usually only helps shiny surfaces).

Other filter such as Neutral Density (ND2) provides good detail in bright sunlight. But it does take practice, most important keep sun behind you.

Again, please explain how the ND2 helps with detail in bright sunlight. I'd think the OP would be better off simply tweaking EC to keep detail in the highlights. Also, ND2 isn't much of an ND - if there's a need for ND, I'd think 3-stop or 6-stop is necessary to get one's money's worth out of a filter.

With no filters except you should have UV shooting with sun toward your back set your ISO to 100 and use 1/125 for speed, and f11 you will get good results.

"Sunny 16" says on a sunny day, f/16 and shutter speed equal to 1/ISO does the trick. ISO 100, 1/125, and f/11 would probably be 2/3 stop under-exposed.

I used 2 steps underexposed to get some good sunsets a couple of weeks ago.

Thank you to everyone who is posting replies. I am taking it all in and will be practicing with suggestions prior to April!

Any others can keep posting, Im "listening"!

THank you again!

This has nothing to do with the camera itself, but I look for cruise reviews with photos and, when I see a photo I like, I then try to analyze it to see why it strikes me as a super nice photo. I've even copied some photos onto my iPad so I can easily look at them again, which serves as inspiration and gives me ideas when I'm on the ship or a particular port.

Both of these scenes have large differences in light within them. You might want to learn how to use HDR (High Dynamic Range) where you meld together an underexposed, an overexposed and true exposure into one image. This will brighten shadow area and darken otherwise blowout areas.

Glenn:cool:

Learn about exposure. A good start is a book called "understanding exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It will help big time if you don't know anything about exposure (and that's what photography is all about) get the shot you want.

Learn about exposure. A good start is a book called "understanding exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It will help big time if you don't know anything about exposure (and that's what photography is all about) get the shot you want.

+1 on recommending this book. It deals with the "exposure triangle" (aperture, ISO, shutter). After several years of learning photography, I've realized there are essentially only six key variables to your shot:

1) Aperture

2) ISO

3) Shutter

4) White Balance

5) AF action (does it focus and stop, or does it continuously focus right up until the shot is taken)

6) AF point(s) and how you and/or the camera picks them.

There's a #7, in that "continuous fire" (aka high-speed drive) could influence how quickly you can get the next shot. There's also the possibility that you tell the camera to choose values for any of 1-6 automatically, so if that's your thing, there's nothing wrong with that.

I personally prefer to control aperture and ISO; the camera chooses shutter speed for me, but I keep an eye on it and adjust ISO (possibly aperture too) to keep the shutter speed in a suitable range. I always set WB, though I shoot in RAW and can correct it well afterward. I always use continuous focus, though I've reconfigured the "AF-ON" thumb button to instead be an "AF-OFF" for those times when I need to lock focus then aim elsewhere. I answer item 6 depending on what I'm shooting.

As a beginner, I suggest you follow the advice above, the simplest to understand book on the fundamentals of all photography, but little known by 80% of photographers.

Bryon's book is a classic for beginners because it does not use math, and his encouraging, optimistic attitude makes learning the very essence of photography: light and shadows.

He has other books on composition and "seeing" good shots before picking up the camera.

I have been shooting for many decades and am moderator for the world's largest Nikon community forums so these questions come up daily.

The model and sophistication of camera matters almost not at all between award winning photos and boring snap shots, all the cameras available today are very capable but usually take uninspired, uninteresting snap shots. It is not the camera when those shots are the result. I have licensed a number of photos for use in cruise catalogs by the major cruise lines and no one can tell the difference between images from my lowest cost entry level camera, a D90 or my high resolution D800 with $10,000 in lenses attached to it in the finished image. All that means is that you are more responsible for whether an image is worth looking at, and the camera is not a factor at all. Once you realize that fact, it can save a tremendous amount of money on upgrades not done.

Post specific scene questions for more specific answers.

As others have suggested learning post processing is part of having digital. It appears that the camera takes care of everything, and for snap shots it does a very good job but for photos you would like to show others with pride, it will require learning the basics of post processing. In the film days, most people sent their exposed film to a developer who processed them and made prints for you. We really had little control of how they looked after the shutter was clicked. Frequently the exposure was wrong or there was a color cast or some other common mistake but we never saw them because chemical processing and printing added adjustments that made everything look OK.

Now, with digital, you have the responsibility to make the adjustments and enhancements and have a much wider range of options so there is no excuse when something turns out badly, no developer or camera problems to blame.

For widest adjustment range, shooting in RAW format is the best option, since it gives you access to the pixel by pixel data from the sensor before a compression program such as JPG format tosses away most of the data to create a smaller file and one that can be viewed on a computer or tablet directly. The files are much larger so consider what you are going to use the images for when selecting the capture data format. JPG files are small and can be viewed directly but they are the digital equivalent to a drugstore film processor, easy and you do not have to think but not good enough for important shots that you might want printed large.

For widest adjustment range, shooting in RAW format is the best option, since it gives you access to the pixel by pixel data from the sensor before a compression program such as JPG format tosses away most of the data to create a smaller file and one that can be viewed on a computer or tablet directly. The files are much larger so consider what you are going to use the images for when selecting the capture data format. JPG files are small and can be viewed directly but they are the digital equivalent to a drugstore film processor, easy and you do not have to think but not good enough for important shots that you might want printed large.

True 10 years ago when sensor dynamic range, in-camera JPEG engines and post-processing software were in the digital Iron Age. Modern cameras have come a long way in their ability to capture and process an image and software like Lightroom which allow JPEG to be adjusted using the same tools as a RAW file make shooting RAW an option for excellent images, not a necessity. Comparing JPEG to a drugstore processor is actually a good one. A modern Noritsu film/print processor can make automatic adjustments and create better prints than almost any home darkroom in a fraction of the time. Recommending that someone new to a DSLR only shoot RAW can lead to a lot of frustration. (I don't remember the guy at the camera shop recommending that I buy a bunch of darkroom equipment "to make better prints" when I bought my first DSLR 40 years ago! :D) RAW can be a valuable option if truly needed or if you just like to tinker with your images a lot but the literal billions of dollars spent on sensor and processor development by camera makers make a Program mode JPEG an excellent option for a beginner and will likely result in excellent images.

To ditvermont: Set your camera on P mode, read the aforementioned "Understanding Exposure" book to learn how to use the exposure compensation wisely (overexpose for scenes with bright sand or snow, etc.) and shoot away. All the options of the camera can be useful, but your first vacation out with a new camera isn't the time to try to learn them all. Play with settings in your down time (sea day?) but for the most part, let the little supercomputer built into the camera help you and have fun!

Here's a link to the gallery from our last Caribbean trip which was shot entirely in JPEG and 99% in Aperture Priority mode. I still recommend P mode to start out, but personally have found that Aperture Priority serves me best and has since cameras had that setting. Your mileage may vary

http://galleries.pptphoto.com/reflection2013

Here's a link to an article I researched and wrote in response to an awful lot of RAW vs. JPEG discussions: http://www.pptphoto.com/articles/rawvsjpeg.html

Happy shooting!

Dave

...when I bought my first DSLR 40 years ago!

Yeah...it was a typo. Been putting that D in front of SLR for a little too long!

Dave

A lot has to do with your prior experience with SLR or DSLR cameras. If this is your first one, Creative Live has a lot of video courses (camera specific) by John Greengo that go through all the features of the camera and how to use them, set them etc.

http://www.creativelive.com/instructor/john-greengo

There is also a 5 day online course coming up by John on Fundamentals of digital photography coming up on Jan 20th. free to watch online.

http://www.creativelive.com/courses/fundamentals-digital-photography-2014-john-greengo Creative Live often puts all the presenters classes on sale when there is a live class by that person.

That being said, for your vacation, unless you are really comfortable with manual settings, use the auto features & burst mode and enjoy your vacation. Missed shots can't be recovered, but shots that aren't the greatest can be tweaked.

Well, Ive already purchased the Petersen book and read it thru. Plan on reading again. I have worked with P mode a small bit and will try that as well. I plan on doing some practice this winter with the snow around before we leave in April!

Thanks again all, I appreciate all the responses and help. Im hoping to have some nice pics to post when I return!

Well, Ive already purchased the Petersen book and read it thru. Plan on reading again. I have worked with P mode a small bit and will try that as well. I plan on doing some practice this winter with the snow around before we leave in April!

 

Thanks again all, I appreciate all the responses and help. Im hoping to have some nice pics to post when I return!

That is one if the best things about digital you and practice practice practice till you are sick and tired of pushing the shutter button and it doesn't cost you any money. Have fun and don't be afraid to put it in "M" mode and experiment, you can't screw anything up and it can be fun to see what happens when you turn this and that. ;)

Its funny because years ago I had a 35mm SLR camera given to me. I had NO idea what all those numbers and dials were. I had a friend take a look, just told me set this for your film number (ISO), Turn this knob and then this dial until that little line is centered and snap the picture. I didnt really know WHAT each of those things were doing but I did what I was told and my pics came out pretty darn good.

Then came P&S digitals, I didnt have to know much of anything. Now for some reason, the DSLR with all its buttons and settings again and striking fear in my heart to go to the M setting! When in reality Ive done it in the past!!! But as you say, I can shoot all I want and it basically costs me nothing!

Its funny because years ago I had a 35mm SLR camera given to me. I had NO idea what all those numbers and dials were. I had a friend take a look, just told me set this for your film number (ISO), Turn this knob and then this dial until that little line is centered and snap the picture. I didnt really know WHAT each of those things were doing but I did what I was told and my pics came out pretty darn good.

 

Then came P&S digitals, I didnt have to know much of anything. Now for some reason, the DSLR with all its buttons and settings again and striking fear in my heart to go to the M setting! When in reality Ive done it in the past!!! But as you say, I can shoot all I want and it basically costs me nothing!

I wrote an article on low-light shooting that contains a newbie-friendly explanation of the "trinity of exposure"; ISO, shutter speed and aperture. It may help with the basics.

http://www.pptphoto.com/articles/lowlight.html

Dave

Dave

Excellent write up. Still reading all your writings and like the fact you write in easy to understand way. Makes taking pictures that much more fun and enjoyable.

MUCH APPRECIATED.

TOM :cool::cool:

Here's a link to the gallery from our last Caribbean trip which was shot entirely in JPEG and 99% in Aperture Priority mode. I still recommend P mode to start out, but personally have found that Aperture Priority serves me best and has since cameras had that setting. Your mileage may vary

 

http://galleries.pptphoto.com/reflection2013

 

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

Absolutely LOVED your pictures. I have a Canon Rebel XS that I am planning to bring with us on our cruise next month. I will heed your advice and shoot in JPEG in P Mode, not sure I understand it or Aperature Priority. But if I get only 1 shot as beautiful as yours I'll be happy. Thank you for sharing.

Sheila

I will heed your advice and shoot in JPEG in P Mode, not sure I understand it or Aperture Priority.

Big picture, there are perhaps six adjustments/variables that factor into getting "a shot": shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, drive mode (one shot vs. rapid-fire), and auto-focus adjustments (continuously AF or focus-once-and-stop; which AF point or auto select). Add in two more if you have a flash onboard or atop the camera: flash/no-flash, how much flash.

Green-box ("full auto") lets the camera choose all of those for you, and it generally picks middle-of-the-road values for all where it can.

P ("mostly auto") lets you choose white balance (can still be auto), flash/no-flash, drive mode, AF adjustments, and ISO (your Rebel doesn't have auto-ISO).

Icon modes are somewhere in-between green-box and P: some decisions are made for you, others are up to you. Sports mode might DISABLE the flash, while night portrait might enable flash but balance flash/ambient different than portrait, etc.

Av means you control the aperture, in addition to anything else offered to you in P. (The camera will control the shutter speed for you.)

Tv means you control the shutter speed, in addition to anything else offered to you in P. (The camera will control the aperture for you.)

M means you control everything (except perhaps flash/no-flash, and how much flash, unless you also put the flash into M).

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Just ordered the book for my kindle too. I've got a month to do some practicing and appreciate you sharing your knowledge.:):):):)