Photographers: Suggested settings help

In My Humble Opinion
1

I took Photography 101 way back in journalism school in 1999 or so. I really liked it but I pretty much forgot most of it beyond loading the camera.

I’ve been recruited to take a B&W portrait of my brother and his dog as a gift for his fiancee …and, er…I need some help.

I’ve got a SLR camera with Kodak Professional 400 B&W film. The camera has a 50mm lens. The photo will be taken outdoors and it’s still up in the air (pun) as to whether it’ll be taken in full sun or in cloudy weather. The subject will be wearing black and white and has dark hair, the dog is white, the backdrop is a little pond with trees behind it.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what settings I need to use? The film speed is set on the camera. I know how to use the light meter pretty much. I do have 24 exposures and only need to get one right - but you know how it is with dogs, half of the shots may be of her butt or something.

My camera is old school (Canon AE-1 Program ) but it still has a lot of extra settings…hoping to just get a general guide. And yes, I will be re-reading the manual.

Thanks!

2

First, do you have a tripod? If so, I would recommend going with a slower film, like 200 or even 100. It will require a longer exposure, but the resulting image will be of much better detail. For portraits I like to go with the slowest I can get away with.

For outdoor photography, the basic rule-of-thumb to get you started with settings is the “sunny 16 rule,” which means if it’s a sunny day, start at f/16 with a shutter speed matching your film speed. E.g. if you’re shooting on 100-speed film, set the shutter speed to 1/100 second. If you’re still unsure, take the shot and then take two more with the aperture adjusted one stop in either direction.

3

Black and white film is typically more forgiving of slight exposure errors than colour film - photographs that would look dull and lifeless in colour can look moody and dramatic in B&W. Having said that, however, it’s important to get as close to a good exposure as possible.

As friedo noted, the Sunny 16 rule is a good place to start. I wouldn’t shoot the picture at f/16, though, for two reasons. The most important one is that at F/16, you’d essentially have an infinite depth of field - the subject and the background would both be in sharp focus, making the background a distraction. You’d get a much more pleasing blurred background if you shoot at a larger aperture; say F/4 or thereabouts. This, for example, was taken at F/2.5, from a distance of about 2-3m.

I’m not sure how much you know about the relation between shutter speed, aperture and exposure, so forgive me if this is stuff you’re already aware of.

Having a larger aperture (smaller F number) means a wider diaphragm on the lens => more light coming in => higher shutter speed. I’m assuming you’re shooting with a standard 50mm F/1.8 lens (which is what most AE-1s came with, IIRC) which means your creative options are quite wide. Moving from F/16 to F/4 means going up four stops (F/16 to F/8 is two stops, and F/8 to F/4 is another two), so your shutter speed needs to be doubled 4 times. In other words, 1/6400 of a second at F/4 will give you the same exposure as 1/400 of a second at F/16, so you’re still following the Sunny 16 rule. Your camera can’t shoot over 1/1000 of a second, which is a very good reason to use slower film.

In shady conditions, I’d typically allow one stop less, so I’d be shooting at 1/200 at F/16, or 1/800 at F/4. I think you might be better served by shooting on a cloudy day, partly because there’s less light (which in this case is a good thing) but also because the light is softer and more diffuse. Portraits in direct sunlight can be very unforgiving, with harsh shadows and too much contrast. At the very least, you should look to using a reflector of sorts, if it’s at all possible, to balance out the light.

Shooting outdoors allows you plenty of latitude in terms of type of film, so I’d look to getting slightly slower film (ISO 200 or 100), also as noted by friedo. I wouldn’t say that you need a tripod at these shutter speeds, though, but it never hurts. As noted above, it will also allow you to use a larger aperture and get a more pleasing portrait.

Sorry if this is all a bit too much; but feel free to ask questions!

4

Thanks fellas - your input has been helpful. Devorin’s explanations helped bring back some memories from photography class.

It is indeed overcast today (we’re going to shoot today). I won’t be buying slower film today BUT if things turn out bad, I will get slower film and try again.

And no, I do not have a tripod :frowning:

BTW friedo I had never heard of “Sunny 16”…other than a Ben Folds album. Oddly enough, I am going to see him today and now I know what his album name means!

5

Hmmm…I don’t know about this. I’d think he’d want to keep the shutter speed relatively high. Dogs and children aren’t always into the whole sitting still thing. I’d try to keep the shutter speed above 1/200 to cut down on the chance of motion blur.

Devorin pretty much covered most of what I would have said. A 50mm at f1.8 or f2.0 would make for a pleasant portrait shot with in-focus models nicely separated from an out-of-focus background. As stated, you’d need a slower film, esp. in brighter conditions but I’d recommend shooting on cloudy or overcast days. The light is softer and less directional so you won’t have unflattering shadows and your brother won’t be making the dreaded squinty face look.

If you really wanted to be ambitious, I’d experiment with a home-made reflector. Since most outdoor light comes from above, try wrapping a large piece of cardboard with some very crinkled tin foil and then placing it below your models (and out of frame). This will reflect some of the light back-up onto your models, lightening shadows and allowing more detail to show through. This might be tricky, though, especially if the dog is restless or you want some action shots.