Fortunately, the spotlight was on the presentation.  I turned off the flash, found the ISO settings – those control the light sensitivity of the digital flash card –  and set it for a high sensitivity level,  pushed my telephoto out to the maximum to get the reading and frame the shot, and went for it.

The light sensitivity reading was high enough to cause the camera to set a fast shutter speed.  That froze the action.  There was enough light on the people surrounding the presentation to give a good sense of what was going on.  The internal light meter in the camera read the light on the demonstration, so that stood out.

In order to do this, you need to find three topics in your camera manual and learn how to use them:  the icon settings – chosing one that will give you a fast shutter speed, such as sports or portrait, the telephoto controls, and the ISO controls in the menu options.  Those three options will allow you to take control of your camera.

I saw the wonderful full-length human sculptures made from wood and wanted to get a shot.  All of the gallery lighting is ceiling spotlights, which provide lots of light, but also lots of glare.  The sculptures I wanted were in the middle of the gallery, surrounded by these ceiling lights.  I walked around the case, looking for the best, least-interferring angle.  I finally decided it was impossible to avoid the lights and glare, so looked for the angle that had the least amount of light hitting the sculpture itself and put as much as possible in the background.

I had already turned off my flash and set the camera for a mid-range light sensitivity reading, known as the ISO reading.  I used 400 – a mid-range setting, because the light in the gallery was good.

The results weren’t great, but they were acceptable.  I could still see the figure in some detail, and the lights were mostly in the background.

  I could, of course, stamp out the lights in a photo editing program, but lots of photoshop work isn’t what I want to do.  I would rather get the best shot I can out of my camera.  It’s a challenge sometimes, but a little thought and observation does make it possible.

Golden Gate Bridge in Fog

Welcome to The Accidental Photographer blog – full of tips and fun ideas to help you take great photos when you are out and about anywhere.

I’m Marsha Black, author of The Accidental Photographer, a book full of tips written for people who carry a point and shoot camera but don’t have a clue about how to get good photographs out of it.

This photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge is one good example. I took this photo when we stopped briefly at the viewpoint. I used two simple concepts, light and lines, to turn this photo from “Yeah, it’s the Golden Gate Bridge” to “WOW, It’s the Golden Gate Bridge!”. Even if you feel like you are a klutz with a camera, you, too, can learn these tips quickly and easily so you can enjoy your photos as much as I do.