Kauai Photography

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Comment by Exposure Perfect Photography on September 22, 2010 at 3:43pm

OK - that last comment was nice, but not very helpful. I'll try to shed some light (a photographer's joke - sorry). I'm assuming, and there is no malice in this assumption at all, that you are an amateur photog. First thing to do - get a UV filter. Circular polarizers are good to have - IF you know how to use it. Do you know how to use it? If not, get a UV Filter. Overall, it will help your pictures dramatically - especially in direct sunlight.

Next, set your ISO to Auto.
Next, set your metering to SPOT.
Next, set your camera to "P"rogram mode.
Next, set your White Balance to AUTO, unless you are using a flash, in which case, you set it to flash instead.

All of these things are spelled out in your camera's manual.

Now let me tell you why:

ISO set to Auto is because most amateurs are not familiar with the various degress of ISO, what they mean, and how it works. Puitting it on AUTO insures a fairly good sensitivity based on the available light.

Setting your metering to "SPOT" means that wherever you focus the camera, that lighting condition will be sent to the camera's computer to set the optimum lighting for the SUBJECT, not the background. Most amateur photographers wonder why their people are so dark, and yet the background is perfectly exposed. Setting it to spot insures that the subject will be lit properly, and the background is of secondary importance, not primary.
"P"rogram mode is for beginning users. It tells the camera to make all the decisions about shutter speed and aperture. Unless you fully understand those two items, stick to program mode.

White Balance to Auto - again - same thing. Unless you understand light temperature, stick to auto. The only exception would be if using a flash - in which case you set the white balance to Flash.

Additionally, read up on the "Rule of Thirds".
Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds

You do those things, and I promise you will have better pictures.

Comment by Charity Vazquez on September 22, 2010 at 1:26pm

There is beauty everywhere! Always keep your camera close at hand, you never know when a magical moment will happen... just beware of sand, it is not very nice to your equipment :o) Have fun finding all the unique ways to capture our island while you are here, aloha!

Comment by Kay Nightingale on September 22, 2010 at 11:13am

We're going to Kauai in October. Please tell me the best places/ways to photograph the best places. I have a Nikon D80, with zoom and circular polarizing filter plus a Nikkor Macro lens.