by Pio Dalcin

Created on: January 15, 2009

If you got a tripod you got it made. Find the spot, set the camera on top of it. Use an f setting like 16 if you want a good depth of field or a lower one if you want the background out of focus. If you don't have a tripod available try using your car's hood or top. No car? use anything that will allow your camera not to shake while releasing the shutter.Try using a higher ISO film than your usual 100. If you use a 400 result will be fine but the higher the speed of the film (ISO) the greater the grain, so no big enlargement if you are using a 1600 ISO film.

I used 400 ISO Black & White film to shoot Jazz concerts where flash light was totally banned and I have got great results. If the light available doesn't allow you to shoot at a speed that is at least 1/60 try to "push" the speed on your film (of course I am not talking about digital film but the good old conventional film for reflex camera that is becoming as obsolete as a dinosaur but delivers also the best result).

To push the film, simply set your camera at 800 or 1600 ISO. This will allow you to shoot the same picture you were trying to shoot at 1/60 to respectively 1/125 and 1/250 giving you a better and more steady shot. Do not forget to tell the lab, when developing the film to upgrade the speed of the film to the setting chosen by you during the shooting.

If the picture you are taking is a building or something that is not a person and it is not moving, then my suggestion is to use your 100 ISO film in order to get no grain on eventual enlargements and get a clearer shot anyway.

Another technique you may want to try is the B setting with a f 8. If you are shooting a non-moving object it will give a nice effect to your colour picture. Vary exposition from anywhere from 30 seconds to one minute according to the light available.

Remember that there is no fixed rule and only practice will make your pictures perfect.

It is a good idea to write down your shots one by one the first time you attempt this kind of photography.

Checking the results with your writings will give you helpful information on your mistakes and will make a better photographer out of you.

Use manual settings if you want to learn. Forget automatic, it is faster but you will never learn why that picture came out better than the other.

Manual shooting will take you for a ride on your first outings but on the long ride it will definitely make a better photographer out of you.

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