Real simple question and for some reason I can't figure it out. I see a lot of photos on here, and a lot are taken on bright sunny days outside. I noticed that some of you shoot at 2.8, 1.8, 2.2 and what not. The question is when I try to shoot at 2.8 during the day it says my shutter speed is HI and can not expose properly. How do I fix this?
I have a D50 with a tamron 28-75 f/2.8 attached most of the time.
See if you can select a lower, e.g. 100 ISO setting. If your camera is already set for its lowest ISO setting, you can affix a neutral density filter to the front of your lens. A neutral density filter reduces the amount of light which enters the lens without changing the color balance of the light... at least in good quality ones. You may want to read some reviews and posts as to what is a good quality filter and what is not, since some of the poorer ones do adversely affect image quality.
Shooting pics in bright sun is a good recipe for poor photos. You get harsh shadows and people squinting. It is often best to find shade or shoot early in the day or late in the day.
First thing, make sure you have the ISO set to the lowest setting - maybe 200 on the D50?
Let's see, using the sunny 16 rule - you'd be at iso 100 at 1/100 sec at f16. f11 would be 1/200, f8 1/400, f5.6 1/800, f4 1/1600, f2.8 would be 1/3200 without a Neutral Density (ND) filter. So, if the lowest ISO setting on the D50 is 200, you're gonna need 1/6400 max shutter speed to shoot wide open.
If that doesn't do it, add a neutral-density filter - .3 is one stop, .6 is 2 stops. I have a .9 3 stop that I use when it's really bright out. Using the above, that'd bring you down to 1/800.
so basically i'm guessing that my camera will now shoot that fast of a shutter speed then? What kind of ND filter would you recommend .3, .6, .9 ? I typically follow the sunny 16 rule i'm out side..but once i get wide open on my lens, that's when i run into the problem.
The ND filter solution will work well, if you buy good filters. If 1/6400 sec @f2.8 ISO200 is correct, then .3 ND will bring the ss required for proper exposure down to 1/3200, .6 ND to 1/1600, and .9 to 1/800. You can indeed stack .3 and .6 to get .9 if your lens is not so wide as to cause vignetting ( darkening in the corners).
Of course if you are looking for a good excuse to move to UK, or to buy a new camera, you now have one. If all your subjects/models are very fair-skinned, you might talk them into staying indoors except for early morning and late afternoon, too, unless it is a cloudy day.
