Tips for Capturing Beautiful Landscape

Learner

Hi I am visiting Queenstown and Auckland, NewZealand next month. I would love to take a lot of beautiful landscape shots. I own Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm lens and AF S 50mm f/1.8 G lens. Your guidance on step by step settings would help me a lot. I want to shoot in one of the non-automatic modes. Please help!

Riddelske

Heres a few pointers:
1. Use a tripod
2. Turn off VR when using a tripod.
3. Ideally you want to be using a wide angle lens, so in your case the 18-55mm will do.
4. Zoom out so your lens is on 18mm.
5. Either set your ISO to automatic in the menu or use your knowledge depending on light.
6. Turn the dial to A to start off with.
7. Focus mode should be AF-S, AF-area mode select single point and metering to matrix.
8. Now all you need to do is select the aperture. Ideally you want to be using a small opening, so f/16 should do nicely.
9. Focus a third of the way into the scene. Select a point that you want to be in focus and half press then fully to take shot.
10. If you want, select the timer mode and then you will reduce camera shake.

Now that's just to start you off and hopefully get some good images.
You can always select M, but then you need to decide on everything else (ISO, Aperture, Speed etc). So I would recommend you stick to this for the time being.


Regards

Emmanueluso

@riddelske since you're shooting at f/16, the lighting would be low and a shutter speed exposure of say 1/40 would compensate for that. Would it be necessary to increase the ISO as well, or do you just leave it at 100?

ohyeahar

If camera is stabilized on a tripod and your subject isn't moving, there's no reason not to use ISO 100.