I took some graduation photos over the weekend. Many came out very grainy. I have no idea why or what would cause it.
Click the picture for full size:

If anybody knows what the issue is please let me know.

Thanks for any help.
Andrew

Hi Andrew

Looking at the exif for the photo, it was shot at 1600 iso! With that high an ISO you will almost always get grain, also it was shot at f22 with no flash and the EXIF said flash should have been used, the asterick by the 1/125 speed usually means it could have been slower but the shutter priority you were shooting at over rode the auto settings.

Just an idea.


Tom

I figured some setting must have not been right, but did not know what. Thanks for the tip. I'll check the camera settings.

Andrew

Yes, a few photos came out ok, but it was by sheer luck. I was checking the viewing screen after each shot and the lighting looked ok, so I kept right on shooting. Two erroneous taps of a button could have set the ISO to 1600. I guess that's what happened. ??
Lesson learned. Mistakes = experience, right?

I actually sat down and read the whole manual last night. I should have done that first, but I was just so excited to get out and shoot!

Now that I know a little about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc., I have no idea how to know what settings to use. I can do test shots no problem, but for wildlife, I don't want to miss anything because I am looking down at my camera.

Are there any good rules of thumb you all go by?

Thanks for the help.
Andrew

I usually shoot wide open, on aperture priority. That is just my personal way of shooting though. I like a minimal depth of field and a fast shutter speed. Shooting wide open tends to do that.

My lenses are sharp wide open, but many are not, and it is best to stop down a little. You just have to know how your lenses are.

Excellent!
Thank you for the help Julie and Glamson.

Andrew