lens & light: the how-to

Thank you so much for your sweet comments on my Christmas tree shot last night! Several of you asked how I set up the shot, so I wanted to show a little how-to.

I took this shot this morning in Drew's room:



My settings were:
AV mode, f/4
SS .6 seconds
ISO 100 (because I was using a tripod)
focal length 70mm
exposure compensation -1/3 stop

And here's a pullback shot so you can see how I set it up. I didn't expose this picture correctly; I wanted to leave it dark, which was exactly how it looked when I took the shot. Also, please excuse the insanely high ISO. I think it was 2500 - yikes! (I would have used my tripod and dialed it down to 100, but you can see my tripod is already in the shot). :-)



You just use a spare lens (I used my 50mm 1.4) and take off the lens cap and the cap that screws on the back. You will now be able to see through the lens. You can see where my tripod is in the picture. Obviously I'm using my camera to take the pullback shot, but that's where the camera was as well.

The lens will flip the Christmas tree upside down, as it did in my picture last night. That's a whole technical thing, so I'll spare you the details. Just know it's going to be upside down. (Jess, you're dying to explain this aren't you?) :-)

Tip: set up your shot far away from the tree for better bokeh (I was much farther away for the shot I took last night; I would recommend scooting further back than what is pictured here)
Tip: when you take the picture, have your camera very close to the lens you're taking a picture of

I'm going on very little sleep today, so I hope this makes sense - LOL! I apologize in advance that I won't be able to do any blog visiting today. I hope you understand, and I'm soooo not trying to be rude! I just have a very busy next couple of days, so I need to focus on things here at home. Thank you for understanding! Have a wonderful Thursday! :-)