Cyrano Loves Roxanne

Ailís Henry as Roxanne

Taking a picture during a play is difficult especially when you are in a room with limited lighting and people are always moving around.

Recently we had a school play titled Cyrano Loves Roxanne, it was a two-act comedy parody of the play Cyrano de Bergerac. I took the opportunity to go see the play twice and took pictures throughout the play.

What I used:
- 55-250mm lens
- Continuous mode, instead of single shot
- Shutter Speed: 1/250
- Aperture: f4.5
- ISO: 800

Tips:
- make sure that you have a zoom lens, it is a must. Even if you are seating close to the stage, it will capture every detail and facial expressions of the characters.
- use a high shutter speed, to avoid blurriness when they are moving.
- your finger should never leave the shutter and put your camera in continuous mode because you don't want to miss those funny moments.
- use ISO 800, because you don't want your picture to look dark and very bright. 800 is perfect.
- play with the settings to get different effects.

Quebec City

Quebec City, Canada, November 2012 (CC-BY-NC-ND)

by: Gina Trapani

This picture was taken during our French trip to Quebec City. This is what the city looks like from the top. When I took this picture, my camera setting was in Manual mode, but before proceeding to manual mode I suggest that you learn about the other settings as well. Most photographers use manual mode because it gives them the freedom to adjust their own aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to create a dramatic effect on the picture, and also to produce a stunning photo. Just click the link to know more about aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. *Remember* Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO are connected with each other.

Settings I used:
- Manual mode
- f7-f9 (aperture)
- 1/120 (shutter speed)
- ISO 400

As you could see, the picture that I took is edited. I used a filter for it to look more dramatic, but one of my biggest goal for this project is to take a picture without editing it. The biggest mistake that I did on this picture is that I didn't save the original picture. Another thing, when you take pictures and you would like to post them, put a watermark on your picture. Watermark is just anything that you want to put on your picture, for example your name, a logo, etc. It prevents other people from stealing your photos.

Tips:
- get to know your camera
- play around with other settings
- always save the original picture
- put a watermark before posting
- experiment and have fun