Q about Nikon D-90 and good shots

[BreezyBow]

I just bought a d90 and would like to know what i should set it on for close shots portraits and then for far off shots like landscape. Im learning how to useit the right way and would like some good pointers. any suggestions would be greatly appreiciated. thanks in advance. I have two lenses 18-105 nikon and 55-200

[unclefish]

It really depends on your light. Its hard to explain it all here.

Go get the book: Understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson.

You will need to learn to shoot in manual mode to get really great shots. If you shoot in automatic mode any point and shoot camera will be just about as good.

[WyoBull]

As Unclefish says, there are a lot of factors which will determine which settings you will want to use but as a general rule...

For portraits - use a low f-stop such as 2.8 and be very mindful of your background and lighting. Keep plenty of separation between the bacground and your subject in order to obtain a shallow depth of field. Remember, in portraits and especially tighter shots, the subject is what you want to isolate and have stand out in the overall composition.

For landscapes - use a higher f-stop such as 11, 16, 22 etc. You want everything in focus for landscape photography.

Keep very aware of your lighting in both situations and do not overlook what a lot of people do... always use a tripod if you can.

[BreezyBow]

Thank you.

[iamntxhunter]

Just to expand a bit.
Another thing is that the higher the f stop number the smaller the opening is in the lens which means less light getting in and a lower f stop say 2.8 allows more light in. You can compensate for a higher f stop with a slower shutter speed which will allow more light in becasue it takes longer to take the picture.
However when you are shooting with a slower shutter speed it can cause blurry pictures becasue holding the camera perfectly still while hand holding is impossible and this is where you will need a tripod.

If you practice in manual you will start to understand this much faster. Go out and practice on things that you really aren't trying to capture as a good picture so you can see what the effect is as you change your f stops and your shutter speed.

Typically with less light you need a slower shutter speed and with bright light you need a faster shutter speed. Having a lens that will go down to 2.8 or lower means you have a larger opening in the lens and this help you when shooting in low light by allwoing you to use a faster shutter speed.