Rebel t3i settings for outdoor family pics

[dzalar]

I would like to take some outdoor pictures of family. Having trouble trying to figure out settings on my t3i

[usa12345]

Thank! It made me understand something, and it is that I never knew before.

[BillyJack]

Perhaps I'm getting old and as a result just becoming a grouchy old fart, but as I sit here drinking my coffee I had to laugh at the "RTFM" reply. I often work with young educators freshly out of college and internships that call me to ask "How do I" when they buy new software or gear for their classes. I can't tell you how many times I've fantasized wrapping my hands around their necks, shaking them really really hard and yelling "RTFM"! 

It's really not their fault though. Back in the 70's you picked up a manual and were taught to figure it out. Just reading it has never given you all the answers. It gives you the fundimentals of operation so you could figure out the answers. With modern communication though getting the answers is easier by just asking questions rather than working things out on your own. As a result, the first response to a question now is to ask instead of giving your situation any real thought. Heck I'm almost 50 years old and to be honest with myself, I too have become spoiled to not having to connect the dots on my own. How can we blame young people who have never been taught to think for themselves in the first place? I'm not justifying it, just stating the current reality. Problem solving is not as intertwined into the curriculum of modern education in the same manner as it was 20 to 30 years ago. Today if the answer is not just laid out in front of you, go ask!

[dzalar]

I thought a forum was for people who wanted to help others. Thank you to those with suggestions as I have used the manual just needed some help "tweaking".

[BillyJack]

Don't pay us old farts no never mind! Ask away!

[ebiggs1]

"I thought a forum was for people who wanted to help others."

It is.  Don't mind those people.

They are on every site and I really don't know why they bother.  Forums are places to discuss and debate virtually everything. If you want to read a manual, you don't want interaction with other like minded folks.  If you do, you get on a site like this one.

Nothing wrong with the manual but sometimes they are so convoluted and poorly written, you can't understand them.

[dzalar]

Thank you! Happy Holiday's 🙂

[Kelly767]

RobertTheFat:

I happened to be doing some research on something I wanted to learn more about and I stumbled onto this page. I'm new to photography and even though I read through the manual I still have some questions. I typically don't ask questions on forums though because of people like you. There's always one that gives a snarky response. Sometimes reading the manual isn't enough...I like to hear it explained in different ways until I fully understand it. Asking people and talking to others about it is beneficial and they might have suggestions that the manual does not. It's perfectly acceptable to ask questions! Maybe it would be better "IYHNNTSDSAAA" (If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all). Thank you to those that had helpful responses!

[ebiggs1]

By all means ask away. I am all ears, er, I mean fingers. 

[Waddizzle]

I would use manual mode with a shutter speed between 1/320 and 1/1000, combined with a f-stop ranging from (depending upon your lens) f/4 for close ups to f/8 for more distant, wider view shots. Put the ISO into AUTO, and let the camera pick that for you. Try to go with the faster shutter speeds, as long as the ISO is 100-400. Make ISO-800 your maximum setting, and use it as a signal to dial down the shutter speed to let in more light, which should reduce the ISO down to the 100-400 range again. Your goal is to grab as much light as possible (wide open aperture-low f/stop), as quickly possible (fastest shutter speed as practical), with the least effort as possible (lowest ISO values). Learn to observe the light meter in your viewfinder when you partially depress the shutter to auto-focus.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Kelly767 wrote:
RobertTheFat:

I happened to be doing some research on something I wanted to learn more about and I stumbled onto this page. I'm new to photography and even though I read through the manual I still have some questions. I typically don't ask questions on forums though because of people like you. There's always one that gives a snarky response. Sometimes reading the manual isn't enough...I like to hear it explained in different ways until I fully understand it. Asking people and talking to others about it is beneficial and they might have suggestions that the manual does not. It's perfectly acceptable to ask questions! Maybe it would be better "IYHNNTSDSAAA" (If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all). Thank you to those that had helpful responses!

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The original question (Feel free to go back and read it) was ridiculously general and implied that the questioner had made no effort to find and assimilate even the most elementary information contained in the manual. Those in this forum (including me) are happy to try to answer questions, but we do not constitute an introductory course in photography. I think it's perfectly reasonable for us to expect that a questioner will have at least tried to find relevant information in the user manual and to ask questions that indicate his/her having done so. If that expectation is snarky, then so be it.