Troubleshooting Guide
| Problem | Category | Suggested Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Background and/or foreground appears out of focus (1) | Technique | You may have moved the camera during exposure. |
| Part of the image appears double exposed | Technique | That part of the image moved part way through the exposure (this can look good!) |
| The whole image is double exposed (1) | Technique | The camera (or tripod etc) may have moved during the exposure. |
| The whole image is double exposed (2) | Technique | You may have inadvertently exposed a single frame of film twice (or more). |
| Background and/or foreground appears out of focus (2) | Depth of Field | The depth of field needs to be increased. To do this the aperture needs to be decreased (made smaller). |
| You wanted the effect of a blurred background and/or foreground and it's not happening | Depth of Field | The depth of field needs to be decreased or narrowed. To do this the aperture needs to be increased (made larger). (Be aware that your focus on the subject will need to be precise if you do this.) |
| Black or very dark photograph | Exposure | You need to increase the amount of light being exposed to the film.
This means either:
|
| White or very bright photograph | Exposure | You need to decrease the amount of light being exposed to the film.
This means either:
|
| No tripod | Equipment | Mounting your camera to a stable object is difficult if not impossible.
Failing this,
you may still be able to take a standard
bulb photograph if you can place your camera somewhere stable and you have either:
The technique is discussed in the
Outdoor Techniques section. |
| No cable release | Equipment | You may still be able to take
a standard bulb photograph if your camera has a "self timer"
and the camera automatically leaves the shutter open to your desired
length of time.
The technique is discussed in the
Outdoor Techniques section. |
