How to take sharp photos?

How to take photos of water, using neutral density filter on a nikon d3000?

• I just got my Neutral Density filters for my camera lens's and have a new remote for my camera (nikon D3000). I went out after talking to my teacher on how to use everything and to take the photos i want and i didn't work or just turn out white i want to take photos like ...... http://www.google.com/imgres?q=long+shutter+speed+photos+water&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1150&bih=632&tbm=isch&tbnid=rNv--wS9VJoDBM:&imgrefurl=http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/Advice/Search-Results/Techniques/Choose-the-right-shutter-speed-to-shoot-waves/&docid=azjQFTQM67JlkM&imgurl=http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/upload/2265/images/slow%252520shutter.jpg&w=3072&h=2048&ei=q9tET6bpHdCJtwfW04mIAw&zoom=1 or like this..... http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-81846448/stock-photo-cromer-pier-at-dawn-a-slow-shutter-speed-blurs-the-waves-to-create-a-mist-like-foreground.html i am on vacation now and there is a lot i can take here would love step by step help or anything anyone could offer! thanks!

• Answer:

  You've got all the necessary equipment to get blurry water (or skies for that matter) in an otherwise sharp image, with the exception of a tripod perhaps. The idea is to get an accurate exposure, using a shutter speed that is long enough to capture the movement of the waves which causes the blurry effect. If the shutter speed is too fast, you'll 'freeze' the water instead of recording its movement. To do so, you'll typically need shutter speeds of 1/10 s or longer, maybe even a few seconds. Try the following steps: * Mount your camera with the ND filter attached, on a tripod (or at least put it on a steady surface) * Select lowest ISO value (100 iso); don't use the auto setting * Select an relatively small aperture value of around f/8 or f/11 in the (A) Aperture Priority setting * Carefully frame your compostion, preferably using manual focus rather than autofocus. * Use your remote to make the shot, avoiding all camera movement, vibration etc. Note that the exposure could last up to a severalseconds, depending on the amount of available light. * Check the result. Stationary items should be sharp, moving objects, water etc. should be blurry. If you're not satisfied, you could experiment with the manual setting (M), gradually lengthening/shortening the shutter speed value. I would advise against altering the aperture value as this is necessary to ensure sharp, detailed stationary objects, and f/8 is usually considered the optimum aperture for many lenses. If all else fails, you could try to force a long exposure, by experimenting with the (S) shutter priority setting, starting from 1/10th s and longer, but in that case you'll lose control of the depth-of-field which can be quite critical in this type of photography.