The lighting idea is excellent. From the side to get a little "light wrap around." But I might have tried to step around the super strong highlight in the upper right. Remember the eyes too. Sharp focus on them, I think you have focus a little in front, on the chin perhaps.
@thewatersphotos Enjoy your D7100. It's my current camera of choice and I have no intention to upgrade until either the next generation of the D750 (760?) or the next D7xxx (the D7200 has a few nice fixes in it, but still not enough for me to move). The settings seem fine. f/10 will not give you too many problems with keeping the DoF quite wide but still blurring the background. Watch the shutter. At 1/50 and this close, any hand shake will be most obvious and ruin a sharp focus. Tripod, of course, or you could raise the ISO, the D7100 handles ISO up to about 1600 superbly, best in class I think, at least until the D7200 came along.
It's a matter of personal style, but I try to use all the (good) technology I can, so I use the (again class leading) ISO Sensitivity/Auto ISO in "A" priority. If you haven't investigated it, try it on the third page of the Shooting menu.
ISO Sensitivity = 100 (the lowest setting you want the camera to choose if possible)
Auto ISO Control = ON
Maximum Sensitivity = 3200 (or whatever ISO you do NOT want the camera to choose)
Minimum Shutter Speed = Auto (or a manual setting that, in "A" mode, you do not want the camera to go slower than, unless it needs to bump the ISO up to the max you have set.
Auto for the slowest shutter speed is nice in that it compensates for the focal length of the lens you have mounted or the zoom setting you have chosen (1/(focal length in mm). If you have VR lenses, a steady hand or a tripod, you can adjust this algorithm to slow it even further automatically (select Auto and then the right arrow button). Or make it choose something faster.
I personally use this almost all the time in "A" mode so I don't have to worry other than choose the f/stop (depth of field stuff mostly) and the camera will automatically adjust the other parameters within the limits I have set. Excellent for "walk around" and you never miss the fleeting shot because you have the "wrong" exposure set.
For the occasions you want to turn this off, you can do this on the fly by pressing the ISO button (on the left of the screen) and twirl the front dial until you see the ISO number and not ISO Auto in the top LCD. And it's just a press and a twirl to turn it back on.
Nikon implements this extremely well, dare I say yet again "best in class?" Control freaks who shoot in "M," well good on them for their perseverance and perspiration, will shy from this, not "trusting" the camera, but why not use the technology that can do these computations better or feaster than we can. By the way, if you want to "adjust" the exposure, the Exposure Compensation button works in conjunction just fine, and as you would hope.
One time to turn this off, is "flash," but then flash is the exception to most exposure stuff after all...
For whatever reason, Nikon have set AF=A and Auto as the default AF mode and AF Area Mode, which to me makes no sense at all. AF-S (Single Servo) and Single Point Area mode (S) are to me the most useful, using the center AF Area. Check your manual, or press the button in the middle of the AF (bottom left in front) with your right thumb and twirl the main dial to set AF-S and the front dial for "S" if that is not set.
Put the AF area where you want it (right on the eyes for this portrait), half press the shutter to lock the focus, reframe the shot as you might want and then press the shutter the rest of the way. There are other ways to "lock" the focus and then move the camera to re-frame; I'll talk about it some in a future CSC, but it's called "Back Button Focus" and you wont have to worry about the "half press" to lock focus, while not tripping it all the way. Again, I use this BBF all the time, the techno-phile that I am. :)
this a great portrait and one for the mantleshelf - Frank has some great advice that will make this shot even better - even made me go back and run through the same with my daughter over the weekend for whom I bought a 7100 last Christmas!
It's a matter of personal style, but I try to use all the (good) technology I can, so I use the (again class leading) ISO Sensitivity/Auto ISO in "A" priority. If you haven't investigated it, try it on the third page of the Shooting menu.
ISO Sensitivity = 100 (the lowest setting you want the camera to choose if possible)
Auto ISO Control = ON
Maximum Sensitivity = 3200 (or whatever ISO you do NOT want the camera to choose)
Minimum Shutter Speed = Auto (or a manual setting that, in "A" mode, you do not want the camera to go slower than, unless it needs to bump the ISO up to the max you have set.
Auto for the slowest shutter speed is nice in that it compensates for the focal length of the lens you have mounted or the zoom setting you have chosen (1/(focal length in mm). If you have VR lenses, a steady hand or a tripod, you can adjust this algorithm to slow it even further automatically (select Auto and then the right arrow button). Or make it choose something faster.
I personally use this almost all the time in "A" mode so I don't have to worry other than choose the f/stop (depth of field stuff mostly) and the camera will automatically adjust the other parameters within the limits I have set. Excellent for "walk around" and you never miss the fleeting shot because you have the "wrong" exposure set.
For the occasions you want to turn this off, you can do this on the fly by pressing the ISO button (on the left of the screen) and twirl the front dial until you see the ISO number and not ISO Auto in the top LCD. And it's just a press and a twirl to turn it back on.
Nikon implements this extremely well, dare I say yet again "best in class?" Control freaks who shoot in "M," well good on them for their perseverance and perspiration, will shy from this, not "trusting" the camera, but why not use the technology that can do these computations better or feaster than we can. By the way, if you want to "adjust" the exposure, the Exposure Compensation button works in conjunction just fine, and as you would hope.
One time to turn this off, is "flash," but then flash is the exception to most exposure stuff after all...
Good luck as you explore you camera.
For whatever reason, Nikon have set AF=A and Auto as the default AF mode and AF Area Mode, which to me makes no sense at all. AF-S (Single Servo) and Single Point Area mode (S) are to me the most useful, using the center AF Area. Check your manual, or press the button in the middle of the AF (bottom left in front) with your right thumb and twirl the main dial to set AF-S and the front dial for "S" if that is not set.
Put the AF area where you want it (right on the eyes for this portrait), half press the shutter to lock the focus, reframe the shot as you might want and then press the shutter the rest of the way. There are other ways to "lock" the focus and then move the camera to re-frame; I'll talk about it some in a future CSC, but it's called "Back Button Focus" and you wont have to worry about the "half press" to lock focus, while not tripping it all the way. Again, I use this BBF all the time, the techno-phile that I am. :)