2011-12-28, 21:40 | Link #561 |
dn ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Northern Ireland
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I have a few rather obvious ones although I'm only an armature myself so take them with a pinch of salt.
Buy a tripod because you WILL need it at some point. Be prepared for disappointment because at the start its very easy to let all those nice "sample shots" fool you into high expectations only to discover you skill level isn't high enough to take shots of the same caliber but don't dismay just stick with it. Take lots of shots because while they may look good on the rear LCD screen it can be a different story when you actually upload them to your PC. Get acquainted with photoshop (or similar) as your gonna need it. Also for what its worth the vast majority of the shots I've posted where taken with Canon's stock 18-55 mm kit lens that they include with most of of there DSLR packages.
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2011-12-29, 12:29 | Link #563 | |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Basic Photo Tips — Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO Since you said you are a beginner, I'd strongly suggest starting with a fairly basic tripod. Weight is definitely an issue and are typically used by professional photographers who need to take high-speed pictures that require a very steady hand. And you can take pretty good low-light pictures even without a monster tripod (and on "low" ISO). For example: Kilimanjaro, Baranco Camp, 3900m [Aug 5, 2011 (Fri)] Starry night over a tranquil sea of clouds. If you squint, you can just about see the Milky Way. (60sec exposure at F1.8; ISO100; using the Olympus XZ1). And the tripod I used for that above pic? The very gorillapod you mentioned. Lightweight and handy in the most rugged of terrain, it was just the tripod I needed for the kind of trip I was taking. As for PhotoShop, I would say that it's not really as essential as some might make it out to be. Photographers were plying their trade long before such digital wizardry was available, and I find it's better to learn the basics of taking a good picture first, rather than rely on post-editing to "correct" a picture. The only "editing" I did for the above photo was cropping and alignment. I did not change anything else like colours, brightness and contrast. |
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2011-12-30, 23:26 | Link #564 | |||
Love Yourself
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Northeast USA
Age: 38
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I'll play off of Drake's advice, countering some and expanding on others.
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Tripods also have a few negative points. First and foremost, they're something extra to carry, they're a bit cumbersome to use, and they slow you down. Most people probably won't use them for those reasons alone - they're not as convenient as shooting hand-held. The second negative is that good quality tripods are expensive. I went with a cheap $20 eBay tripod, and while it's decent for night sky shots, it's terrible for anything else... particularly heavier lenses. If I want a proper tripod, I'm looking into spending hundreds of dollars. I have a use for one (telephoto shooting with a heavy setup), but opted instead for a monopod. I went with a higher-quality one, but it's still cheaper, it's more convenient to use, and it's OK for my purposes. Long story short, a tripod is essential for certain types of photography, but I wouldn't say that it's essential for everyone to have one. If you want to try one out, go ahead and start out with a crappy eBay tripod, but know that you're likely going to need one of the more expensive ones if your shooting styles rely heavily on it. Quote:
I'm also reminded of something I learned while taking a Chinese calligraphy course. My teacher remarked that there are three stages in calligraphy. In the first stage, you are impressed by everything that you create, and feel that everything is a masterpiece. In the second stage, you recognize the flaws in your work for what they are, and you feel that nothing you produce is any good. (The second stage is when you become open to learning.) In the third stage, you improve and gain a sort of balance between appreciation for the strengths in your work while also recognizing the improvement that still lies ahead. I experienced something similar in my photography - you might, too. As Drake said, don't get discouraged. Quote:
At the beginner level, I'm not sure that this is necessary. Eventually you'll probably want to use Photoshop, Lightroom, or Aperture to touch up your photos and make them pop, but the truth is that Photoshop won't make a photo any more appealing if its basic elements are mediocre. Work on the fundamentals and master things within the camera, and then go on to post-processing. Post-processing is certainly useful, though... for example, take a look at this photo of mine: Under a Pale Orange Sky by Velocity of Sound, on Flickr Nearly perfect lighting and time of day, right? If you saw the shot straight from the camera, you'd see that I botched the exposure (foreground was dark compared to background), and the sky was totally ruined (gray and uninteresting). I just did some brushwork in Aperture to tint the sky and background, while lightening the foreground. It saved what would have otherwise been a total garbage shot and made it rather appealing. It's not an accurate representation of reality, but that's OK - photography is my way of making art, so bending reality here and there is all right
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2011-12-31, 11:05 | Link #565 |
dn ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Northern Ireland
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Regarding tri-pods I myself use a hama full size tri-pod, its cheap and nasty but it does the job.
Aside from that I have a DSLR Gorilla pod which it very useful for getting stable shots of those awkward low angles (especially useful for macro). In my honest opinion most types of photography benefit from the use of a tripod but as mentioned you don't exactly "need" one but in the end its better to have one and not need it than need one and not have it. Speaking of macro heres a shot I took last night with a 60-mm USM macro lens.
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Last edited by Drake; 2011-12-31 at 13:58. |
2011-12-31, 15:08 | Link #566 | |
Love Yourself
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Northeast USA
Age: 38
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Quote:
Very nice clock macro, by the way! I generally do insect macro photography, but mechanical macros have always seemed appealing. They're just so clean and orderly.
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2012-01-01, 18:42 | Link #567 |
dn ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Northern Ireland
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Thanks, I'd like to take some insect macro shots but we don't really have much interesting insect life here much less at this time of year.
Here is another this time under natural lighting conditions as opposed to the artificially lit one above.
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2012-01-01, 19:04 | Link #568 |
Love Yourself
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Northeast USA
Age: 38
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Very impressive, Drake. The way you set that shot up looks like a professional product placement photo.
The nice thing about insect macros is that you don't really need to find an interesting insect. When you're that close, all insects become interesting. Even if it's a bug you see every day, it looks so different when it's up close. I also find that lighting can bring out some interesting details on insects. Here are two examples. This small fly appears to be a bluish color when in sunlight, but otherwise looks fairly plain. When illuminated by a flash and viewed up close, its legs appear to be a sort of golden color: Form with Function by Velocity of Sound, on Flickr Then there's my favorite example. The following photo is a stinkbug (brown marmorated stinkbug). This is an invasive species that was introduced to the USA about 13 years ago, apparently, and is originally from China. If you've ever seen one (or if you look at a regular photo of one), it looks rather bland. It's a plain brown color, with no particular colors. However, up close and under the flash, take a look: The Unsung Prince by Velocity of Sound, on Flickr Aside from looking a bit lighter and bearing brown speckles, there are tiny red and green iridescent "spots" along the main body. It's almost as if it's encrusted in jewels. Who would have thought that an insect that looks so plain to the eye actually has such beautiful features? The joys of insect macro photography!
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2012-02-28, 23:23 | Link #570 | |
スーパー素晴らしいカメラマン!
Join Date: Feb 2012
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Thought I'd add to this.
This is from a shoot I did on Sunday. Kristie California by ericcmakk, on Flickr edit: Quote:
And yes. I totally agree that photographers need to be acquainted with Photoshop. You're completely letting yourself fall behind. Nowadays images SOOC (straight out of camera.) just aren't good enough anymore. (Mostly.)
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Last edited by xAdversus; 2012-02-28 at 23:35. |
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2012-03-02, 20:13 | Link #574 | |
Senior Member
Artist
Join Date: Mar 2010
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2012-03-04, 02:25 | Link #575 | |
スーパー素晴らしいカメラマン!
Join Date: Feb 2012
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Quote:
Get a tripod, mount the camera, frame the picture, and snap. Usually 30 seconds is good. But I like taking multiple 10 second exposure shots and then layering them together in photoshop.
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2012-03-04, 05:00 | Link #576 | |
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Artist
Join Date: Mar 2010
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2012-03-04, 10:40 | Link #577 | |
Imouto-Chan♥
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: England
Age: 30
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2012-03-04, 18:15 | Link #578 |
dn ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Northern Ireland
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Some shots I took today since the weather was nice for a change.
Spoiler for A couple more recent random shots:
Also I'm disappointed nobody guessed what my previous photo was of =<
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2012-03-08, 20:10 | Link #580 | |
dn ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Northern Ireland
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Quote:
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