The Photography Thread - Page 17

mlagoo · #**161** 10-28-2007, 04:31 AM

hey guys,

i was wondering if you had any tips for a novice photographer? i'm traveling a lot (been in asia for over a month, will likely be here till february or so). just like quick tips that novice photographers can use to make their pictures interesting/captivating. i'm taking a ton of pictures (in a month i've already taken over 1500), but i worry that i'm just snapping pictures of stuff as a sort of memory-jogger, and not taking care to make certain the picture is *good.*

so what are little things you do to improve the quality of your pictures? fwiw i have a pretty nice little digital camera i bought just before the trip... a sony cybershot dsc-7200. well, i have no idea whether it's nice or not, but i think the pictures it takes are pretty decent in terms of capturing light & color/adjusting for my shaky hand.

i know the rule of thirds now. anything else i should know to try? any settings i should tweak? thanks in advance for any help.

xxThe_Lebowskixx · #**162** 10-28-2007, 05:56 PM

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this is the type of photo i can't stand. i see it all the time. what is the point?

Spanaway Vin · #**163** 10-30-2007, 03:14 PM

A few photos I took on a recent trip to Virginia:

Spanaway Vin · #**164** 10-30-2007, 03:21 PM

[ QUOTE ]
hey guys,

i was wondering if you had any tips for a novice photographer? i'm traveling a lot (been in asia for over a month, will likely be here till february or so). just like quick tips that novice photographers can use to make their pictures interesting/captivating. i'm taking a ton of pictures (in a month i've already taken over 1500), but i worry that i'm just snapping pictures of stuff as a sort of memory-jogger, and not taking care to make certain the picture is *good.*

so what are little things you do to improve the quality of your pictures? fwiw i have a pretty nice little digital camera i bought just before the trip... a sony cybershot dsc-7200. well, i have no idea whether it's nice or not, but i think the pictures it takes are pretty decent in terms of capturing light & color/adjusting for my shaky hand.

i know the rule of thirds now. anything else i should know to try? any settings i should tweak? thanks in advance for any help.

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Do a Google search for "Rules of photo composition" and you'll find a lot of standard "rules" for composing your photos in line with something like the "rule of thirds." I think you've already made the first leap and that's *thinking* about composition. If you remind yourself when you are taking a photo that you should consider composition, then you're halfway there.

Second, learn to use your camera. If you see a shot and have composed it in your head, you don't want the technology to get in the way of producing that shot. I don't know anything about your camera, but you want to learn how to use it. Try not to rely on fully auto as much, as it won't do your shots justice. At the very least, learn how to use Aperture Priority (Av), White Balance (WB), and ISO (light sensitivity). It'll get you a lot of the shots that you might not be able to produce on fully auto.

Third, does your camera do RAW? Do you have a way to process RAW images? You can really make up for lack of experience in post production. Shooting in RAW gives you more flexibility when processing photos after you've taken them.

BK_ · #**165** 10-30-2007, 04:12 PM

Vin those pictures are awesome. I've been in situations like the top and bottom pictures, but havn't been able to get htem to come out like that. Did you shoot those in RAW?

Spanaway Vin · #**166** 10-30-2007, 04:37 PM

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Vin those pictures are awesome. I've been in situations like the top and bottom pictures, but havn't been able to get htem to come out like that. Did you shoot those in RAW?

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Yes. I've only recently started using RAW in the last few months and the drastic increase in the dynamic range is amazing. Or at least the image that you're able to pull out while minimizing the amount of noise that's introduced is impressive. Still not like a full frame camera, but much improved over JPEG.

I'm happy to be able to get detail in dark images like this:

and

without completely blowing out the sky. Although in the second photo, I probably could have gotten a better exposure of the sky since it's pushed a bit.

ElSapo · #**167** 11-01-2007, 04:07 PM

I shot this last night out on Franklin Street. I can't explain why, but I love the image.

IeatChipsYum · #**168** 11-08-2007, 11:40 PM

Too poor for real equipment, lighting, and models. But, learning is free. =D Learning as much as I can on my bargain camera Canon A550

Ratamahatta · #**169** 11-10-2007, 07:54 AM

wow, some of the pictures here are awesome BUT not posting what camera/linses were used for taking these pics is like posting a hand without reads and stack sizes.

kerowo · #**170** 11-10-2007, 11:17 AM

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wow, some of the pictures here are awesome BUT not posting what camera/linses were used for taking these pics is like posting a hand without reads and stack sizes.

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Wrong. Worrying about what camera or lens took a picture is like worrying about the brand of paint used in a painting.