Photographers - Your tips for great photos

Collarspace Discussion Forums

Home Login Search

Photographers - Your tips for great photos

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> Photographers - Your tips for great photos

Page: [1] 2 next > >>

Login

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 1:20:37 PM

Vendaval

Posts: 10297
Joined: 1/15/2005
Status: offline

Greetings all,

We have a number of amateur and professional photographers on this site.
What are you tips for great photographs?

Do you use old fashioned or digital cameras or both?
Black and white or color?
What kind of lighting and equipment?
Any particular software that you prefer?
Do you prefer portraits, landscapes, action or still life or ?

_____________________________

"Beware, the woods at night, beware the lunar light.
So in this gray haze we'll be meating again, and on that
great day, I will tease you all the same."
"WOLF MOON", OCTOBER RUST, TYPE O NEGATIVE

http://KinkMeet.co.uk

Post #: 1

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 2:37:13 PM

LaTigresse

Posts: 26123
Joined: 1/15/2006
Status: offline

I am sooooo, not a professional but I prefer my Canon EOS 20D. I've got 5 different lenses but one I use 99% of the time because of the types of photos I prefer. Quick and candid.

I prefer natural lighting. I always take them in colour because I can edit them to black and white if I want. I do so quite often. I like the Adobe software or Corel, depends on what I want to do. I haven't updated either on my personal computer, for over a year so I am a bit limited.

As far as subject matter........whatever strikes my fancy. I've got some great people photos, love to shoot nature, a fascination for closeups of weird bugs, just whatever I am in the mood to do. Last night it was a sunset with a stormy sky. Clouds often fascinate me, I live on a hilltop so get great views.

_____________________________

My twisted, self deprecating, sense of humour, finds alot to laugh about, in your lack of one!

Just because you are well educated, articulate, and can use big, fancy words, properly........does not mean you are right!

(in reply to Vendaval)

Post #: 2

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 3:03:32 PM

dcnovice

Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline

Two quick thoughts from a definite amateur:

(a) As the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall says, practice, practice, practice. The more you shoot, the more comfortable you'll be, and the better your chances of getting that perfect pic. (Back in the days of film, National Geographic's photographers used to shoot about a thousand rolls an article.) Shoot everything you can think of--before special occasions so that you're more relaxed. Seek out things that look dull or drab and challenge yourself to frame interesting photos of them. (I've seen manhole cover photos that took my breath away!) If you need to, get an inexpensive digital camera so that you're not paying for film and developing.

(b) Look at photos you like and ponder, "Why does this image speak to me? How did the photographer get the shot? How could I make a similar picture?"

I hope these modest thoughts help you have fun behind the lens!

< Message edited by dcnovice -- 6/10/2008 3:04:01 PM >

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

(in reply to LaTigresse)

Post #: 3

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 3:13:44 PM

DiurnalVampire

Posts: 8125
Joined: 1/19/2006
From: Nashville, TN
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Vendaval

Greetings all,

We have a number of amateur and professional photographers on this site.
What are you tips for great photographs?

Great photos are in the eye of the beholder. What I consider great, someone else might think is crap. My tip is, think and plan before you shoot. Even if you are hoping to get good candid shots, make sure you know when you want to shoot and where you will be.

quote:

Do you use old fashioned or digital cameras or both?

Mainly digital. I have a good film SLR camera, which I dont know how to use yet. Eventually, Id liek to learn but I dont have the money to invest in my learning curve yet.

quote:

Black and white or color?

Both. Depends on what you want to get across with it. If the photo is busy and detailed, you might lose a lot in black and white. If you have good shadows they might look better without color. I try most of my shot as both and see which I prefer.

quote:

What kind of lighting and equipment?

I have 2 tripods, one clip on floodlight and a ton of props that Fox and I have aquired at various dollar stores, costume shops and lots at walmart. I also got 5 yards of black material from the $1 scrap bin at Walmart as a backdrop and plan on aquiring other bolts as I go for a bit of variety.

quote:

Any particular software that you prefer?

I have Adobe Photoshop CS and I love it.

quote:

Do you prefer portraits, landscapes, action or still life or ?

That depends on my mood. We have gone walking in parks just to take photos, and we have set up in the apartment to do portraits. I tend t prefer posed portraits when I am working with Fox, but we have done some incredible spur of the moment stuff as well. I am not much for action shots, becasue digital reaction time doesnt always capture what you want.

DV

_____________________________

I will be your Dominate if you will be my submit - Fox

Snarko Ergo Sum
If you cannot change your mind, how are you so sure you still have one? -proverb

*Owner of Fox - collared 10/13/07*
VampiresLair

(in reply to Vendaval)

Post #: 4

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 3:41:07 PM

windchymes

Posts: 9410
Joined: 4/18/2005
Status: offline

I've always been partial to Fuji film. The color's always been much more vivid than Kodak.

Wow, I just realized how much I just dated myself! lol Does anybody use "film" anymore???

_____________________________

You know it's going to be a GOOD blow job when she puts a Breathe Right strip on first.

Pick-up artists and garbage men should trade names.

(in reply to DiurnalVampire)

Post #: 5

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 5:01:25 PM

LaTigresse

Posts: 26123
Joined: 1/15/2006
Status: offline

Oh yeah, I definately use film. I've got an old Canon SLR so I can switch lenses and other accessories between my film camera and my digital camera.

Also DV, if you upgrade to a better digital camera you can get all the action shots you want. That very thing is what led to my purchasing the 20D. I wanted a Marksomething or other by didn't want to mortgage the house.

_____________________________

My twisted, self deprecating, sense of humour, finds alot to laugh about, in your lack of one!

Just because you are well educated, articulate, and can use big, fancy words, properly........does not mean you are right!

(in reply to windchymes)

Post #: 6

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 5:15:11 PM

kdsub

Posts: 12180
Joined: 8/16/2007
Status: offline

I can give you advice on software.

If you are serious about photography and have some money to spend then you should definitely purchase Adobe Lightroom. This is a wonderful program that is a manager organizer with a great raw photo-editing interface. About $299

To this I would add Photoshop CS3. This is the premier photo editing software. It would be great if the lighting were always perfect…everything in focus… the picture always framed correctly. If this were the case then you would need no software…BUT in real life almost all photos benefit from post processing. CS3 is the best there is...at about $800..watch out for those bogus $199 adds.

If you cannot put out the money for Lightroom and or CS3 then there is a great program that has 75% of the capabilities of CS3 for around $100. It is Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0. It is easy to learn and there are even free add-ons like Grants Tools that will increase your capabilities near CS3. It has an Organizer included… Great program.

Some people like Paintshop Pro …I was not impressed with this program but some swear by it. Around $100

There is also a free program called GIMP again I was not impressed but I have seen some good work using it and the price is great...lol

There are others of course but not if you really want professional results.

Butch

< Message edited by kdsub -- 6/10/2008 5:16:32 PM >

(in reply to windchymes)

Post #: 7

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 5:35:12 PM

DiurnalVampire

Posts: 8125
Joined: 1/19/2006
From: Nashville, TN
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: LaTigresse
Also DV, if you upgrade to a better digital camera you can get all the action shots you want. That very thing is what led to my purchasing the 20D. I wanted a Marksomething or other by didn't want to mortgage the house.

I am holding out for a new camera until I can put away enough money for a SLR digital. The one I have now has what I need for now, but its too slow for action. I can deal with that, by the time I have kids and need an action camera, this one will be outdated anyway.

Any yes, windchymes, lots of people still use film. I run a photo lab, trust me theres tons of it. But, its pricey since you pay developing as well as per print. I doubt film will ever completely go out.

DV

_____________________________

I will be your Dominate if you will be my submit - Fox

Snarko Ergo Sum
If you cannot change your mind, how are you so sure you still have one? -proverb

*Owner of Fox - collared 10/13/07*
VampiresLair

(in reply to LaTigresse)

Post #: 8

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 6:05:17 PM

petdave

Posts: 2479
Status: offline

There are three key points to amateur photography with a modern digital camera:

1. Lighting. Make sure the light isn't behind your subject, and try to arrange things so that light levels are relatively even. If something in the picture is going to be much brighter than your subject, move, wait, or add lights.

2. Composition. Don't make your subject the dead center of every picture. Avoid background clutter if at all possible (avoid the tree-growing-out-of-the-head syndrome). Make sure you're not cutting off anything you want to see in the frame.

3. Fucking with the autofocus. You're on your own. (i REALLY need a DSLR)

One other note- IMO, Adobe Photoshop is the most overrated piece of software EVAR. i'll take JASC Paintshop any day, and twice on Sundays.

(in reply to DiurnalVampire)

Post #: 9

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 7:01:22 PM

Aneirin

Posts: 6121
Joined: 3/18/2006
From: Tamaris
Status: offline

I use Digital in the form of Nikon DSLR, it's fantastic, I love it and digital, but I cut my teeth on Film SLR and think digital no way comes close to film for high quality art photographs, I am not sure there is a sensor available yet that comes close.

But digital is great, purely for the cost of use and what can be done with a computer.

Of software, well Adobe CS3 is excellent, but costly, in fact even the old Photoshop programs are excellent. I used Photoshop 5.5 for years and I still did not discover all of it's workings. Of free programs, I definately recommend the free Google download Picasa 2, a way of creating free flowing art from digital images.

Actual photography, well in normal use, you can't go wrong with digital, but in some of the more extreme photographic requirements it helps to understand how to use the thing on manual. I don't know if it is the same with other DSLR's, but my autofocus struggles in low light and reflective surfaces, it can't make it's mind up what to focus on, so I switch to manual focus.

Cameras, well, I am impressed with a friend's Fuji pro summer camera, which is a cross between a compact and a DSLR, more portable and with a fixed zoom lens. The only problem for me with those, is I like a live view finder as opposed to a digital screen.

Lighting, well you can't beat natural light, mine even picks up heat, as it has some capabilities as an infra red camera.

_____________________________

Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha

Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone

(in reply to petdave)

Post #: 10

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 7:26:58 PM

kdsub

Posts: 12180
Joined: 8/16/2007
Status: offline

You will always get a good argument going when discussing the merits of digital versus film. But since it has been brought up here I will add my 2 cents.

Film photography is quickly becoming an obsolete technology. There are fewer types of films being produced and in a few years there will be few available. I would not invest money in a film camera today.

DSLR’s have improved greatly in just the last few years. They can do things that film cannot and never will do. I can walk into darkened church and take perfect photos with low light…My Canon allows me to set ISO to 3200 but at 1600 I can take pictures with very low grain and excellent quality… I challenge film SLR to do better. Then I can step into bright sunlight and reduce ISO and take perfect pictures there as well… This can be done automatically. Try that with film and see what you get… Most needed multiple cameras loaded with different film and wasted a lot of those shots..

I can fire 6 pics per second in raw and take 75 without stopping… all the time the camera is focusing on movement automatically. In jpeg I can take the same 6 pics per second until my 16 gig card fills… that means thousands if I needed to… try that with film.

I can immediately check a shots histogram…I also never need to worry about white balance in raw anyway.

Of course I can check the shot and if it is not what I want I can just delete and shoot again.

I can easily print 16 by 20 with plenty of detail.

My camera goes from off to ready to take a shot in half a second…my auto focus is super accurate and fast…even in low light but I have full manual control when and if needed.

I could go on and on… but DSLR’s are the way to go today… I good one will start around $1200 but you can get a good kit lens with it. That may seem steep but the versatility you gain…good glass and tack sharp images make them worthwile.

Butch

(in reply to Aneirin)

Post #: 11

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 7:38:12 PM

popeye1250

Posts: 18104
Joined: 1/27/2006
From: New Hampshire
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Vendaval

Greetings all,

We have a number of amateur and professional photographers on this site.
What are you tips for great photographs?

Do you use old fashioned or digital cameras or both?
Black and white or color?
What kind of lighting and equipment?
Any particular software that you prefer?
Do you prefer portraits, landscapes, action or still life or ?

Ven, the trick to taking good pictures is to take a LOT of pictures.
And I swear to God, you can't take a "bad" picture in Ireland.

_____________________________

"But Your Honor, this is not a Jury of my Peers, these people are all decent, honest, law-abiding citizens!"

(in reply to Vendaval)

Post #: 12

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 7:51:35 PM

LondonArt

Posts: 101
Joined: 4/14/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

DSLR’s have improved greatly in just the last few years. They can do things that film cannot and never will do. I can walk into darkened church and take perfect photos with low light…My Canon allows me to set ISO to 3200 but at 1600 I can take pictures with very low grain and excellent quality… I challenge film SLR to do better. Then I can step into bright sunlight and reduce ISO and take perfect pictures there as well… This can be done automatically. Try that with film and see what you get… Most needed multiple cameras loaded with different film and wasted a lot of those shots..

Speaking of this, has anyone here had a chance to play with a D3 yet? Even at 6400 it's fine. 25,600 is noisy, but even that is usable if you need it for some reason. Having had a chance to handle one, I am now willing to sell several major organs to get my own.

(in reply to kdsub)

Post #: 13

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 8:58:49 PM

Termyn8or

Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
Status: offline

When I saw the direction this thread took I decided to unhijack it.

I am not sure which aspect of this the OP is after, or is it both ?

One would be where to get great shots. Well the first thing I would say is to think of what you would like to see pictures of. Secondly, try to always be ready. I'll never forget the day three deer came running up Botany Avenue in Cleveland. If I had a camera that would be a good one I would think. Things that do not happen every day. Third, people seem to like city skylines and things like that, but don't try to sell the picture of a city skyline. You have to pay royalties. But they like wilderness as well, mountains are the favorite of some. Basically depends where you live.

And even though I am dating myself, I think DSLR is a misnomer. SLR is supposed to stand for Single Lens Reflex. That means a mirror works as or with a shutter. This was the only arraingment that could give optimum performance plus the dead money fact that what you see really is what you get. No camera with a seperate lens for the viewfinder could do that.

That's why they were invented. Anyway, the photographer had options, they could set the shutter speed slower and close the iris a bit to gain a better depth of focus. That is generally desirable on anything still. Motion shots are a different story. Just know how to focus (argh) and open up the iris and set it to a fast shutter. Later, electronics came into play and all that was automatic. But you could take over one or the other (iris and shutter) and the camera would automatically adjust the other parameter for you based on light conditions etc. Gawd I am glad I never tried to work on these things.

But you used to be able to do some cool looking art with an old camera over which you have complete control. But alot of the better photographers did their own developing. Thing is, if you got the settings a bit off it's not that you are going to be able to fix it the developing [fixing and stopping] process. That goes according to Hoyle, but the enlargement (actual print) is where you can fix minor errors. Do your own enlarging, you control the exposure thime. You can look at the negative and see, apply that and come up with a better photo. But the thing is that requires the same resouces as doing your own negatives. So why not do the whole thing yourself ?

Well digital lets you do that, but it doesn't allow for variations in the actual process.

On some digital cameras there is a setting called gamma. That is one of those things you leave on auto if you don't know how to use it. Unless you got a huge memory card and want to take the same shot with different settings. When you see what it does you will probably know right off when to use it. But I mean on the shots you want to keep.

When you are "being ready" for that once in a lifetime shot, it is best to leave it on auto. These things do a good job. You never know when that moment can happen, it could be night, day, in or out. It can figure it out faster than you can.

That's my two cents.

T

(in reply to LondonArt)

Post #: 14

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/10/2008 9:18:38 PM

kdsub

Posts: 12180
Joined: 8/16/2007
Status: offline

Hi Termyn8or

DSLR's do have a mirror and shutter...maybe I'm not understanding you... the raw formats of digitals today give you a lot of control...more accurate then when processing film...at least I think... but that said with limited experience developing.

Just me but I never use the full auto controls... this takes a lot of creativity away... especially in depth of field and exposure.

I usually know the type of photography I am after and set to fstop priority or shutter. For instance for landscapes I keep low iso's I close down the lens ...usually .. so I set the fstop and let the camera do the rest...For outdoor sports if there is plenty of light I am more worried about shutter speed... so I set the shutter priority 800 or above and let the camera do the rest.

I always use manual for night shots and panos...and often when shooting portraits.

I can't remeber the last time I used auto. But I'm sure no snob I know lots of folks that break every rule and still take a lot better shots then me..lol

Butch

< Message edited by kdsub -- 6/10/2008 9:20:56 PM >

(in reply to Termyn8or)

Post #: 15

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/11/2008 2:53:50 AM

LondonArt

Posts: 101
Joined: 4/14/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Termyn8or

And even though I am dating myself, I think DSLR is a misnomer. SLR is supposed to stand for Single Lens Reflex. That means a mirror works as or with a shutter.

How is that a misnomer? That's exactly what a DSLR is. The exact same arrangement, but with digital rather than film images.

(in reply to Termyn8or)

Post #: 16

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/11/2008 3:06:15 AM

Aileen1968

Posts: 6062
Joined: 12/12/2007
From: I miss Shore, New Jersey
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: LondonArt

Speaking of this, has anyone here had a chance to play with a D3 yet? Even at 6400 it's fine. 25,600 is noisy, but even that is usable if you need it for some reason. Having had a chance to handle one, I am now willing to sell several major organs to get my own.

I've heard that the D3 is spectacular. I have the D300 and love it. It was hard enough to justify the cost of that one...I just couldn't even let my brain entertain the thought of the D3.

Digital cameras are incredible. Instant satisfaction. I take hundreds of images a week. A ton of my kids, lots of naturey crap.

_____________________________

(in reply to LondonArt)

Post #: 17

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/11/2008 6:00:08 AM

sambamanslilgirl

Posts: 10926
Joined: 2/5/2007
From: Chicago, IL
Status: offline

i'm quite the amateur when it comes to taking photos however i'm getting a good rep from the indie bands and their fans about my pictures. with my HP Photosmart digi cam, i like to capture them in action rocking to the music and fans. i look for unique shots esp with sunbursts lighting effects around them ...i love snapping pics of the front men (lead singers/guitarists) as well as group band photos. there are venues around town that give me the best shots and some in which don't due to their lighting sequence.

if you're ever on photobucket check my photos under SouthSide_Chicago or southside_fearlessradio

_____________________________

...2011 - year of the fabulous rock star life ...and i do it so well...

...announcing Mr. & Mrs. British Petrol ...yeah, marrying into oil is slick business...

(in reply to Vendaval)

Post #: 18

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/11/2008 7:28:40 AM

DesertRat

Posts: 2774
Joined: 11/29/2004
From: NM/USA
Status: offline

I mostly use a semi-obsolete Nikon 5700 digital, but almost all of my really good pics were shot with my Olympus OM-1. I have a good zoom, a tele, and some wideangle lenses, but I gotta say that all the pictures I really love, and the ones that other people like and sometimes even want were shot with my boring old 50 mm normal lens. Once I realized that, I often found myself leaving the other lenses at home. Seems that, in my case, the availability of technical options was a distraction, and without them I just naturally flow into a mode where I'm dealing with the basics: composition, depth of field, exposure, etc. In fact, I'm not even thinking about that stuff. I'm just doing it. When I try to get all artsy-fartsy, the results are usually pretty schlocky.

Also, all my best pics were shot with Kodachrome 64 or 25. Kodachrome 25 is the best film ever made in this corner of the galaxy. Not very practical for shooting, but really good shit in terms of grain, pre-and-post exposure stability, and color saturation.

My personal style is that I almost always shoot for maximum depth of field. I like to render images as accurately as possible and let the viewer use his/her selective focus to isolate elements of the image...kinda like the way our eyes and brains work. Then every once in a while, I'll do the 'selective focus' thing.

This is probably all pretty mickey mouse stuff, but just wanted to share a bit.

Bob

< Message edited by DesertRat -- 6/11/2008 7:34:20 AM >

_____________________________

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro--Hunter S. Thompson
It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide!--Chief Dead St. Knockout, 1933, Liverpool
Damn the crops. I'll only find peace at the end of a rope.--Winston Van Loo, 1911

(in reply to Vendaval)

Post #: 19

RE: Photographers - Your tips for great photos - 6/11/2008 7:48:27 AM

Termyn8or

Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
Status: offline

Hmmm, perhaps I stand corrected. They really do have a mirror ?

Having known about CCD and MOS image sensors I was under the impression that they didn't need an actual shutter at all. With an EVF all they have to do is set the sample time. That's how our's is, maybe it's a cheap one. Seems to take nice pictures though.

T

(in reply to sambamanslilgirl)

Post #: 20

Page: [1] 2 next > >>

All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> Photographers - Your tips for great photos

Page: [1] 2 next > >>

Jump to:

New Messages	No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages	Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages	Locked w/o New Messages

Post New Thread

Reply to Message

Post New Poll

Submit Vote

Delete My Own Post

Delete My Own Thread

Rate Posts

Collarchat.com © 2025

Terms of Service

0.094