Jump to content

Is anyone on this forum into photography?....


Troy
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hey, he asked if anyone did this as a profession so I gave a professional answer :mrgreen:

To be fair though I've worked with dozens if not hundreds of pro photographers who would maybe get about half of that :lol:

I once worked with a guy who insisted that P mode stood for Professional! Would've fired him then and there but he was just so damned good with the clients :roll:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Swagman

Hey, he asked if anyone did this as a profession so I gave a professional answer :mrgreen:

To be fair though I've worked with dozens if not hundreds of pro photographers who would maybe get about half of that :lol:

I once worked with a guy who insisted that P mode stood for Professional! Would've fired him then and there but he was just so damned good with the clients :roll:

 

You lost me in the first line. :D :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Swagman

Contrary to common belief, this is actually a fairly complicated job at times :lol:

 

Well that’s not my belief, it’s way complicated to me,kudos to anyone with a grasp for it. :thumb: :thumb:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would argue that Aperture Priority mode is the go-to for almost anything. Now, I should probably clarify....... (blah blah blah)

 

:shock: :scratch: :thumb: :lol:


Thanks for the wall of text!

All joking aside, I really did read through it all and I tried to understand what I could.


If you have some diagrams to show, that could help. I’d be interested!


I’m confident I know what aperture and shutter Speed is, but I can’t say the same for ISO... can you please explain?!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aaaand added a bit to explain the lens focus fall off thing a little better, as I don't think I did the best job. Even made a quick graphic ;)

Let me know if there are other bits that don't make perfect sense!~

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few questions then...



1) Is there any equipment I should look at investing in, including software and hardware?


2) Are there any recommendations of lenses and camera bodies to look into buying in the future?


3) Any suggestions on images to practice taking, and if so, how? For example, based on the equipment I do have, should I go out one evening and try the stars? Or get up early one morning and find the sunrise? Or set up shop somewhere to view the wildlife? (Again, using what I have already)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What did I do wrong here? would photoshop help perhaps? :oops:


grandma-taking-picture-thumb-in-front-lens.jpg

 

I sure hope that’s a thumb...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few questions then...



1) Is there any equipment I should look at investing in, including software and hardware?


2) Are there any recommendations of lenses and camera bodies to look into buying in the future?


3) Any suggestions on images to practice taking, and if so, how? For example, based on the equipment I do have, should I go out one evening and try the stars? Or get up early one morning and find the sunrise? Or set up shop somewhere to view the wildlife? (Again, using what I have already)

 

Talking to my folks at the moment but I can definitely give you some answers on that when I'm done!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Richzx6r

Bugger me rant......that's abit in depth do you know we are motorcyclists here? Just wondering if you have posted on the wrong forum :thumb:


In other news great write up but I'll be honest my head exploded halfway through reading it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok [mention]Troy[/mention], done talking with them so here are a few answers:


1) Software wise I'm (probably unsurprisingly) biased towards Photoshop because I've been using it for so long. But, at my previous company we had 90% of the retouching team working in Photoshop Elements and at the current one I'd say 95% of the work is done in Lightroom, and so both of those are really nice as no-fuss alternatives. The learning curve on Photoshop is pretty terrifying these days, I'm glad to have grown up with it - learning it all from scratch at this point is no small task. In contrast, you can do a whole lot with Lightroom or Elements and they're much more learner friendly.


Hardware wise, you can go nuts on setting up a computer for post production but honestly any computer should do the job reasonably well (especially if you avoid the resource hungry monster that is Photoshop) so long as you don't mind giving it a second or two to do the bigger tasks. But obviously, if you did want to upgrade a machine to be better at it, I can share one heck of a lot of advice.


As a general rule, RAM RAM RAM. The more the better. A decent processor helps, too. People will always suggest high end graphics processors - largely a waste of money in my books. Good cooling doesn't hurt, but only if you're really pushing the machine. My team are constantly thermally throttling their processors, it's a right headache.


2) On the camera front, I would never encourage anyone to drop money on something bigger or fancier until they've well and truly hit the limits of what their current gear can offer. Back when I was running a Nikon professional dealership I used to outright encourage people new to the hobby to split their budget between the camera and lens and buy a setup remarkably similar to what you've got, and to hold off until they really know what they want to be doing before investing in fancier or more specialized gear. All I can really say is, don't hesitate to use some of the higher ISOs. A lot of people upgrade too soon just because their entry level camera doesn't handle high ISOs that well, but honestly unless you're selling your images or hanging them in a gallery, a bit of noise isn't the end of the world. Don't be afraid to turn the ISO up so you can be a little more flexible in experimenting with your aperture and shutter speed to get the desired results. Only once you're regularly maxing out your ISO, shutter speed, or minimum aperture would I seriously recommend buying newer or fancier kit.


If you're using your minimum aperture all the time but not getting enough light in or not getting shallow enough depth of field? Maybe a higher end lens is needed.


Lenses just don't give the look that you need, and want to be able to focus closer in, or get more in the frame without stepping back, or get closer to the subject without stepping forward? Maybe a more flexible lens is needed, not necessarily one of higher optical quality (after all, the two don't tend to go hand in hand).


Maxing out ISO or shutter speed all the time? Could mean a brighter lens is needed, or it could mean a new camera body. Depends on how flexible you can be on your apertures and whether any other features of the prospective upgrade appeal.


Again, I can give advice on what to invest in once you're at the place where it feels like you've exhausted everything your current gear can deliver! Helping people pick the right gear was my job for about 5 years and in every job since I've spent a lot of time building company policy around what equipment our teams can/should use.


3) Honestly that really depends on what you feel passionate about photographing. Photographers are always specialized to some degree or another, even though most of them will dabble in a bit of anything if it means a paycheck. I've known guys who owned tens of thousands of pounds worth of wildlife shooting gear but then used a two hundred quid lens for occasional portrait work! It's a noble endeavor to want to practice all of it, but honestly I would always encourage people new to the field to try doing a little bit of everything (and not hold themselves to a particularly high standard) until you find what you actually enjoy capturing more than anything else, and then work on getting good at it.


My personal recommendation has always been to try to score a copy of Hedgecoe's New Manual of Photography, read the whole thing, and try recreating some of the tricks he demonstrates in the book. I believe it's out of print now, which is a real tragedy. If you can't find a copy, there's a PDF of the predecessor here: https://photoart.zone/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Book-of-Photography-by-John-Hedgecoe.pdf

Some of the info about digital shooting is a little dated, but the photographic theory is top notch. I've always been impressed by Hedgecoe's ability to convey the more complex stuff in such a straightforward manner. One of his earliest books (focused entirely on 35mm film photography) was the mandatory reading for my University course and I still re-read it pretty regularly.


In general, the practice of trying to recreate a shot that someone else has taken is a great way of learning - just like you were doing with that stock photo. And I'm happy to help with picking apart images and working out how they were taken, as far as I'm able to. It's a refreshing change from all the other work I've got going right now :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What did I do wrong here? would photoshop help perhaps? :oops:

 

 

Slight under exposure due to excessive light reflection from snow. Apart from that fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Out of interest what is the best way to take a photo of the moon? Usually I end up with a bright white dot with no detail :|

 

It’s not easy.

34ABA8BE-DE9F-4321-ACCA-E6A3CFA11A5A.jpeg


This was at f9 1/40 sec manual taken with a Canon 7D using a canon 70 - 300 lens at 300mm.

That was a good lens wish I had not sold it.


I find a full moon hard due to the amount of reflected light.

This is what I got from my balcony earlier, using a 300mm on a 2x teleconvertor so what's that... 900mm equivalent? :lol: Handheld it because I couldn't be arsed to set up my tripod and so it's more than a little noisy; had to crank the ISO to get a good enough shutter speed to make that focal length workable.

Mun.jpg.dc4e150c7ce579b9a61437a37991943a.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are these two marks? They seem to appear across all my photos. I'm assuming something is dirty between the camera body and lens. If something requires cleaning, how and what should be used to avoid damage?

 

InkedIMG_9277_LI.thumb.jpg.66dacef5e8ef4061bb5e6ca40a145b11.jpg

Edited by Troy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Richzx6r

What are these two marks? They seem to appear across all my photos. I'm assuming something is dirty between the camera body and lens. If something requires cleaning, how and what should be used to avoid damage.


InkedIMG_9277_LI.jpg

 

They my friend are what are called UFOs or UOPs you decide :thumb:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Richzx6r

Out of interest what is the best way to take a photo of the moon? Usually I end up with a bright white dot with no detail :|

 

It’s not easy.

34ABA8BE-DE9F-4321-ACCA-E6A3CFA11A5A.jpeg


This was at f9 1/40 sec manual taken with a Canon 7D using a canon 70 - 300 lens at 300mm.

That was a good lens wish I had not sold it.


I find a full moon hard due to the amount of reflected light.

This is what I got from my balcony earlier, using a 300mm on a 2x teleconvertor so what's that... 900mm equivalent? :lol: Handheld it because I couldn't be arsed to set up my tripod and so it's more than a little noisy; had to crank the ISO to get a good enough shutter speed to make that focal length workable.

Mun.jpg

 

That's bloody good :thumb:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are these two marks? They seem to appear across all my photos. I'm assuming something is dirty between the camera body and lens. If something requires cleaning, how and what should be used to avoid damage?


InkedIMG_9277_LI.jpg

 

If it is on all the pictures then it is probably dust on the sensor.


I think your camera has a sensor clean function try using that several times.


If it is bugging you. You could try a gentle waft of air from a puffer. You need to check the manual though as the shutter needs to be open to do this.

876CC182-ACE2-488D-987E-B9A080D28BD9.jpeg.e373233433b6308eea2fd049217ddf58.jpeg

 

You can get cleaning swabs for the sensor but you have to be very very careful and if in doubt take it to a camera shop like LCE or similar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But don't take it to a shop where you have to sign anything saying they aren't liable if they screw up. I've heard some impressively awful horror stories about certain stores using customer's cameras to train their staff on sensor cleaning, with predictable results.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I’m not having much luck removing those marks... I’ll keep trying and what happens.



Onto shooting of an evening, In this case taking shots of the moon with little, to no light. I have tried this evening already but my lens doesn’t come close to that level of zoom! Should I be looking into a tripod? I seem to be struggling with knowing my way around the camera right now so I’m not too pleased with my results. Getting something in focus isn’t too difficult, but getting the main focus of the image AND it’s background seems to be a challenge.


Also, still not great pics at all when it comes to adjusting aperture and shutter speed. I know it’s all practice though 8-)


I think part of my problem is knowing when and if I should be playing with those sort of settings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try some simple exercises to see what the camera does under different settings.

If you have something like this in the garden

A7CE2BA0-12FA-4524-ADFF-F15CDB6A57EA.thumb.jpeg.e9d6add172d553b22fac52f3f8984b8b.jpeg

Set the camera to ISO 200 and control dial to “P”. Focus on the main object. Always focus on the same point for each shot.

Use the hand grip dial rotate till smallest aperture is shown. Eg f4. Note the shutter speed. Take picture.

Rotate control dial to next aperture.

Repeat till smallest aperture is reached. Note shutter speed.

As aperture gets smaller shutter speed will reduce. It may get to a point where shutter is too slow to hand hold.

Look at pictures and check the differences in the amount in focus.

You can do the same exercise and change the ISO rating and see the difference. 200 to 400 normal range. 800 noise may start to show but you can shoot in lower light levels and Han hold. Take some picture at the highest ISO setting.


You can do the same but change exposure setting.


This will hopefully get you used to the camera controls and know what to expect when you change things.

Then move onto the more manual settings.


Have fun. :cheers:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Welcome to The Motorbike Forum.

    Sign in or register an account to join in.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy Guidelines We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Please Sign In or Sign Up