Any photographers in here?
- Thread starter ChopstickHero
- Start date
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- 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon, 2000 Miata
haha.. yeah they do. Now i wanna go watch the Goonies.
civicexracer
Member
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- Honda, Civic EX...
first time tryin to shoot a body/do a self-portrait.
and random pic of my stairs
any suggestions or comments, esp on the self-portrait, are greatly appreciated.
and random pic of my stairs
any suggestions or comments, esp on the self-portrait, are greatly appreciated.
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- 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon, 2000 Miata
civicexracer said:first time tryin to shoot a body/do a self-portrait.
and random pic of my stairs
any suggestions or comments, esp on the self-portrait, are greatly appreciated.
they are both a little too dark for me.
on the first one, it is way too dark which throws off the composition. if the light on the left was a bit brighter, then it may have saved the composition. The pose is ok. but for me, the lighting is no there.
second pic, it's dark again. need to work on lighting. can you get another angle on the stairwell. it seems just very "straight" on. the subject of a spiral stairwell lends itself well to composition, but to me, it's very plain. is a portrait shot from below possible? perhaps this would look good in black and white.
ChopstickHero said:
i picked up a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 prime lens... it's fantastic. this image is pretty much untouched. slight curve adjustment coming out of RAW in Photoshop. Very sharp results. i'm happy with the results i'm getting.
Very nice indeed. One of the things I like about that lens is the bokeh, specifically the 8-sided blurred lights as opposed to the 5-sided with the 1.8 50mm (this is due to the 8 or 5 aperature blades used in the lens, right?). You can see that in this pic below taken with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 prime lens ($89). It's not the greatest pic ever, I know...
Bokeh quality is not simply defined by the shape of the out of focus point of light, but rather how the blur blends into the surrounding blurred background. Both images above have fairly round bokeh, but they are too defined in their circular shape. If there were many overlapping points of light, they would combine to form a distracting layer of confetti instead of a smooth, indefinable background. Both of the images above take full advantage of the subject-isolation qualities of large-aperture lenses, but I'm not sure either lens would be considered great in the bokeh department.
Heres a link to much more info on bokeh: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm
Heres a link to much more info on bokeh: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm
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- 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon, 2000 Miata
NVP5White said:
Agreed. I think the above examples specifically point out the technical aspects of the physical construction of the lens. no doubt do lenses with a larger number of elements have smoother bokeh.
Canon 17-55mm, 55mm @ f/3.2, 1/1000 sec, ISO 100
NVP5White said:
Funny that you should link to that site. After I posted above I did a Google search for bokeh and read the info there. I'm just a hack of a photographer and still learning. Thanks for the laymen's interpretation though - I need simple terms, you know.
ChopstickHero said:Agreed. I think the above examples specifically point out the technical aspects of the physical construction of the lens. no doubt do lenses with a larger number of elements have smoother bokeh.
Canon 17-55mm, 55mm @ f/3.2, 1/1000 sec, ISO 100
ahhhh, pretty bokeh
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- 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon, 2000 Miata
Earlier today:
Somebody asked me to do some shots of a Chameleon 350Z. I've seen the car around at car shows, but didn't know the guy lived in my city. The lighting on this car is strange. It looked much better in the shade with a little bit of light reflecting on it. The owner told me it actually looks best when it's cloudy! So here are my efforts to somewhat faithfully recreate his awesome paint job. Location is a grain factory about 10 mins from my house in Redlands. Enjoy.
Somebody asked me to do some shots of a Chameleon 350Z. I've seen the car around at car shows, but didn't know the guy lived in my city. The lighting on this car is strange. It looked much better in the shade with a little bit of light reflecting on it. The owner told me it actually looks best when it's cloudy! So here are my efforts to somewhat faithfully recreate his awesome paint job. Location is a grain factory about 10 mins from my house in Redlands. Enjoy.
I think you did a great job considering the difficult lighting conditions. The reflection of the sun-lit area behind the camera is a little distracting. The only remedy I can think of given the circumstances is a polarizing filter. That filter may effect the color of the paint, however.
I don't really like the front clip of that body kit. I think maybe a 3/4 shot taken of the front from a distance but zoomed in may have given good result. To my eye, the bumper extends toofar forward and the wide-angle shot seems to exagerate that even more. Zooming from a distance may have helped.
Really good exposure on the last image where you have to be careful not to blow out the building or the headlight. Good work.
I don't really like the front clip of that body kit. I think maybe a 3/4 shot taken of the front from a distance but zoomed in may have given good result. To my eye, the bumper extends toofar forward and the wide-angle shot seems to exagerate that even more. Zooming from a distance may have helped.
Really good exposure on the last image where you have to be careful not to blow out the building or the headlight. Good work.
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- 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon, 2000 Miata
NVP5White said:
Thanks. lighting was very difficult as it was around 4pm and the sun was setting fast. unfortunately, i don't have any type of strobe setup to get some more light on the car, so i had to work with what i got. the last shot was tricky, but b/c of the strong cutoff from the HID housing, it was possible to just stay above the light. i really wanted to get some rolling shots, but it was too dark already. maybe next time.
his car is much nicer in person. i can really say pictures don't really do it any justice. the paint is absolutely immaculate. not even so much of a paint chip anywhere.
alot of people replied in other forums saying they don't like the front. it's a little odd, but if he didn't have it i don't think another front would match the entire car quite so well.
Just Finished reading all 45 pages and I know everyone has their opinions but I am looking into getting myself a DSLR. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the D50 and the Rebel XT? Im torn between the two and not sure which one to choose. Currnently I've got a Canon powershot sd200 and it was a decent ponit and shoot, but it's become dated and image quality could be much better. So I'm taking the plunge into the SLR world. Hope to put some pics up with the new camera soon.
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- 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon, 2000 Miata
Rome04 said:
if you're tight on cash, i see used Rebel XT w/ kit lens being sold for $500. Check on the Canon forums. Most of the people there treat their camera stuff with extra care. I have bought used stuff from the site and everything has been positive for me. But like anywhere on the net, make sure you are careful about the deal by finding out extra info about the seller, ask for pictures, pay through paypal, etc.
if your budget is a bit bigger, go with the Rebel XTi. it has the focus system of the 30D, larger screen and 10MP. it is a great beginner camera and very good. You will quickly find out that glass (the lens) will make more of a difference than the body. so invest in a good used body and invest in lenses. unlike car parts, these hold value and don't depreciate rapidly. you can sell an excellent condition lens for at least 90 - 95% of the price... and people will buy them.
Personally, i'm a Canon user and i think the gear they offer is great. Nikon stuff is great too, i'm just more familiar with Canon. so i'm a little biased.
Good luck with your purchase!
Rome04 said:
I feel like the Mac/PC comercial...Hi I'm a Canon...Hi I'm a Nikon.
Okay so I'm a Nikon guy. I was a Canon point & shoot camera loyalist. The reason I selected Nikon for my D-SLR purchase was 1) body size, construction, and control layout, and 2) Nikon's price and availability at the time of purchase. I got a D50 body refurbished for $420 and the 18-70mm "D70 Kit" lens for $200 ($335 list), also refurbished (from Cameta Camera http://stores.ebay.com/Cameta-Camera).
The main additional reason I've decided to stay with Nikon is that generally their pro quality lenses are less then Canon's L-series Pro lenses.
Between the Nikon D50 and Canon XT/XTi image quality right off the sensor (using the RAW file type) is really close to identical. High quality mid-priced zoom lenses with features like ultra-sonic focusing motors and image stabilization are becoming available for both Canon and Nikon.
The best advice would be to try both and see which makes more sense to you. Which one is easier to use, feels better in your hand, etc.
Then go to B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com) and buy the one you've selected.
jersey_emt
Member
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- 04 MSM #1089
NVP5White said:
Best advice indeed!
Whatever camera feels "right" in your hand is the one to get. I had a Canon Digital Rebel / 300D (bought it the first day it came out because I had always said that when a DSLR is available for $1,000 I would immediately buy it, and I did). But when that died, the obvious upgrade would be to the 20D. But the 20D just didn't feel "right" in my hands, while the Nikon D70s did so perfectly. Hence, I now am the proud and happy owner of a Nikon D70s.
