Photography Tips

[peepsalot]

Try resting the camera on something like a table or against a wall.

Roman

yeah, but then the angle is never right

 

[GI-]

the picture above was taken in the middle of winter in the dead of the night...the shutter was open for over 20 seconds...

a tripod is a must, no way around it

 

[peepsalot]

$2500, (wow) Ok, i'm not that serious about it, but from that first site, the pics they were able to produce with just those simple filters and my cheap ass(~200) camera looked good enough to me.

Edit: oops, yeah not exactly the same camera, a80, but pretty close

 

[jersey_emt]

Yup a good tripod is the most important factor for image quality --

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/tripods_&_heads.shtml

 

[GI-]

$2500, (wow) Ok, i'm not that serious about it, but from that first site, the pics they were able to produce with just those simple filters and my cheap ass(~200) camera looked good enough to me.

Edit: oops, yeah not exactly the same camera, a80, but pretty close

a good camera alone could get you for about $1000 alone...and good lenses cost a shitload

you don't need to drop all of that money to take great shots, but it helps

 

[cbcbd]

Nice pics, GI! Love the porcupine ones and the last one is pretty neat.

Some of my own

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/roadtrip04/DSCN2634_resize.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/roadtrip04/bourbon_resize.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/roadtrip04/southpadre_resize.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/kayak/DSCN3795.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/roadtrip04/DSCN2655_resize.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/roadtrip04/DSCN2615_resize.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/mountains/163-CD-ValedoCapivara.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/cbcbd/baxter/DSCN2001.jpg

 

[peepsalot]

that last pic is really neat cbcbd. For a sec, i thought those twigs were floating in mid air.

 

[MiaTurbo]

never would have gotten these shots without a tripod.. i spent more on my tripod then most spend on a camera... http://faditara.smugmug.com/gallery/517619

 

[cbcbd]

Thanks. Another thing you should look into if you're getting into photography is the picture information. My camera and some others save a file with the pictures that has all the settings for each picture taken. You can also look up this info when viewing a picture later on by looking for the EXIF information (programs like ACDsee will show this).
This will get useful when you are taking 20 shots of one thing trying different exposures, apertures, ISOs, and so forth. You can then later see which one came out the best and see the exact settings you used.

 

[GI-]

Nice pics, GI! Love the porcupine ones and the last one is pretty neat.

Some of my own

very nice...i love shooting subjects on/around water...you do great work. nice framing of the subject in your shots






the porcupine is actually an infant...his momma ran up a tree and he coudln't follow. so he just sat there for me and let me take some pictures.

keep in mind that none of those shots from the last weekend were with a tripod...and a crappy 75-300 lens on nearly full zoom...

 

[jersey_emt]

never would have gotten these shots without a tripod.. i spent more on my tripod then most spend on a camera... http://faditara.smugmug.com/gallery/517619

Yup I spent a little over $200 on my tripod and it's considered a 'cheap' one haha.

I want a CF tripod, but they're too expensive

 

[MiaTurbo]

Yup I spent a little over $200 on my tripod and it's considered a 'cheap' one haha.

I want a CF tripod, but they're too expensive

Yeah, Mine's kinda heavy. Combined tripod and head is just under 5# good thing i don't hike with it.

 

[jersey_emt]

Yeah, Mine's kinda heavy. Combined tripod and head is just under 5# good thing i don't hike with it.

Lucky...mine's a tad over 7 lbs. At least it's stable

 

[anarchistchiken]

Wow great pictures guys. I have an old FM-2 body that was passed down from my dad, but I'm thinking about investing in a nice digital soon just for the convenience. There's nothing I hate more than taking what I think is a great shot then it turns out I had the aperature set badly or something. That's just frustrating. And I can justify it by saying that the digi cam will save me money in the long run since I don't have to develop as much film, lol.


Some of my uncles work
http://kwsmithphoto.com/

 

[DE31]

if you're doing stuff on a table, get on like this

or if you need a tallish one, this will work

I have the second one. its pretty good to me. i dont need that much since im only starting to get into photography. might take a class someday. until then this will do for me since i only take pictures of my car.

 

[Lord_Zath]

can't believe I JUST saw this thread! ugh!

Peeps, how old is the Canon? I know of their powershot line but can't remember off hand.

Five thoughts that it didn't seem anyone mentioned.

1, if you don't have your tripod with and can't find something to rest it on, take a knee. Depending on what's comfortable, have one knee on the ground, other knee at a right angle. Now, you have two choices. Place the camera on the knee and take the shot, or if you want something higher, place your elbow on your knee. Open your palm, place camera on palm. Take shot.

2, If you go into any of the manual modes (P, AV, TV, M), you might be able to access a flash setting. It's in the function menu. If not, there's another trick you can do. Go to P, and prep the shot you want (flash off). It'll give you a readout of your shutter speed and aperture values. Next, switch over to M, and enter in those shutter speed and aperture values. Now turn flash on, and go to the Function menu. In there, you should see something about the flash, and have around 4 different flash levels. Take pics at the varying levels for different results. Use a tripod, object, or the trick in #1 to steady the camera.

3. Before taking the shot, if possible, take a deep breath and hold it. This'll keep your body much more steady and ready for that shot. Squeeze the shutter button - don't push it.

4. Use the 10-second timer if you can. Even if the camera's on a tripod, you can still move it just by squeezing the shutter button. Turn on a 10 or if you have it 2 second timer. That way, you align your shot, and pretty soon it's Mr. Powershot Machine GO.

5. Ever see how soldiers stand and fire? How's your stance? DO NOT use one hand on each side of the camera. Way too much wobbling going on. Rather, hold the camera with the right hand on the right side, but use your left hand as a platform underneath the camera. Now you're much steadier. Also, when facing the target, put one foot forward, the other behind. This'll make you more steady. Take the shot facing one of your sides.

Damn I started out with two things but kept going haha. Maybe I should just do a how-to. sigh.

 

[Lord_Zath]

Also beware that with most cameras, getting an adapter ring and then using a filter/converter WILL in most cases block the flash in some parts of the frame. So you'll get an unexposed part of the picture that looks like a moon...

Another way to help disspate the flash is to use a thin sheet of paper (tissue paper works best), and hold it over the flash. This'll soften the flash by quite a bit.

 

[anarchistchiken]

Behold Lord Zath, knower of all things!

 

[MiaTurbo]

...
3. Before taking the shot, if possible, take a deep breath and hold it. This'll keep your body much more steady and ready for that shot. Squeeze the shutter button - don't push it. ...

I have to disagree with this one. Shoot after you exhale...

 

[anarchistchiken]

I have to disagree with this one. Shoot after you exhale...

The rule of thumb for shooting (guns) is exhale before long shots, inhale before short shots. If that helps at all.

I took a few pictures this morning with my little fujifilm A310 (actually a fairly decent camera considering it's size and price) Click here.