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Learning photography?
- Thread starter Randy
- Start date
I'm an amateur. What kind of photography would you want advice on? I do landscapes, waterscapes, nature, racing etc.
Nature wise I think paitence is the key.
Racing/Sports/Bands etc - keep snapping, you can take 100s of shots and get a couple of decent ones, but thats the way.
Nature wise I think paitence is the key.
Racing/Sports/Bands etc - keep snapping, you can take 100s of shots and get a couple of decent ones, but thats the way.
Freddy said:
What's your best photography tips?
What is one important piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out in photography?
What skill level would you say you're at?
Im pretty big with photography. My number one tip is to make sure before you start investing money into a DSLR system with lenses is to make sure its the right one for you on the kind of photography you want to do. Once you begin getting invested in lenses you are pretty much stuck with it unless you have money to burn. But with todays camera bodies it pretty hard to find a bad system from any of the manufactures.
Take A LOT of pictures, look at them, have somebody else look at them, figure out what you like and what you don't, LEARN something, then...
Take A LOT of pictures, look at them, have somebody else look at them, figure out what you like and what you don't, LEARN something, then....
Take A LOT of pictures, look at them, have somebody else look at them, figure out what you like and what you don't, LEARN something, then....
Don't use a camera that is so complicated you spend more time mucking about with it than you do taking pictures.
I started out with a Speed Graphic taking pictures of a garbage collectors strike back in the eighties.
I still shoot like I'm doing news photography. Even when I am working for my wife who IS a photographer and has shot several weddings, and I am her "second shooter". We have gotten several good comments from various brides, and, more importantly, the Bride's Mothers!
my three most recent photo essays:
http://themediadesk.com/newfiles7/agexpo.htm
http://themediadesk.com/newfiles7/fischer.htm
http://themediadesk.com/files8/train.htm
Take A LOT of pictures, look at them, have somebody else look at them, figure out what you like and what you don't, LEARN something, then....
Take A LOT of pictures, look at them, have somebody else look at them, figure out what you like and what you don't, LEARN something, then....
Don't use a camera that is so complicated you spend more time mucking about with it than you do taking pictures.
I started out with a Speed Graphic taking pictures of a garbage collectors strike back in the eighties.
I still shoot like I'm doing news photography. Even when I am working for my wife who IS a photographer and has shot several weddings, and I am her "second shooter". We have gotten several good comments from various brides, and, more importantly, the Bride's Mothers!
my three most recent photo essays:
http://themediadesk.com/newfiles7/agexpo.htm
http://themediadesk.com/newfiles7/fischer.htm
http://themediadesk.com/files8/train.htm
DrLeftover said:
The only thing I would change from this list is find someone who is brutally honest with your photos.
And I would find a camera thats "complicated" meaning lots of options to grow with the camera.
Agreed on the "brutally honest" part.
Disagreed on camera features.
You need to learn how to frame a shot, basic lighting, composition, and so on. YOU need to know that, not the magic picture box.
Too many of the new 'fancy' cameras do too much for you, so when you end up with a crappy picture, you have no idea if it was something you did or the camera was having a bad day.
Disagreed on camera features.
You need to learn how to frame a shot, basic lighting, composition, and so on. YOU need to know that, not the magic picture box.
Too many of the new 'fancy' cameras do too much for you, so when you end up with a crappy picture, you have no idea if it was something you did or the camera was having a bad day.
DrLeftover said:
You can do all that with the simplest to the most complicated camera. They all come with auto mode. Then you can move up from there with a camera thats going to grow with your learning curve. But the point is mute anyways on who is right because unless he is going to get a simple compact digital camera they all come loaded with endless features. So a simple camera is not a option unless he wants a cheap pocket camera or he is going to use film.
True
I keep forgetting that some of those WalMart "point and shoot" cameras do take pretty good pictures now.
I was thinking about some Canon Full Frame DSLR or something with a "superbowl" lens that needs its own tripod mount.
I keep forgetting that some of those WalMart "point and shoot" cameras do take pretty good pictures now.
I was thinking about some Canon Full Frame DSLR or something with a "superbowl" lens that needs its own tripod mount.
Just hardly any controls to learn the basics past auto. Maybe a P or A mode. And no RAW. Anyone who wants to learn photography in a serious way needs RAW.
Nebulous said:DrLeftover said:
They should, you can get some pretty hefty megapixels from there.
Megapixels is just the amount of data captured. Yes it is important.
But if you took a crappy picture, you just have a huge file full of 'noise', bad composition, motion blur, or whatever, and it is still a bad picture.
And even if it is sitting as a "Camera RAW" file in the latest and greatest Lightroom, Photoshop or whatever, there is only so much you can do to it before it starts looking like it has been worked on.
Small sensor lots of megapixels good for good light. Crappy for low light unless using tripod and keeping the ISO at a hundred.
If he is going to be serious about photography in a couple of months he is going to want to learn how to use raw after he gets the basics down. Thats how you get the most from the photographs you take. I hardly ever use jpeg in years.
