Photographers' Union Thread

[randhail]

Originally Posted by Justin24 randhail i recommend BorrowLenses.com - Camera Rental and Canon/Nikon Lens Rental if you want to rent lenses. since you will be in the bay area they are localb her in sf and you can save money on shipping.

Nice, if I decide to go with a 70-200 lens, I'll to give these guys a chance.

[Justin24]

forgot about bracketing. yes remember to bracket. you take 3 different exposures and see which has the better exposure. ntalwar whats hdr?

[ntalwar]

Originally Posted by Justin24 forgot about bracketing. yes remember to bracket. you take 3 different exposures and see which has the better exposure. ntalwar whats hdr?

See flickr for examples - it stands for high dynamic range. It's basically blending and used a lot for landscapes. When the foreground is dark and the background is bright, it helps to merge images with different exposures. You have to use a low iso, a tripod, and aperture priority for it. Or a ND filter can be used.

[TranceEnding]

Originally Posted by major_panic Hello there people, Well in my travails and sojourns here in the Lemonade Stand, I've noticed that we have quite a lot of photographers on Interference. Now, I also noticed that while we have a lot of threads for specific photography, we don't have a thread for photographers at all. This seemed like a bit of a travesty, so I thought it might be a good idea to start one. So I guess the idea behind this thread is that it's somewhere that all photographers can come, discuss, learn and get new ideas and techniques from. Everyone perceives things differently to everyone else, and so we can all learn a lot from one another, whether we're just starting out or have been photographing for ages. I'll start off the thread by way of an introduction, and hope everyone else will do the same sorta thing: I've only been a serious photographer for about 3 months now; over Christmas I got my cousin's old Canon 300D (with an 18-55 and a 75-300 lens) as he was upgrading to something better. I've only actually had four or five specific trips to go out and take photos, and so I consider myself an absolute beginner to this whole thing. I'm still a bit scared of things like shooting in RAW - that'll be my next project - and I have had no photography classes or training of any sort. I do attend a church very regularly, so I guess most of my experience (all of what, ten days' worth) will be in band photography. I'm also very interested in landscape photography and just everything in general. And now, a picture or two that I've taken: Thanks for reading, please join in, don't let this thread die!

hey, I haven't done any visiting or posting here for a reeeeeeaaally long time 'til now ... major panic, these photo's are AMAZING !! And you're only starting NOW?!?!

I love the Fender pic and the third shot You've got a freakin' great eye .. wonderful imagery

[TranceEnding]

I guess I am kind of obsessed with band photography and portraits. I tend to walk around in a haze, composing pictures in my head, without really being aware of it! One of my uncle's did some professional photography back in the day, so maybe it's in the genes

I've yet to buy a digital SLR (I'm kinda scared actually!) ... I still love to use my Pentax K1000 I have a couple of compact digital camera's, and absolutely adore the Panasonic Lumix I bought a few months ago.

If anyone can recommend a really good SLR I can start with then please share some tips. I've done a few short-term photography/darkroom courses ... looooong time ago now, no real formal training.

[major_panic]

I've been trying to use a tripod, but haven't really needed to thus far. And the couple of times I tried long exposures, there was just too much light and the photo was waaay overexposed.

[Diemen]

Originally Posted by major_panic And the couple of times I tried long exposures, there was just too much light and the photo was waaay overexposed.

You should increase the depth of field (f/stop) if you're getting overexposed shots that way. Are you shooting in manual mode?

[major_panic]

Originally Posted by Diemen You should increase the depth of field (f/stop) if you're getting overexposed shots that way. Are you shooting in manual mode?

Sure am. So that means what, a smaller aperture?

[Diemen]

Originally Posted by major_panic Sure am. So that means what, a smaller aperture?

Yup.

[Liesje]

Can anyone recommend some good online sites or blog entries explaining aperture? That's where I have the most trouble.

Also, my new camera comes with all these features that edit the photos in the camera. Am I wrong or does this just seem pointless? Why not shoot raw and edit on the computer?

[Justin24]

Understand what is Aperture in photographic basic. here you go lies a pretty good guide to aperture. I use photoshot for post production.

[Mofo]

nice thread!!, ok here are some of my personal favorites!!

















Like Justin says it's all about practice and see how far you can push your camera, but reading some theory never hurts

[ntalwar]

Originally Posted by Liesje Also, my new camera comes with all these features that edit the photos in the camera. Am I wrong or does this just seem pointless? Why not shoot raw and edit on the computer?

Yeah, the editing and direct printing from the camera are a bit of a joke. I'm not sure who uses those features- maybe PC-incompetent users.

[Justin24]

Mofo your work is always amazing. You started out that way too? Learing on your own and then taking some classes correct?

[Diemen]

Originally Posted by Liesje Can anyone recommend some good online sites or blog entries explaining aperture? That's where I have the most trouble.

Well, Justin's link looks like it was translated from another language.

Here are a couple easier to read links:
Photographer Tips » Understanding Aperture

Quick Guide to Understanding Aperture

Basically the aperture settings change how much of the image will be in focus, and how much time the shutter will have to be open to get the right amount of light in. The relation between the number and the size of the aperture (opening) is inverse, so a large aperture would be something like f/2.8 or below (where the opening in the lens is very large and letting in a lot of light, whereas a small aperture would be something like f/11 or f/16, where the opening in the lens is very small and a much smaller amount of light passes through. The larger the aperture, the smaller the area of focus/sharpness will be.

If you want to take a portrait where the subject's eyes are in focus but everything else gets that pleasing blurry look (called "bokeh"), f/2.8 or something would work well. If you want to shoot a landscape where everything from the foreground to the background is in focus, you want to use a small aperture (f/8 or smaller is the general rule of thumb).

Shutter speed and aperture are also inversely related. To get the same correctly exposed shot, if you choose a fast shutter speed you will need a large aperture. Say, for example, that at 1/60sec and f/4 you get a well exposed shot. If you want to shoot the same scene at 1/30sec, you would need to adjust the aperture to f/5.6, since you're letting the shutter stay open twice as long, you'd need to "stop down" to a smaller aperture to compensate for that extra time by having an opening that lets less light in.

Hopefully that helps some!

Also, my new camera comes with all these features that edit the photos in the camera. Am I wrong or does this just seem pointless? Why not shoot raw and edit on the computer?

Those in-camera settings can come in handy if you're just taking snapshots and don't plan on doing much editing. Otherwise you're right, it's better to shoot raw and edit on the computer.