Topic Wiki

Quick tips on random subjects that come up in between classes (will add as we go along):

Food photography tips
Newborn photography tips

Table of Contents (I'll change each line to a link as we go along.)

Introduction

1) Choosing a camera: Point and Shoot vs. Mirrorless vs. DSLR
2) Camera specs: What do they mean, and which ones matter to me?
3) Exposure Basics Part 1 - the shutter speed/aperture/ISO triangle
4) Exposure Basics Part 2 - getting to know your mode dial, and other exposure controls
5) All about memory cards
6) Using ultra-wide lenses





Lenses 101 - technology, terminology, and specs, zooms vs. primes, basic/advanced/unique lenses

Lighting 101 - focusing specifically on easy to afford and easy to use setups
Small flash - on camera, off camera, modifiers and accessories
Studio strobes
Continuous lighting - fluorescent, LED, and halogen
Basic light modifiers - umbrellas, softboxes, gels, reflectors
Basic supports - lightstands, umbrella brackets, backgrounds, etc.

All about accessories - memory cards, tripods, bags, filters, remotes, adapters, grips, geotaggers, and more)


So I bought all my stuff - now what?

What makes a compelling photograph?
Depth of field
Composition basics - rule of thirds, perspective, framing
Advanced composition - negative space, inclusion and exclusion, compression
Light - natural, golden hour, basic flash usage.

Let's start shooting...

Kids:
In the park
Playing sports
At home

Landscapes and wildlife:
"Grand" landscapes
"Intimate" landscapes
Seascapes
Waterfalls
Cityscapes
Wildlife
Birds in flight
Shooting in bad weather

Portraits:
Babies and newborns
Single person - indoors
Single person - outdoors
Families/siblings/groups
Natural light
Artificial light - simple
Artificial light - complex
Mixed light

Others:
Close up and macro
Product photography

How do I...? (Some specific scenarios/techniques - Basic)
Shoot out of a plane window?
Shoot underwater?
Shoot compelling black-and-white?

How do I...? (Some specific scenarios/techniques - Advanced)
HDR
Long exposures
Light painting
Twilight landscapes
Milky Way
Star trails

Basic editing concepts:
Exposure
Contrast
Clarity/sharpening
Color
Layers and masking

Poll

What type of camera do shoot with?

Point & Shoot - basic (Canon Elph style) or Smartphone
122 (36.9%)
Point & Shoot - advanced (Canon S100 or G Style)
52 (15.7%)
Mirrorless
26 (7.9%)
DSLR - consumer (Up to a Nikon D5200 or Canon Rebel)
74 (22.4%)
DSLR - prosumer or pro (Nikon D7000 or Canon 60D and up)
29 (8.8%)
P&S, but I plan on getting an SLR or Mirrorless in the near future
28 (8.5%)

Total Members Voted: 275

Author Topic: Learn Photography Master Thread  (Read 357940 times)

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1580 on: November 25, 2018, 02:49:49 PM »
I have a Q I hope someone can help me out with. Getting different answers online.

I am looking to make a collage and print it 20 x 30..
When making it the software is asking me what pixels to make it by.

Right now I have it set to 4470 x 2980 which came up after googling. But now I am seeing other suggestions as well.

Any advice or insight into this would be super helpful!

For good print quality you need 300dpi. So 4470x2980 would print sharply at around 10x15.

At 20x30 you get under 150dpi, which will not be sharp.

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Offline sky121

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1581 on: November 25, 2018, 02:56:05 PM »
For good print quality you need 300dpi. So 4470x2980 would print sharply at around 10x15.

At 20x30 you get under 150dpi, which will not be sharp.
Is there no way to print 20 x 30 at 300 ppi?
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Offline whYME

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1582 on: November 25, 2018, 04:00:50 PM »
Is there no way to print 20 x 30 at 300 ppi?

Sure there is, you just need a 6000x9000 px image.

Offline sky121

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1583 on: November 25, 2018, 04:18:17 PM »
Sure there is, you just need a 6000x9000 px image.
Got it. Thanks. :)
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Offline Boruch999

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1584 on: December 01, 2018, 03:40:07 PM »
I have a Canon SX60 HS and the lens cap broke. I can't find a replacement.  I've ordered 3 from Amazon and Ebay and none fit.  The problem is that there is no lens diameter printed on the lens. Can anyone help me find the right lens cap? 

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1585 on: December 01, 2018, 08:49:24 PM »
I have a Canon SX60 HS and the lens cap broke. I can't find a replacement.  I've ordered 3 from Amazon and Ebay and none fit.  The problem is that there is no lens diameter printed on the lens. Can anyone help me find the right lens cap?

That's a part, not an accessory. Contact Canon.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1586 on: December 21, 2018, 11:24:38 AM »
Hi @Something Fishy i just finished reading thru this whole thread and im truly grateful and blown away by the amount of information you provided here whether in your lesson or by answering everyone's questions so thanks for that i really gained a lot of knowledge here!

I currently have Nikon D80 which as you know is quite old and outdated but it was my first DSLR and it really worked well for me as a beginner but now i feel like I'm ready for something new and would like to step it up to a semi-pro camera. I wanted to know what you would recommend from the Nikon lineup.

Thanks for taking time out for this.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1587 on: December 23, 2018, 10:16:20 AM »
Hi @Something Fishy i just finished reading thru this whole thread and im truly grateful and blown away by the amount of information you provided here whether in your lesson or by answering everyone's questions so thanks for that i really gained a lot of knowledge here!

I currently have Nikon D80 which as you know is quite old and outdated but it was my first DSLR and it really worked well for me as a beginner but now i feel like I'm ready for something new and would like to step it up to a semi-pro camera. I wanted to know what you would recommend from the Nikon lineup.

Thanks for taking time out for this.

bump

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1588 on: December 23, 2018, 10:24:01 AM »
bump
Do you have any lenses beyond the kit lens? Hoe about expensive lights? Do you want to stay with Nikon DSLR's, or are you open to switching?
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1589 on: December 23, 2018, 10:34:27 AM »
Do you have any lenses beyond the kit lens? Hoe about expensive lights? Do you want to stay with Nikon DSLR's, or are you open to switching?

hey thanks for the reply!
i have had quite a few lenses with the camera over the years but now im down to the kit lense and a Tamron 70-300 tele-macro
nothing major for lighting and yes i would like to stay with Nikon


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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1590 on: December 23, 2018, 10:46:53 AM »
hey thanks for the reply!
i have had quite a few lenses with the camera over the years but now im down to the kit lense and a Tamron 70-300 tele-macro
nothing major for lighting and yes i would like to stay with Nikon
It all depends on your budget, but if you want to stay with Nikon, and you want to jump to FF without breaking the bank, I'd suggest the D750.

In terms of lenses, what do you primarily shoot?
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1591 on: December 23, 2018, 11:10:31 AM »
It all depends on your budget, but if you want to stay with Nikon, and you want to jump to FF without breaking the bank, I'd suggest the D750.

In terms of lenses, what do you primarily shoot?

Honestly its hard to answer that.... in short i would say anything outdoors.
im thinking about getting a wide angle lens

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1592 on: December 23, 2018, 04:50:51 PM »
Honestly its hard to answer that.... in short i would say anything outdoors.
im thinking about getting a wide angle lens
Budget will really effect what you can get.

There's always the 50, which you'll find to be cheap, and on a body like the D750, reasonable wide (although only compared to apsc. It's very much a medium focal length).

If you want a wider prime, look at the 35. You may find the 24 to be too wide for you, especially if you only want to buy one lens right now.

Maybe look for something used or refurbished. A 24-70 or 24-105 would be nice.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1593 on: December 24, 2018, 09:58:50 AM »
Budget will really effect what you can get.

There's always the 50, which you'll find to be cheap, and on a body like the D750, reasonable wide (although only compared to apsc. It's very much a medium focal length).

If you want a wider prime, look at the 35. You may find the 24 to be too wide for you, especially if you only want to buy one lens right now.

Maybe look for something used or refurbished. A 24-70 or 24-105 would be nice.


what do you say to the D7200 from my research it seems to be better then the D7500? Looking into that as well.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1594 on: December 24, 2018, 10:14:45 AM »

what do you say to the D7200 from my research it seems to be better then the D7500? Looking into that as well.
I don't have experience with either, but I wouldn't worry about Megapixel count. The D7500 weather sealing alone makes it that much better than the 7200. That and the higher iso and better video make the 7500 better.

I see it refurbished for $869 today
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1595 on: January 21, 2019, 12:04:53 AM »
so the west coast had an awesome viewing of the lunar eclipse / blood moon tonight. I grabbed my  brand new, no idea how to use, a6000 and got some terrible shots. first I tried to manually adjust, and then gave up and did auto. if you're in the mood of offering pointers or point me where to start, I'll take it https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zu0t1rbw16nx240/AADoMfRmGSm8CdamovIC-bvla?dl=0

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1596 on: January 21, 2019, 12:13:46 AM »
so the west coast had an awesome viewing of the lunar eclipse / blood moon tonight. I grabbed my  brand new, no idea how to use, a6000 and got some terrible shots. first I tried to manually adjust, and then gave up and did auto. if you're in the mood of offering pointers or point me where to start, I'll take it https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zu0t1rbw16nx240/AADoMfRmGSm8CdamovIC-bvla?dl=0

You can do what I'm doing.

Take out camera, set up tripod, take a few lousy pictures. Then go to Griffith Observatory's website on your phone and grab a screenshot of their live view. :P

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1597 on: January 21, 2019, 12:27:52 AM »
so the west coast had an awesome viewing of the lunar eclipse / blood moon tonight. I grabbed my  brand new, no idea how to use, a6000 and got some terrible shots. first I tried to manually adjust, and then gave up and did auto. if you're in the mood of offering pointers or point me where to start, I'll take it https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zu0t1rbw16nx240/AADoMfRmGSm8CdamovIC-bvla?dl=0
A tripod is a must. If you don't have one, rest the camera on something. Not straight at the sky, something of an angle.

Make sure that there are no other light sources in your shot.

Open the aperture as wide as it'll go, bump the iso as high as you're comfortable with, and take your shutter to 30 seconds (usually the max).

Try to get something interesting in the foreground, like trees.

Trial and error, and lots of luck will get you there
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1598 on: January 21, 2019, 12:46:27 AM »
You can do what I'm doing.

Take out camera, set up tripod, take a few lousy pictures. Then go to Griffith Observatory's website on your phone and grab a screenshot of their live view.
A tripod is a must. If you don't have one, rest the camera on something. Not straight at the sky, something of an angle.

Make sure that there are no other light sources in your shot.

Open the aperture as wide as it'll go, bump the iso as high as you're comfortable with, and take your shutter to 30 seconds (usually the max).

Try to get something interesting in the foreground, like trees.

Trial and error, and lots of luck will get you there
Both excellent advice. Thank you. I really want to learn how to do this

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1599 on: January 21, 2019, 12:48:22 PM »
The wind was so strong I was getting terrible camera shake even on the tripod and even with lowering to a 13 second shutter speed. Also, my telephoto lens is 210, not sure if that is enough for this kind of shot