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 358037 times)

Offline noturbizniss

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #820 on: March 22, 2015, 11:32:32 PM »
The key point you're missing is that the 15mbps your camera shoots does not get dumped onto the card once a second. Instead, it's spread out as a continuous stream.

For example, let's assume it writes continuously at 150kb every 1/100th of a second, or 15kb per 1/1000 sec. Could the card keep up with this constant stream, of will it have to stop for air? If it stops for even 1/30th of a second, you lose a frame of the video. To many breaths and your video will stutter.

The class rating will tell you how much data you could throw at the card before it needs to take a break. A camera shooting 1080p at 30fps (basically the standard these days) will need a card that's at least a class 10.

The fact that a card may be able to write 15MBps means that if you throw a chunk of data weighing 15MB, it'll take one second to record. 15MBps does not equal 30MB per 2 seconds or 75MB per 5 seconds; the card will not be able to sustain 15MBps continuously.

Hence:
Images: How large of a chunk could you throw at the card at once - xxMBps.
Video: How many tiny bits could you feed without stopping - Class x.

So what is it about class 10 that tells me it can handle 1080p at 15mbps whereas class 2, 4,6,9,8 cannot? Does the class rating not mean it maintains a minimum stream of x mBps?
I think if it like the regular speed listed is the maximum bench press the card can handle, while the class is the minimum weight the card can carry in a backpack all day. To further the analogy, the camera is asking for a load of 15 mb or almost 2 MB to be carried around, so a card is needed that can handle that. If class 4 card can carry 4 MB around all day, then why is that not enough? What am I missing?
« Last Edit: March 23, 2015, 12:05:19 AM by noturbizniss »
READ THE DARN WIKI!!!!

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Offline srf60

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #821 on: March 23, 2015, 12:20:56 AM »
Hi SF. Thank you very much for all your info and energy that goes into  this thread and others, including your great TR's ( and phenomenal photos, of course).
I still prefer to read on paper or magazine versus from a screen, so which book on  photography do you recommend I should read?  Thanks.
If it has been answered already, please forgive me.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2015, 01:07:16 AM by srf60 »

Offline noturbizniss

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #822 on: March 23, 2015, 11:18:34 AM »
Hi SF. Thank you very much for all your info and energy that goes into  this thread and others, including your great TR's ( and phenomenal photos, of course).
I still prefer to read on paper or magazine versus from a screen, so which book on  photography do you recommend I should read?  Thanks.
If it has been answered already, please forgive me.
SIYF
Search the thread for "books".  Understanding exposure is a great, very detailed series.
READ THE DARN WIKI!!!!

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Offline srf60

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #823 on: March 23, 2015, 02:53:50 PM »
SIYF
Search the thread for "books".  Understanding exposure is a great, very detailed series.
Found it. Thanks

Offline elibeli2

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #824 on: March 26, 2015, 10:19:24 PM »
Hey Fishey,

I just started to learn some photography and wanted to give you a huge thank you!

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #825 on: March 26, 2015, 11:02:05 PM »
Hey Fishey,

I just started to learn some photography and wanted to give you a huge thank you!

:)

Glad you like it.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #826 on: March 27, 2015, 02:13:56 PM »
Been away from the thread for a long time, nice to see the progression here. Keep it up!
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Offline chucksterace

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #827 on: March 30, 2015, 11:22:35 PM »
Downtown LA - (Too lazy to edit the RAW image.)

You may not hold me responsible for any actions taken that were recommended from my account or username.

Offline yesitsme

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #828 on: April 09, 2015, 12:36:50 AM »
i have a canon power shot elph 300 HS
when flash is off 1st image it looks brighter and clearer
than when flash is on auto (and flashes) 2nd image it's much darker

any explanation? am i doing it wrong?

(the images where converted to png and shrunk in size to pass the Restrictions: 4 per post, maximum total size 512KB, maximum individual size 256KB)
« Last Edit: April 09, 2015, 12:46:10 AM by yesitsme »
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #829 on: April 09, 2015, 01:04:55 AM »
i have a canon power shot elph 300 HS
when flash is off 1st image it looks brighter and clearer
than when flash is on auto (and flashes) 2nd image it's much darker

any explanation? am i doing it wrong?

(the images where converted to png and shrunk in size to pass the Restrictions: 4 per post, maximum total size 512KB, maximum individual size 256KB)

A - The range of your flash is only around 12 feed or so. It won't reach the scene regardless.

B - Most of the flash's light is hitting your arm, which is perfectly exposed. This  will cause the camera to underexpose the rest of the scene.
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Offline yesitsme

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #830 on: April 09, 2015, 01:45:19 AM »
A - The range of your flash is only around 12 feedt or so. It won't reach the scene regardless.

B - Most of the flash's light is hitting your arm daughters kepela, which is perfectly exposed. This  will cause the camera to underexpose the rest of the scene.
Thanks it makes sense what you're saying,

it's interesting that flash makes it worse, it doesn't recognize the existing light.

i had the same issue with my children in a crib that is less then 5 FT the background is dull "B" could explain the reason,

so when is it recommended to use flash? if you are in a dim room and want to get a crisp shot what to do? flash is only good if you want the closest object?
« Last Edit: April 09, 2015, 02:01:09 AM by yesitsme »
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #831 on: April 09, 2015, 01:54:21 AM »
Thanks it makes sense what you're saying,

it's interesting that flash makes it worse, it doesn't recognize the existing light.

i had the same issue with my children in a crib the background is dull "B" could explain the reason,

so when is it recommended to use flash? if you are in a dim room and want to get a crisp shot what to do? flash is only good if you want the closest object?

In order to light a room the flash has to be powerful enough. A P&S generally isn't.

If there is a significant distance (let's say 3 feed or more) between something in the foreground and the background and the flash hits the foreground, the background will go pretty much completely dark.

The flash on a P&S is relatively useless. It's only real use is probably in bright sunlight the open up shadows (counterintuitive, I know). 99% of the time till get better and more realistic looking pictures without the P&S flash.

ETA: To be clear - a terribly exposed picture is still better than no picture, or even sometimes a blurry picture. But you can't expect a puny little flash to be magical.
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Offline yesitsme

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #832 on: April 09, 2015, 02:05:09 AM »
now you have something to add to the Pros & Cons

you have anything to say about this
it's interesting that flash makes it worse, it doesn't recognize the existing light.
why does it get (look) darker then it actually is
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Offline Mordy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #833 on: April 09, 2015, 11:27:48 AM »
now you have something to add to the Pros & Cons

you have anything to say about thiswhy does it get (look) darker then it actually is

He said it already:
Quote
B - Most of the flash's light is hitting your arm, which is perfectly exposed. This  will cause the camera to underexpose the rest of the scene.

Meanwhile, if you want a more technical answer, the flash isn't making the scene darker, rather it is confusing the camera. Exposure, fyi, is the term used to determine how much light is recorded (or originally how much light the film was "exposed" to, back in the days before digital, hence the term). Too much "exposure" to light, and that part of the picture becomes pure white. Too little, and it becomes dark or even black if no light at all. Every camera has a limited amount of range it can see from the darkest darks to the brightest whites (known as dynamic range), so the camera tries to determine the best exposure to get what it thinks you want visible. Ever take a picture inside a room on a sunny day, and notice that the windows are too bright to see out of in the picture, but you could see the outdoors through it in real life? That's an example of the camera's limited dynamic range, and it has to make a judgement call when you take the picture- expose for the bright outdoors, or the person smiling closer to the camera? Usually it will be smart enough to determine the subject closer to you is more important than the light outside. If you've ever recorded video clips going from inside a room to outdoors, especially with a cell phone, you probably have noticed the outdoors is too bright at first (can't really see anything), then the camera quickly adjusts to the light outdoors by lowering the exposure. That's exposure adjustment in real-time.

What happened here, is  your flash reflected off of something close to the camera, off to the left. It appears to be an arm (or maybe a leg if you were wearing shorts and crouching? Hard to tell). The camera locked on to that as a close object properly illuminated, and guessed (incorrectly) that THIS is what you are trying to take a picture of. So it exposed for that instead of the background. Since it was so much brighter due to the proximity of your flash, the camera's exposure adjustment made the rest of the room too dark to see. If  you had taken the same picture without that body part protruding into the frame, the camera actually would have done a much better job. Even though Fishy is right about the flash being weak, I don't think it was too weak to actually help here. The problem was that something was in the way and confused the camera's metering system. Without that, the second picture would have been clearer than the first without a doubt in my mind.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2015, 11:35:48 AM by Mordy »
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #834 on: April 09, 2015, 01:39:05 PM »
thank you Mordy for taking your time to educate me about exposure :)

He said it already:

i meant in his lesson thats linked to the wiki, for other people to learn about it
i think your comment about exposure should also be linked

It appears to be an arm (or maybe a leg if you were wearing shorts and crouching? Hard to tell).

it's my baby daughter sticking in her face trying to hop on the train at kids n action
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #835 on: April 14, 2015, 10:17:54 AM »
Trying to take more advantage of my camera my father gave me 3+ years back. If there is any specific advise, I'd very much appreciate it.

Olympus E-410 with a zuiko 14-42 and a zuiko 40-150 lens.

 Thanks in advance!
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #836 on: April 20, 2015, 12:50:04 PM »
going on a beach vacation and i really need some tips how to use my Canon G15. can anyone help me or guide me where in this thread it is discussed. TIA
#TYH

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #837 on: April 20, 2015, 02:03:11 PM »
Just took this through my living room window:


Going crazy for this pic! Beautiful!

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #838 on: April 21, 2015, 01:54:45 PM »
regarding memory cards my camera takes a regular SD card, I'm leaning into getting a micro sd card with an adapter for the versatility,

will it affect the speed?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #839 on: April 21, 2015, 02:01:24 PM »
regarding memory cards my camera takes a regular SD card, I'm leaning into getting a micro sd card with an adapter for the versatility,

will it affect the speed?

IME it will.

What camera and card speed?
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