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 357881 times)

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #940 on: July 16, 2015, 10:38:35 AM »
I don't have access to digital copies of my wedding photos, but, the photographer did make the pictures that are actually in our album available for me to view online before the album went to print.
#1 How do I find out if the quality of those pics is good enough to print on my own (ex. to make an enlargement, print on a canvas, etc.)?
#2 Is there a way to remove the photographer's watermark?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #941 on: July 16, 2015, 10:42:24 AM »
I don't have access to digital copies of my wedding photos, but, the photographer did make the pictures that are actually in our album available for me to view online before the album went to print.
#1 How do I find out if the quality of those pics is good enough to print on my own (ex. to make an enlargement, print on a canvas, etc.)?
#2 Is there a way to remove the photographer's watermark?

#1: Right click on the picture to get the info, and check the dimensions. Devide each number by 300, and the result will be the number of inches that will look good in print.

#2: Yes, pay him for his work.
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Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #942 on: July 16, 2015, 11:29:27 AM »
#1: Right click on the picture to get the info, and check the dimensions. Devide each number by 300, and the result will be the number of inches that will look good in print.

#2: Yes, pay him for his work.
#1 Didn't work. His program doesn't let you right click.
#2 I understand that, of course. :) We paid for physical proofs because the parents said it'll be easier to browse through and piece together the album. I'd think that physical proofs cost more than sharing a digital copy of all proofs. Was a bit surprised that digital copies weren't included in the cost of the whole job. Thanks for the information. After we get the enlarged photos that we're entitled to, we can always pay for additional ones, or perhaps the rights to the digital copies of specific photos.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #943 on: July 16, 2015, 11:37:37 AM »
#1 Didn't work. His program doesn't let you right click.
#2 I understand that, of course. :) We paid for physical proofs because the parents said it'll be easier to browse through and piece together the album. I'd think that physical proofs cost more than sharing a digital copy of all proofs. Was a bit surprised that digital copies weren't included in the cost of the whole job. Thanks for the information. After we get the enlarged photos that we're entitled to, we can always pay for additional ones, or perhaps the rights to the digital copies of specific photos.

#1: Smart man ;D
#2: No photographer worth his salt will give you high-res digital copies. A photographer's profit comes more from prints than anything else.
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Online etech0

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #944 on: July 16, 2015, 11:47:52 AM »
#1: Smart man ;D
If you View Source of the page maybe you can find the link to the actual file
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline wayfe

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #945 on: July 16, 2015, 03:07:18 PM »
#2: No photographer worth his salt will give you high-res digital copies. A photographer's profit comes more from prints than anything else.

This is what I hate most about the photography business. What I'd like to be paid for is my time, vision, creativity- not absurd prices for an 8x10 print!

I don't know how any photographer can justify charging $100 for a 5x7 print of your photoshoot.

Especially in the digital age.
"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers which can't be questioned."
— Richard Feynman

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #946 on: July 16, 2015, 05:46:41 PM »
This is what I hate most about the photography business. What I'd like to be paid for is my time, vision, creativity- not absurd prices for an 8x10 print!

I don't know how any photographer can justify charging $100 for a 5x7 print of your photoshoot.

Especially in the digital age.
That's where they make their money. It's not a justify thing in a free market.

Would you rather pay 400 dollars for a photo shoot or 100 dollars and then get to choose along the way which pictures you want? This way your initial investment is low and you only spend more if you are actually happy with the product. I'm not a professional photographer btw.

Offline pixi

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #947 on: July 21, 2015, 12:09:48 PM »
Any way I can print a 4x6 ( or any other size)  print without picture being cropped around but it should be borderless ?
money doesn't talk......      it SCREAMS !

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #948 on: July 26, 2015, 09:20:02 AM »
Any way I can print a 4x6 ( or any other size)  print without picture being cropped around but it should be borderless ?
Make sure your camera captures on a 2x3 ratio.  That way you will not need to crop.

Offline whYME

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #949 on: July 28, 2015, 12:31:30 AM »
This was one of the most technically difficult pictures I ever took

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #950 on: July 29, 2015, 08:56:33 PM »
I just got my Panasonic LX7, and from the first picture I took from my couch I love it!

Do you recommend this book? http://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Guide-Panasonic-Lumix-LX7-ebook/dp/B00BCRL9T6#reader_B00BCRL9T6

(I'm a beginner at taking pictures with anything than a standard P&S.)

Thanks!
« Last Edit: July 29, 2015, 09:06:27 PM by etech0 »
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #951 on: August 02, 2015, 04:35:36 PM »
I'm doing now a 30 minute exposure to shoot stars (at night). But then saw it is way too bright (with ISO 200). Should I use a ND filter or is there a different trick? I can't waist 30 minutes to try out each option...

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #952 on: August 02, 2015, 06:19:06 PM »
I'm doing now a 30 minute exposure to shoot stars (at night). But then saw it is way too bright (with ISO 200). Should I use a ND filter or is there a different trick? I can't waist 30 minutes to try out each option...

1. Why are you doing 30 minutes? If it's too bright a far shorter exposure is in order. Is it because you're trying to get star trails? These are generally done by taking many short exposures and stacking them (a technique called, oddly enough, exposure stacking ;)).

2. No, an ND filter won't help. It won't be bright anymore, but you won't see the stars either.

3. No need to waste time trying out things. A bit of simple math is all you need. Say your current exposure is 30 minutes, f/2.8, and ISO 200. Increase your ISO by five stops to 6400, and your shutter speed could drop to 1 minute and you'll get the same results. Of course the picture will be terrible quality due to all the noise, but it's perfect for figuring out your exposure.

So your next step should be to try ISO 6400 and 30 seconds. This would be the same as going to 15 minutes at ISO 200.

There are lots of apps out there that will do this math for you, but for now here's the rundown, showing the doubling of ISO and the corresponding halving of shutter speed:

1. ISO 200 @ 30 minutes
2. 400 @ 15
3. 800 @ 8
4. 1600 @ 4
5. 3200 @ 2
6. ISO 6400 @ 1 minute.
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Offline VacationLover

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #953 on: August 03, 2015, 03:10:08 AM »
1. Why are you doing 30 minutes? If it's too bright a far shorter exposure is in order. Is it because you're trying to get star trails? These are generally done by taking many short exposures and stacking them (a technique called, oddly enough, exposure stacking ;)).

2. No, an ND filter won't help. It won't be bright anymore, but you won't see the stars either.

3. No need to waste time trying out things. A bit of simple math is all you need. Say your current exposure is 30 minutes, f/2.8, and ISO 200. Increase your ISO by five stops to 6400, and your shutter speed could drop to 1 minute and you'll get the same results. Of course the picture will be terrible quality due to all the noise, but it's perfect for figuring out your exposure.

So your next step should be to try ISO 6400 and 30 seconds. This would be the same as going to 15 minutes at ISO 200.

There are lots of apps out there that will do this math for you, but for now here's the rundown, showing the doubling of ISO and the corresponding halving of shutter speed:

1. ISO 200 @ 30 minutes
2. 400 @ 15
3. 800 @ 8
4. 1600 @ 4
5. 3200 @ 2
6. ISO 6400 @ 1 minute.
Thanks. But I tried capturing how the stars move,  a faster shutter speed wouldn't do that. Anyway I realized later that the reason it was overexposed was due to a street light in the distance. I will try again tonight on a pitch dark mountain... I hope I will overcome my fear...

Are you saying that to get the star trails I should not do a 30 minute expo? Or that I can 'also' blend a few pictures? Thanks in advance!!
« Last Edit: August 03, 2015, 03:15:39 AM by VacationLover »

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #954 on: August 03, 2015, 07:47:54 AM »
Thanks. But I tried capturing how the stars move,  a faster shutter speed wouldn't do that. Anyway I realized later that the reason it was overexposed was due to a street light in the distance. I will try again tonight on a pitch dark mountain... I hope I will overcome my fear...

Are you saying that to get the star trails I should not do a 30 minute expo? Or that I can 'also' blend a few pictures? Thanks in advance!!

You shoot many continuous pictures then combine them later. Use an intervalometer if your have one.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #955 on: August 03, 2015, 09:30:42 AM »
Awesome! Looks like it's fixed, then.

Turns out the pictures were in the Adobe RGB color space, which doesn't play nice with mobile. Converted them to the sRGB space and that seemed to do the trick.
d f2f c


On my phone now and the 2nd one looks the same as the 1st one on my computer.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #956 on: August 03, 2015, 09:30:42 AM »
Awesome! Looks like it's fixed, then.

Turns out the pictures were in the Adobe RGB color space, which doesn't play nice with mobile. Converted them to the sRGB space and that seemed to do the trick.
d f2f c


On my phone now and the 2nd one looks the same as the 1st one on my computer.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #957 on: August 03, 2015, 09:31:06 AM »
Oy, that's a new twist :D.

What device are you seeing it on?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #958 on: August 03, 2015, 03:51:28 PM »
You shoot many continuous pictures then combine them later. Use an intervalometer if your have one.
Wow. Coming out really nice, Thanks!

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #959 on: August 03, 2015, 03:52:23 PM »
Wow. Coming out really nice, Thanks!

:D

Post some!
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