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 357949 times)

Offline Emkay

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1300 on: May 05, 2016, 04:12:56 AM »
What's the best free option nowadays for photo-editing?
Gimp?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1301 on: May 18, 2016, 02:42:56 PM »
WOW. If this works as advertised, it'll be an absolute game-changer.

Can't wait to try it out.

http://petapixel.com/2016/05/18/picturesqe-uses-ai-help-photogs-sort-thousands-photos-fast/

3-month free trial.
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Offline ChAiM'l

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1302 on: May 18, 2016, 02:48:46 PM »
WOW. If this works as advertised, it'll be an absolute game-changer.

Can't wait to try it out.

http://petapixel.com/2016/05/18/picturesqe-uses-ai-help-photogs-sort-thousands-photos-fast/

3-month free trial.
Looks promising, but damn them for making it subscription-based.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1303 on: May 18, 2016, 02:51:27 PM »
Looks promising, but damn them for making it subscription-based.

I could deal with $3.33/mo.

It's worth much more than that if it helps me get through my 50k RAW file backlog.
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Offline ChAiM'l

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1304 on: May 18, 2016, 02:52:07 PM »
I could deal with $3.33/mo.

It's worth much more than that if it helps me get through my 50k RAW file backlog.
True...

Offline whYME

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1305 on: May 18, 2016, 03:02:09 PM »
I could deal with $3.33/mo.

It's worth much more than that if it helps me get through my 50k RAW file backlog.
+100

I have high hopes for this

Offline YG

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1306 on: May 18, 2016, 04:18:53 PM »
Looking forward to to hearing reports!!

Offline whYME

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1307 on: May 18, 2016, 04:40:28 PM »
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/dealZone.jsp

Photomatix Pro 5.0 for $49

Does it get any cheaper than this? (other than pirating)

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1308 on: May 18, 2016, 04:47:28 PM »
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/dealZone.jsp

Photomatix Pro 5.0 for $49

Does it get any cheaper than this? (other than pirating)

Never seen it cheaper.

TBH though I haven't used it in at least two years. The new generations of sensors are so good that I rarely feel the need to go HDR. Worst case I manually blend exposures, but it doesn't happen too often.

And on top of all that, NIK HDR is now free. I don't think that Photomatix is worth a buy.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1309 on: May 23, 2016, 08:21:55 PM »
I could deal with $3.33/mo.

It's worth much more than that if it helps me get through my 50k RAW file backlog.
Update?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1310 on: May 23, 2016, 08:44:01 PM »
Update?

LR plugin: so far all it's doing is crashing.
Standalone: wants me to make a copy of a 300GB folder before it even starts.

There's zero documentation on their site so far, so no way to get any help.

We're off to a great start, the two of us.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1311 on: May 24, 2016, 03:12:19 AM »
LR plugin: so far all it's doing is crashing.
Standalone: wants me to make a copy of a 300GB folder before it even starts.

There's zero documentation on their site so far, so no way to get any help.

We're off to a great start, the two of us.

I've read something about it uploading your files to their server for tagging or something. Is that right?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1312 on: May 24, 2016, 07:41:56 AM »
I've read something about it uploading your files to their server for tagging or something. Is that right?

Not that I'm aware of.

But then again, I can't even get it to work in the first place, so who knows.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1313 on: May 24, 2016, 09:45:47 AM »
Bummer!!
Coulda been really nice...

Offline Fan of Dan

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1314 on: May 26, 2016, 12:10:07 AM »
Not that I'm aware of.

But then again, I can't even get it to work in the first place, so who knows.
Shame - this could have been better than an assistant!

Offline wayfe

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1315 on: June 01, 2016, 04:35:09 PM »
I'm shooting with a Canon 6d and a 50mm 1.4 lens. How do I get a nice bokeh background with portraits while still getting the subject in focus? What usually happwns is I get a part of the person in sharp focus and the rest fuzzier
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1316 on: June 01, 2016, 04:38:12 PM »
I'm shooting with a Canon 6d and a 50mm 1.4 lens. How do I get a nice bokeh background with portraits while still getting the subject in focus? What usually happwns is I get a part of the person in sharp focus and the rest fuzzier

Close it down somewhat... You'd probably need somewhere around f/2.something to get the entire head in focus.
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Offline wayfe

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1317 on: June 01, 2016, 04:50:12 PM »
I'm really having focus problems. How would I have fixed it in this shot? Her fingers are sharp, but her face is blurred.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1318 on: June 01, 2016, 04:57:08 PM »
I'm really having focus problems. How would I have fixed it in this shot? Her fingers are sharp, but her face is blurred.

Hard to see from the attached pic if the blur is coming from being out of focus or from camera/subject movement.

If it's focus, the answer is simple: put your focus point on her eye, not her finger. If you want more in focus, use a smaller aperture. In any case, for people (animals as well, technically), always put your focus point on the eye.

If the blurriness is due to movement, you need to use a faster shutter speed.

Cute pic, BTW ;).
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #1319 on: June 01, 2016, 05:04:58 PM »
Hard to see from the attached pic if the blur is coming from being out of focus or from camera/subject movement.

If it's focus, the answer is simple: put your focus point on her eye, not her finger. If you want more in focus, use a smaller aperture. In any case, for people (animals as well, technically), always put your focus point on the eye.

If the blurriness is due to movement, you need to use a faster shutter speed.

Cute pic, BTW ;).
Thanks!

And in this one I should also have smaller aperture to get them both in focus?



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