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 357849 times)

Offline moish

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #60 on: May 04, 2013, 05:59:44 PM »
so youre saying the STM on the t4i is not that great. i have the t2i and was looking to upgrade solely because of the stm. do you suggest i wait for the new model?

Offline moish

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #61 on: May 04, 2013, 06:00:47 PM »
also poll doesnt allow for 2 entries. i have the t2i for around the neck, and s95 on the belt...

Offline whYME

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #62 on: May 04, 2013, 10:25:12 PM »
I've added a poll to better understand what type of cameras everyone here uses. Please take a minute to vote - you could choose up to 3 options if you use more than one camera.
How about a "P&S but I plan on getting an SLR or Mirrorless in the near future" option?

Offline whYME

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #63 on: May 04, 2013, 10:30:41 PM »
-1 on the second idea - my personal preference is that everything should be in one thread, with the wiki used as a table of contents to jump from lesson to lesson. But that's just me, if the oilam wants it as a separate thread for every lesson, let me know and I'll do it that way.
My reason for suggesting it was that as you post more and more lessons there will be many different discussions going on and it might be hard to follow.
OTOH, breaking it up might make it too fragmented, as I imagine most of the topics are all intertwined.

Hence my "perhaps" in the suggestion, I'm not really sure which will be better...

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #64 on: May 04, 2013, 10:32:55 PM »
so youre saying the STM on the t4i is not that great. i have the t2i and was looking to upgrade solely because of the stm. do you suggest i wait for the new model?

Nope, 'not great' compared to mirrorless. Still worlds better than regular DSLR.

All upcoming Canons will support STM (as do the new T5i and SL1), and I assume that most new lenses will too. If you shoot a lot of video d are frustrated, then STM should be a very worthwhile upgrade. Stick to the T4i though, the T5i really offers nothing new.
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #65 on: May 04, 2013, 10:33:36 PM »
also poll doesnt allow for 2 entries. i have the t2i for around the neck, and s95 on the belt...

Anyone else having this issue? It seems to be working fine from my end.
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #66 on: May 04, 2013, 10:36:25 PM »
How about a "P&S but I plan on getting an SLR or Mirrorless in the near future" option?

Good idea, done.

My reason for suggesting it was that as you post more and more lessons there will be many different discussions going on and it might be hard to follow.
OTOH, breaking it up might make it too fragmented, as I imagine most of the topics are all intertwined.

Hence my "perhaps" in the suggestion, I'm not really sure which will be better...

Good point. I think for now I'll keep everything here. I'll see how it goes after a couple of lessons, if it gets too confusing I'll break it up by section.
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Offline whYME

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #67 on: May 04, 2013, 10:43:23 PM »
Good idea, done.
I knew I should've waited before voting... :)

Offline Mordy2

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #68 on: May 04, 2013, 11:18:49 PM »
Thank you so much! The first lesson was very informative! Looking forward to the rest!

Offline yehuda S

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #69 on: May 04, 2013, 11:25:49 PM »
Can we add a 'smartphone' option?  :P I mostly use my iPhone5 cam.
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Offline ChAiM'l

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #70 on: May 05, 2013, 02:51:33 AM »
Nope, 'not great' compared to mirrorless. Still worlds better than regular DSLR.

All upcoming Canons will support STM (as do the new T5i and SL1), and I assume that most new lenses will too. If you shoot a lot of video d are frustrated, then STM should be a very worthwhile upgrade. Stick to the T4i though, the T5i really offers nothing new.

So will these new STM lenses actually focus quicker and smoother than others, making it easier to capture video, or is it more for noise reduction?

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #71 on: May 05, 2013, 02:53:28 AM »
So will these new STM lenses actually focus quicker and smoother than others, making it easier to capture video, or is it more for noise reduction?

All three - faster, smoother, and quieter.
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Offline ChAiM'l

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #72 on: May 05, 2013, 03:04:33 AM »
All three - faster, smoother, and quieter.

Fast enough to be practical to use for regular family videos?

Offline Twin

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #73 on: May 05, 2013, 03:08:34 AM »
Can we add a 'smartphone' option?  :P I mostly use my iPhone5 cam.
+1
If there is anything you can do to make your pic look nicer with such a camera.

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #74 on: May 05, 2013, 03:12:26 AM »
Fast enough to be practical to use for regular family videos?

TBH I've never personally tried that. On paper it seems like it might be, but I'll be able to get my hands on one Monday and I'll report back with my thoughts.
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #75 on: May 05, 2013, 03:16:34 AM »
+1
If there is anything you can do to make your pic look nicer with such a camera.
Can we add a 'smartphone' option?  :P I mostly use my iPhone5 cam.

Sure you could make your pics look nicer even if you only use a smartphone, no question about it.

The techniques for smartphones will be extremely similar to P&Ss, so I've lumped them together as one group in the poll.
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Offline bem684

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #76 on: May 05, 2013, 11:16:08 AM »
I strongly recommend the videos from Michael the Maven aka Michael the Mentor aka Michael Andrew. 

I worked for a frum camera store for about 4 years and Michael once gave us a HUGE amount of business by posting on a professional photo forum that we had the Canon 5D III a day before B&H or Adorama (this camera was selling for around $5k at the time, and we got dozens of sales in 24 hours after he made that post).  He has a large following apparently.  Anyway he asked us to start selling his DVDs, which we did.  I bought one for myself when I purchased my Rebel T3i a few months ago. 

I love his videos - they explain every feature and function of your camera, plus photography basics and accessories tips and recommendations.  He shoots with Canon gear so most (but not all) of his videos are Canon related.  But he does such a great job explaining concepts that it's worth looking to see if he has any videos for your camera (or user level).

http://michaelthemaven.com/products/

If you want to support a frum company who also sells his videos, check out PMI Digital on ebay:

http://stores.ebay.com/PMI-Digital/_i.html?_nkw=michael&submit=Search&_sid=227383702


Offline yehuda S

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #77 on: May 05, 2013, 02:57:59 PM »
Are all micro 4/3 lenses from different brands (Olympus, Panasonic etc) interchangeable with each other?
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #78 on: May 05, 2013, 02:59:06 PM »
Are all micro 4/3 lenses from different brands (Olympus, Panasonic etc) interchangeable with rematch other?

Yes.
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Offline jack12

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #79 on: May 06, 2013, 02:50:12 PM »
What would the Nikon Coolpix P100 - http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-P100-Vibration-Reduction-Black/dp/B0034XFG86 be classified as?