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 357928 times)

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #440 on: February 06, 2014, 05:59:19 PM »
I don't believe neutral density filters will reduce the dynamic range (difference between brightest and darkest pixels) of the photo, but will uniformly reduce the light captured by any given combination of values, resulting in a all-round lower exposure for the entire photo.

They can be extremely useful, but I don't believe dynamic range is their forte.

You're confusing solid neural density filters with graduated ones.

A solid will uniformly reduce the light, while a grad will absolutely help control dynamic range. For example, balancing out a bright sky with a darker foreground.
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Offline HP58

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #441 on: February 06, 2014, 07:53:30 PM »
Nu Fishy, when's the next lesson coming :) ?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #442 on: February 06, 2014, 08:29:26 PM »
Nu Fishy, when's the next lesson coming :) ?
+100. They have been great. I have been reading Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and have found your lessons as really great way to compliment it.

On a side note and excuse my ignorance here but after watching some YouTube tutorials on Lightroom I am not sure exactly what additional benefits photoshop will give me for most pictures? Anyone care to clarify? Thanks!

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #443 on: February 07, 2014, 12:37:13 PM »
You're confusing solid neural density filters with graduated ones.

A solid will uniformly reduce the light, while a grad will absolutely help control dynamic range. For example, balancing out a bright sky with a darker foreground.

^ Exactly. YG, there are some really interesting ones but they need to be screwed on to the lens with the right orientation to work. Its sort of like the way some sunglasses have a gradient from dark to light so you can see the ground clearly but the sky isn't blindingly bright at the same time.

A polarizing filter, however, can really pop DR in a different way.
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Online Something Fishy

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #444 on: February 07, 2014, 12:57:21 PM »
Nu Fishy, when's the next lesson coming :) ?

Working on it.... Wish I had more time to devote to this, though. I have so many things planned ;)
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #445 on: February 07, 2014, 01:04:31 PM »
+100. They have been great. I have been reading Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and have found your lessons as really great way to compliment it.

Thanks ;D

On a side note and excuse my ignorance here but after watching some YouTube tutorials on Lightroom I am not sure exactly what additional benefits photoshop will give me for most pictures? Anyone care to clarify? Thanks!

For most people + most of the time, not much, really.

LR easily handles basic, everyday retouching. PS is good for very detailed, very fine work, like reliving people from a scene, content-aware full, etc. It also does the heavy lifting - layers, complicated things like transparencies, basically "serious" stuff.

But for everyday enhancements (color, contrast, exposure, etc.), LR is perfect. And it gets better all the time - local adjustments are now very powerful, and your could even do basic layer work through the free Perfect Layers plugin from OnOne.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #446 on: February 07, 2014, 01:35:24 PM »
Had fun using photoshop on these pics I took in Bali. 1st time I tried anything so intense. I know it's not perfect.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #447 on: February 07, 2014, 01:45:33 PM »
Had fun using photoshop on these pics I took in Bali. 1st time I tried anything so intense. I know it's not perfect.

Not bad for a beginner!

Happens to be I like the original better, it has more of a 'tropical rainforest' look due to the threatening clouds.

Also remember when doing such radical edits to go over the entire image with a fine-toothed comb to make sure that everything is consistent. For example here, the pools are reflecting a completely different sky ;D. Also, there's no way a bright sunny day could have produced such even, shadowless light.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #448 on: February 07, 2014, 01:49:25 PM »
Not bad for a beginner!

Happens to be I like the original better, it has more of a 'tropical rainforest' look due to the threatening clouds.

Also remember when doing such radical edits to go over the entire image with a fine-toothed comb to make sure that everything is consistent. For example here, the pools are reflecting a completely different sky ;D. Also, there's no way a bright sunny day could have produced such even, shadowless light.
Thanks. That's funny about the pools - there's no way I would have thought of that. Glad you like the original better that's the one I am using for my photobook.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #449 on: February 11, 2014, 05:04:27 PM »
argh, so apparently Photoshop CS3 doesn't support the t3i raw files.   >:( >:(

Should I just use the Adobe DNG converter or should I try getting a hold of CS5 (or 6) or lightroom?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #450 on: February 11, 2014, 08:37:30 PM »
Thanks ;D


But for everyday enhancements (color, contrast, exposure, etc.), LR is perfect. And it gets better all the time - local adjustments are now very powerful, and your could even do basic layer work through the free Perfect Layers plugin from OnOne.

where can you get Perfect Layers plugin from OnOne for free?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #451 on: February 11, 2014, 09:41:03 PM »
where can you get Perfect Layers plugin from OnOne for free?
Been meaning to ask SF, what this plug in does in particular? Been watching some YouTube tutorials on Lightroom (which I find not bad however I do wish they would explain more about the "science" behind it and not just what buttons do what) and haven't yet come across this one...

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #452 on: February 11, 2014, 11:15:08 PM »
where can you get Perfect Layers plugin from OnOne for free?

Dang it. Looks like they integrated it into their suite in the last update and it's no longer free.

Sorry :'(
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #453 on: February 11, 2014, 11:16:36 PM »
Been meaning to ask SF, what this plug in does in particular? Been watching some YouTube tutorials on Lightroom (which I find not bad however I do wish they would explain more about the "science" behind it and not just what buttons do what) and haven't yet come across this one...

Cambridge In Color has some phenomenal articles digging into the science behind all this. Check out some of the articles on this page.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #454 on: February 11, 2014, 11:21:57 PM »
argh, so apparently Photoshop CS3 doesn't support the t3i raw files.   >:( >:(

Should I just use the Adobe DNG converter or should I try getting a hold of CS5 (or 6) or lightroom?

You don't lose anything by using the DNG converter, except that you have to add a step to your workflow.

Adobe also has a CC photographer's bundle going on now which gives you Photoshop CC and LR for $10/mo (for both). Not a bad deal I think - I use it myself.


ETA linky.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2014, 11:32:47 PM by Something Fishy »
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #455 on: February 12, 2014, 01:28:34 AM »
Hi

I just got back from Hawaii and would like to share a few pics.
Lemme know what you think.
(taken from my awesome camera. My LG G2 phone)













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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #456 on: February 12, 2014, 01:48:29 AM »
You don't lose anything by using the DNG converter, except that you have to add a step to your workflow.

Adobe also has a CC photographer's bundle going on now which gives you Photoshop CC and LR for $10/mo (for both). Not a bad deal I think - I use it myself.


ETA linky.
I actually tried installing the lightroom 5 trial earlier today but apparently it's not compatible with xp...

I need to think about that $10/month, I'm not too crazy about the idea of paying for a subscription rather than the service...

 

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #457 on: February 12, 2014, 03:25:48 AM »
Hi

I just got back from Hawaii and would like to share a few pics.
Lemme know what you think.
(taken from my awesome camera. My LG G2 phone)














it takes really small images...

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #458 on: February 12, 2014, 04:36:59 AM »
it takes really small images...
no, I must have put it in wrong.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #459 on: February 12, 2014, 08:30:49 AM »
I actually tried installing the lightroom 5 trial earlier today but apparently it's not compatible with xp...

I need to think about that $10/month, I'm not too crazy about the idea of paying for a subscription rather than the service...

Nothing to think about then - Adobe CC requires Win7 or newer.
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