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 357921 times)

Offline A3

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #540 on: April 28, 2014, 11:09:23 AM »
Hi. For a beginner, and wanting to start shooting in raw, is Adobe Elements enough? Or should I go for Lightroom? 

Thanks.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #541 on: April 29, 2014, 12:20:12 AM »
Here's a few examples. Only in the 4th shot of the flowers did I somewhat get the desired result and in the 1st the background is hardly blurred, just out of focus. All shots were taken at 1.8 ISO 100 with a shutter speed somewhere between 1/2000 and 1/4000.
Bump - so what do you guys think about these samples and the backgrounds? Is this what I should be expecting?

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #542 on: April 29, 2014, 12:43:12 AM »
Bump - so what do you guys think about these samples and the backgrounds? Is this what I should be expecting?

Yes - they all look perfectly normal.

The reason you think the last shot looks best is not that it's blurred more - in fact it's just as blurred as the 2 above it. However unlike the frog ones (which I love, btw :D), the flower background has lots of light-on-dark detail. This lets the blur show up better due to the contrast. The frogs, OTOH, are on a pretty much uniformly colored background so the blur doesn't stand out so much.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #543 on: April 29, 2014, 12:47:00 AM »
Hi. For a beginner, and wanting to start shooting in raw, is Adobe Elements enough? Or should I go for Lightroom? 

Thanks.

The engine behind Photoshop Elements is ACR (Adobe Camera RAW), which is the same engine that powers the develop module in Lightroom. What this means is that there is zero difference to the RAW processing between them.

The strength LR has over Elements lies in the organization and workflow tools, not the development. In fact for a beginner I'd suggest Elements over LR, since it gives you an almost-as-good-version of Photoshop in addition to RAW processing.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #544 on: April 29, 2014, 12:56:10 AM »
Yes - they all look perfectly normal.

The reason you think the last shot looks best is not that it's blurred more - in fact it's just as blurred as the 2 above it. However unlike the frog ones (which I love, btw :D), the flower background has lots of light-on-dark detail. This lets the blur show up better due to the contrast. The frogs, OTOH, are on a pretty much uniformly colored background so the blur doesn't stand out so much.
Thanks - if you want I can send you over a frog or two!

That's a really interesting point you are making regarding the light on dark detail.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #545 on: April 29, 2014, 01:02:40 AM »
Thanks - if you want I can send you over a frog or two!

LOL

That's a really interesting point you are making regarding the light on dark detail.

It's all about the contrast. Think about it: which do you like better - the top half or the bottom half? Even though both are just as blurry, the top half offers the visual contrast and interest which the bottom half doesn't.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #546 on: May 15, 2014, 12:39:16 AM »
Just got Lightroom 5 - what is a good resource to learn how to use it? I mean from scratch btw... I am open to buying a good book etc.

Thanks

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #547 on: May 15, 2014, 12:45:16 AM »
Just got Lightroom 5 - what is a good resource to learn how to use it? I mean from scratch btw... I am open to buying a good book etc.

Thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Lightroom-Digital-Photographers-Voices/dp/0321934318/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

That's the best book out there.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #548 on: May 15, 2014, 12:55:46 AM »
http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Lightroom-Digital-Photographers-Voices/dp/0321934318/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

That's the best book out there.
Thanks, I am going to order it. Worth every penny if I can learn how to use LR!

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #549 on: May 15, 2014, 12:59:10 AM »
Thanks, I am going to order it. Worth every penny if I can learn how to use LR!
Throw in the referral tag for Dan to get a cut out of your spend :)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321934318/?tag=cl03f-20

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #550 on: May 15, 2014, 01:21:36 AM »
Throw in the referral tag for Dan to get a cut out of your spend :)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321934318/?tag=cl03f-20

Good point. Thanks.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #551 on: May 15, 2014, 06:20:10 PM »
Personally, I found Julianne kost's free tutorial videos online to be excellent. Starting knowing nothing, and while I am far from being a pro, I can do a decent job of getting a photo where I want it. I found her to be very very clear and not at all boring. . She has lots and lots of videos. Jkost.com

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #552 on: May 15, 2014, 06:53:56 PM »
Personally, I found Julianne kost's free tutorial videos online to be excellent. Starting knowing nothing, and while I am far from being a pro, I can do a decent job of getting a photo where I want it. I found her to be very very clear and not at all boring. . She has lots and lots of videos. Jkost.com
Thanks. Already ordered the book but will take a look. I always enjoy watching tutorials online.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #553 on: May 15, 2014, 08:25:04 PM »
Personally, I found Julianne kost's free tutorial videos online to be excellent. Starting knowing nothing, and while I am far from being a pro, I can do a decent job of getting a photo where I want it. I found her to be very very clear and not at all boring. . She has lots and lots of videos. Jkost.com
Is there anything similar in photography lessons for free?

SF opened my eyes to the world of photography and I'm craving some more in depth lessons :)

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #554 on: May 15, 2014, 10:21:18 PM »
Is there anything similar in photography lessons for free?

SF opened my eyes to the world of photography and I'm craving some more in depth lessons :)
SF told me about this website. Very comprehensive... http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #555 on: May 15, 2014, 10:30:13 PM »
Is there anything similar in photography lessons for free?

Scott Kelby's got a training empire (he's the top-selling technology author in the world or something like that).

Check out http://kelbytv.com/ - there are thousands of videos on everything from beginner to pro. For beginners I'd suggest the Photography Tips and Tricks videos, preferably starting with the oldest and working back. There's a wealth of good stuff there, and it's quite entertaining too.

He also has a pay site where the top pros in the world give classes on anything photography-related you could imagine. It's not cheap, but it's absolutely amazing.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #556 on: May 15, 2014, 10:42:06 PM »
He also has a pay site where the top pros in the world give classes on anything photography-related you could imagine. It's not cheap, but it's absolutely amazing.

BTW - anyone interested in splitting a yearly subscription? I haven't had any issues with multiple people accessing one account, even at the same time. I could also get it at a very substantial discount.
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #557 on: May 15, 2014, 10:45:13 PM »
I'd LOVE to, but unfortunately I don't get to spend nearly as much time on photography as I wish I could, and with a tight budget, I can't justify the spend knowing that I'll barely end up using it - if at all.

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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #558 on: May 15, 2014, 11:57:49 PM »
BTW - anyone interested in splitting a yearly subscription? I haven't had any issues with multiple people accessing one account, even at the same time. I could also get it at a very substantial discount.
wow! If the classes are anything like that website, then it must be very professional! I'd be in if you can let us know the monthly fees. Thnks!
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Re: Learn Photography Master Thread
« Reply #559 on: May 16, 2014, 03:36:00 AM »
BTW - anyone interested in splitting a yearly subscription? I haven't had any issues with multiple people accessing one account, even at the same time. I could also get it at a very substantial discount.

Details?