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Photography tips thread


Grundy

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Small F number combined with fish shutter speed are usually used for Motorsport photography where you'll get a picture of moving car/motor in focus while the background/track is blurred (this is pan and shoot technic).

 

Nice write up veeg........is a fish shutter speed for underwater photography? :lol:

 

:surrender: sorry, couldn't resist!

Opssss, I blame it on auto correct! Lol B)

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have you got a tripod matt? if not i can bring the Mrs one along on sunday if i come and you can have a go with that if you like. she will need it back as she uses it for her youtube stuff. also if she comes along grill her with any questions as shes into her photography. shes no expert but sh might be able to help a bit.

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And this is why I try film haha

 

I once went on a beginners photography course and the tutor said his wife will never go to each a film with him any more as he gets caught up in analysing the shots. :lol:

 

Film is photography but on a faster scale, each of the frames is a photograph ;)

 

 

Some nice tips in here though, thanks :thumbs:

 

Edit: my OH bought me the beginners course on groupon, cost something like £40 for an all day course and even though I thought I knew some of the basics this helped either me understand why or actually correct my knowledge. Would recommend something similar if you see a local one pop up.

Edited by Fodder
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have you got a tripod matt? if not i can bring the Mrs one along on sunday if i come and you can have a go with that if you like. she will need it back as she uses it for her youtube stuff. also if she comes along grill her with any questions as shes into her photography. shes no expert but sh might be able to help a bit.

This is probably the first thing I'm going to buy for my camera, as mine didn't come with one.

 

Hopefully see you tomorrow.

 

 

 

Also, saw great tips here guys, keep em coming :p

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bumpity bump.

 

Okay, so from a few comments and shares, think it's safe to say my photo's are improving :) I've now been taking all of my photo's on the 'AV' setting.

 

Within this, I have now Dropped the ISO to 200/100 (Tried 100 at Brighton, Incarnation)

 

I think the main feature I've been using is changing the white balance on the camera when shooting - I.e - When it's cloudy, not as bright, I bring it up a notch (Scale -2.....-1.....0.....1.....2) and when it's too bright, I bring it down a notch. Doesn't often stay on 0 now. Usually somewhere withing the region of -1 to 1.

 

Aperture is something that I am also tweaking with (if I can remember correctly, it's how much light gets through the lens) to try and capture a brighter image.

 

Shutter speed (I believe is the F settings ) Is something I am trying to play with more often...however, I think I need a tripod to really make the most of that, as I'm like I'm shivering when holding the camera :lol:

 

This would be my favorite photo to date that I've taken...Was just a one off random shot before we left :lol:

11157422_10155509981045249_4985158253378733015_o.jpg

 

 

This one I just love the colours that were captured from the whole scene.

11038420_10155509969980249_6306601382395020520_o.jpg

 

 

 

Now these below were captured on the ISO 100 rating.

 

Question is, am I going to far with the touching up in Lightroom? I only ask because I have one problem....I'm colour blind :lol:

10835248_10155535541070249_112196332610238973_o.jpg

11174485_10155535534115249_7690988695393070436_o.jpg

 

 

 

My final question is...

 

Can anyone recommend me some equipment to build up my camera collection?

 

Ideally looking for a tri-pod 1st. ( not looking to spend too much on one, as it's just a hobby I'm testing out for now :p )

Possibly a flash, as I would really like to do some evening shots.

 

And one for the future....a lens? Am I using the correct type of lens for the photo's i'm trying to achieve or would I be better off getting a new one?

 

 

 

Cheers gang.

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I think the main feature I've been using is changing the white balance on the camera when shooting - I.e - When it's cloudy, not as bright, I bring it up a notch (Scale -2.....-1.....0.....1.....2) and when it's too bright, I bring it down a notch. Doesn't often stay on 0 now. Usually somewhere withing the region of -1 to 1.

 

 

Just so that you don't confuse yourself, the settings you are referring to here relates to the exposure compensation; the white balance is something different, and settings for this include auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, etc.

 

In terms of a good lens to replace your 18-55mm 'kit' lens without spending too much money, you could do a lot worse than getting yourself a Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 VC; it was one of the first upgrades I made a few years back and I really can't fault the performance of it or justify replacing, especially considering the price.

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Your car is absolutely stunning mate! Not sure about some of the stickers but the actual car itself looks brilliant.
appreciate that.

But fear not. I got something else lined up for this season, stickers will be removed and a new design will be made :)

 

 

#teamtarmac

 

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Nothing wrong with the pics you are taking, but if you are colour blind, then you may be struggling a bit with certain colours, I dont know.

 

The prom pic is a bit heavy on the blue, but I dont know if you can see that or not?

 

I don't bother with white balance settings in camera, I'll adjust in Lightroom if necessary, but only if you are shooting in raw....... In jpeg..forget it!

 

The chinese flash guns are good value and a lot cheaper than Canon.

 

Dont buy the cheapest tripod out there, as it will be useless, and probably break after a couple of uses. Spend a bit more if you can.

 

Tell us what kit you have got, then we can advise on other stuff.

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Nothing wrong with the pics you are taking, but if you are colour blind, then you may be struggling a bit with certain colours, I dont know.

 

The prom pic is a bit heavy on the blue, but I dont know if you can see that or not?

 

I don't bother with white balance settings in camera, I'll adjust in Lightroom if necessary, but only if you are shooting in raw....... In jpeg..forget it!

 

The chinese flash guns are good value and a lot cheaper than Canon.

 

Dont buy the cheapest tripod out there, as it will be useless, and probably break after a couple of uses. Spend a bit more if you can.

 

Tell us what kit you have got, then we can advise on other stuff.

 

It's just blues/greens and red I see a different shade/tone to others, so it's hard for me to get those right - I.e. I over did it on Amy's I've been told.

 

Prom pic? - If you're referring to the 3rd image, I intentionally enhanced that one to bring out the blue in the sky.

 

I've only been adjusting it minor, as I was watching a few videos online about how you will get dead pixels on over exposed shots etc.

And I'm shooting in RAW now :)

 

I'll have a look thank you,

 

When I said cheap, I didn't mean a £20 flimsey thing, just that I didn't want to pay £200 for say something that £50 could do what I'm after. (Random prices btw) - It's not something I'd use all the time, but would like to have one for certain photo ideas.

 

My camera's a Canon EOS 450D

 

your base image look a lot better than what your lightroom edited pictures they look fuzzy/grainy

 

you got a canon? if so you can try my 10-18mm lens

I think some of them are a bit grainey from Incarnation because I upped the clarity a bit, just mainly because for me, the lighting was dull due to lack of sun and mostly cloudy. So just wanted the photo's to pop a bit more.

Another reason as you can see in the images below...The Sea had to much white and you couldn't actually see the ocean. If I could of captured the ocean without enhancing the car I probably would of had that picture.

 

yhu1fvs.jpg

11169656_10155535542365249_6727705567241431768_o.jpg

 

 

My final question of the day is... Focus points. Is there a setting or technique to allow the camera to focus more on the central point whilst bluring out the rear/surrounding area, or is that done in photoshop?

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To blur out background you want to use a lens which gives a good shallow depth of field. Usually you would use something with a very large aperture i.e. f2.8, f1.8, f1.4.

 

What camera/lenses are you using? On Canon you can use the manual focus points to help create the shallow depth or to move the focus of the camera.

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To blur out background you want to use a lens which gives a good shallow depth of field. Usually you would use something with a very large aperture i.e. f2.8, f1.8, f1.4.

 

What camera/lenses are you using? On Canon you can use the manual focus points to help create the shallow depth or to move the focus of the camera.

I'm currently using a Canon EFS 18-55mm 0.25m/0.8ft (it's what came when I bought it (2nd hand) )

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To blur out background you want to use a lens which gives a good shallow depth of field. Usually you would use something with a very large aperture i.e. f2.8, f1.8, f1.4.

 

What camera/lenses are you using? On Canon you can use the manual focus points to help create the shallow depth or to move the focus of the camera.

I'm currently using a Canon EFS 18-55mm 0.25m/0.8ft (it's what came when I bought it (2nd hand) )

Going to be very hard to create a shallow depth of field with that kit lens unfortunately. Have a look for the 50mm F1.8 it can be picked up very easily. Also, what 18-55mm lens is it- theres various types, does it have the IS on it?

 

My favourite lens which was a reasonable price was my 28-135 USM IS lens.

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Just flicked my camera on,

 

Goes down the F5.6 - Now will it go lower on different settings? As I'm currently shooting in AV mode. Or is this just down to lens/camera?

Always shoot in full manual, which means you can control your aperture size and shutter speed.

 

When you have the lens at full zoom it will always be at f5.6 for this one. You can buy lenses with fixed aperture throughout the zoom but these are costly. Search 70-200mm IS L (my dream lens)

 

What camera are you using also mate?

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I took this on my 18-55mm IS ii kit lens. This was taken at 18mm @ f3.5. If you look to the front of the car you will see the focus drops off. Its very hard to get this with the kit lens unless you are really close to the subject and the background is far away.

 

14478837757_94b3bbe6a2_k.jpg

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For lens, it depends on your needs really. What are you trying to capture and what you felt lacking with current lens to take the pics you have in mind.

 

For example, at shows/meets, you felt that you can't frame the whole car as space are limited, hence you had chopped the front or rear of the car. Then you'll probably need a wide angle lens.

 

If you want a nice blur background, you'll need a lens with small F, but the smaller you go, the more ££ you will be paying.

 

If you find yourself zooming a lot and sometimes feel you need a little bit more zoom, then go for something bigger. Canon 24-105mm seems to be a good choice. (I might be wrong as I'm a Nikon user)

 

Tripod wise, I brought a cheapo from Amazon for less than £30 to start with. It was pretty lightweight as it wasn't top quality but does the job. Light enough for me to carry around. If you like having a tripod then you can start saving up for a better one.

 

For flash, again get something cheap to start. I would recommend getting a diffuser as direct flash sometimes over expose your pics so a diffuser will always help. It's just a simple white transparent cover.

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