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 Insitor
Location: above and below the midwest
Gender: Male
a firm believer in brawn over brains
 |  | Improving my photography skills
< on 4/22/2009 4:06 PM >
|  | | | First let me say that I got into exploring for the thrill of seeing places others usually don't and not for the pictures. However, due to the historic nature of the places I like to visit and the incredible sites I get to see, I have become more and more interested in the photography aspect of UE. I really enjoy the pics that people post of the places they go to, and it kinda makes me feel like photography and exploring go hand in hand, and that exploring alone is not good enough. Needless to say, I am not a professional photographer or even a decent amateur. I only have a point and shoot style camera, a Sony cyber-shot which I know how to use fairly well. I have access to a digital SLR camera and accessories at my school, and I have kinda taught myself how to use them. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions as to how can I improve my photography skills?
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ActionSatisfaction Esq.
       
Location: Newark, NJ
Gender: Male
Action always satisfies
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 1 on 4/22/2009 5:13 PM >
| | | | -The very best tip I can give to a beginner is to learn how to use your camera(s) properly. Learn about everything they have to offer, and how to use it when you need it. I use an relatively old film SLR, usually set to time value or manual mode. It worked well and took fine pictures.
One day I decided to download the PDF of the user manual, and read the whole thing, and in doing so learned a bunch of different settings and ways to shoot with the camera I didn't really know much about, and was trying to replicate in a difficult and inferior way. It also gave me a few more ideas on how to shoot.
-Learn the definitions of different photographic terms. Things will be much easier to understand and they might even give you a few ideas.
-Practice! Practice! Practice! Take pictures of everything! Digital allows you to do this, so take advantage of it. If you don't like how a picture comes out, change the settings until you do. Make a mental note of these settings, so next time you're in a similar situation you have somewhere to start.
-Read. Even a lot of good photography books are relatively cheap, and they offer quite a bit of information that will help beginners immensely (IMO).
-Look at others pictures. If you see pictures you like, ask them how they took such a picture. Most photographers are proud enough of their work to tell you in detail how they took a certain picture if you just ask. I can't ever see anybody getting upset with someone taking interest in their photography.
Good luck!
"The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life." - T.R. |
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shadowedsmile
Location: Northwestern Ontario
Gender: Female
mines always on the mind
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 2 on 4/22/2009 5:24 PM >
| | | | Posted by ActionSatisfaction Esq.
-The very best tip I can give to a beginner is to learn how to use your camera(s) properly.
-Practice! Practice! Practice! Take pictures of everything! Digital allows you to do this, so take advantage of it. If you don't like how a picture comes out, change the settings until you do. Make a mental note of these settings, so next time you're in a similar situation you have somewhere to start.
-Read. Even a lot of good photography books are relatively cheap, and they offer quite a bit of information that will help beginners immensely (IMO).
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These three things so much!!! I noticed a world of difference in the quality of the pictures I took once I really learned how the camera I use works, as well as spending as much time as possible in the darkroom trying out various techniques to get different effects for each print (if you're into film). I have probably 20 copies of one photograph from trying different things in high school.
If you are using a digital camera, never go anywhere without it as stated above, take pictures of EVERYTHING. Try different settings, angles, etc. It's free to take as many pictures as you want!! Take advantage of this.
Good luck and enjoy!!
"Adventure is the respectful pursuit of trouble." - Expedition Overland |
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Waypoint15
Location: Terlingua
Gender: Male
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 3 on 4/22/2009 5:35 PM >
| | | | Go to your Library and look at A short Course in Digital Photography it will provide you with more information than you want. text is by Barbara London and Jim Stone.
WP15 |
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Shakes
Location: Mpls, MN
Gender: Male
| |  |  | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 4 on 4/22/2009 5:37 PM >
| | | | Read what Ansel Adams has to say about photography. Then apply it. Play around with your aperture and exposure time. Bracket photos. But ultimately, know your gear.
www.tccrawlersyndicate.com |
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micro
 
Gender: Male
Slowly I turned
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 5 on 4/22/2009 5:44 PM >
| | | | | If you are using a digital camera, never go anywhere without it as stated above, take pictures of EVERYTHING. |
| Practice! Practice! Practice! Take pictures of everything! |
I don't agree with this at all. Rather than taking pictures of EVERYTHING, you'd be better off picking one or two subjects you find interesting and figuring out the best way to show them off using different techniques. I know that digital is "free" and it's tempting to just run around taking photos of whatever you can, but it's not likely to help you improve all that much.
Be selective. Shoot less, and think more about you're shooting. Pick up a smaller memory card so that you can limit the number of photos you can take while out and about. I think that helps more than filling up an eight gig card with who knows what.
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ActionSatisfaction Esq.
Location: Newark, NJ
Gender: Male
Action always satisfies
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 6 on 4/22/2009 6:03 PM >
| | | | Posted by micro
I don't agree with this at all. Rather than taking pictures of EVERYTHING, you'd be better off picking one or two subjects you find interesting and figuring out the best way to show them off using different techniques. I know that digital is "free" and it's tempting to just run around taking photos of whatever you can, but it's not likely to help you improve all that much.
Be selective. Shoot less, and think more about you're shooting. Pick up a smaller memory card so that you can limit the number of photos you can take while out and about. I think that helps more than filling up an eight gig card with who knows what.
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Yes, I know exactly what you're saying, and I do agree. Having only ever shot film, I know how important it is to make every shot count, and how knowing this forces you to strive to shoot better every single time you pick up a camera, or it gets expensive/time consuming.
Though I think that for somebody just starting, taking lots of pictures is a good way to find out just what it is that they like, and how to do it in different ways. I can't see a reason to limit it to just one or two subjects.
I do suppose I should've added.. When you do understand what results you want, as well as how and what you like to shoot... shoot less of it. I personally limit myself to 1 to 2 shots of any subject, and if I really really like something, at most 3. It makes me try a hell of a lot harder knowing if I don't take it right, I may not get to take it again. I usually only use about 1 to 1.5 rolls of film (24-36 exposures) per location, unless it's really large and possessing of multitudinous features.
"The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life." - T.R. |
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shadowedsmile
Location: Northwestern Ontario
Gender: Female
mines always on the mind
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 7 on 4/22/2009 6:22 PM >
| | | | Posted by micro
I don't agree with this at all. Rather than taking pictures of EVERYTHING, you'd be better off picking one or two subjects you find interesting and figuring out the best way to show them off using different techniques. I know that digital is "free" and it's tempting to just run around taking photos of whatever you can, but it's not likely to help you improve all that much.
Be selective. Shoot less, and think more about you're shooting. Pick up a smaller memory card so that you can limit the number of photos you can take while out and about. I think that helps more than filling up an eight gig card with who knows what.
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I didn't mean just run around taking photos without thought, I should've clarified that, I get what you are saying, though. But I do feel like a beginner should take advantage of the ability to delete photos at will, and trying out a variety of subjects will help to develop a style or taste for their pictures. If I look through all the pictures I have from when I first got my camera there is a huge range of experimentation. I would go out into the field and take as many pictures as I could afford to.
I see your point about picking a subject or two and trying out different techniques, though, good point. I've only ever worked with film, and at $7 per 24 exposures it kind of forces me to think about each shot naturally.
"Adventure is the respectful pursuit of trouble." - Expedition Overland |
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micro
Gender: Male
Slowly I turned
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 8 on 4/22/2009 6:47 PM >
| | | | Posted by ActionSatisfaction Esq.
Though I think that for somebody just starting, taking lots of pictures is a good way to find out just what it is that they like, and how to do it in different ways. I can't see a reason to limit it to just one or two subjects.
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Yeah, but what I meant by "subject" might be a bit broader than what you're thinking. A subject might be one building in particular and not just a chair or something. At the same time, if one enjoys taking pictures of everything they can then there's absolutely nothing wrong with that either. I can only speak based on my own experiences, but I've never felt as though I've gained anything by going that route.
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Shakes
Location: Mpls, MN
Gender: Male
| | | | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 9 on 4/22/2009 7:18 PM >
| | | | Posted by ActionSatisfaction Esq.
I know how important it is to make every shot count, and how knowing this forces you to strive to shoot better every single time you pick up a camera, or it gets expensive/time consuming.
Though I think that for somebody just starting, taking lots of pictures is a good way to find out just what it is that they like, and how to do it in different ways. I can't see a reason to limit it to just one or two subjects.
I usually only use about 1 to 1.5 rolls of film (24-36 exposures) per location, unless it's really large and possessing of multitudinous features.
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I posted a rashly, but I think starting with film is definitely a good idea. I think it forces you to keep track of what your shooting and it makes you shoot with intent. Also, and I don't know if anyone else can make a testament to this, but start shooting in B&W only. That's how I learned how to see value and composition. The other thing about shooting in B&W is that some photos I thought would be really good turned out to be lackluster, and similarly photos I thought would be terrible turned out well.
Point and shoots can be difficult, and dSLRs can be difficult if you don't know how to use them.
www.tccrawlersyndicate.com |
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Insitor
Location: above and below the midwest
Gender: Male
a firm believer in brawn over brains
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 10 on 4/22/2009 7:23 PM >
| | | | Thanks for the help everyone! For now I'll see what I can do around campus, and I'll definitely be taking my camera with me in my backpack as suggested.
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Crumpet
Location: Brisbane, AUS
Gender: Male
You know you're in Brisbane when...
| | | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 11 on 4/23/2009 12:50 AM >
| | | | Posted by Insitor
Thanks for the help everyone! For now I'll see what I can do around campus, and I'll definitely be taking my camera with me in my backpack as suggested.
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Good idea. You mentioned you have a point and shoot earlier - whatever you do don't feel compelled to get a DSLR just because a lot of urban photographers shoot with them. I had a little 5MP Canon IXUS for about four years before I got a DSLR, and I still use it occasionally for situations where I can't just carry around a DSLR in my pocket. In those four years I took a few really good shots with it, stuff I'd be lucky to replicate even now with a DSLR - so it was great practice for me, learning what worked to achieve a desired effect and what didn't.
Now I've got a DSLR and I'm *still* learning stuff about it five months later. I've yet to take the time to sit down and read the manual cover-to-cover, but I know I should 
- Crumpet (http://www.urbanillusions.org)
[from micro's "drainer rules"] 3rd RULE: If someone says "rain" or "thunderstorm", the draining is over. |
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shadowedsmile
Location: Northwestern Ontario
Gender: Female
mines always on the mind
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 12 on 4/23/2009 2:55 AM >
| | | | Posted by Insitor
Thanks for the help everyone! For now I'll see what I can do around campus, and I'll definitely be taking my camera with me in my backpack as suggested.
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Have fun with it!
As mentioned above, don't feel obligated to use a (d)SLR. You can still get nice pictures with a point and shoot camera, using composition, etc. I used a point and shoot camera my dad gave me for a while until he let me use his Canon F-1 SLR, which I've been using for a few years now. I've never used a digital SLR, the only digital camera I have is the Canon A20 (think large, heavy and clunky...it's old! haha) I got as a hand-me-down when my dad bought a better digital camera.
"Adventure is the respectful pursuit of trouble." - Expedition Overland |
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Trap
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Gender: Male
Son, I am disappoint
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 13 on 4/24/2009 1:19 AM >
| | | | ***THREAD HIJACK***
How do I do this on a P&S?
Posted by Send4Help:
ITS EIGHT FUCKING THIRTY!!
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metawaffle
King of Puns
Location: Brisbane!
Gender: Male
Purveyor of Fine Lampshades
| | | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 14 on 4/24/2009 1:24 AM >
| | | | Posted by Shutchatrap
***THREAD HIJACK***
How do I do this on a P&S?
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If you can set your aperture manually, choose the lowest aperture number you can. Then, zoom your camera (optical zoom, not digital) to the narrowest setting it has, and focus as close as it'll let you.
That'll give you the shallowest depth of field you can get on your camera, and you can work from there. Unfortunately, though, compact digital cameras usually have quite a broad depth of field, so you might be a bit limited in what you can achieve.
Hope that helps!
http://www.longexposure.net |
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Shawn W.
Location: Niagara Falls, NY
Gender: Male
Optimistic Pessimist
| | | | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 15 on 4/24/2009 11:50 AM >
| | | | Posted by Crumpet
Good idea. You mentioned you have a point and shoot earlier - whatever you do don't feel compelled to get a DSLR just because a lot of urban photographers shoot with them. I had a little 5MP Canon IXUS for about four years before I got a DSLR, and I still use it occasionally for situations where I can't just carry around a DSLR in my pocket. In those four years I took a few really good shots with it, stuff I'd be lucky to replicate even now with a DSLR - so it was great practice for me, learning what worked to achieve a desired effect and what didn't.
Now I've got a DSLR and I'm *still* learning stuff about it five months later. I've yet to take the time to sit down and read the manual cover-to-cover, but I know I should |
I'd like to expound upon this.
I'd started off using a film SLR in a photography class in high school, but didn't have the luxury of using one outside of that class. At first, I began by buying one use cameras, and doing what I could with them, and I actually managed some very nice shots. After I'd pushed that envelope as far as it would go, I graduated to a good (at the time) film p&s, and stuck with that, pushing it as far as it would go.
During this time, my mother had tried twice to get me into digital, but both times failed, as the first one had poor resolution and a virtually non-existent feature set, while the second was an energy hog that sucked my batteries dry after less than 10 shots. Finally, after my last film camera gave out, I went a few weeks without a working camera, until Christmas, when I finally received a digital that I could use, and I used it extensively, with better an better results each time, the best of which came, I think, when I had a chance to shoot The Cure from inside the security area at their Cleveland show last year, which was awesome.
Finally, my first usable digital p&s stopped accepting rechargeable batteries, and was about to become a more expensive proposition in terms of keeping it powered, so I felt that it was finally time for me to go back to my roots, sort of, by getting a digital SLR, which I did slightly less than two months ago. The first thing that I learned when I began using it is that I knew less about photography than I'd thought  , as I'd gotten used to the limitations of the p&s cameras, so I had to start of using full auto. However, thanks to my previous experience, I quickly brought myself up to speed, and was able to wean myself away from that. Now, I generally use it in aperture priority mode, though I've begun experimenting with manual. I'm still learning, but getting better each time I shoot.
Um, yeah, you probably didn't need to hear all of that , but the moral behind it is start off small, learn as much as you can, then when you've pushed your skills and your camera as far as they can go, graduate to the next level, and keep on going from there. It's a very rewarding experience.
[last edit 4/24/2009 11:51 AM by Shawn W. - edited 1 times]
What is a rebel? A man who says no. - Albert Camus |
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vrillusions
Location: Cleveland, OH
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 16 on 4/24/2009 8:48 PM >
| | | | I've been taking (non-UE) photos for years, I've also talked to a few people that aren't "technically" professional photographers but have $20,000-$30,000 (if not more) in camera gear and I have a lot of respect for.
Since this is a little long winded, here's the bullet points, read below for explanation:
- It's not the camera that makes a good photo, it's the user
- Stay away from auto and "picture style" modes
- Read the manual
- Mix quality vs quantity (don't just wildly take pictures, take them with a purpose)
- Learn the basics on photography (aperture, shutter speed, iso) and ideas (rule of thirds)
- don't post every picture you take, choose the good ones, note why
- repeat
First off, it's not the camera that makes a good photo, it's the user. You can have the latest full frame dSLR that cost $6000, slap a $2000 lens on it and take horrible pictures if you don't know what you're doing. On the other hand a more experiences photographer could run circles around you with a disposable 35mm camera. It's knowing the limits of the camera and working with it. Up until two months or so I've always used prosumer point and shoot cameras (The Canon PowerShot series) I've gotten some stellar pictures from it. When I got a dSLR things have definitely improved but a lot of the "good" from pictures still comes from knowing what limits I have.
If you are serious about learning photography, never never never use "picture style" or whatever it's called on the camera. These are modes that preselect things for you, like night shots, fireworks, fast action, etc. Also stay away from auto. Stick to the "creative" modes: P, Av (aperture value), Tv (time value), and M (manual) (these are canon terms, but similar modes are on other cameras). You can do everything the picture style settings do but you'll a) have more control over the settings and b) know how and why those settings work. Most of my pictures are in P mode. This is close to auto but still gives you control over the camera. On my dSLR it always wants to use the flash on auto, in P I can choose when to use the flash.
Read the manual! And keep it with you if needed, or find a pdf of it. Even if you think you know everything about your camera it will still teach you some little trick. Even for my 40D (the dSLR I have) I went through the entire manual in two nights of maybe 40 minutes each since I played with settings as I learned them. They look thick but they're tiny books.
My thoughts on quantity vs quality is kinda mixed. Don't be afraid to take a ton of pictures, but take them with a purpose. For example, pick some small object near you and take a picture. then switch to Av mode and play with the aperture value and note the difference, then switch to Tv mode and play with the shutter speed, etc. If you're just wildly taking photos every 5 seconds, especially on auto, you're not going to learn anything.
Learn the basics on photography. Such as the three parts of the "exposure triangle": aperture, shutter speed, ISO. Learn what each does and the benefits and costs associated with modifying each. Also some simple composition ideas like the rule of thirds and such are useful in making your photos stand out. Books are useful for this although I just search around and it's probably why it took longer. It's taken me years to finally get what aperture is and why it's numbered how it is. With P&S cameras it's not as bad. With dSLR you have a whole bunch of new terms, like "stopping down" and fast lenses vs slow lenses, etc.
This last one I'm guilty of unfortunately. After you take all those pictures, don't just remove all the obviously bad pictures and post the other 400 pictures online. Look at each "scene" or object and pick the best one out of the group, note WHY you like that one over the others. Keep that in mind next time you go out.
[last edit 4/24/2009 8:48 PM by vrillusions - edited 1 times]
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don_corleyone
Location: F/RoX
Gender: Male
I have abandonment issues
| | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 17 on 4/24/2009 10:01 PM >
| | | | get a book.
leave the gun. take the cannoli.
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DashingFlamingos
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 18 on 4/25/2009 12:56 AM >
| | | | Posted by don_corleyone
get a book.
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Read your manual, rather.
It REALLY does help, as far as cameras go.
Also I don't know if someone already mentioned this, because I gave up trying to read the awfully long posts, BUT every camera has it's quirks, learn to use them to your advantage.
It's all foreign to me. |
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vrillusions
Location: Cleveland, OH
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Improving my photography skills
<Reply # 19 on 4/25/2009 1:40 AM >
| | | | Another thing I thought of that may be of use to UE in the US. "The Photographers Rights" pdf. Explains the rights that american's have as far as taking pictures. Useful for when you do scouting. Shortened version, if you are on public property you can take pictures of [pretty much] anything you want, even if the property you are taking a picture of prohibits it while on the property. So if you are on a sidewalk with a 2500mm zoom [sic] you can take as many pictures as you want. Of course there are exceptions and this is only in the US. In other countries you'll have to see you're own laws:
http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm
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