GAF Photography Q3 - 2014
- Thread starter Fattony12000
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NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Hey guys. I recently bought a camera and I want to get into photography. What are some resources I should look into to learn more about photography?
I know, it's such a broad, vague question, but I'm basically starting at zero here.
I know, it's such a broad, vague question, but I'm basically starting at zero here.
First tell us if you bought a DSLR/mirroless/compact. Second get something to edit photos, I personally use Lightroom, after you get it I can't direct you to some videos to learn how to improve your photos. Then is learning and follow your instinct taking photos
Youtube is packed full of tutorials for new, intermediate and higher level photographers. I've been shooting for a few years now and I still refer to it from time to time. Reddit Photoclass is an excellent resource for beginners starting with no knowledge, I recommend it all the time. The fastest way to learn though is to simply get out there and be shooting constantly. There's honestly no substitute for it, also try to shoot on a semi-auto (Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority) mode or full-auto mode (M for Manual). Try your best to keep your camera off the fully automatic settings until you learn more about it.
Thug Waffle
Member
Three good YouTube channels are: Phlearn.com, Fro Knows Photo and DigitalRev TV.
Phlearn.com has great Photoshop tutorials. I use Lightroom and Photoshop... consider buying or torrenting both those programs.
I don't watch Fro Knows Photo a lot because his videos are presented in a boring (to me) fashion most of the time, but I've still seen a few and you can absolutely tell that the guy knows his shit. There's bound to be tons of information I'm missing just by skipping his vids.
DigitalRev TV is sweet for the personalities and the simple premises of each episode. Tons of helpful tips in there.
CitizenVectron
Member
Here are some shots I've done, along with brief descriptions:
A shot of my cousin's daughter I did for her:
An HDR shot of a cemetery monument (I know, most people don't like HDR!):
An experiment with oil and food colouring:
A picture of English bay in Vancouver from when I visited there:
An HDR shot (made to look like a painting on purpose, please don't kill me!):
Water bird in my city:
My eye:
Long exposure of a traffic light:
Just a field:
Sunset in the winter on the prairies:
YouTube is probably the most helpful resource for me when I started off a few months ago. DigitalRevTV I think is fun but gets lots of hate for not really being too informative but I like the personality. There's also Mike Browne's channel. He's a pretty good teacher imo.
But there's also websites like Reddit's /r/photography that helps and looking at this thread for inspiration helps greatly as well.
But the most important thing is just shoot stuff. Bring your camera out and shoot but also learn via those resources mentioned before. You'll slowly get better and trying different kinds of shots will help too then you can get equipment like tripods, more lenses, etc.
But imo, the most important thing you'll need to learn is composition so look those up. It'll make any picture look good even if shooting in full auto.
Thug Waffle
Member
i think the pared down nature of DigitalRev TV is a good thing for beginners. lays the informational groundwork for different concepts without making it a full-blown lesson. it shows kai/lok actually going out into the field and having a good time, which is encouraging for newcomers.
one other thing, nottheguyyoukill: learn your rights as a photographer, so if you wanna go out and do street photography and someone says you can't, you can tell them they can't do shit about it. don't say it like that, though. lots of youtube videos cover photographer's rights.
Ok, some shots here
_MG_0985.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr
_MG_0975.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr
_MG_0957.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr
_MG_0972.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr
_MG_0888.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr
_MG_0985.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr_MG_0975.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr_MG_0957.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr_MG_0972.jpg by aandres_gm, on Flickr_MG_0888.jpg by aandres_gm, on FlickrReally like your pics!
CitizenVectron
Member
You take it apart and there is a little plate of glass between the sensor and the aperture, which you remove.
This makes the camera sensitive to both IR and visible light.
You then either replace it with a filter that won't let visible light through or use one on the front of the lens
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Thank you for all the advice, guys! Much appreciated. I bought a Fujifilm X20 about a week ago, but I haven't used it much yet.
Are those post-processing/editing programs necessary?
How likely am I to get yelled at for shooting?
seventynine
Member
Some really lovely shots there.
The HDR stuff is beautifully done and it's really nice to see somebody else play with oils and colours too.
seventynine
Member
I think so, if only to play with your imagery and try things out.
Are you using a Windows PC or a Mac? If a Mac I'd recommend Pixelmator, it's cheap and I use it along with iPhoto for my stuff.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
I've got a PC.
seventynine
Member
The consensus seems to go with Lightroom then. Not tried it myself, but I may get it later this year.
You may not use them, is up to you but you pictures can improve so much in post production, specially if you use RAW format.
yelled? you'll get used to it, but respect the subject and they won't bother you, just pay attention to people reaction to the camera and avoid shooting if they don't seem to be liking it
CitizenVectron
Member
Yeah I just grabbed some olive oil and food colouring from the store one afternoon and tried it out. I've included 2 more below.
HDR has a bad rap online, so I'm always hesitant to share the ones I've done. But when I do it I always have a specific result in mind.
Here are 2 more oils and another outdoor winter one I really like:
Astral/H3X
Member
Okay, so I just yesterday got the Sony QX10, described as a "Lens Style Camera".
I picked this up mainly because I wanted a camera that could do more, and not break the bank. When I said "do more" I originally meant picture quality, but ended up with versatility instead!
It doesn't seem to be capable of much in the way of manual controls (ISO and "exposure value", which seems odd to me, always thought it was exposure TIME), but I'm wondering if this should be a suitable camera for some beginner photography?
I picked this up mainly because I wanted a camera that could do more, and not break the bank. When I said "do more" I originally meant picture quality, but ended up with versatility instead!
It doesn't seem to be capable of much in the way of manual controls (ISO and "exposure value", which seems odd to me, always thought it was exposure TIME), but I'm wondering if this should be a suitable camera for some beginner photography?
Was near a river with a tripod, the result was inevitable
cliché by nunsofanarchy, on Flickr
Did end up dropping my ND filter in the river though :'(
cliché by nunsofanarchy, on FlickrDid end up dropping my ND filter in the river though :'(
Thug Waffle
Member
you guys who do travel photography, how do you afford to travel?
i'm thinking about driving for Lyft for a few months, saving up as many thousands of dollars as possible, and road tripping somewhere. or going overseas.
i'm thinking about driving for Lyft for a few months, saving up as many thousands of dollars as possible, and road tripping somewhere. or going overseas.
Public Service Announcement for Lightroom users.
Be careful when moving files/folders with Lightroom. For whatever reason, it performs a delete of your original files, instead of a copy. Which is fine, as long as the files/folders are moved successfully. Also don't cancel the task once its running.
I was moving my entire 2014 folder to new storage with Lightroom and I realized I wanted to change something, so I cancelled the task, well Lightroom then decided since I cancelled the task it would delete the files it had already moved to the new storage and since it had moved them, it already deleted the files and folders on the old storage.
Thankfully a combination of carbonite and saved compact flash cards I didn't lose anything important.
Be careful when moving files/folders with Lightroom. For whatever reason, it performs a delete of your original files, instead of a copy. Which is fine, as long as the files/folders are moved successfully. Also don't cancel the task once its running.
I was moving my entire 2014 folder to new storage with Lightroom and I realized I wanted to change something, so I cancelled the task, well Lightroom then decided since I cancelled the task it would delete the files it had already moved to the new storage and since it had moved them, it already deleted the files and folders on the old storage.
Thankfully a combination of carbonite and saved compact flash cards I didn't lose anything important.
Thug Waffle
Member
good to know. i wonder if this is a common problem, to the point where adobe's gonna do something about it. what version of lightroom are you running?
Never notice that problem, but with transferring work from photoshop to lightroom that happened
Few shots from a sunny saturday stroll around Ruoholahti, Helsinki.
So far loving my new Sony rx100 mkIII and don't miss my old Fuji x100s.
rx100iii-00157 by Henri Kotka, on Flickr
rx100iii-00170 by Henri Kotka, on Flickr
rx100iii-00137 by Henri Kotka, on Flickr
So far loving my new Sony rx100 mkIII and don't miss my old Fuji x100s.
rx100iii-00157 by Henri Kotka, on Flickr
rx100iii-00170 by Henri Kotka, on Flickr
rx100iii-00137 by Henri Kotka, on Flickr
weeds on the roof by NLopes16, on Flickr
_MG_3485.jpg by NLopes16, on Flickr
_MG_3482.jpg by NLopes16, on Flickr
_MG_3481.jpg by NLopes16, on Flickr
_MG_3480.jpg by NLopes16, on Flickr
peteykirch
Member
First home football game of the year.
sechsterangriff
Member
Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama, Lisbon by sechsterangriff, on Flickr
Tourist sardines, Lisbon by sechsterangriff, on Flickr
Asking for directions, Lisbon by sechsterangriff, on Flickr
Experimenting with stitching a panorama by sechsterangriff, on Flickr
On photography software. It depends on how serious you want to get about photography. If it is a hobby you want really want to learn and spend time with then yes I would say it's pretty important. I personally bought a copy of Lightroom 4.5 and have not subscribed to the cloud service.
I have not been yelled at, or even asked not to photograph someone. If you are a responsible adult are aware of your surroundings and how people might feel about photographing them. When in doubt, just ask them. If they say no, well, that's when you would have been yelled at.
I also wanted to mention a couple other learning resources. B&H photo video on YouTube has several 1-2 hour learning sessions. They are well done and contain great information, subscribe to them.
Lynda.com is paid and it's $25 a month; however their courses are very good. There is a 15 day trial, so when you have some free time definitely try it out. I usually set aside some time, and pay for 1 month. Then hit the classes as much as possible. I always learn something new.
Always beat myself up about not having the latest photography thread subbed because you all are damn incredible. Absolutely blown away by some of the stuff in here!
Anyways, here are three shots I took at the Vanderbilt vs. Ole Miss game today. Our team (Vandy) got absolutely routed and as such we didn't have the ball much. Either way it was cool to shoot at an NFL stadium! First time doing that.
Paris Head (21) by blakedover, on Flickr
Student Section by blakedover, on Flickr
Tommy Openshaw (17) by blakedover, on Flickr
Anyways, here are three shots I took at the Vanderbilt vs. Ole Miss game today. Our team (Vandy) got absolutely routed and as such we didn't have the ball much. Either way it was cool to shoot at an NFL stadium! First time doing that.
Paris Head (21) by blakedover, on FlickrStudent Section by blakedover, on FlickrTommy Openshaw (17) by blakedover, on FlickrI wish, mainly medium format for me. Looking forward to seeing the results from your new (to you) camera
Took a quick picture of my favorite cinema here in Nashville.
Belcourt theatre by abrahamsahuayo, on Flickr
Boyhood was pretty good.
Belcourt theatre by abrahamsahuayo, on FlickrBoyhood was pretty good.
Commander Jameson
Member
View over Canary Wharf in London over a few hours.
Its Lightroom 4. I don't know that it is a problem, from what I researched deleting the originals Is by design. But I guess they didn't figure on someone cancelling the task.
Personally I love film cameras so I would always recommend it but it all comes down to what you want to do. I really enjoy the whole process of film, from shooting it to processing it myself.
I'm trying to recommend it without resorting to cliches like it slows down the way I shoot and makes me think about every frame but its all true
EDIT: may as well post a pic to stay OT
heliconsoul
Member
Went to Coombe Abbey in Coventry for an Afternoon Tea, as you do. Gorgeous place.
Coombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on Flickr
Coombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on Flickr
Coombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on Flickr
Coombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on Flickr
Coombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on FlickrCoombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on FlickrCoombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on FlickrCoombe Abbey by Heliconsoul, on FlickrAstral/H3X
Member
I think I'm gonna take the QX10 back to Best Buy and put that money on an NEX 5T instead... I love this thing, but if I want to actually get into any photography I just need more than what it has, and I can't afford the QX1 and THEN a lens on top of it. Plus the NEX 5T has the remote control that the QX10 has, so I won't really be losing much.
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