Photography

[jchc91]

Hey all, I just got a new SLR camera and was just wondering if I could get some pointers and stuff on where to improve on?

Also, what are some good places to shoot pictures?

Thanks.

Here's a picture I did for my friend since he wanted a FB profile picture worthy shot.

http://imgur.com/zZDrG,wLsvU,bc8YS#1

My valiant attempt at a night shot:

http://imgur.com/zZDrG,wLsvU,bc8YS#2

A random shot I did yesterday after my friend lowered his car.. A lot.

http://imgur.com/zZDrG,wLsvU,bc8YS

Let me know what you guys think! Thanks

[Impressive]

All three links lead me to the same photograph.

[leecheefoto]

You want improvement on lighting / technical or model placement?

1.My eye is drawn towards the skateboard more.
Use a tripod and use a smaller aperture to get greater depth of field; the dude is not in focus.
You're under exposed by about a stop or two unless its intentional.
The skateboard looks awkward there, he should be holding it.
The dude shouldn't be looking up, maybe looking down if he was holding the skateboard.
Shooting diagonally is fine. Just step to your right more and fill in the open spaces (bottom left and top right)

2. Is the black car supposed to be in the picture as well? If it is, point your flash more to the camera left than the red civic.
Diagonal shot doesn't really work for this one, there's too much open space in the sky.
It would be a better shot if you had all the front wheels showing in the picture, it's like taking a picture of a girl with no face!
Taking pictures in really dark areas get tricky, you need a lot of power to just expose the cars right.

3. This is a good shot, the only thing I'd change is stepping more to the right a little bit and moving the camera up more.
The sky is a bit blown but that's okay.


---


Focus on your composition as well as check your histogram.
Fill in the spaces by checking your grid on live view or learning things like the rule of thirds / golden section.
Buy a white gray card and shoot in raw and check your exposure.
Never use on camera flash, a speedlite is nice for portable lighting and when you figure out long exposure you can paint the cars with lights by running around and strobing!


As for locations, I can't help you. Every photog has an eye on what scenery they like and unfortunately I haven't looked around lol

Hope this helps!
Not every picture is perfect in natural environment, they usually need to be edited.

[jchc91]

At the moment, I'm just finding the abilities and impressiveness of the SLR camera... All pictures I've done are because of random day shots and what not. I haven't tried my hand at editing in photoshop.

I reckon I'll be reading up on that too in the near future though.

For now, during the day, I can vaguely figure out what I should set the exposures and whatnot to. The problem is decreasing glare and lighting during the dark cause the flash usually gets centered in one area of the car.

Wow, there's so much to learn but hopefully I'll get it all. That site so far is pretty awesome with the rule of thirds and what not. Quickly skimmed through last time but it definitely requires a more focused reading.

Thanks for the feedback too!

And yeah I guess, but I've seen a bunch of pictures around that are around the Toronto area and have very nice scenery. I'd like to get around to being able to work the primary focus of the picture into the actual picture... If that makes sense. Or get a rolling shot on the Gardiner.

[jchc91]

As for the positioning of each picture...

1: I was hoping that the skateboard wasn't too distracting. I guess it is cause it's a yellow and stands out a tad bit more than the red.. He kinda wanted it that way, so I went with his ideas.

2: yeah, the black car is supposed to be there. Luckily it wasn't a serious day and was the first day I got my SLR so amateur is understandable.. Right? :P

3: I actually really like the third shot too. The lighting during the day helped ease the photo exposures a lot more.

[Akiba48]

http://imgur.com/zZDrG,wLsvU,bc8YS

This pic, you need to take 1-2 steps back and need to shift the camera up so the Civic could be in the middle (leaning more to the right hand side). Otherwise, its good.

http://imgur.com/zZDrG,wLsvU,bc8YS#2

This pic will now explain why you need an external flash rather than a built in...or a tripod. Front-fire flash will create harsh lighting such as this. Its either you fire it properly, or don't bother with it at all.

http://imgur.com/zZDrG,wLsvU,bc8YS#1

Zoom out, less dramatic angle, and I think it's time that you need to read about the rule of thirds like the others have already mentioned :)

[eguiyab]

Not bad for getting started.
I dont know what kind of experience you have with SLR's, but there is always lots to learn.. and it takes time. There are a number of sites out there which provide tutorials, explainations and great info. TPMG.ca is a good site, local and very informative. Mainly many "regular" folks with great skills and an eye for photography. You'll notice alot of local area photos and resources.

There is a set of books by Scott Kelby (The Digital Photography Book / Bookset) that I like to give to people I know getting started in photography. Its quite basic and easy to understand. It gives a good general explaination and understanding of how your camera works and what to do to obtain an image of a certain style.

The Best advice really is to keep shooting.... non stop. The more familiar you are with your own gear, what the results area with certain settings .. the easier and quicker it is down the road.

[bhrm]

focus on composition first.

worry about everything else later.

and don't take photos of cars all tilty, makes me feel like i'm falling off my chair lol.

Keep it simple and clean.