How Many Photos Do You Take to Get a Good One?

[JDDCH]

Tiberius makes a point about noticeable damage but when you're working with commercial art, you'll want to work with the RAW images anyway so it's not really a question about the loss of quality in jpg's.

AG, technically, you don't need the top of the line camera in order to take a great shot. A good photographer can take a world class shot with an inexpensive camera too ya know. ... but you're probably referring to having brought the camera along with you, aren't you.

I bring my camera with me absolutely everywhere. I've become "the camera guy" in many places because of it. It's something I love doing and people say I don't look right without a camera in-hand.

As for finding a mentor, find someone you're comfortable working with and ask. You'd be surprised to see that most folk will be quite receptive to your request. If they either don't have the time or don't think they'd be able to do you justice, they'll let you know. But if you don't ask, they can't tell you yes or no.

So ya gots ta ask 'n stuff.

JD

 

[Tiberius]

Tiberius makes a point about noticeable damage but when you're working with commercial art, you'll want to work with the RAW images anyway so it's not really a question about the loss of quality in jpg's.

Actually, the choice of file format depends very much on the shooting situation. Many pro sports toggies shoot jpegs rather than raw because jpegs write to the card faster and they take up less storage space. When you are dealing with a situation where you can be shooting lots of pics rapidly and need to clear the buffer fast, this can make a big difference.

 

[JDDCH]

Good point there. I shoot with a Canon Rebel XTi and a fast card so I don't have much trouble with clearing the buffer. I can shoot quickly while saving RAW format.

JD - lucky I guess

 

[AG]

My camera can save as both jpeg and raw files. When I am working with jpegs from my camera, they are only saved as jpegs twice - once when the camera saves them to the memory card and again when I do the final save after I have finished working on it. All other times, I save it as a PSD file, the native file format for Photoshop which doesn't compress the image. it maintains quality no matter how many times I save it. Saving as a jpeg twice isn't going to cause any noticable damage to your photos.

wow...thanks for the advice, i have never realised that the jpg compresses the file every time it is saved...

 

[AG]

Tiberius makes a point about noticeable damage but when you're working with commercial art, you'll want to work with the RAW images anyway so it's not really a question about the loss of quality in jpg's.

AG, technically, you don't need the top of the line camera in order to take a great shot. A good photographer can take a world class shot with an inexpensive camera too ya know. ... but you're probably referring to having brought the camera along with you, aren't you.

I bring my camera with me absolutely everywhere. I've become "the camera guy" in many places because of it. It's something I love doing and people say I don't look right without a camera in-hand.

As for finding a mentor, find someone you're comfortable working with and ask. You'd be surprised to see that most folk will be quite receptive to your request. If they either don't have the time or don't think they'd be able to do you justice, they'll let you know. But if you don't ask, they can't tell you yes or no.

So ya gots ta ask 'n stuff.

JD

yeah, i meant bringing camera with me...as i dond often get to it..

i think to really get into the field i wil need to get myself a proffessional camera, though it will not be expensive one, but i have seen the difference it makes, specially colorwise... one of my friends has cheapish pro cam era..and the quality is good!

but i am usually good with any camera (i think so )

 

[JDDCH]

That's the spirit!

If you're looking to purchase a new or used camera, you might keep an eye on your local community papers, you can pick up a great deal on ebay but be sure to do your homework on the seller before doing any bidding. You might contract someone to pick one up for you. Give them a price range and an idea of what you're looking for and let them purchase the camera for you. That's especially helpful if you're not able to be at your desk throughout the day. A person such as myself has advantages because I work at home so I can do scads of research and my boss doesn't mind.
You can watch local camera shops but their prices are usually a little high, but you might catch a good sale. The main thing is 'don't be in a hurry'. If you don't have to rush in and buy the first deal you see, you'll end up with a better piece of equipment in the long run. ... in theory of course.

JD - tossing in a few more pennies worth of wisdom &/or chatter into the talk

 

[JDDCH]

Good point there. I shoot with a Canon Rebel XTi and a fast card so I don't have much trouble with clearing the buffer. I can shoot quickly while saving RAW format.

JD - lucky I guess

Just as an FYI, I can rapid-shoot 7 of THESE ( 59 MB , 720 pixels/inch, 3888x2592 ) (I converted it to TIFF for non RAW readers out there who have the uncontrollable urge to click on a daunting link of high-speed internet connectibility 'n stuff like that there 'n stuff ) ... 7 of those rapid fire with only a 1 second pause for catch-up before shooting another 7.

When I need to shoot faster than that I shoot smaller where I can shoot 30 frames before a 1 second pause.

So, the type of camera is only part of your shooting ability. Your memory card has a lot to do with how fast you can shoot and how many shots you can shoot before off-loading. Personally, I shoot 4 gig cards. 8 gig cards are still a bit too slow. ... as yet. I'm waiting for them to speed up.

JD

 

[Tiberius]

720 pixels per inch or 72? I can't imagine any time you'd need 720 ppi....

 

[JDDCH]

720 and I break it down from there. I print at 200 ppi. Anything more than that is basically a waste of ink but it varies depending on what I'm printing to.
When I'm printing to Canvas I go to 250 - 300
When I print to Fabric, I break it down to 140 - 180
Heat Transfers would be from 150 - 180
When I print to photo papers I break it down to anywhere from 100 - 200 depending upon whether it's gloss or matte and what type of detail is in the image.
Draft is always 72 of course as well as text.
Web art I've been known to break down to 1.

I shoot 720 for editing. Having the extra ppi does wonders for working post. I work a lot with 3D and special effects. It's definitely overkill, but I've never been in a situation when I've wished I'd had the extra resolution and not had it.
I have no lack of storage space or shooting ability so ... why not take advantage of it. ... All I've got to say is " Bring On The GigaCams!"

JD - will be there with bells and whistles 'n stuff

 

[Tiberius]

What camera do you use, JD?

 

[JDDCH]

I use Canon Rebel XTi, black body and for lenses I have
EFS 17-85mm 67mm IS lens & hood
EF 70-300mm 58mm IS lens & hood
2x Teleplus pro 300 58mm ( takes a specific talent to get good results but you can get them if you work at it. most folk give up on it and call it junk )
+10 lens adapter for EF 70-300mm 58mm lens ( lets me use it as a macro lens instead of those 8 meter zooms )
I'd like to pick up an Opteka 650-2600mm F/8-16 Zoom Lens. It would be a challenging lens to get good results but with my disabilities, I'd be the man to put it to the test. ... I'm afraid it would have to fall into my lap for that to happen though , the all mighty dollar dictates our equipment. it's a cheap lens but this is an expensive time of year for me ... oh well.

Anyway, I carry at least 2 4 Gig High Speed CF cards. 180x +

I move the photos to my system and process them with Canon's utility " Digital Photo Professional " and sort them out, then it's off to Photoshop for editing and compositing. From there it's off to the Printer, LightWave, Vue deEsprit, UV Mapper, Poser, Galleries, etc, etc. then it's off to it's next or final destination from there.

 

[Tiberius]

How do you get the camera to take photos at 720 ppi?

 

[JDDCH]

You can set it to what ever you want. Actually, you can set it to capture both raw ( technically it's an ORF file until you process it to RAW ) AND jpg simultaneously when you're shooting. If your capture card is fast enough ( as mine are ) you can do so and not lose out on performance.

I absolutely love this camera

On the highest settings, a 4 gig card will capture 221 images. That's 221 57 / 58 MB images. ( the 4 gig card only holds @ 3.8 GB because computers use the 1024 numbering system 'n all )

At any rate, if you happen to have a Rebel XTi :

Turn it on, hit Menu, Arrow down once to Quality, hit Set, select RAW or RAW + L, hit DISP ... make note of those settings

Start adjusting settings from there.

JD - the one what *click*

 

[Tiberius]

I got the Rebel XT, there is no Disp button....

 

[JDDCH]

There's a big difference between the Rebel XT and the XTi ... It's not just the 8mp to 10 mp leap. the XTi has many more abilities.

However, The Rebel XT uses the same lenses and is a formidable camera body indeed. My brother shoots with that camera body and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

[Tiberius]

*Is envious now*

 

[JDDCH]

( So is my brother ) ... of course the price tag wasn't much fun at the time.