Taking up a new hobby

[DZoolander]

My wife and I bought a DSLR camera a couple of years ago when we were getting ready to have our daughter - with the idea that it was going to enable us to take some really awesome shots of her. Well - it has - but up until now the thing has never been taken off of the "AUTO" setting.

...which is pretty good - darn better than our old digital camera for sure.

Well - I've decided it's about time to start learning about photography and how the thing actually works. I hate flash photography - as everything just comes out really flat to me. So - for the past few days I've been experimenting around - learning about how the aperture works - it's relation to shutter speed - ISO selection - etc.

Here's a test shot I did tonight. Pretty good so far?

 

[Melbelle]

Great job! photography is also a hobby of mine but I do not own a DSLR YET!!! it's been on my to buy list for years though hahhaa!!!

 

[DZoolander]

lol - thanks!

I think I've got the general gist when it comes to staged shots... Now I have to learn how to use it in a more "real world" scenario - like when we take her out places!

 

[seeingeyes]

Good start.

You should check if you have a photography club nearby. (Yes, people do still join actual clubs that meet in person. ) I have a great one near me that does field trips and competitions.

 

[hijklmnop]

Beautiful!

 

[Verve]

Nice work.
I miss my piano...

 

[DZoolander]

That's our old family piano that I grew up learning to play on.

On the top of it is a picture of my brother and I, when I was about 2-3 years old, sitting at it playing. It's really nifty to look at my daughter on the same piano, at almost 2, doing the very same thing.

 

[motherprayer]

Nice shot! As a fellow photog, I recommend you learn about ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. These three things are basically useless to know if you have a point and shoot, but if you have a DSLR, they can help you to get some amazing shots!




This shot was taken at a 4.5 aperture, which is how I accomplished the blurred background. The "short" aperture used during your shot had the same effect.

DSLR's are brilliant!

 

[DZoolander]

I'm starting to learn about that "triangle" now

The shot I posted was ISO100 -> aperture setting of 4.5 -> exposure time of 0.5 second

I was trying to get the "crisp up front - fading to blurry BG" effect in low lighting. From what I've gathered about how 3 relate - that's what I figured would be the most appropriate setting.

I'm also shooting in RAW format now - so I can do some pre-processing before taking it into photoshop.

 

[motherprayer]

Raw is the best. I've been shooting raw for 2 years now, and I love it. You can do just about anything with a RAW image.

 

[JRSut1000]

DSLR? i love pjotography but i dont have a super digicam. But i love love love taking photos n setting up props n such, but i only get good pix if the lighting isjust right. Whats RAW?

 

[DZoolander]

I figure my next investment is going to be a decent tripod.

 

[JRSut1000]

your photo is great by the way

 

[motherprayer]

DSLR? i love pjotography but i dont have a super digicam. But i love love love taking photos n setting up props n such, but i only get good pix if the lighting isjust right. Whats RAW?

Raw is like a negative from film photography, but digital. It allows the photographer to manipulate colors and lighting without a lot of the problems that arise from doing that with a standard JPG image. Most point and shoots can do RAW, but I don't recommend it because it takes forever for the camera to save the image if its not a DSLR

 

[DZoolander]

Digital single-lens reflex camera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DSLR

--

Raw format means that it's taken from the camera in the state that the image was captured - without any additional pre-processing going on. It's the pure image as captured by the camera - so you can alter any aspect of it (that normally would be part of the camera's image processing...like exposure/tint/white balance/temperature/contrast/shadows/whites/blacks/etc) and adjust them after the fact.

It's a much more powerful way of working with the image - instead of leaving it up to the camera to do it for you.

 

[DZoolander]

your photo is great by the way

thanks!

 

[Tropical Wilds]

I love, love, love photography. I'm still learning (there's a ton to learn), but it's so relaxing. I have a Sony Alpha a65 and it's like my best friend. I know there will be a point where I outgrow it or technology outgrows it, and it'll break my heart. I really look at it like this long-time friend of mine.

I figure my next investment is going to be a decent tripod.

Tripods are great, though I didn't use mine as often as I thought I would. It wasn't until I got a remote that I started using my tripod constantly, and it's like a whole new world opened to me. Amazon has some RIDICULOUS deals on remotes... I got mine, free shipping, with a decent enough cloth, for less then $4, though I see now the price is $6... Still, great deal.

Have you seen Flickr? Great medium for posting pics...

Flickr: Tropical Wilds' Photostream

If you sign up, you get pro for 3 months free and I promise you'll be addicted.

 

[Boss_BlueAngels]

Oh, I LOVE photography talk!

It's really great to see you're moving beyond auto... So many folks purchase DSLR's with that intent, only to get stuck in the rut and never move out. I've been shooting DSLR for going on 7-years now and am STILL learning new things. It's such a wonderful hobby!

As Tropical Winds said, a tripod and remote should go together. And I personally recommend you look into getting an Intervalometer... A wired remote that enables you to shoot time-lapse sequences. I got mine for $9 on eBay. This will open up yet another world for you. It's especially useful for getting those spectacular star-trail photos.

Good luck and happy shooting!!

P.S. have you visited the CF photography forum yet? You should start participating in the alphabet game!

 

[DZoolander]

Nope - but I'll check it out! Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[contango]

My wife and I bought a DSLR camera a couple of years ago when we were getting ready to have our daughter - with the idea that it was going to enable us to take some really awesome shots of her. Well - it has - but up until now the thing has never been taken off of the "AUTO" setting.

...which is pretty good - darn better than our old digital camera for sure.

Well - I've decided it's about time to start learning about photography and how the thing actually works. I hate flash photography - as everything just comes out really flat to me. So - for the past few days I've been experimenting around - learning about how the aperture works - it's relation to shutter speed - ISO selection - etc.

Here's a test shot I did tonight. Pretty good so far?

(image removed to save space)

The focus is a little near the bottom of the frame for my liking. You've certainly got the whole narrow depth of field worked out which is great, I'd just look to shift the focus a little further along the keyboard so you've got some out of focus keys, then sharp focus, then fading out of focus.

If you fire a flash directly at your subject the chances are it will look flat, maybe washed out, people will often have that "deer in the headlights" expression. You can diffuse the flash (if you want any decent effects from flash you'll want a flashgun even if your camera has a built-in flast), or bounce it off a suitably angled and coloured surface, or bounce it off your own reflector. Your reflector could be a metallic surface, it could be a piece of white card taped to the flashgun.

You can get some interesting effects with slow shutter speeds and second curtain flash sync, and also by bouncing the flash off a surface that isn't pure white (for shooting people a very slight off-white with a golden yellow tinge will work a lot better than a bold green!).

The great thing about shooting digital is that every time you take an experimental shot it costs you nothing, so you can experiment to your heart's content.