Getting MORE from your photos !

[04OFF]

Ok , so ive been thinking of perhaps starting a basic photography thread for a while, a members recent question has inspired me to "get off my butt" so to speak.


Many of you may know me for my pic thread HERE , but for those that don't, im just a amateur photographer, just playing around having some fun, not taking it all to seriously, so im not proclaiming to "know it all" ,as I myself am pretty new to the whole photography thing, that's why I am opening the thread to ALL, including those that have more knowledge and experience than myself.






Id like this thread to be aimed at encouraging beginners/learners/newbs etc, its NOT a thread aimed at people that already know what they are doing to just post pics to show off how good they are, (pro's are more than welcome to ask/answer any questions tho) , im happy for photography "examples" to be shown from all photographers (inc the very talented ones), but please post them for a educational purpose, to ask or answer a question, or to explain a technique etc.

Even if experienced photographers would like to post a "random" pic, this will be OK, just as long as you post your camera/details/settings so other people can learn something from it, also feel free to post your tips or small tutorials on basic techniques (keep beginners with basic cameras in mind)




Everyone, feel free to post your own photos for critique (Please keep it to 3 per post, we don't want your whole album), the aim is for others to hopefully help with ideas/tips to improve your future images, if you already think its "perfect", or can't handle any negative feedback, your in the wrong place, ........to the jury, remember, the forum rules still apply, so no rude or harsh comments, but constructive criticism more than welcome.



Please don't post photos that have been heavily modified in the computer, while happy to talk about some post picture editing etc in this thread, would like to concentrate mostly on improving camera skills rather than PC skills.








Sorry for the long into, I thought it important to get the thread description clear, right from the start, im not wishing to be the only one posting all the tips and replies either (im hoping at least Fracster will join in soon, lol), so if any of you have ideas, questions, answers, go for it !

[04OFF]

Ok , and the question that started this thread.....

04OFF do you have any tips or settings for a beginner photo enthusiasts?

Well, depending on what camera you have, or what things you intend to shoot, I think you can't go wrong first learning a bit about "Composition".


Basically, Composition is how all the objects you are shooting are composed in the frame within the image, (or where all the stuff in the pic is situated in relation to each other, and the outside boarder of the pic)



Try and look at what things are in the "whole" frame, (not just concentrate on what the subject is), don't always put the subject dead in the centre of the pic, and keep a look out for ugly things that will appear in the fore and backgrounds, try and keep any Horizons straight/level (or make them so far off its obvious you intended it that way)


To keep it simple, start with your camera on auto, most cameras (even some phones) these days are quite capable of taking a pretty good shot, so hardware should not be the limiting factor for beginners.





Ok, to show you a small example about composition, the panoramic pic below was taken with my very basic phone (does not even have zoom), I took this pic with little thought , other than to tease a mate who was still at work (lol).


Anyway, look at the pic and what you see......







OK, so now, get a white bit of paper, and cover about 10mm down the left hand side of the pic (covering the car), now all of a sudden the pic looks "cleaner", you don't have the white blob (the car) distracting you over to the left.


Now, if you slide your paper over to the right another 25mm or so (35mm total), you can also remove the campers in the background.











Personally id go even further, and take even more from the left side of pic, and you end up with this.......








So you can see, just by turning your head/camera to one side just a little more, you can remove distracting objects (in this case a little to the right) and improve the composition, and so the overall look and feel of a photo.

[pearcey]

Hopefully AJoz (Andrew) will help out with some tips as well
I for one will be looking for any tips I can get as I`m blxxdy hopeless with a camera.
Hope you have plenty of time as I think there could be quite a few question thrown at you
Good Luck mate

[__brenno__]

A good place to start for beginners, is to familiarise yourself with the 'Rule of Thirds'. See here for excellent description and some good photos demonstrating the rule - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds

As a lot (if not all) of the photos of your Patrols will be taken in lovely scenery and landscapes, following the rule of thirds will immediately improve your photos.

[Hodge]

I've been admiring 04OFF's photos for a long time on this forum. This thread is an awesome idea, and I have a few questions I'll post up a bit later. We have a DSLR and even though it takes awesome photos out of the box, I'd love to get out of the AUTO mode and do some more manual focusing and exposure shots.
Watch this space.

[threedogs]

TBH I've not taken many photos at all since the Digital revolution arrived, so not many Family or holidays
as photos were always "in" the camera and not in an envelope to share amongst friends. Time to
get out there and start taking pics again, you know what they say a picture is worth a thousand words and so
much more IMO. I have an Olympus fe 12MP so very basic, I'll dig it out and familiarise my self a bit more
and hopefully post some breath taking pics here lol, well at least I'm digging it out

[wolften]

If it's OK with the OP, a simulator site helped me experiment with different settings and actually see what the camera was doing. Hope it's OK to post the link

[wildgu6]

Great Idea Steve,
Recently acquired a Nikon D3200 and have not yet been able to enjoy it for what it can do. If its not in auto its not shooting.
Sat for hrs trying to work it out but is to complex for my understanding.
Have taken some great shots IMO in auto but has taken some really crap ones to, would love to know how to get great shots in manual settings but have found I don't have enough time to fumble through the settings only to find I have screwed up the settings or missed the shot.


Sent from my iPhone using Motorculture mobile app

[NissanGQ4.2]

Hi Steve,

I have a Canon EFS 18-55mm lens, that is currently getting stripped into pieces, when its time for me 2 put it back together could you guide me as 2 what bits go where please?

[Hodge]

haha I'm in the same boat as NissanGQ4.2.
After reading the thread initially I thought I'd go find the dslr and have a play only to find that our 18-55 kit lens only has a bit of zoom play left and right, and there is bit of lens on the inside just loose. So that's fubar. Camera I believe is still ok. Ours is a Nikon D40X.