The Official Photography Thread - Vol. 3

[Fong$tarr]

yeah i dont always aim to shoot at 1.8 for the bokeh lol. and that picture of the silhouette is at f/2.2

Silhouette makes sens that you didn't get sharp since there is no light. Your camera probably just had a hard time focusing. I agree with the tripod and live view focusing though. It's more of an effort than just hand held shots but getting the shot should be more important at that point. Plus you can even shoot at a lower ISO too and get a more clear and less noisy shot. You just have to make sure your model is super still.

Just try at f/2.8. Jack up the ISO if need be and just get to a higher shutter number. It's hard at times and even more frustrating at concerts. I was shooting at f/2.0 at ISO 4000 and I was getting like a shutter speed of 1/250 or something like that. It's super hard getting shots with that setup.

 

[mylesp]

Silhouette makes sens that you didn't get sharp since there is no light. Your camera probably just had a hard time focusing. I agree with the tripod and live view focusing though. It's more of an effort than just hand held shots but getting the shot should be more important at that point. Plus you can even shoot at a lower ISO too and get a more clear and less noisy shot. You just have to make sure your model is super still.

Just try at f/2.8. Jack up the ISO if need be and just get to a higher shutter number. It's hard at times and even more frustrating at concerts. I was shooting at f/2.0 at ISO 4000 and I was getting like a shutter speed of 1/250 or something like that. It's super hard getting shots with that setup.

yeah i will try that thanks.

i have shot a few concerts with black and white film. haven't tried digital though

 

[mylesp]

ok just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback. my skills are more important then what gear i have. i have always know that , but now its time to fully develop my skills lol. anyways im out for now. thanks again. i have a lot to learn.

 

[picasso swerve]

Hmm im learning things too. I asked before why some of my photos arent sharp (eventually shoot a sharp one) and im always on 1.8. Maybe I should bump it to 2-2.8 or whatever it is?

This shoot and this shot in particular took quite a few shots to have a clear pic, and even then I had to sharpen it a bit. Higher aperture woudve saved me some trouble?

 

[Fong$tarr]

Hmm im learning things too. I asked before why some of my photos arent sharp (eventually shoot a sharp one) and im always on 1.8. Maybe I should bump it to 2-2.8 or whatever it is?

Give it a try anyways to see if the results are better or the same or worse. Honestly I think the sharpness can be a combination of things from the shooter to the gear. My first Canon was a Rebel XTi at like 10mp and I shot with the 50mm a lot and I don't remember getting the best photos when comparing to what I have now. And that lens and body combo had some issues for sure getting things in focus, so hate to say it......it could be the gear and/or the shooter as well. Photography can be stated as "it doesn't matter what gear you use" but since you guys are both using entry level cameras, you would see a huge difference if say I gave you my camera to borrow and even with that 50mm 1.8.

But again....don't stress out on it and just shoot till you get it right. Take a million shots until you get that one and that is all that really matters. When you guys are ready to upgrade on your gear, my only advise to you is go big and get the better camera and not the one right above the one you are using. It saves you so much money in the long run but that is only if you are serious in this hobby.

 

[djyoung08]

Hmm im learning things too. I asked before why some of my photos arent sharp (eventually shoot a sharp one) and im always on 1.8. Maybe I should bump it to 2-2.8 or whatever it is?

This shoot and this shot in particular took quite a few shots to have a clear pic, and even then I had to sharpen it a bit. Higher aperture woudve saved me some trouble?

Especially a shot like this, depending on my ambient light i would have started with 1/200, f/2.8, ISO400. If it was too dark, I'd bump my ISO. If it was too bright, I'd raise my f stop.

But thats how I would shoot that particular shot without a ton of context of the light situation other than it looks like even shade.

 

[djyoung08]

Hmm im learning things too. I asked before why some of my photos arent sharp (eventually shoot a sharp one) and im always on 1.8. Maybe I should bump it to 2-2.8 or whatever it is?

Give it a try anyways to see if the results are better or the same or worse. Honestly I think the sharpness can be a combination of things from the shooter to the gear. My first Canon was a Rebel XTi at like 10mp and I shot with the 50mm a lot and I don't remember getting the best photos when comparing to what I have now. And that lens and body combo had some issues for sure getting things in focus, so hate to say it......it could be the gear and/or the shooter as well. Photography can be stated as "it doesn't matter what gear you use" but since you guys are both using entry level cameras, you would see a huge difference if say I gave you my camera to borrow and even with that 50mm 1.8.

But again....don't stress out on it and just shoot till you get it right. Take a million shots until you get that one and that is all that really matters. When you guys are ready to upgrade on your gear, my only advise to you is go big and get the better camera and not the one right above the one you are using. It saves you so much money in the long run but that is only if you are serious in this hobby.

I agree with all of this except for i'd get strong portrait lens first before making a huge camera upgrade.

No point in upgrading to a full frame camera and shooting a 50mm 1.8 STM, of course, in my opinion.

Cop a 135mm L or even a 70-200 THEN upgrade the body.

Glass glass glass glass glass!

 

[keko jones]

@mylesp and @picasso

Instead of trying to answer every question or disagree with some of the comments posted, I'll tell you what I think.

1. You guys don't know how to use your gear. Whether is not knowing where to aim your focus points to difference and purpose of each setting. I know is exiting taking pictures and that most people see impeccable images that we want to duplicate, but realistically, it's very hard. If you guys continue to be out of focus, the easiest solution is to bump the f/stop and focus in between the eyes. However, doing this will limit your ability to be creative and fully use your lens/cameras capabilities.

2. You guys are lacking the fundamentals.  F/stop (what they do) - Shutter (What they do) - ISO (What they do). Although all have to do with how much light gets into the sensor - you need to use them wisely. Once you learn how to use these and when to use one over the other, I can guarantee you that your images will come out better.

3. There's no right way to compose an image. There are rules and guidelines that will render more flattering images. Some of the crops and compositions I have seen from you guys are not flattering and do not compliment the subject and overall fell of the images.

4. Learn LR, Photoshop, Gimp, Element, ACR, etc. Most of the images you see from fellow NT members or online aren't straight from camera. Whether it was minor color correction to full blown gradient, dodge and burn, etc. So don't go out and get discourage.

Lastly, ask question - but please try **** before you ask. You can ask all day as a shortcut but unless you are applying, what's the point. Hell, whats the point of asking how to do something if you haven't tried it and haven't seen if you need that help?

Again - you can ask all of us and all of us can give you a different answer. It is up to you to understand what you are doing and whats your gear capable of.

Real quick ...

This image could of have been taken at 1.2, 1.4 or 1.8 and the subject been really sharp. Now, knowing how to is a different story. It has to do with our focal length, distance to the subject, camera placement, AF point and a few other things. It seems that your subject and you were at different angles, you been at the bottom tilting your camera slighting up. This mean that although you are getting part of the subj in focus, the rest of the subj is not parallel with the camera. What this mean is that whatever is parallel with the camera and what the lens at 1.8 can render sharp the rest of the subj is out of focus. This can be remedy by many different ways .. again when you using razor thing DOF aperture you have to make sure everything is like (___I___) vices (__/__) in order to get the subj all in focus - of course the distance to the subj is also going to play a part as if you to close then just the focus area is going to be sharp and everything else out of focus. The further you get away - the better the DOF gets for the smaller aperture.

Not sure if these made sense ...

PS The only thing cheap that can translate in your images is the Bokeh (looks like trash) and the lack of deep contrast and colors. Everything else should be ok.

 

[tokes99]

there is nothing wrong with shooting wide open, if that is the image you are after; you just have to be more deliberate about finding focus, your camera holding technique, being aware of your shutter speed & that it is indeed fast enough for what you are shooting, as well as maintaining the distance to your subject...if you or your subject happen to be moving, it makes finding accurate focus tougher...

 

[djyoung08]

@mylesp and @picasso

Instead of trying to answer every question or disagree with some of the comments posted, I'll tell you what I think.

1. You guys don't know how to use your gear. Whether is not knowing where to aim your focus points to difference and purpose of each setting. I know is exiting taking pictures and that most people see impeccable images that we want to duplicate, but realistically, it's very hard. If you guys continue to be out of focus, the easiest solution is to bump the f/stop and focus in between the eyes. However, doing this will limit your ability to be creative and fully use your lens/cameras capabilities.

2. You guys are lacking the fundamentals.  F/stop (what they do) - Shutter (What they do) - ISO (What they do). Although all have to do with how much light gets into the sensor - you need to use them wisely. Once you learn how to use these and when to use one over the other, I can guarantee you that your images will come out better.

3. There's no right way to compose an image. There are rules and guidelines that will render more flattering images. Some of the crops and compositions I have seen from you guys are not flattering and do not compliment the subject and overall fell of the images.

4. Learn LR, Photoshop, Gimp, Element, ACR, etc. Most of the images you see from fellow NT members or online aren't straight from camera. Whether it was minor color correction to full blown gradient, dodge and burn, etc. So don't go out and get discourage.

Lastly, ask question - but please try **** before you ask. You can ask all day as a shortcut but unless you are applying, what's the point. Hell, whats the point of asking how to do something if you haven't tried it and haven't seen if you need that help?


Again - you can ask all of us and all of us can give you a different answer. It is up to you to understand what you are doing and whats your gear capable of.

Real quick ...




This image could of have been taken at 1.2, 1.4 or 1.8 and the subject been really sharp. Now, knowing how to is a different story. It has to do with our focal length, distance to the subject, camera placement, AF point and a few other things. It seems that your subject and you were at different angles, you been at the bottom tilting your camera slighting up. This mean that although you are getting part of the subj in focus, the rest of the subj is not parallel with the camera. What this mean is that whatever is parallel with the camera and what the lens at 1.8 can render sharp the rest of the subj is out of focus. This can be remedy by many different ways .. again when you using razor thing DOF aperture you have to make sure everything is like (___I___) vices (__/__) in order to get the subj all in focus - of course the distance to the subj is also going to play a part as if you to close then just the focus area is going to be sharp and everything else out of focus. The further you get away - the better the DOF gets for the smaller aperture.

Not sure if these made sense ...

PS The only thing cheap that can translate in your images is the Bokeh (looks like trash) and the lack of deep contrast and colors. Everything else should be ok.

This man's understanding

TBH this explication should be sticky'd to the first post

 

[mjbetch]

Hmm im learning things too. I asked before why some of my photos arent sharp (eventually shoot a sharp one) and im always on 1.8. Maybe I should bump it to 2-2.8 or whatever it is?

This shoot and this shot in particular took quite a few shots to have a clear pic, and even then I had to sharpen it a bit. Higher aperture woudve saved me some trouble?

I wish I knew before what I know now. Well... don't we all?

When I was starting out, my photos weren't sharp and I always wondered why.

First off, like others have mentioned, you have to understand the triangle of shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and what they do and how they relate to each other. Hell, I didn't even know what the hell exposure compensation was until years after.



When you get the chance, take a photo on a tripod in aperture priority. Set your ISO to base (100-200, whatever your camera's base is)

First, take a photo wide open at your widest aperture (1.4, 1.8, whatever). Then, stop it down to f/4, and then to f/8. You'll visibly notice a difference in what is in focus and what's not.

At f/1.4, a little will be in focus, at f/4, most will be in focus, and at f/8 almost everything will be in focus.



Now the thing is when you stop down, of course there's a trade off. You either need to compensate with your shutter speed or ISO. However, I'll usually never shoot a portrait under 1/125th of a second, so I'd rather bump up my ISO. Camera shake can mean the difference between a tack sharp photo and just a usable photo.

 

[picasso swerve]

Reps all around, although I wasnt the one disagreeing or saying something against what others are telling me.


My pics come out quite sharp, it just takes a few shots to get there and I understand its shooting to get the right one but of course theres always something to be learned.



This is by far the most helpful thread ive ever been in and ive been on NT since like 05.

 

[mylesp]

Reps all around, although I wasnt the one disagreeing or saying something against what others are telling me.


My pics come out quite sharp, it just takes a few shots to get there and I understand its shooting to get the right one but of course theres always something to be learned.



This is by far the most helpful thread ive ever been in and ive been on NT since like 05.

shots fired? lmao jk i agree. great info.

 

[picasso swerve]

No shots breh.

 

[djyoung08]

With all this gear, feedback and technique talk, I really hope everyone gets out this weekend & shoots!!

I have a baptism tomorrow and a wedding on sunday!

 

[mylesp]

No shots breh.

do you have an ig? i will follow you if so

 

[picasso swerve]

@slimcargos

 

[djyoung08]

@slimcargos

I really like how consistent your stuff is

 

[Fong$tarr]

@slimcargos

I mean I always heard of you in the tattoo thread but I would never have figured you were on the young side. For whatever reason, I always thought you were a big Filipino ghetto guy. Haha. I guess you really don't know things over the internet.

 

[picasso swerve]

LOL nah far from that.

Though I did grow up in the Bronx (still here) but far from a thugga thugga.

 

[southcitydon]

word fam!

hit me up for sure on those days...and we'll get some city shootin in after your shoots. I'll come peep and learn from your portrait game!!!

I'm currently scheduled to be in the city sept 25 and the following sunday oct 2 for engagement shoots. both at the palace of fine arts.

I'd love a tour man... im a SF NOOB and its kind of a shame because im only an hour away.

I straight up ENVY that shot you recently got thats all yellow w/ the cable car. Almost threw my phone when it came up on my feed

 

[keko jones]

Ya dudes give me shelter in Frisco ... I'll go for a few days and shoot lights out.

 

[djyoung08]

word fam!

hit me up for sure on those days...and we'll get some city shootin in after your shoots. I'll come peep and learn from your portrait game!!!

I'm currently scheduled to be in the city sept 25 and the following sunday oct 2 for engagement shoots. both at the palace of fine arts.

I'd love a tour man... im a SF NOOB and its kind of a shame because im only an hour away.

I straight up ENVY that shot you recently got thats all yellow w/ the cable car. Almost threw my phone when it came up on my feed

Man honestly i'd learn so much from you. I'll ask my client(s) too if they dont care if you tag along.

 

[romcadoo]

So much KNOWLEDGE on these last couple pages​

here's a few of my favs from last week

 

[mylesp]

only question i have left for the day is how do i properly crop. like do it so it doesnt look so bad. i get lost.....