The Official Photography Thread - Vol. 3








Check out my blog as well.
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^^ How do you like that lens? I'm looking for a lens that I can lock onto my camera, and that's the leading candidate. I have a 50mm 1.8 but on a crop sensor i find it's too zoomed in.
 
Can't wait for that content-aware feature on CS5.
Was putting a pano together and it would have really come in handy.
 
Originally Posted by Kicks R Me

^^ How do you like that lens? I'm looking for a lens that I can lock onto my camera, and that's the leading candidate. I have a 50mm 1.8 but on a crop sensor i find it's too zoomed in.

most of the ones i posted lately are with the sigma 30/1.4

i had a copy back then, but i sold it once i got a 5d and replaced it with the  sigma 50/1.4.

the 50/1.4 was a lot more robust and a bit more creamier (comparing 5D+50/1.4 to 50D+30/1.4) but it dissappointed me when i put it on the 50D.

i sold both my 5d and 50/1.4

and now im back to 50D or XSi+30/1.4 and i couldnt be more happier.
 
two of the most important individuals in my life.

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and us taking maxie for a walk with her new leash/harness..
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C&C always appreciated
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Left Coast... getatme
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p.s. We should do a theme of the day.  One photo representing that very theme. Someone else should come up with the first one though, I'm no tyrant! 
 
btigmd - thanks, it was funny when I was taking that becaue I was like 2 feet from the building looking straight up into my viewfinder taking little 2 inch steps all over trying to frame it.  Some guy walks up and asks me what the _ I am looking at.  I just said whats up and walked away, he was standing there for a while looking at the building
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Kicks R Me - I haven't shot with it a lot yet but I am loving it compared to the kit lens. I was worried because I have heard Sigmas can have some focusing issues but so far mine seems to be working ok. I was down to the Canon 50mm 1.4 or this and decided on the Sigma for that little extra bit of an angle. Hopefully I will be able to get some shots taken this weekend.
 
Originally Posted by misterHalfCabs

Kelseyrsp - dope pics. What type of camera and lens you using?
  
I appreciate it! I'm using a Nikon D5000 with a 70-200 f/2.8 and a kit lens.
 
After reading Banas post about how she organizes her photos, I figured I'd post how I organize mines. I'm happy with the way I do it now, but I know I can do way better. If we all share our methods, maybe we can come up with the ultimate way to store, archive, and "preserve" our photos.

At first I used to just edit the originals, resize to like 1200 wide, and call it a day. Originals would end up in my trash bin. That was extrmemly stupid of me to do since now I have no originals of my past work, some of which not very good, but I still wish I had kept them.

The method I use now is:

Make a folder with the date and a title that briefly describes what went on in the shoot, who was shots, etc. Much like Bana, but also not as detailed as it should be. Then within that folder, I make a sub-folder called "Originals." This is where I drag the shots from the SD card. Then I pen up PS, d some editing, and save in a different sub-folder called "Processed Originals." After that I make another sub-folder called "Web" which is where I store images I'm gonna upload to flickr, most of the time re-sized to 750x500, watermarked, and sharpened for web use.

That's pretty much all I do now, however I'm going to have to switch it up soon because I want to start shooting RAW and I know that involves a few extra steps, tedious steps in my opinion, but well worth it.

Anyone else feel like sharing their method? Post up, lets make the ultimate "storageflow" haha!
 
Question:

When shooting at night, what's the best way to get clear shots holding the camera in my hand? Does an external flash REALLY make that much of a difference? I want to do shots similar to Bana (night time club/city) but I can never seem to keep my hand steady enough to get a good shot at night. Maybe I just need to go out and start practicing with manual? Will adjusting my settings manually make that much of a difference at night, or does an external flash put me where I want to be? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a SB-600 for my D90.
 
Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Question:

When shooting at night, what's the best way to get clear shots holding the camera in my hand? Does an external flash REALLY make that much of a difference? I want to do shots similar to Bana (night time club/city) but I can never seem to keep my hand steady enough to get a good shot at night. Maybe I just need to go out and start practicing with manual? Will adjusting my settings manually make that much of a difference at night, or does an external flash put me where I want to be? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a SB-600 for my D90.
You either need a Flash, or sacrifice some quality and go high ISO + fast lens. Ideally you want both though.
 
Originally Posted by SaNTi0321

Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Question:

When shooting at night, what's the best way to get clear shots holding the camera in my hand? Does an external flash REALLY make that much of a difference? I want to do shots similar to Bana (night time club/city) but I can never seem to keep my hand steady enough to get a good shot at night. Maybe I just need to go out and start practicing with manual? Will adjusting my settings manually make that much of a difference at night, or does an external flash put me where I want to be? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a SB-600 for my D90.
You either need a Flash, or sacrifice some quality and go high ISO + fast lens. Ideally you want both though.

it also helps that bana shoots w/ a 5D and has a useable ISO up to 3200. a flash will make a dramatic difference but it might not give you the effect you're looking for. 
blah!
 
Originally Posted by jay kickz till i die

Originally Posted by SaNTi0321

Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Question:

When shooting at night, what's the best way to get clear shots holding the camera in my hand? Does an external flash REALLY make that much of a difference? I want to do shots similar to Bana (night time club/city) but I can never seem to keep my hand steady enough to get a good shot at night. Maybe I just need to go out and start practicing with manual? Will adjusting my settings manually make that much of a difference at night, or does an external flash put me where I want to be? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a SB-600 for my D90.
You either need a Flash, or sacrifice some quality and go high ISO + fast lens. Ideally you want both though.

it also helps that bana shoots w/ a 5D and has a useable ISO up to 3200. a flash will make a dramatic difference but it might not give you the effect you're looking for. 
blah!


So what's the best way to shoot at night without a flash but still get solid images? Only way is to kick the ISO up high and lower the shutter speed?
 
Originally Posted by jay kickz till i die

Originally Posted by SaNTi0321

Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Question:

When shooting at night, what's the best way to get clear shots holding the camera in my hand? Does an external flash REALLY make that much of a difference? I want to do shots similar to Bana (night time club/city) but I can never seem to keep my hand steady enough to get a good shot at night. Maybe I just need to go out and start practicing with manual? Will adjusting my settings manually make that much of a difference at night, or does an external flash put me where I want to be? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a SB-600 for my D90.
You either need a Flash, or sacrifice some quality and go high ISO + fast lens. Ideally you want both though.

it also helps that bana shoots w/ a 5D and has a useable ISO up to 3200. a flash will make a dramatic difference but it might not give you the effect you're looking for. 
blah!

3200? eeek, thats 40D stats.

5D II shoots up to 256,000 =X

Either way, when i was shooting with my 40D, i upped my ISO to the max, 6400 and opened my aperture to the widest.

What camera do you shoot with? And what lenses do you have?

YES, always shoot on M, or AV (aperture priority). This allows you to control the light on your own without the camera doing so for you, which often ends up with a super long exposure.

Also, for focusing a GREAT help is the AF flash assist. If you're using an external flash, go into your flash menu settings from the camera and disable the flash.. it will then only fire the red beam, which allows for you auto focus to work without the flash actually shooting. A lot of newer cameras come with this internally, but i use it on my external flash.

If you have more questions feel free to ask.
 
Originally Posted by DJ bana

Originally Posted by jay kickz till i die

Originally Posted by SaNTi0321

Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Question:

When shooting at night, what's the best way to get clear shots holding the camera in my hand? Does an external flash REALLY make that much of a difference? I want to do shots similar to Bana (night time club/city) but I can never seem to keep my hand steady enough to get a good shot at night. Maybe I just need to go out and start practicing with manual? Will adjusting my settings manually make that much of a difference at night, or does an external flash put me where I want to be? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a SB-600 for my D90.
You either need a Flash, or sacrifice some quality and go high ISO + fast lens. Ideally you want both though.

it also helps that bana shoots w/ a 5D and has a useable ISO up to 3200. a flash will make a dramatic difference but it might not give you the effect you're looking for. 
blah!

3200? eeek, thats 40D stats.

5D II shoots up to 256,000 =X

Either way, when i was shooting with my 40D, i upped my ISO to the max, 6400 and opened my aperture to the widest.

What camera do you shoot with? And what lenses do you have?

YES, always shoot on M, or AV (aperture priority). This allows you to control the light on your own without the camera doing so for you, which often ends up with a super long exposure.

Also, for focusing a GREAT help is the AF flash assist. If you're using an external flash, go into your flash menu settings from the camera and disable the flash.. it will then only fire the red beam, which allows for you auto focus to work without the flash actually shooting. A lot of newer cameras come with this internally, but i use it on my external flash.

If you have more questions feel free to ask.


Thanks for your advice Bana. I'm shooting with a Nikon D90, btw. So what about a club scene where the light variation might be different at any given moment? And even just outside doing random shots of stuff like architecture, people and cars in the city? Do you find yourself adjusting your settings often on M when you change locations, or do you find a median?

I'm looking into possibly working for ARP(Atlanta Royal Photography) and doing club photographs for their site, so I figured an external flash would definitely be the best way to go for that type of thing, right? I dont think they want real dramatic effects and lighting for their photos. I think they're looking for a more consistent tone.

But personally, I havnt found my own style yet, so that's why I'm interested in shooting with and without a flash right now. All advice is appreciated!
 
Just shoot on Manual. AP is good too but I find it doesn't shoot as precise as I would want to. And with the D90, I never go about a 1000ISO. You can really see the grain and I would rather shoot on a lower ISO and then fix it in photoshop.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Fongstarr

Just shoot on Manual. AP is good too but I find it doesn't shoot as precise as I would want to. And with the D90, I never go about a 1000ISO. You can really see the grain and I would rather shoot on a lower ISO and then fix it in photoshop.


Agreed. But I'm not against doing a little editing. Good for experience.
 
Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Originally Posted by DJ bana

Originally Posted by jay kickz till i die

Originally Posted by SaNTi0321

Originally Posted by ATLien Seeko

Question:

When shooting at night, what's the best way to get clear shots holding the camera in my hand? Does an external flash REALLY make that much of a difference? I want to do shots similar to Bana (night time club/city) but I can never seem to keep my hand steady enough to get a good shot at night. Maybe I just need to go out and start practicing with manual? Will adjusting my settings manually make that much of a difference at night, or does an external flash put me where I want to be? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a SB-600 for my D90.
You either need a Flash, or sacrifice some quality and go high ISO + fast lens. Ideally you want both though.

it also helps that bana shoots w/ a 5D and has a useable ISO up to 3200. a flash will make a dramatic difference but it might not give you the effect you're looking for. 
blah!

3200? eeek, thats 40D stats.

5D II shoots up to 256,000 =X

Either way, when i was shooting with my 40D, i upped my ISO to the max, 6400 and opened my aperture to the widest.

What camera do you shoot with? And what lenses do you have?

YES, always shoot on M, or AV (aperture priority). This allows you to control the light on your own without the camera doing so for you, which often ends up with a super long exposure.

Also, for focusing a GREAT help is the AF flash assist. If you're using an external flash, go into your flash menu settings from the camera and disable the flash.. it will then only fire the red beam, which allows for you auto focus to work without the flash actually shooting. A lot of newer cameras come with this internally, but i use it on my external flash.

If you have more questions feel free to ask.


Thanks for your advice Bana. I'm shooting with a Nikon D90, btw. So what about a club scene where the light variation might be different at any given moment? And even just outside doing random shots of stuff like architecture, people and cars in the city? Do you find yourself adjusting your settings often on M when you change locations, or do you find a median?

I'm looking into possibly working for ARP(Atlanta Royal Photography) and doing club photographs for their site, so I figured an external flash would definitely be the best way to go for that type of thing, right? I dont think they want real dramatic effects and lighting for their photos. I think they're looking for a more consistent tone.

But personally, I havnt found my own style yet, so that's why I'm interested in shooting with and without a flash right now. All advice is appreciated!

You're constantly changing your exposure settings. Every shot is different because light is rarely the same. On canon there's a light meter/reader type thing which helps you change your exposure to the right setting.  Nikon is different, its this round circle thingy ma jiggy, i can't stand it... but that's just my personal preference. You move your exposure until it's right, practice this in outside/natural light settings before you move to darker settings. Pay attention to the exposure number because overtime you'll know the right exposure setting just based on how the light looks and what your apeture is at. I suggest you do some reading online or get a book about light. There are some really great books on getting started, and the first concepts you have to understand are exposure and aperture.

If you're working doing party photos, you really want to use a flash. My work is veryyyyyyy tedious bc i shoot manual in clubs -  and requires editing to rid of the grain in very dark conditions. There are certain clubs that i go to that have crazy lights, so i always enjoy shooting there.

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These are shot with flash and a longer exposure:

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Most people who hire party photographers want flash photos of guests and like you said "consistency."

Do some research. The best advice is trial and error, and learning on your own through reading. Also, check out some Flickr groups. There are groups for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! You'll get some good examples of "party" photos and lighting. Style is something that you will develop overtime, it's not something that just comes instantly. It took me a good 2 years to obtain some kind of style, and i still dont think mine is 100% "there" yet.

Just remember, light is your friend.. and not just sunlight- club lights, street lights... anything.
 
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