How about a Photo 101

[glassman]

Hey all (mostly siegster..), my wifey and I love takin pics. Alot of the settings and lightings ...etc...are way above my head. I dont like to just point and shoot.
My lady Pamela takes amazing shots, but knows nothing really of any settings/lighting. I think she just has a raw talent for mostly people/lighting/moods and timing, but not "car" (still images). She does have her grandmas side who were pro's in the Eureka CA area through the 20's-the 80's....in fact anybodys whose stopped on 101 and seen the old logging photo's, school and wedding, the lower left corner will say "Seely" photography.

So how about some basic info for us photographally challenged....

Thanx, Mike

[Sieg]

Mike,

Challenging question!

Most of my skills information has come from my Canon camera and flash manual........and a lot of experimentation with the camera and flash, then reviewing the photos and exposure data to learn what works and doesn't work.

The manuals have very good information, but I can only comprehend so much at a time, so I'll read, experiment, review and repeat the procedure over and over.

I've never taken a class or bought and read a book about photography. Just the manual, a few websites, and lots of experimentation. My latest camera was bought the first of May and I've taken over 5,000 exposures with it so far.

I use SmugMug to host all my photos online, they have blogs and news into that inspires........ http://news.smugmug.com/

I highly recommend them for photo hosting, I've been with them over six years and it's very secure and reliable with no spam. At $40 a year it's a steal IMO and the run on a referral system that gives members a small kickback for recruiting.........https://secure.smugmug.com/signup.mg...=achuJuglTx7pQ

The other site I've received great information from is Ken Rockwell's How to Take Better Pictures: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm

One of the most important things to is understand is what camera features do what and how they impact the photo's exposure..........there are so many variables. Understanding how the different metering modes impact what the camera sees and how that impacts the exposure it records is critical.

Good lighting is mandatory, a camera can't make chicken salad out of chicken poop......a pop-up flash doesn't cut it. A dedicated flash unit is a minimum..........there's a reason they're expensive and the manuals are 300 pages. Natural light still produces some of the best images IMO (personal preference), but catching good lighting required planning, preparation, patience and timing. Early morning and late evenings only a minutes of optimum light, not hours.

It truly is artwork and takes a lot practice but the challenges of capturing the moment can be very rewarding!

[glassman]

I was kinda hoping this wasn't a loaded question. Do my research, practice, practice, then practice some more???????

We have some seriously good picture takers on this here forum....

I think its mostly the lighting i'm strugglin with

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by glassman

I was kinda hoping this wasn't a loaded question. Do my research, practice, practice, then practice some more???????

We have some seriously good picture takers on this here forum....

I think its mostly the lighting i'm strugglin with

Spend some time reading the Ken Rockwell articles........I bought my first good SLR camera in 1980 and have been dabbling in photography ever since.

Just like anything else it takes desire, time, and money to capture good images.

My recent expenditure was $1,100 for the camera body, $300 for a flash unit, and $2,000 for one new lens and two used lenses on eBay, and another $300 for protective UV filters for all the lenses, battery grip, batteries, and a ultra high speed compact flash card.

I'll shoot one subject 4 to 10 times, sometimes more, using different camera settings on every one to get a good image. Upload those images and inspect on the computer to determine a keeper, then crop and fine tune color, saturation, brightness, shadows, highlights, and contrast. So there's a lot of time spent managing and editing files also.

An old pro photog told me years ago in the film days when I was first interested in photography that the main different between pro's and amateurs is the number of images they take. I still adhere to his advice and I'm still very much an amatuer. But.......the more I practice the luckier I get.

[GregWeld]

I'd marry that chick!!!

Originally Posted by Sieg

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

I'd marry that chick!!!

I kinda did..........that's my sister in law.

At 55 she's not looking too bad........

I think she may want to have a word with you about marrying me.......

[toy71camaro]

Same as above.. I learned as a DIY'er. lol

Lots of Youtube tutorial videos, reading online, a few books, etc.

I like Fro Knows Photos guides, and lightenupandshoot.com was helpful with their E-book.

But a lot of it is having the eye to see it, and knowing the camera's settings to achieve it. Learning how ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed all play in together to get the right exposure.

[glassman]

Originally Posted by toy71camaro

Same as above.. I learned as a DIY'er. lol

Lots of Youtube tutorial videos, reading online, a few books, etc.

I like Fro Knows Photos guides, and lightenupandshoot.com was helpful with their E-book.

But a lot of it is having the eye to see it, and knowing the camera's settings to achieve it. Learning how ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed all play in together to get the right exposure.

I think i have the eye, but creating the right recipe takes time and experience like you guys are pointing out. Problem with today is that there is just too much information. I like the keep it simple stupid (kiss) montra from sales, but i have a brain that overthinks things.

Keep at it, and i've said for years what sieg said, the harder i work, the luckier i get!!!!!

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by glassman

I think i have the eye, but creating the right recipe takes time and experience like you guys are pointing out.

My wife is always seeing some whacked out metal sculpture... out of old gears and tractor parts etc... and we both love that type of stuff.... and she ALWAYS says to me -- "you can weld -- why don't you make something like that?!!?" To which I finally told her.... "An artist can be taught to weld.... but you can't teach me how to be an artist!"

[ErikLS2]

I bought a good camera, a Nikon D7000, used off of Craigslist for about half. Then bought a really good book about it which broke down each and every setting one by one. It was more than overwhelming before that. Then, I just started taking pictures of things I liked at different settings to see what changes they made. One thing that has really helped me too was to look at the camera settings on other people's pictures that I liked. It's usually posted along with the picture on most photography web site forums like dpreview.com