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07/05/2010 04:32:05 PM · #101 |
Originally posted by PGerst:
Here is an exercise to get better acquainted with composition and to learn to see what the lens sees.
Pick and object.
Pick a focal length (best to try different ones) and set/fix the aperture.
Start at a distance that puts the object in the center with a lot of empty space. Snap.
Walk 5 paces, refocus, snap.
Keep doing it until you can no longer focus.
Do that exercise, standing, kneeling, and crawling. Then, take one last from some weird angle, close to the object.
Here is an example of something I did today. The photos aren't pretty, they aren't supposed to be. It so happened that the subject was in shade and surrounded by bright sun. Oh well. The purpose is for composition. In fact, I shot small jpg for all of these.
I used a fixed focal length lens, but if you have a zoom or additional lenses, its good to do this test using a variety of focal lengths.
Then, pick another object, do it again.
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I agree. It's a very good way to get to know your equipment as well as train your eye. In a way, it's like the training & cross-training exercises atheletes, musicians, soldiers use to make sure that when it counts, when you don't have time to 'think,' you will have practiced so much that you can act without thinking. Your eye learns to see like a lens, & the camera becomes part of your mind.
One exercise I like to do is to use a white egg on a white BG under controlled lighting & see how many different shots I can come up with using the camera settings & camera angle only.
If you give up holding the camera up to your face to see thru the viewfinder, you have many many more camera angles available to you, from placing the camera right on the ground to holiding it at arm's length above your head. |
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07/05/2010 04:35:54 PM · #102 |
On the post processing side of things, I have found that a few smaller adjustments of different types, have a better effect than just a large amount of one. For instance, when using tonemapping, I've found that rather than applying a large helping of Topaz Adjust, It is more effective to use a modest amount of Topaz, followed by a modest amount of PaintShop Pro's clarify adjustment (which is similar, but still different), and then some contrast adjustment.
These two entries used the above technique of several modest and successive adjustments:
 
It had the desired effect of giving a strong sense of dimension to the shots.
Message edited by author 2010-07-05 16:37:30. |
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07/05/2010 04:44:50 PM · #103 |
Just a general comment... I'm wondering if anybody else does this....
When I've been looking at and editing an image for a while, I rotate it 90 degrees and look again and repeat until it is the right way up again. I find it gives me new objectivity. A good image looks good any way up!
I adapted this from a technique I used to use when reporting on radiological images, you can often pick up easily missed fractures by rotating an image and looking again.
An easy tip to become more self-critical? Especially when you get too close to your image to remain objective.
Am I the only one who does this? |
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07/05/2010 05:01:28 PM · #104 |
Paul, great idea. Hadn't thought of it with digital, but certainly have done it with prints. Makes sense, l heard proof readers start at the bottom and read a typed page backwards, that way they see spelling mistakes and typos more readily. So similar correlation to your radiiology analogy.
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07/05/2010 05:01:37 PM · #105 |
That's a great idea. I used to do it all the time when I was doing microscopy work. Very good tip!
Oh...you are not the only one anymore. :)
Originally posted by paulbtlw:
Am I the only one who does this? |
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07/05/2010 05:08:56 PM · #106 |
Originally posted by paulbtlw:
Just a general comment... I'm wondering if anybody else does this....
When I've been looking at and editing an image for a while, I rotate it 90 degrees and look again and repeat until it is the right way up again. I find it gives me new objectivity. A good image looks good any way up!
I adapted this from a technique I used to use when reporting on radiological images, you can often pick up easily missed fractures by rotating an image and looking again.
An easy tip to become more self-critical? Especially when you get too close to your image to remain objective.
Am I the only one who does this? |
I do that all the time (not to mention that helps me screen out many many of the candidate images:-). AND I have the radiology connection too;-) |
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07/05/2010 06:05:40 PM · #107 |
Originally posted by paulbtlw:
Just a general comment... I'm wondering if anybody else does this....
When I've been looking at and editing an image for a while, I rotate it 90 degrees and look again and repeat until it is the right way up again. I find it gives me new objectivity. A good image looks good any way up!
I adapted this from a technique I used to use when reporting on radiological images, you can often pick up easily missed fractures by rotating an image and looking again.
An easy tip to become more self-critical? Especially when you get too close to your image to remain objective.
Am I the only one who does this? |
Very useful, it give you a new look. Also, it helps to convert to greyscale for another look. |
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07/05/2010 07:52:55 PM · #108 |
I also like to look at the individual RGB channels. There is a lot of detail in those that can't be seen easily in the composite. In fact, I often add a channel mixer layer in monochrome mode and change the blend to luminosity. It can really be useful in pulling out fine details.
Originally posted by pixelpig:
Very useful, it give you a new look. Also, it helps to convert to greyscale for another look. |
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07/05/2010 07:54:49 PM · #109 |
Quite true. In fact, most of the best shots of them (my cousin Laura, and her now husband Joey) were taken with them interacting.
Originally posted by bassbone:
The more important piece, even more than the angle of the shot, is that they are interacting in the one on the right. That is why it is a better shot IMO. |
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07/09/2010 07:49:57 PM · #110 |
Ok I've been in touch with people and am having a good time with it. Just wondering,  Yo_Spiff where you see this going? I'm finding that we were off to a good start but now we are trying to figure out how to proceed and maintain momentum. Input from others as to what you are doing? |
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07/09/2010 08:20:25 PM · #111 |
I think the folks that are getting the mentoring should right now be working on a image, after which they will post it and we'll see what can be done to improve it, whether that is post processing, or reshooting it differently.  Justcaree said she was going to send me her freestudy original to take a crack at. |
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07/09/2010 08:21:13 PM · #112 |
My assumption was that we consult with our mentors after each challenge in July to see how we could better them. Comment on the comments section for the challenge. And post a link to the comments when something was extracted. I'm not sure if that was written or anything.
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07/09/2010 08:24:51 PM · #113 |
| i think it's the open-endedness of this that has kind of thrown me off. i feel like i need to have some kind of goal so I know that we are making progress. |
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07/09/2010 08:46:16 PM · #114 |
Well, I kind of left it as something of an open approach mentoring thread. Perhaps I needed to spell it out a little more formally.
What I am looking for now is for folks to post shots that they know they need help with, preferably something that can be returned to for a reshoot if needed. Then they get some feedback from their coach and others, and work on making it a shot that could at least hang with the pack in a challenge. This ought to help develop some judgement and skills that will help in the future.
I often find the best way is to have the person send me their original and then I do what I can with it, letting them know what I did. Then they do their own edit of the shot. This often provides insight into techniques that help in the long terms. Justcaree and I did this with her recent entry in bovines and I think it helped. (Naturally, I skipped voting on hers)
I think some people learn in the DPC environment better than others. One needs to also consider what sort of learning style works for them.
Message edited by author 2010-07-09 20:47:19. |
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07/09/2010 09:45:00 PM · #115 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
I think the folks that are getting the mentoring should right now be working on a image, after which they will post it and we'll see what can be done to improve it, whether that is post processing, or reshooting it differently. Justcaree said she was going to send me her freestudy original to take a crack at. |
didnt you get it??
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07/09/2010 10:10:44 PM · #116 |
| Haven't seen a sign of it. |
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07/10/2010 05:15:43 PM · #117 |
Took an opportunity during a recent rain to do my first water shots.
not sure about much but had fun. Camera stayed dry but the floor and my feet didn't.
Message edited by author 2010-07-10 17:21:17.
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07/10/2010 05:21:26 PM · #118 |
Originally posted by cowtownmom:
Took an opportunity during a recent rain to do my first water shots.
not sure about much but had fun. Camera stayed dry but the floor and my feet didn't. |
i cant see it??
eta ok got it now thx
Message edited by author 2010-07-10 17:21:54. |
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07/10/2010 05:35:37 PM · #119 |
I think the best thing to do is for our mentors to give us assignments. Not like the challenges but something to shoot. Night shot, portrait, landscape, cityscape, sunrise, sunset. A place for us to start and then critique from there. Maybe Steve should assign something for the week so that we are all kinda taking the same thing. This would perhaps make sure that we are at least working on something and that they will somehow relate to shots that the other students are taking too.
What does everyone else think?
Message edited by author 2010-07-10 17:37:46.
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07/10/2010 05:43:10 PM · #120 |
Originally posted by cowtownmom:
I think the best thing to do is for our mentors to give us assignments. Not like the challenges but something to shoot. Night shot, portrait, landscape, cityscape, sunrise, sunset. A place for us to start and then critique from there.
What does everyone else think? |
I think this should work however the person trying to learn something feels it will work best.
As per assignments, I think it would be better, perhaps, if you were to pick something from the mentor's portfolio and try to re-create your own vision of that image.
For example, if you were looking at what I do well, you'd probably ask me about floral shots, HDR, or Macro..
The reason for this is, clearly, we all do some things better than others, in effect, to use the mentors to your greatest advantage, I would suggest looking at their portfolios (all the mentors perhaps..) and choosing an image that you would like to re-create on your own terms. Thereby, you will hopefully learn what the mentor has to offer...
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07/10/2010 06:18:03 PM · #121 |
| fwiw...i have been posting pix for the current challenge in PMs with my coaches, and they've given shooting, lighting, composition and processing tips. it's already been very helpful for me....gotten some reshoots done and enjoying the ride..... |
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07/10/2010 09:01:22 PM · #122 |
Here are some recent portraits I did. What do you think.
     
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07/10/2010 10:15:40 PM · #123 |
Hi. I know I'm not your mentor, but I saw your posting with rain and thought I'd chime in with your idea below.
Try this out. On a nice sunny day.
1) Get some nice flowers, colorful, something with purple, yellow, red, green leaves.
2) Spritz them with the garden hose mist setting (or spray bottle).
3) Put a sprinkler behind the flowers (simulates rain) but not spraying on the flowers
4) Photograph the flowers with a rather shallow depth of field, relative to where the sprinkler is. You may need to increase the distance between the flowers and the sprinkler.
The idea is to get a nice effect of rain behind the flowers. Try different shutter speeds, one to stop the water motion, the other to blur it slightly.
If I had an example, I'd post. Unfortunately, the only thing I have are my outtakes from the missed focus challenge where I did everything opposite what I'm describing above.
  
The last is my challenge entry, which was too out there and didn't do well, but it was more of an experiment than anything.
Anyway, imagine the opposite of the ones I posted to get an idea of framing, etc.
Originally posted by cowtownmom:
I think the best thing to do is for our mentors to give us assignments. Not like the challenges but something to shoot. Night shot, portrait, landscape, cityscape, sunrise, sunset. A place for us to start and then critique from there. Maybe Steve should assign something for the week so that we are all kinda taking the same thing. This would perhaps make sure that we are at least working on something and that they will somehow relate to shots that the other students are taking too.
What does everyone else think? |
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07/10/2010 10:16:13 PM · #124 |
| Oh yes...and I'm back from my vacation, so I'll be posting again....hmm...good or bad, dunno. :) |
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07/10/2010 10:21:49 PM · #125 |
These are wonderful! Can you tell me how you did the lighting?
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