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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Minimal challenge - where'd they go?
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Showing posts 51 - 70 of 70, (reverse)
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11/21/2019 04:08:16 PM · #51
I'll just give a quick example.
Understanding white balance before you shoot is extremely important. Knowing which source is easier to correct for will help with future edits. Especially if you have multiple sources (halogen, LED, fluorescent, and natural), like every photographer faces here on the trading floor.
11/21/2019 05:42:45 PM · #52
Originally posted by Elaine:

It's the "processing" part - setting sharpness, color, etc in the camera that would take the time to figure out. I can do global adjustments to a RAW photo in a few minutes. I would have to learn the jpeg functions to take a great shot for the Minimal ruleset. My resistance is to spending time learning something that I would never use except to enter Minimal challenges.

That's not a meaningful argument to me, for this reason: IF you are determined to shoot RAW and correct everything in post as necessary, then your best practice is to set the camera for auto WB etc so that your chimping preview is "neutral", and that's what the JPG will "see" as well.

Outside of that, there's nothing much to "learn" except how to use the EV dial, which you need to do with RAW anyway, and if you want to get REALLY fancy take 5 mins in your manual to read up on your "scene" modes on the top dial so you can flick to whichever type of scene you are shooting and get a standard preset. No fuss, no muss. It's pretty much exactly the same decision as opting for Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Fujichrome etc back in the day. You set it before you shoot then forget about it.

You DON'T need to learn a lot to do this. And many of us enjoy the exercise every now and then, it keeps us on point (so to speak) :-)
11/22/2019 12:10:16 AM · #53
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

A properly-framed image (that requires no cropping) will produce a better result than an image that requires extreme cropping. A little forethought at the framing and shooting stage will save a lot of work at the finishing stage.

HA! I have been fighting with my strong desire to frame images properly ever since I got A7R II. The reason is that with 42 megapixels I could have a number of interesting images from one image if I ignored framing and captured the whole scene. A good example is when I was shooting Fête des Vignerons with the crowds that were there. Many possible portraits or interesting groups from one frame. Or a grand landscape with a lot of interesting detail.

To me framing in post with the current generation of cameras makes sense ;)
11/22/2019 01:00:19 AM · #54
Originally posted by marnet:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

A properly-framed image (that requires no cropping) will produce a better result than an image that requires extreme cropping. A little forethought at the framing and shooting stage will save a lot of work at the finishing stage.

HA! I have been fighting with my strong desire to frame images properly ever since I got A7R II. The reason is that with 42 megapixels I could have a number of interesting images from one image if I ignored framing and captured the whole scene. A good example is when I was shooting Fête des Vignerons with the crowds that were there. Many possible portraits or interesting groups from one frame. Or a grand landscape with a lot of interesting detail.

To me framing in post with the current generation of cameras makes sense ;)


I agree with this (even though my camera is not in that league).

Add to this the fact that I am usually in the company of a non-photographer who is somewhat impatient and inclined to ask "Did you get it?" after I've shot once or twice. Sometimes I have to satisfy myself with shooting from the car.

Also, the concept of zooming with one's feet could put you over the cliff or into the path of a bus ;-)
11/22/2019 06:30:36 PM · #55
Originally posted by jomari:

Originally posted by marnet:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

A properly-framed image (that requires no cropping) will produce a better result than an image that requires extreme cropping. A little forethought at the framing and shooting stage will save a lot of work at the finishing stage.

HA! I have been fighting with my strong desire to frame images properly ever since I got A7R II. The reason is that with 42 megapixels I could have a number of interesting images from one image if I ignored framing and captured the whole scene. A good example is when I was shooting Fête des Vignerons with the crowds that were there. Many possible portraits or interesting groups from one frame. Or a grand landscape with a lot of interesting detail.

To me framing in post with the current generation of cameras makes sense ;)


I agree with this (even though my camera is not in that league).

Add to this the fact that I am usually in the company of a non-photographer who is somewhat impatient and inclined to ask "Did you get it?" after I've shot once or twice. Sometimes I have to satisfy myself with shooting from the car.

Also, the concept of zooming with one's feet could put you over the cliff or into the path of a bus ;-)

Of course, ALL of that is true. Just because we think Minimal Editing is a worthwhile exercise doesn't mean any of us think everyone should shoot that way all the time. Heck, I cut my teeth on, and then earned a living for a quarter of a century with, a 4x5 view camera, and the whole disicipline of it was hammered into my brain: "Get it right in-camera 'cuz there's no rescuing it if you don't!" With B/W of course some rescue was possible, but we were shooting 4x5 color transparencies for publication, and there was no room for error. And even so, nowadays I'm perfectly happy to crop in post when it's appropriate, but I'm always thrilled when the shot is framed right out of the box :-) It's like using the exact right amount of cumin in the Hummus when you make it :-) Never mind that you could add more later and nobody would know the difference...
12/01/2019 07:20:53 PM · #56
You know, this challenge kicked my ass. Literally never shot because I couldn't figure out any concept worth doing.

This is where being able to kick ass at technical proficiency doesn't matter. I love minimal, but high concept stuff like this always kills me.
12/01/2019 07:23:45 PM · #57
Originally posted by Cory:

You know, this challenge kicked my ass. Literally never shot because I couldn't figure out any concept worth doing.

This is where being able to kick ass at technical proficiency doesn't matter. I love minimal, but high concept stuff like this always kills me.

I agree in that the subject / topic is one you have to think about a bit.
12/01/2019 10:41:24 PM · #58
I'm sure some of you will get a chuckle out of hearing I found something that I thought worked for the challenge this afternoon, then spent at least three quarters of an hour polishing it up in post. Went to enter, saw the "Minimal" flag, muttered not quite under my breath "Oh, Piffleberries!", and returned to the scene of the brain fart to resize the original and post it up :-)
12/01/2019 10:56:43 PM · #59
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

"Oh, Piffleberries!", and returned to the scene of the brain fart to resize the original and post it up :-)

The benefits of shooting in JPG. I started doing something recently that Melethia suggested. I shoot RAW+ small JPG, so I always have a version for minimal if it is needed. It's a modest amount of space and big memory cards are cheap now.
12/01/2019 11:07:01 PM · #60
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

"Oh, Piffleberries!", and returned to the scene of the brain fart to resize the original and post it up :-)

The benefits of shooting in JPG. I started doing something recently that Melethia suggested. I shoot RAW+ small JPG, so I always have a version for minimal if it is needed. It's a modest amount of space and big memory cards are cheap now.

The brain fart occurred in Photoshop. The original was always in JPG :-)
12/01/2019 11:31:37 PM · #61
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

The original was always in JPG :-)

Yes, I understood that. I was referring to those of use who have to use RAW as a crutch for not being able to operate our cameras properly.
12/01/2019 11:51:28 PM · #62
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

The original was always in JPG :-)

Yes, I understood that. I was referring to those of use who have to use RAW as a crutch for not being able to operate our cameras properly.

What do you mean by "properly" Steve? You think that all those Pro's shooting RAW don't know how to use a camera? Or have I misunderstood?
12/02/2019 12:03:54 AM · #63
You've misunderstood.

Saying people who don't know how to set their cameras "properly" can use RAW as a crutch is not the same as saying those who use RAW don't know how to set their cameras ...

If I had time to draw a Venn diagram (aka Euler Circles) I could show you graphically that RAW shooters who don't know how to set their cameras is a subset of all RAW shooters.

ETA: the typo ("... those of use who ..." instead of "those of us who") didn't help any ...

Message edited by author 2019-12-02 00:06:31.
12/02/2019 12:39:09 AM · #64
Sheesh, folks. It was an attempt at a bit of self deprecating humor, since I am one of that group. Didn't seem to get taken that way.
12/02/2019 01:02:02 AM · #65
I have to say I am sick and tired of the "minimal" arguments. Judging by the quality of entries people did not learn much about how to use the camera :(

So maybe we should not focus on camera technique but the end result! :)
12/02/2019 06:10:33 AM · #66
Originally posted by marnet:

I have to say I am sick and tired of the "minimal" arguments. Judging by the quality of entries people did not learn much about how to use the camera :(

So maybe we should not focus on camera technique but the end result! :)

Sorry, but very difficult to ignore this sentiment. I do not care for Extended Editing (EE) challenges, but I've long ago quit complaining about them, or make unflattering comments about the end results as there are obviously many that do like EE. I either enter them, or I don't.
12/02/2019 11:54:12 AM · #67
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

The original was always in JPG :-)

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Yes, I understood that. I was referring to those of us who have to use RAW as a crutch for not being able to operate our cameras properly.

This is a terrific statement. Though I know you're being tongue-in-cheek, I can seriously relate to this because I'm functionally lazy. I never read all 823,322,467,712 pages of my owner's manual, and never will. (For sale: Nikon D810 Heavily used w/pristine owner's manual: Never opened. LOL!!!)

Part of why I love digital photography is because of the limitless manipulations: tones/lighting/fixes/vignettes and the myriad other opportunities to render *MY* vision. What I see in my mind's eye when I shoot is rarely what's actually there. The ease and adaptability of editing enables me to do so easily.

I will say that over time I have become familiar with the relastionship of my own strengths and weaknesses as well as that of my camera such that I also don't do a lot of editing because I know how the shot will turn out just from experience. I don't much like to spend a bunch of time editing and with the majority of my stuff, if I can't get what I want out of an image in 3-5 minutes with Elements, it's a crappy image. It was amusing to me to find out that having some experience allows me to just pick up a copy of PhotoShop Elements whenever I get a camera that needs its RAW converter newer than my existing version. And at $59.95 for it around the holidays, it's one hell of a bargain. I used to use a couple different plug-ins as well. Now I rarely do. Funny how time and developing your own style, genre, and comfort zone'll do that. Both my camera and my editing program are capable of much more than I ask of them. I like that.
12/02/2019 12:00:41 PM · #68
Originally posted by marnet:

I have to say I am sick and tired of the "minimal" arguments. Judging by the quality of entries people did not learn much about how to use the camera :(

And your point? You know that what you're going to see is the fruits of what a lot of us can't do on a bet. Produce a truly good image in that ruleset. To me, that's the whole point. It's the photography equivalent of dropping you in the wilderness with a knife, a pack of matches and a canteen to see if you make it home alive. LOL!!!

I got a 4th HM with a B&W portrait and I'm as proud of that as I am all the rest of my ribbons.
Originally posted by marnet:

So maybe we should not focus on camera technique but the end result! :)

In each and every other ruleset.
12/03/2019 04:16:16 PM · #69
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

The original was always in JPG :-)

Yes, I understood that. I was referring to those of use who have to use RAW as a crutch for not being able to operate our cameras properly.


Can't say I've ever known anyone who has said they shoot in RAW because they can't figure out how to shoot in JPG. People tend to shoot in Auto if they don't know how to use their camera and are afraid to shoot in RAW.
12/03/2019 04:27:46 PM · #70
I fell victim to the "forgot to set my camera in JPEG" mode.
It's been a really long time, when I last shot a minimal challenge here in 2014, that I set my output to JPEG. I'll remember next time.
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