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07/18/2014 07:20:08 AM · #1 |
What are some of the things you know now that you wish you knew right away as a newbie when you first started out shooting?
Anything from the equipment you acquired (or shouldn't have or did not) to the techniques or knowledge you wish you started learning but didn't know until way later.
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07/18/2014 07:25:05 AM · #2 |
| Get f**cking model releases for f**king everyf**kingthing. |
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07/18/2014 07:32:41 AM · #3 |
The one thing that changed my photos was purchasing Topaz Adjust. It is amazing the difference a bit of processing can make to a photo. I guess it is possible to do the same in Photoshop but I am lazy. Nik Efex plugins are I am sure just as good and I have been using it more and more recently especially the BW (Silver Efex) plugin.
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07/18/2014 07:57:51 AM · #4 |
#1 is Planning.
Others:
Using manual mode to force learning and control.
Not minding coming back and shooting again.
Using RAW mode.
Turn off the lights and open the shutter. Play.
Message edited by author 2014-07-18 08:09:02. |
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07/18/2014 08:17:06 AM · #5 |
| Very recently - using RAW - that extra information actually makes effective editing possible. After all, 3T hard drives are cheap... |
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07/18/2014 08:17:44 AM · #6 |
The way that aperature was explained to me for detail after a number of years changed the way i saw things in terms of composition.
"If you picture the opening of your blades as hole to paint a picture with, and your sensor as the canvas, having your aperature wide open means that it won't take long to fully cover the canvas with paint using a big brush, but very little will be focused (this is great for a bokeh'd portrait, not for a scenic vista); but if you have a very narrow aperature then it will take you much longer to expose the image because you need to use such a small brush to get in and paint, but as a result your picture will have much more detail throughout the entire scene".
Honestly, this may seem rather simple and intuitive to most people, but having had no formal training before going to a workshop with a professional photographer who talked about this in the first bit of the seminar made things click in a way that they never did, and now it's something that i take for granted while composing, but it wasn't intuitive (to me at least). |
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07/18/2014 08:45:55 AM · #7 |
| The value of a halfway decent tripod. |
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07/18/2014 08:52:47 AM · #8 |
| Never leave the house without a camera. |
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07/18/2014 08:53:56 AM · #9 |
While sometimes being a cheap-ass budget photographer is okay, better equipment really does produce better results.
Message edited by author 2014-07-18 09:25:02. |
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07/18/2014 09:23:28 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by RyanW:
"If you picture the opening of your blades as hole to paint a picture with, and your sensor as the canvas, having your aperature wide open means that it won't take long to fully cover the canvas with paint using a big brush, but very little will be focused (this is great for a bokeh'd portrait, not for a scenic vista); but if you have a very narrow aperature then it will take you much longer to expose the image because you need to use such a small brush to get in and paint, but as a result your picture will have much more detail throughout the entire scene". |
Gotta say, that's pretty cool |
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07/18/2014 09:31:09 AM · #11 |
The funny thing is: I don't think I'd change a thing. I started out with the cheaper equipment, and when I upgraded, it was wonderful to see the difference. If I'd started out with the best, I don't know that I'd appreciate it as much.
Everything that I've learned has been like building with blocks. You could buy the prefab barbie castle -- have it and play with it for a week and get bored -- or you can build piece by piece, block by block. Adding rooms, destroying things you get bored with, and in the end you have the ultimate castle that you know inside out. All because you built it piece by piece.
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07/18/2014 09:33:51 AM · #12 |
Good call on this thread! I like it.
I definitely have a few of my own:
1) Originally posted by LN13:
While sometimes being a budget photographer is okay, better equipment really does produce better results. |
... but better equipment does not necessarily mean hefty price tag. There is a ton of old-school quality gear out there waiting to be used. Fine, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the new stuff, but the pixel-resolving aspect of it is there.
2) As a continuation to #1: Ebay has ANY type of gear that you want to try for cheap. Want to play with a variable ND? 10$.. etc..
3) Don't get intimidated by shots that you see and say "I could never do that". Enough motivation and you'll get there.
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07/18/2014 10:06:01 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by pamb:
Get f**cking model releases for f**king everyf**kingthing. |
effingtrue. really spoils the fun on the candid circuit. if you want to exhibit stuff. |
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07/18/2014 11:11:41 AM · #14 |
| Learn the basic rules of good composition, then when you have it figured out, you can break them. I'm not sure that I have them figured out yet :) |
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07/18/2014 11:27:30 AM · #15 |
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07/18/2014 11:47:50 AM · #16 |
What Wendy said. In the beginning, I truly don't believe you can make wrong choices. It's all about learning.
A lot of my first equipment choices were really cheap stuff, like my lights. It helped me learn so many things - first, not worry if I wreck them, because, well, they were cheap. Also, learned WHY they were cheap. Made me think of things I would never have imagined: design (where knobs, switches, plugs go), materials, sturdiness, quality of light, safety features (or lack of them), durability, etc.
And if you're going to do portraiture, yeah, releases. |
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07/18/2014 12:14:47 PM · #17 |
| great pics dont just happen, you have to go get them or make them. |
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07/18/2014 12:22:08 PM · #18 |
Patience
for the opportunity to happen
to build the photo
to view through the viewfinder before pressing the shutter
to establish rapport
to use the right technique
to do the right processing
to critique your own work
to receive critiques
to share what you know |
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07/18/2014 01:52:26 PM · #19 |
This is great. This speaks for everything - not just photography. And perhaps part of our problem as a culture today. Everything comes so quickly and easily - and we don't become as enriched along the way. Very well put.
I was just talking to a friend about our previous (crappy) jobs we had years ago. And how we wouldn't know how great our jobs are now without that crappy experience.
Sorry to ramble, I just appreciated that comment and wanted to say so =)
That isn't to say this is not a valuable thread - the info photogs are sharing here is AMAZING! =D
Originally posted by vawendy:
You could buy the prefab barbie castle -- have it and play with it for a week and get bored -- or you can build piece by piece, block by block. Adding rooms, destroying things you get bored with, and in the end you have the ultimate castle that you know inside out. All because you built it piece by piece. |
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07/18/2014 02:00:41 PM · #20 |
"If I knew now then what I knew know then now"
If I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten medication for my OCD. |
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07/18/2014 03:34:46 PM · #21 |
Avoid being bitten by the upgrade bug, it's an expensive habit and your old equipment does not become obsolete overnight. Thank goodness I have now kicked that habit.
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07/18/2014 03:57:50 PM · #22 |
This is soo awesome and I can so relate to a lot of this.... I am having that issue right now with the upgrade thing especially with the Body of the camera I have, not so much the lenses..
I see what the 5300, 7000 and the 7100 can do its making me drool especially over the ISO ... taking it slow though and getting other things like my lighting/flash in place and a set of better lenses like a 18-135......
I also feel I have to know what I am doing before upgrading and learning the basics of things.. I saw a poster the other day and it helps me keep my place..
Photography is not about the gadgets and gizmos and equipment..Photography is about the photographers..a camera didn't take a great picture no more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.
Love the comments guys this is great
Message edited by author 2014-07-18 16:02:18. |
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07/18/2014 04:03:05 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by RyanW:
The way that aperature was explained to me for detail after a number of years changed the way i saw things in terms of composition.
"If you picture the opening of your blades as hole to paint a picture with, and your sensor as the canvas, having your aperature wide open means that it won't take long to fully cover the canvas with paint using a big brush, but very little will be focused (this is great for a bokeh'd portrait, not for a scenic vista); but if you have a very narrow aperature then it will take you much longer to expose the image because you need to use such a small brush to get in and paint, but as a result your picture will have much more detail throughout the entire scene".
Honestly, this may seem rather simple and intuitive to most people, but having had no formal training before going to a workshop with a professional photographer who talked about this in the first bit of the seminar made things click in a way that they never did, and now it's something that i take for granted while composing, but it wasn't intuitive (to me at least). |
I so love this! Best explanation of aperture I have heard yet.. totally makes sense now |
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07/18/2014 04:24:09 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:
"If I knew now then what I knew know then now"
If I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten medication for my OCD. |
Hah, good catch, Artemus. I'll fix it. |
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07/18/2014 04:36:44 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by MarkB:
The value of a halfway decent tripod. |
2nd that |
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