Nikon D40 - my new best friend
Discussion
So finally got my hands on my birthday present and have started my new DSLR journey! I am a complete novice to photography (you may have seen a few of the photos I took of my twins on another thread) but really want to learn and improve.
Some of my favorites so far (C&C very welcome):
DSC_4729 by ed_R1983, on Flickr
DSC_4764 by ed_R1983, on Flickr
DSC_4740 by ed_R1983, on Flickr
Nice and dry by ed_R1983, on Flickr
Taking pics of the kids is great and very fun but doesn't pose too much of a challenge - take loads and hope for some good ones! So how can I take my portraiture(?) to the next level?
What should my next step be?
P.s. I am having great fun which I know is the main thing.
Cheers,
Ed
Some of my favorites so far (C&C very welcome):
DSC_4729 by ed_R1983, on Flickr
DSC_4764 by ed_R1983, on Flickr
DSC_4740 by ed_R1983, on Flickr
Nice and dry by ed_R1983, on Flickr
Taking pics of the kids is great and very fun but doesn't pose too much of a challenge - take loads and hope for some good ones! So how can I take my portraiture(?) to the next level?
What should my next step be?
P.s. I am having great fun which I know is the main thing.
Cheers,
Ed
Legend83 said:
So finally got my hands on my birthday present and have started my new DSLR journey! I am a complete novice to photography (you may have seen a few of the photos I took of my twins on another thread) but really want to learn and improve... Taking pics of the kids is great and very fun but doesn't pose too much of a challenge - take loads and hope for some good ones! So how can I take my portraiture(?) to the next level?
Stand on a step! No but seriously... a good start.Legend83 said:
What should my next step be?
If you like portraiture I'd suggest two things to study - lighting and colour balance (which will lead you to the RAW Monster but you will have to slay that eventually!).Simpo Two said:
If you like portraiture I'd suggest two things to study - lighting and colour balance (which will lead you to the RAW Monster but you will have to slay that eventually!).
Thanks for the comments John.Any particular aspects of lighting / colour balance I got wrong with those shots? I guess the first one has my little girl's face in shadow but I quite liked the way the sun was highlighting the back of her head.
I assume the reference to standing on a step was to play around with the angles that I take pictures from?
I do like portraiture but also want to get into landscapes and B&W / vintage style shots. Need to find the time though - not easy with two little ones!
Legend83 said:
I assume the reference to standing on a step was to play around with the angles that I take pictures from?
IMHO he was pulling your leg, but - generally - you have raised the point that portraits often work well if you do what you've done here and got (down) to the same level as your subject. (Rules are there to be broken, mind!)Whatever angle you're shooting from, it is always well worth spending more time worrying about the background than the subject (which tends, most of the time, to take care of itself!)
Some nice shots there. You clearly have a lot of the basic technique nailed already, particularly getting eyes nice and sharp.
I don't claim to be an expert in anyway but I have found the Talk photography forum critique section and other areas of the site brilliant. Just spend a few hours looking at people's photos. If you like something, find out how it was done and maybe more importantly if you don't like something, work out why not so you can avoid those mistakes yourself (the background bit in K12's post hits on this point). Flickr is also great for this though sometimes, maybe a little too exhaustive.
There is also a great portrait thread running on here. Spend some time reading through it from the start, there are some talented people on here and luckily most of them are all too keen to share their wisdom.
I don't claim to be an expert in anyway but I have found the Talk photography forum critique section and other areas of the site brilliant. Just spend a few hours looking at people's photos. If you like something, find out how it was done and maybe more importantly if you don't like something, work out why not so you can avoid those mistakes yourself (the background bit in K12's post hits on this point). Flickr is also great for this though sometimes, maybe a little too exhaustive.
There is also a great portrait thread running on here. Spend some time reading through it from the start, there are some talented people on here and luckily most of them are all too keen to share their wisdom.
Yes, Beano wins that one - I hate this next-level drill-down Dragons Den stuff 
I guess you have to distinguish between portraits outdoors, where you have less control of lighting, and indoors/studio portraits, where you have much more if not infinite control.
My 4p:
Photo 1) Pro: It's sharp, a good expression. Con: Thing behind head, colour looks too blue, needs fill flash IMHO
Photo 2) Pro: It's sharp. Con: Kid looks pretty uncomfortable; yellow rails and house make photo look untidy. Find an angle that minimises distracting things.
Photo 3) As above
Photo 4): Pro: Nice composition, decent expression. Con: Baby looks orange.
If it was me I'd use fill flash to fill in the shadows a little and add a catchlight to the eyes - but it's a personal thing. I'd also shoot RAW so I have full control over white balance, particularly in this case skin tones.
When working with children you often have to work fast, so familiarity with your camera and anticipation of what's about to happen and getting yourself in the right place is vital I find.
HTH as they say!
Legend83 said:
Any particular aspects of lighting / colour balance I got wrong with those shots? I guess the first one has my little girl's face in shadow but I quite liked the way the sun was highlighting the back of her head.
Well first, I don't claim to be expert at portraits - I just bought some s/h Elinchrom lighting on the recommendation of someone who is, exploded a bucket of white paint in a spare room and experimented from there.I guess you have to distinguish between portraits outdoors, where you have less control of lighting, and indoors/studio portraits, where you have much more if not infinite control.
My 4p:
Photo 1) Pro: It's sharp, a good expression. Con: Thing behind head, colour looks too blue, needs fill flash IMHO
Photo 2) Pro: It's sharp. Con: Kid looks pretty uncomfortable; yellow rails and house make photo look untidy. Find an angle that minimises distracting things.
Photo 3) As above
Photo 4): Pro: Nice composition, decent expression. Con: Baby looks orange.
If it was me I'd use fill flash to fill in the shadows a little and add a catchlight to the eyes - but it's a personal thing. I'd also shoot RAW so I have full control over white balance, particularly in this case skin tones.
When working with children you often have to work fast, so familiarity with your camera and anticipation of what's about to happen and getting yourself in the right place is vital I find.
HTH as they say!
Thanks for the constructive criticism John.
Novice question - what is "fill flash"?
I agree on the points about the background distractions - I only had my 35mm prime with me so no flexibility with distance (I could have got closer on shot 2 but didn't want to risk getting boshed!).
Pic 4 Emmy does look a little tanned - will adjust the colour balance a little and see if I can tweak it a bit.
Novice question - what is "fill flash"?
I agree on the points about the background distractions - I only had my 35mm prime with me so no flexibility with distance (I could have got closer on shot 2 but didn't want to risk getting boshed!).
Pic 4 Emmy does look a little tanned - will adjust the colour balance a little and see if I can tweak it a bit.
Legend83 said:
Novice question - what is "fill flash"?
Ever seen a crowd of photographers covering an event - outside No 10 et cetera? Here's Simpo and some mates earlier.....
You'll always see them firing a flash - even if it's sunny. In fact more important if it's sunny! They are just taking control of the light. With portraits you can do it by rigging up reflectors, but for easy, portability and consistent results - not to mention that Nikon have got a fantastic system - you want to use flash - which "fills" the parts of the image that are otherwise not so well lit or are in shadow.
ETA - examples on Nikon's sites like: http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/speedlights/fun/
Edited by K12beano on Thursday 7th June 14:45
I am not sure about your particular model, but there are various ways you can ask the camera to give you fill flash from the built in flash.
I've only just acquired a Nikon with built in flash - my last body didn't have this - but my personal preference is to go into the settings and select "manual power" mode or whatever they call it and starting from about 1/32 power practice on something like a football, melon, or grapefruit to see what happens as you ramp the power up. (That's what I do with an SB-800 anyway.) You leave the camera to sort out the overall exposure and you just tinker with how much light you are adding to the scene.
Personally I hate the shots (even like on the Nikon website) that go a bit too far and have overpowering light on faces!
This way you can learn what works for your own style/personal preference.
Others might just say to let the camera do the job automatically - sometimes they're a bit too clever for their own good, sometimes they can crank out brilliant stuff automatically! Whichever way, the white balance can possibly/probably be left on auto - in theory the flash colour should be somewhere close to daylight. But then again, a bit of experimentation in a quiet half hour with something like a football is all you need to start understanding what you can achieve!
I've only just acquired a Nikon with built in flash - my last body didn't have this - but my personal preference is to go into the settings and select "manual power" mode or whatever they call it and starting from about 1/32 power practice on something like a football, melon, or grapefruit to see what happens as you ramp the power up. (That's what I do with an SB-800 anyway.) You leave the camera to sort out the overall exposure and you just tinker with how much light you are adding to the scene.
Personally I hate the shots (even like on the Nikon website) that go a bit too far and have overpowering light on faces!
This way you can learn what works for your own style/personal preference.
Others might just say to let the camera do the job automatically - sometimes they're a bit too clever for their own good, sometimes they can crank out brilliant stuff automatically! Whichever way, the white balance can possibly/probably be left on auto - in theory the flash colour should be somewhere close to daylight. But then again, a bit of experimentation in a quiet half hour with something like a football is all you need to start understanding what you can achieve!
K12beano said:
I am not sure about your particular model, but there are various ways you can ask the camera to give you fill flash from the built in flash.
I've only just acquired a Nikon with built in flash - my last body didn't have this - but my personal preference is to go into the settings and select "manual power" mode or whatever they call it and starting from about 1/32 power practice on something like a football, melon, or grapefruit to see what happens as you ramp the power up. (That's what I do with an SB-800 anyway.) You leave the camera to sort out the overall exposure and you just tinker with how much light you are adding to the scene.
Personally I hate the shots (even like on the Nikon website) that go a bit too far and have overpowering light on faces!
This way you can learn what works for your own style/personal preference.
Others might just say to let the camera do the job automatically - sometimes they're a bit too clever for their own good, sometimes they can crank out brilliant stuff automatically! Whichever way, the white balance can possibly/probably be left on auto - in theory the flash colour should be somewhere close to daylight. But then again, a bit of experimentation in a quiet half hour with something like a football is all you need to start understanding what you can achieve!
I use an SB700 and something I have found is that even when I crank the flash power on the flash itself right down to -3ev, images can still look a little unnaturally lit. Very obvious use of flash killing all shadows. A little shadow is a good thing in my opinion. Anyway, I digress, what I found out was that the flash compensation on the body itself and the flash unit are not only independent but also cumulative. So if you dial -3 on the flash and -3 on the body's flash compensation, you actually get a flash output of -6. I'm glad I found that out.I've only just acquired a Nikon with built in flash - my last body didn't have this - but my personal preference is to go into the settings and select "manual power" mode or whatever they call it and starting from about 1/32 power practice on something like a football, melon, or grapefruit to see what happens as you ramp the power up. (That's what I do with an SB-800 anyway.) You leave the camera to sort out the overall exposure and you just tinker with how much light you are adding to the scene.
Personally I hate the shots (even like on the Nikon website) that go a bit too far and have overpowering light on faces!
This way you can learn what works for your own style/personal preference.
Others might just say to let the camera do the job automatically - sometimes they're a bit too clever for their own good, sometimes they can crank out brilliant stuff automatically! Whichever way, the white balance can possibly/probably be left on auto - in theory the flash colour should be somewhere close to daylight. But then again, a bit of experimentation in a quiet half hour with something like a football is all you need to start understanding what you can achieve!
Sorry, I realise I'm probably confusing the OP and you lot probably all knew this already but it was a revelation to me! By the way, if you predominately shoot outside, take a look at reflectors as a cheap and more natural alternative to flash. Sometimes a bit awkward to use but very effective and CHEAP!
I mention the cheap bit as it's very easy to get carried away with this stuff and find yourself buying high end gear that never really gets used.
Legend83 said:
I see - so just using the flash outdoors essentially.
Not quite. Fill flash is partial flash where ambient light makes up part of the exposure. In Nikon-speak it's called 'TTL-BL'.Legend83 said:
Ok, so presumably there is a setting in my options which forces the camera to fire the flash even if there is good light and I am not on Auto mode?
The option is called 'taking it off Auto mode'... try Program instead for now. This is similar but you decide if you want to pop the flash up or not. It's the same for the other modes too - most people use aperture-priority for a simple way to control depth of field (and shutter speed and flash range but that's another story).That said, the built-in flash is more of a get-out-of-jail-free card than a pleasant lighting source - direct flash, even partial, can give a flat, dull effect. If you want to start taking control of lighting, you'll need to invest in a strap-on jobby aka Speedlight. £200+ but it will give you so many more options. If you're on a budget, Nissin seem to be a favoured option but I haven't tried them.
Legend83 said:
Better get saving....
If you do decide to get a flash, the Nissin ones that Simpo mentioned are great.I have a Di622. It's cheap, powerful but very simple to use. There is a mark 2 version now but I think the only thing it adds is off camera TTL for Nikon flash commander and I don't think your D40 has that functionality so you may as well save your pennies and go for a MK1 version. Shouldn't cost much more than £50 though you may want to factor in some rechargeable AA's at the same time. Oh and a little plastic diffuser to stick on the end of it is quite helpful too.
Something like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-White-FLASH-Bounce-D...
And this is the flash, though a used one would be cheaper
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NISSIN-DI-622-FLASH-NIKO...
I started with a D40 and I truly loved that camera - I learned loads from it and was genuinely upset when the sensor gave up the ghost. But I got over it when Nikon let me have a D3100 as a free replacement
Before it died, I found that I had spent a fair bit, gradually, and learned a lot - I had (and still do) a 55-200, 18-70, SB600 flash and other bits like a spare battery, 3 bags (don't ask) and loads of memory cards.
As for portraiture, keep shooting and keep learning - I could have given you a D40 handbook as I no longer need it, but I think I've given it away (if I haven't, you're welcome to it - I'll have a look when I get home).
My favourite photo taken with it is this:
Sometimes the best photos are those that you just don't quite expect...
Before it died, I found that I had spent a fair bit, gradually, and learned a lot - I had (and still do) a 55-200, 18-70, SB600 flash and other bits like a spare battery, 3 bags (don't ask) and loads of memory cards.
As for portraiture, keep shooting and keep learning - I could have given you a D40 handbook as I no longer need it, but I think I've given it away (if I haven't, you're welcome to it - I'll have a look when I get home).
My favourite photo taken with it is this:
Sometimes the best photos are those that you just don't quite expect...
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