How do you get the really amazing pictures?
Discussion
So I was looking at pictures on various bits of these forums and just wondered, I have a pretty nice SLR and have been taking pictures for about a year now but, I've never been able to get one of those really, really stunning pictures... You know, the ones where the sky has those really bold colours with huge contrast between the light and dark, just wondering if it's filters or photo-editing? Either way, if someone could give me some pointers that'd be awesome!
Cheers,
Dom
Cheers,
Dom
thespannerman said:
So I was looking at pictures on various bits of these forums and just wondered, I have a pretty nice SLR and have been taking pictures for about a year now but, I've never been able to get one of those really, really stunning pictures... You know, the ones where the sky has those really bold colours with huge contrast between the light and dark, just wondering if it's filters or photo-editing? Either way, if someone could give me some pointers that'd be awesome!
Cheers,
Dom
Welcome Cheers,
Dom
It's a bit all-of-the-above! Many of the landscape guys on here use filters to allow them to control the light entering the camera. They use ND (neutral density) filters to block the amount of light and get longer exposures (think whispy clouds and movement in water), they also use ND Grads (like ND but they have a gradient in them) so you can darken the sky while keeping the landscape light.
One common filter for landscape work (and this maybe what you are talking about) is the CPL (Circular Polarising Filter) which blocks polarised light and can lead to much more contrast in some situations.
Eg Left side normal, right side CPL filter - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8...
On top of that you have the 'post' editing. This can be a simple 2 min task or many hours depending on what you're going for. For landscapes that 'pop' there are simple tools in photoshop / Lightroom called 'Clarity' that do a good job putting localised contrast into a photo. Can really make things stand out
If you haven't tried an image editor then there are a bunch that won't break the bank. Adobe Lightroom (about £99) has quite an easy interface with sliders to control most options, worth downloading the demo
Do you have examples of the sort of shot you'd like to emulate?
Hope this helps.
RobDickinson said:
Get out in the golden hours.
Make sure you are at some killer location for the time of day -use a tool like the photographers ephemeris, get some grad filters and put in some time and effort looking at composition and post processing
This. Use ND grad filter to darken the sky and balance the exposures. The best time of day is before and after sunset to give you the warm golden colours. Make sure you are at some killer location for the time of day -use a tool like the photographers ephemeris, get some grad filters and put in some time and effort looking at composition and post processing
The sad truth is that time is the only thing that will make your pictures better.
For the next fer years you will just take s
t pictures. No way around it.
Just keep shooting, keep reading, and eventually magic will happen.
FYI, I have been shooting for about 10 years. I have taken 1000's of crap-to-average shots before anything decent came out. I think 5+ years is a minimum.
They key is not to give up. That's the hard bit I think.
If I can give you some advice:
Shoot in RAW. JPGs are not even worth shooting if you want to that WOW
Shoot often. Don't take lots of shots, just make photography an event, rather than taking your camera with you and hoping to find something. If you make it your objective to capture a stunning sunrise, you will.
Lightroom is borderline witchcraft. Get it.
Use manual mode. Forget the onboard light meter. It's wrong. This is a long story, but it's a technicality.
Slow down. I have slowed down massively over the past few years, and now I have gotten to point where I can nail the shot in a couple of clicks. I hate trawling through 100s of very similar shots.
Taking up film 12 months ago was the best cure for this digital ailment. I would highly suggest you do the same. Your skills will massively improve.
Don't shoot when the sun is high in the sky. Sunrise and Sunset are the only way to cure harsh shadows.
A good lens never hurts. Actually, it's essential. Forget the body. They are all the same when shooting at ISO100. I would rather have a pro lens and beginner body than the other way round.
The post editing and all that will also come with time. Youtube is your friend. Heaps of great and free material on there.
These are a few of my landscape shots which have either been published in magazines or won competitions. These could have been taken with any camera. No Grad or ND filters used. No HDR or multiple shots.
I have been getting into astro-landscapes too lately, but unfortunately here an expensive body makes a huge difference. Patience, time and luck are also crucial.
Hope this helps :-)
For the next fer years you will just take s
t pictures. No way around it. Just keep shooting, keep reading, and eventually magic will happen.
FYI, I have been shooting for about 10 years. I have taken 1000's of crap-to-average shots before anything decent came out. I think 5+ years is a minimum.
They key is not to give up. That's the hard bit I think.
If I can give you some advice:
Shoot in RAW. JPGs are not even worth shooting if you want to that WOW
Shoot often. Don't take lots of shots, just make photography an event, rather than taking your camera with you and hoping to find something. If you make it your objective to capture a stunning sunrise, you will.
Lightroom is borderline witchcraft. Get it.
Use manual mode. Forget the onboard light meter. It's wrong. This is a long story, but it's a technicality.
Slow down. I have slowed down massively over the past few years, and now I have gotten to point where I can nail the shot in a couple of clicks. I hate trawling through 100s of very similar shots.
Taking up film 12 months ago was the best cure for this digital ailment. I would highly suggest you do the same. Your skills will massively improve.
Don't shoot when the sun is high in the sky. Sunrise and Sunset are the only way to cure harsh shadows.
A good lens never hurts. Actually, it's essential. Forget the body. They are all the same when shooting at ISO100. I would rather have a pro lens and beginner body than the other way round.
The post editing and all that will also come with time. Youtube is your friend. Heaps of great and free material on there.
These are a few of my landscape shots which have either been published in magazines or won competitions. These could have been taken with any camera. No Grad or ND filters used. No HDR or multiple shots.
I have been getting into astro-landscapes too lately, but unfortunately here an expensive body makes a huge difference. Patience, time and luck are also crucial.
Hope this helps :-)
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