First Pics with new Camera
Discussion
this one works best for me. I'm going through a "quirky angle" phase in my own photography style at the mo so this one got my attention. i like the background fade to black at just the right point, a little more contrast across the face maybe might have added to the impact but it's a small point and as steve says it'll get easier with better lighting, but this defo (for me) has the most impact as a picture.
thanks for sharing 
i went a walk with the dog earlier today to see what the camera was like outside, did notice the shutter speeds got faster but still had to take a few shots till i got a half decent result. i just cant seem to judge the right settings to use, i guess that comes through lots of practice.
This wee cow just stood and looked at me as if i was weird
The colours in these ones seem more washed out if you know what i mean (especially the cow). How can u sort that in photoshop
@Trackcar:
thanks for the comments. The fading to black bit was totally by accident lol i hadnt even really noticed it till u mentioned it.
This wee cow just stood and looked at me as if i was weird
The colours in these ones seem more washed out if you know what i mean (especially the cow). How can u sort that in photoshop
@Trackcar:
thanks for the comments. The fading to black bit was totally by accident lol i hadnt even really noticed it till u mentioned it.
Edited by alanw89 on Tuesday 26th December 19:57
Just bought the 400D myself today too.
Not sure if i'll ever figure out how to use it properly. Only got the standard canon lense with it at the moment, tried to take a few shots, bit dodgy at the moment.
Im on nightshift tonight so i'll take it in and have a play there.
Photography is something im really wanting to get into, and have been wanting too for a while, so today took the plunge and bought one.
I'll get out with the camera in the afternoon tomorrow and take some pictures
Not sure if i'll ever figure out how to use it properly. Only got the standard canon lense with it at the moment, tried to take a few shots, bit dodgy at the moment.
Im on nightshift tonight so i'll take it in and have a play there.
Photography is something im really wanting to get into, and have been wanting too for a while, so today took the plunge and bought one.
I'll get out with the camera in the afternoon tomorrow and take some pictures
My advice, after having a 400D for a couple of months as my first DSLR, is to get out there and shoot anything and everything. Buy Michael Langford's Basic Photography, and also get onto flickr or another such site and search for the type of photo you are interested in taking. Look at other people's efforts and where possible click on the "more properties" link to show the exif data which will give you information about the focal length, aperture, ISO and shutter speed used. Once you get a better understanding of what works in what scenarios and conditions then you'll find your shots improving accordingly.
If you take a shot in auto or program mode, look at the exposure it produced then duck into Av or manual and start playing about with the aperture to discover the effect it has on depth of field and the resulting impact on shutter speed to produce the same exposure. Do the same exercise in modifying shutter speed to understand motion, freezing and blur, and ISO. I'd also recommend Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure in this respect.
In a couple of months of learning from others (not least on here!) and thousands of exposures of sheer practice I've gone from this:
to this:
And I'm loving every minute of it
If you take a shot in auto or program mode, look at the exposure it produced then duck into Av or manual and start playing about with the aperture to discover the effect it has on depth of field and the resulting impact on shutter speed to produce the same exposure. Do the same exercise in modifying shutter speed to understand motion, freezing and blur, and ISO. I'd also recommend Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure in this respect.
In a couple of months of learning from others (not least on here!) and thousands of exposures of sheer practice I've gone from this:
to this:
And I'm loving every minute of it
Edited by aspender on Wednesday 27th December 01:13
GetCarter said:
click on help, type 'curves' follow your nose
Thanks. I'll give that a try.
James_N said:
Not sure if i'll ever figure out how to use it properly. Only got the standard canon lense with it at the moment, tried to take a few shots, bit dodgy at the moment.
I've spent the last two days trying to work it out and still dont know, but when i put the pics onto my computer i could notice the difference between pics taken in the morning compared to ones later on. The first ones really were crap.
aspender said:
Once you get a better understanding of what works in what scenarios and conditions then you'll find your shots improving accordingly.
I think this is one of the main things im missing just now and seems its something that only comes with lots of practice.
Colour temperature changes throughout the day and throughout the year. The human eye has all sorts of amazing auto-compensation built in that you just don't notice, but the hard scientific eye of the camera certainly does. Just as evening sunlight coming through lots of atmosphere is a nice warm yellow (technically a low temperature), at midday it can look cool and very blue (high temperature) and sunlight coming through cloud is bluer still. Diffuse light through clouds can also make things look very flat and 2-dimensional.
As you have mentioned, in these photos, the light makes things seem quite monochrome. To be honest you are going to get that effect at this time of year in this overcast weather. I am surprised the photos don't look even greyer, maybe the in-camera processing boosts the saturation slightly.
I think the pics showing some sky have confused the camera's metering. In an attempt to get the whole dynamic range in, from the dark shadows to the bright clouds, it has selected a fast shutter and a small aperture, which has resulted in the darker foreground being a bit lost in shadow.
This can of course be tweaked in Photoshop, but next time you take a similar photo, try pointing the camera at the grass or grey road, lock the exposure, and then point it at the scene and take the photo. Alternatively, use the exposure override to bracket the shots, making the exposure longer than the metering recommends. This will burn the sky out but should enhance the detail in the more shadowy areas.
slinky said:
Really stunning, any chance of a high resolution version of that to adorn my desktop?
Thanks! I'm very pleased with how it came out. I've others that don't have the boat trail in, and I can't make up my mind which I prefer.
The original size (3888 x 2592) is here
Feel free to resize it for your own desktop.
However, for wallpaper use, I prefer this one of the Millennium Bridge with St. Paul's creeping out of the fog!
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