Discussion
For anyone who enjoyed Art School on the BBC this thread is going to be my version for the next 10 weeks. I’m doing an evening class at the minute – City and Guilds in Photography, Stage 1, Basic Photography. Details here…
http://www.cets.co.uk/a2z/19.html#s2
I thought I should start with the basics as I have had no formal training. Each week we’re going to be shooting different things and have homework to take some shots and bring them into critique. There are 9 of us on the course and interestingly there are only two of us using digital cameras which surprised me. We are going to be producing some sets of themed works further on into the course. There seem to be a good group on the course with all different levels of experience and the tutor seems pretty cool.
I thought I’d give you guys a chance to get involved and let you critique the shots too. I’m a big boy so if something is bad it’s OK to say so, but some constructive criticism would be nice. This week we could pretty much take what we wanted and I’ll also be taking in some of my past work for the class to examine but these are the shots I’ve newly taken this week.
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass001.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass002.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass003.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass004.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass005.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass006.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass007.jpg[/pic]
I hope you enjoy taking part too, you don't really have to comment on the first two as I know you have seen them already this week ;)
http://www.cets.co.uk/a2z/19.html#s2
I thought I should start with the basics as I have had no formal training. Each week we’re going to be shooting different things and have homework to take some shots and bring them into critique. There are 9 of us on the course and interestingly there are only two of us using digital cameras which surprised me. We are going to be producing some sets of themed works further on into the course. There seem to be a good group on the course with all different levels of experience and the tutor seems pretty cool.
I thought I’d give you guys a chance to get involved and let you critique the shots too. I’m a big boy so if something is bad it’s OK to say so, but some constructive criticism would be nice. This week we could pretty much take what we wanted and I’ll also be taking in some of my past work for the class to examine but these are the shots I’ve newly taken this week.
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass001.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass002.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass003.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass004.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass005.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass006.jpg[/pic]
[pic]http://freespace.virgin.net/nick.grant/Photography%20Class/photographyclass007.jpg[/pic]
I hope you enjoy taking part too, you don't really have to comment on the first two as I know you have seen them already this week ;)
OK...you asked for it 
Garlick:- It looks to soft to me, nothing is in focus...and the hightlight (top/right) is much too powerful and keeps dragging my eye away.
Buses:- A good, unusual image. My only comment would be that it might be a bit too dark overall.
Steamer:- Very soft and lacking in contrast.
Stylus:- Soft again.
Record:- Only thing to mention is loss of detail in the high and low-lights.
Rainbow colours:- Done really well.
Bottom image (don't know what it is, doh):- the only thing in the shot (the two circles) is out of focus, my eye can't stop anywhere.
I hope that doesn't come across as harsh, it's not meant to be, I'm just letting you in on my first imprssions. HTH.
Martin.
>> Edited by V6GTO on Sunday 25th September 18:09
Garlick:- It looks to soft to me, nothing is in focus...and the hightlight (top/right) is much too powerful and keeps dragging my eye away.
Buses:- A good, unusual image. My only comment would be that it might be a bit too dark overall.
Steamer:- Very soft and lacking in contrast.
Stylus:- Soft again.
Record:- Only thing to mention is loss of detail in the high and low-lights.
Rainbow colours:- Done really well.
Bottom image (don't know what it is, doh):- the only thing in the shot (the two circles) is out of focus, my eye can't stop anywhere.
I hope that doesn't come across as harsh, it's not meant to be, I'm just letting you in on my first imprssions. HTH.
Martin.
>> Edited by V6GTO on Sunday 25th September 18:09
V6GTO said:
OK...you asked for it
Garlick:- It looks to soft to me, nothing is in focus...and the hightlight (top/right) is much too powerful and keeps dragging my eyr away.
Buses:- Agood, unusual image. Ny only comment would be that it might be a bit too dark overall.
Steamer:- Very soft and lacking in contrast.
Stylus:- Soft again.
Record:- Only thing to mention is loss of detail in the high and low-lights.
Rainbow colours:- Done really well.
Bottom image (don't know what it is, doh):- the only thing in the shot (the two circles) is out of focus, my eye can't stop anywhere.
I hope that doesn't come across as harsh, it's not meant to be, I'm just letting you in on my first imprssions. HTH.
Martin.
You're right I did ask for it lol
No this is what I was looking for, only way to learn! The Garlick, the face of the clove still in the bulb is in focus, you can see all the vains in the large version, I was experimenting with a small DOF, but I take your point. I think this is the same problem you have expressed with a couple of the pics.
The "rainbow" is my favortite, it's a UV light in the middle of rings of perspex as viewed from the top in the last pic.
docevi1 said:
hmm, it worries me when someone like you heads to learn how to take photographs - your shots of cars at shows are some my most memorable shots from this forum!
Thanks Stefan but as you can see from this thread I still have alot to learn!
I wanted to get better and lots of different types of photography so I thought I'd go back to basics and it has made me realise how much work I still have to do. _dobbo_ said:
I'd echo Martin's comments about softness - when you resize down to PH friendly size, it's probably worth sharpening again if you already don't.
I like the stanton one - but clean the headshell up man, it's dusty as hell!
I didn't resharpen your right, I remember that for next time. I've realised how dusty the house is in general since I started pointing a camera at things
From a technical point of view the only thing I'd add to Martin's comments is that with the garlic and gramophone (
) shots I think the colour balance is off, looks like the camera white balance needs to be manually adjusted/set for tungsten lighting. From an artistic point of view I like the warm orange glow of tungsten lights but as you're doing a proper course you will probably be picked up on that sort of thing.
) shots I think the colour balance is off, looks like the camera white balance needs to be manually adjusted/set for tungsten lighting. From an artistic point of view I like the warm orange glow of tungsten lights but as you're doing a proper course you will probably be picked up on that sort of thing.te51cle said:
From a technical point of view the only thing I'd add to Martin's comments is that with the garlic and gramophone (
LOL at gramophone
Would I adjust this using the temprature contol when processing the RAW file?
One thing I've found is that it's alot harder taking photos when I have to really think about what I'm doing rather than making snapshot descisions like I do when I'm shooting my normal candid shots
badbeachbuggy said:
Would I adjust this using the temprature contol when processing the RAW file?
If you forget to do it in camera, then you can do it in RAW control - that's what I do.
A good test is to take a shot under kitchen lights, then use your RAW editor to change the white balance to tungsten - then see how much more natural it looks.
If you want to get colour balance really spot on you could use a Gretag Macbeth card. Don't forget to take it out of the shot though as I did once. Oops! I realised before I had taken too many shots though.
I think that these shots are an excellent start and are an imaginative response to the module that you are studying. My favourites are the buses (which don't appear too dark on my monitor) because of your use of focal length to flatten the perspective and I love the fact that it is monochrome, but you have kept the buses red.
I like the dynamic composition of the stylus shot. Good use of framing and line.
The garlic shot could have worked better if you thought about the shape of it more and how that interacted with the frame itself. The bright light/reflection in the top right really draws your eye away as the eye is naturally drawn to the lightest part of the picture. It is a bit too soft also. I think that you could have made better use of differential focussing. It might be worth looking at examples of food photography. Waitrose magazine is excellent and the Times at the weekend have a very well illustrated food section in the magazines.
I shall look forward to seeing more shots in future
I think that these shots are an excellent start and are an imaginative response to the module that you are studying. My favourites are the buses (which don't appear too dark on my monitor) because of your use of focal length to flatten the perspective and I love the fact that it is monochrome, but you have kept the buses red.
I like the dynamic composition of the stylus shot. Good use of framing and line.
The garlic shot could have worked better if you thought about the shape of it more and how that interacted with the frame itself. The bright light/reflection in the top right really draws your eye away as the eye is naturally drawn to the lightest part of the picture. It is a bit too soft also. I think that you could have made better use of differential focussing. It might be worth looking at examples of food photography. Waitrose magazine is excellent and the Times at the weekend have a very well illustrated food section in the magazines.
I shall look forward to seeing more shots in future
I always firstly look at any pics in the same way .. if they make me smile they're ok
Rude girl has two pics of sausage-like dogs in her house, the dogs have apples on their heads. They make me smile.
Your pic of the buses makes me smile too. Even though it's predominantly b+w it's s warming homely image in feel because even though the city is stark the red buses are a reminder beacon of traditional values and British-ness. I love it to bits.
Feel-good pics like that totally rock.
Well done
Rude girl has two pics of sausage-like dogs in her house, the dogs have apples on their heads. They make me smile.
Your pic of the buses makes me smile too. Even though it's predominantly b+w it's s warming homely image in feel because even though the city is stark the red buses are a reminder beacon of traditional values and British-ness. I love it to bits.
Feel-good pics like that totally rock.
Well done
Thanks guys, there is some really useful feedback here.
Camera is a Canon 300D I think most of these were taken with my Sigma 28mm-300mmm zoom. It's not the best lens but it's handy when I'm shooting at car shows as I don't have to keep changing lenses.
Emma, do you know where I can get some of those cards, I had a quick google but couldn't seem to find any for sale.
Cheers.
Camera is a Canon 300D I think most of these were taken with my Sigma 28mm-300mmm zoom. It's not the best lens but it's handy when I'm shooting at car shows as I don't have to keep changing lenses.
Emma, do you know where I can get some of those cards, I had a quick google but couldn't seem to find any for sale.
Cheers.
i can see what you are trying to do with the garlic, but the problem is mainly with the DOF. although a bit of it is in focus, there is a not a lot of detail there, so you really have to look for it in the picture, rather than it jumping out at you as should happen with this sort of photo. my favoutite is the rainbow colours one, but I think at the moment it looks too much like a photo, it needs to go more abstract. I have taken the liberty of playing with it as I ould have done. Here is your original,
I applied a dust & scratches filter at 6px radius to get rid of the compression artefacts (unnecessary from the original), but also to get rid of the imperfections in the plastic, and also the dust specks. I then increased the contrast a lot using curves. To finish with another dose of dust & scratches, plus some USM. this is what I came up with
I applied a dust & scratches filter at 6px radius to get rid of the compression artefacts (unnecessary from the original), but also to get rid of the imperfections in the plastic, and also the dust specks. I then increased the contrast a lot using curves. To finish with another dose of dust & scratches, plus some USM. this is what I came up with
badbeachbuggy said:
Emma, do you know where I can get some of those cards, I had a quick google but couldn't seem to find any for sale.
I got mine from Calumet. www.calumetphoto.co.uk I imagine that jacobs or jessops could order some for you. They are not cheap though
I think they cost about £35 or more 
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