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If you could give one tip, what would it be...

brendanryder

brendanryder

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2006
654
0
Calgary
I let my friend use my camera tonight and he dosent know much about cameras. He asked me if i could give him one tip, what would it be?
i couldn't think of anything on the spot.

So, if you gave your camera to someone and you gave them one tip. What would it be?
 
J

James L

macrumors 6502a
Apr 14, 2004
850
1
brendanryder said:
I let my friend use my camera tonight and he dosent know much about cameras. He asked me if i could give him one tip, what would it be?
i couldn't think of anything on the spot.

So, if you gave your camera to someone and you gave them one tip. What would it be?
Click to expand...

Not for a beginner as new as your friend, but my tip would be:

"Don't be afraid of lighting".

Too many people remain "ambient light only purists" for all the wrong reasons. Lighting takes a little bit to learn, but it opens the doors to so many new photographic opportunities.
 
F

FrankieTDouglas

macrumors 68000
Mar 10, 2005
1,554
2,882
"Photography is fiction"

Once people realize that, they are free to treat their images as such and with that, explore possibilities that don't have to mimic "real life."
 
mrgreen4242

mrgreen4242

macrumors 601
Feb 10, 2004
4,377
9
The rule of thirds. I have trouble with this all the time, because your natural instinct is to put the subject of your photo in the center of the frame and shoot, but "properly" framed shots look so much better.

EDIT: just a comment on the lighting tip. I'm one of those natural light only people (when practical) but it's because I 1) don't know enough about lighting and 2) don't have the right equipment to do anything useful about it. So, while I agree that a tip about lighting is important, I think it's a tough one to give to a complete newbie because they're not in a position to really do anything with that tip, yet.
 
C

chrisburke

macrumors newbie
Jul 11, 2007
17
0
if i handed my camera to someone who didn't know anything about photography, my first tip would be, "don't break it unless you want a serious beat down"
 
E

Edge100

macrumors 68000
May 14, 2002
1,562
13
Where am I???
James L said:
Not for a beginner as new as your friend, but my tip would be:

"Don't be afraid of lighting".

Too many people remain "ambient light only purists" for all the wrong reasons. Lighting takes a little bit to learn, but it opens the doors to so many new photographic opportunities.
Click to expand...

I concur. I'm just getting into flash and off-camera lighting, and it's opening up a new world. I used to be a purist, but only because I was scared that controlling the light would be too difficult. It's not.
 
M

Martster

macrumors newbie
Feb 9, 2008
28
1
Van Diemen's Land
one tip

Its a good question.

the biggest challenge for new photographers (once they've found some interesting subject matter) is to learn to compose the image they see in the view finder, rather than simply "looking through" through the lens at the subject.

The classic symptom is what I call 'mental zooming';
This is when the photographer sees an interesting subject (lets say a rare bird), gets excited and takes a series of shots, only to find when they get home that the subject is a tiny speck in the frame that has little resemblance to what they thought they saw.

Because the human visual system is so flexible and adaptive, its often not until you photograph something that you realise how much our 'software' (brain) enhances our perception.

This difference is one of the reasons I love photography.
 
gkarris

gkarris

macrumors G3
Dec 31, 2004
8,301
1,061
"No escape from Reality...”
"Relax..."

My teacher back in Jr. High for the yearbook where I learn photography said if you're relaxed, your subjects will be too, and your subjects and comps will be better...

Works for me...
 
A

ajpl

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2008
219
0
Think.
Don't just shoot away and hope.

Oh and learn the basics [of exposure], as without that foundation, everything else is guesswork.
 
brendanryder

brendanryder

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2006
654
0
Calgary
wow, im quite surprised witht he amount of results.
Thanks guys.

and if anyone has their own to add, please do :D
 
F

FrankieTDouglas

macrumors 68000
Mar 10, 2005
1,554
2,882
greg555 said:
Don't put the person's face dead center in the photo. (My wife and I call them headroom shots.)

Greg
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that specifically. Many portrait photographers put the face in the dead center of the frame. Do realize, though, that when that happens, the face as a whole is less noticed and the image becomes more about the details. The eyes, or the lips, or the hair, or etc. Other design aspects come into play.

Example...

artwork_images_246_145823_mitch-kern.jpg


The face is center. What happens to the viewer? The eyes deviate from the center of the nose and browse up to the subject's eyes. They look at the text, or venture down to the lips. Also consider that the eyes jump out because of the contrast. Bright jumps forward, while darkness recedes. This is why the text and eyes are so dominant, even though the eyes are nearly dead center in the frame. Text also takes precedence over object.

So, consider that perhaps when conducting a portrait. Break the actual face apart and choose what elements are important in it.

image by: Mitch Kern
 
W

wheelhot

macrumors 68020
Nov 23, 2007
2,084
269
Yeah, make sure they don't touch the lens. I get pissed when I see finger prints on DSLR lens eventhough its just a demo :(

Anyway since its about fingerprints, what happen if there is fingerprints on the lens? What do you do?

Oh yeah and like other says, Dont drop it!
 
N

neutrino23

macrumors 68000
Feb 14, 2003
1,881
391
SF Bay area
wheelhot said:
Yeah, make sure they don't touch the lens. I get pissed when I see finger prints on DSLR lens eventhough its just a demo :(

Anyway since its about fingerprints, what happen if there is fingerprints on the lens? What do you do?

Oh yeah and like other says, Dont drop it!
Click to expand...

The trick is to always use a protective sky filter so that it is impossible to touch the lens.

http://www.2filter.com/hoya/hoyauvsky01.html
 
jbernie

jbernie

macrumors 6502a
Nov 25, 2005
927
12
Denver, CO
Given how memory cards are so damn cheap these days...

Take lots of photos, it costs $0 to not print something that didn't quite work out. Never limit yourself to "x" photos of a subject, you dont have to share every photo.

This is such an important thing when traveling, you may only visit that place once, make the most of it.
 
synth3tik

synth3tik

macrumors 68040
Oct 11, 2006
3,951
2
Minneapolis, MN
K.I.S.S

Keep your kit simple. Learn to use what you have and get good at it. If you over flow yourself with lenses and extra gadgets you'll find yourself fiddling with your rig more then shooting.

My set up is
Canon 350D
Nikon AI primes in:
24mm 2f
50mm 1,4f
85mm 2f
185mm 2f

It is a nice small rig. Chances are I know what focal length I will be attempting before leaving so I usually only need to being 2 lenses.
 
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