Photo help

[SilentPanda]

So as read in another thread by some of you... I got a Nikon D50. I spent 2 hours yesterday snapping pictures, took almost 100 shots in RAW format, still didn't fill up the 1 GB memory card... yay!

Out of the 100 I took there were only 2 that I liked. What should/can I do to these two photos to make them "better"? Is there a good "beginning photography" book I can pick up?

I also got a macro lense yesterday. 28mm-80mm... company started with an S... it's what I used for the 2nd picture.

Be honest... it's fine. I need to learn somehow.

http://tinyurl.com/q6nxt

 

[panoz7]

I can't really recommend a good photography book... If I were you I'd just going to a local library and read through a couple to find one you like. That's what I did. Beyond that I'd say to just go out and shoot a lot. Its the best way to learn. I tried playing around with one of your pictures to "make it better." The building picture had a lot of different tones which usually makes it a good candidate for black and white. I attatched what I did.

 

[jared_kipe]

Hmm, Sigma doesn't have a 28-80mm lens in their line up.. At least not now. And there are no zoom lenses that are truely macro.

I like both of your images. I and I liked the black and white. That said, I think both look a tad underexposed. Nothing wrong with that, you shot in raw, just boost the exposure a bit. Macro could have used a bit more DOF.

 

[SilentPanda]

Beyond that I'd say to just go out and shoot a lot. Its the best way to learn. I tried playing around with one of your pictures to "make it better." The building picture had a lot of different tones which usually makes it a good candidate for black and white. I attatched what I did.

Yeah I'm trying... I figure I'll eventually find something I have an eye for. I took a lot of pictures just for that purpose. I like the black and white though.

Hmm, Sigma doesn't have a 28-80mm lens in their line up.. At least not now. And there are no zoom lenses that are truely macro.

I like both of your images. I and I liked the black and white. That said, I think both look a tad underexposed. Nothing wrong with that, you shot in raw, just boost the exposure a bit. Macro could have used a bit more DOF.

That's the company... Sigma. I'm almost positive it's 28-80mm. Once you get to 80mm you flip a little macro switch and go in closer. I'll have to figure out this exposure stuff when I get home. DOF can't be changed now though... get on that iPhoto team!

 

[jared_kipe]

That's the company... Sigma. I'm almost positive it's 28-80mm. Once you get to 80mm you flip a little macro switch and go in closer. I'll have to figure out this exposure stuff when I get home. DOF can't be changed now though... get on that iPhoto team!

Not sure since you have a macro switch.

Apple can't make more DOF unfortunately. The sensor has to be made for it, but the only ones that they have done are the ones that are 33mp and produce 300x300 pixel images. That is the trade off, you have to use your real pixels making a fourier image, for software to then turn into an adaptive focus image.

 

[SilentPanda]

Not sure since you have a macro switch.

Apple can't make more DOF unfortunately. The sensor has to be made for it, but the only ones that they have done are the ones that are 33mp and produce 300x300 pixel images. That is the trade off, you have to use your real pixels making a fourier image, for software to then turn into an adaptive focus image.

Your lingo just blew my mind.

 

[Clix Pix]

You're off to a good start, but yes, those are both a bit underexposed, but that can be corrected in a good editing program such as Photoshop Elements. Don't feel bad about only liking two out of a hundred -- the nice thing about digital imaging is that you can really learn from it and experiment.

A true macro lens is usually a prime lens, not a zoom, and it is designated as being a macro while also suitable for other uses. For instance, the 105mm Micro (Macro) that Nikon sells can be used for general shots but then when one wants to get up close and personal, the lens has a very close focusing distance so that you can really get in very close and make the object look large in the completed image. Some zoom lenses have a closeup or macro kind of feature, and that sounds like what you're describing in your new lens. Also with some long telephoto lenses although you can't get in too close physically with the lens, you can zoom in pretty tightly so that it becomes a closeup of the subject and the background around it fuzzes out. My 70-200mm VR, for instance, is great for that. I can zoom in on a blossom on a tree branch and fill the frame with the subject while the rest of the background (other flowers, leaves, limbs, etc.) are all blurred very nicely (the 70-200mm has particularly nice bokeh). That 70-200mm VR, however, is not considered a macro lens.

Books: Here are three titles which I have found to be very good and extremely helpful:

Busch, David D. MASTERING DIGITAL SLR PHOTOGRAPHY (Thompson Course Technology, 2005)

King, Julie Adair. SHOOT LIKE A PRO! DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES. (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2003)

Sammon, Rick. RICK SAMMON'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY. (W.W.Norton, 2005)

There are many others available, including one by John Hedgecoe, who's been doing books on photography for many years, and there is the classic by London and London, PHOTOGRAPHY, which is the one most often used in photography classes.

Hope this helps! Keep shooting -- that's the best way to learn.... and have fun while you're doing it!

 

[jared_kipe]

Your lingo just blew my mind.

Yeah anything with the lingo featuring words with Fourier in them are confusing. And I'm a student of physics.

 

[Clix Pix]

Depth of field needs to be controlled in the camera, by judicious and careful consideration of the aperature one chooses for a given image. I don't think the D50 has a DOF preview button, but as you work more with your new camera and lenses you'll figure things out by experimentation and observation in the LCD and in the computer. Basically, the wider the aperture, the shallower the depth of field, and the narrower the aperture, the deeper the depth of field. The wider aperture has a smaller field of focus, while the more stopped-down aperture has a larger field of focus and not only your main subject but surrounding background are in sharp focus.

Hope that doesn't confuse you...

 

[SilentPanda]

Hope this helps! Keep shooting -- that's the best way to learn.... and have fun while you're doing it!

Thanks for all the info above. I'll check some of those books out. I partially bought the camera so that I would go outside instead of sitting in my apartment all the time... so... mission accomplished... so far...

 

[cgratti]

I really dont like #2, but #1 you can get pretty creative with...

 

[law guy]

Thanks for all the info above. I'll check some of those books out. I partially bought the camera so that I would go outside instead of sitting in my apartment all the time... so... mission accomplished... so far...

SP - on your d50 in general, Blue Crane (I believe) makes a nice how to use DVD for that camera that may give you some insights into working with the d50.