Re: Top tips

Thanks everyone for taking part in the "Top tips" debate, even those that
were very judgemental of me and my abilities. My photographic abilities may
be average but it doesn't stop me taking the odd decent picture, with your
tips I'll maybe get a few more.



The idea for my posting was to stir up a debate and it judging by the number
of responses it appears to have been quite successful. From all your tips I
intend to use the following top ten for my personal use, to (hopefully)
improve my abilities.....



1. READ the camera manual and refresh memory of basic photographic
technique. I've a couple of books, John Shaw's Nature Photography Field
Guide and NG's Photography Field Guide: Secrets to Making Great Pictures
both inspirational with good technical advice and thought of adding
Understanding Exposure - Bryan Peterson, anyone seen this?

2. LOOK for inspiration, other photographers photos, (Photonet, IMO is an
excellent resource).

3. Be PREPARED - Carry a camera everywhere with a fully charged battery and
clean memory card. (I've been disappointed not to have a camera when seeing
a good photo opportunity and caught out by flat batteries and no memory
space before).

4. SEE - have an idea of the picture before clicking the shutter.

5. TAKE PLENTY OF PHOTOS:

- to find the best viewpoint for landscapes

- to capture the moment (and the focus point!) for action and people.

- to learn to use the equipment (practise makes perfect).

- To develop style and photographers "eye"- stepping out of comfort zone
experimenting with different subjects and techniques.

6. AVOID CAMERA SHAKE, use a tripod where appropriate and shoot within
shutter speed limits imposed by technique, equipment and subject matter.

7. PATIENCE expect to wait for perfect light, it's the LIGHT that makes the
photograph. Make the best of it, get up early and avoid the harsh shadows of
midday. Find something else to do if the light is uninteresting, unless
somewhere for a short time only.

8. Shoot at the BEST QUALITY available on your camera, Raw if possible.

9. REVIEW your results critically and learn from successes and failures.

10. EDIT hard, print and share only share your best work.



Finally, not from anyone's list, but something I intend to learn is
PHOTOSHOP to make the best of the shots I've taken and to keep busy on dark
winter nights.



Thanks again for all your top tips.



Kevin

"Kev" <kev1n.w00dc0ck@b1gf00t.c0m(replacenumbersforlette rs)> wrote:
>Thanks everyone for taking part in the "Top tips" debate, even those that
>were very judgemental of me and my abilities. My photographic abilities may
>be average but it doesn't stop me taking the odd decent picture, with your
>tips I'll maybe get a few more.

<big snip>

>Finally, not from anyone's list, but something I intend to learn is
>PHOTOSHOP to make the best of the shots I've taken and to keep busy on dark
>winter nights.


I was surprised that very few contributors to this thread made any
reference to gaining a fundamental understanding of light and
lighting. Specifically, how differing light produces significantly
different results with the same subject.

For example, with landscape or architectural photography, the
direction of the incident light is of crucial importance to the shot.
That means choosing the right time of day, even the right time of
year, to make the shot. It might even involve going back to the same
site several times just to get the right weather conditions. A good
understanding of light can save you a lot of time by predicting (with
some accuracy) what time of day is best to make the shot.

You can learn a lot about light and lighting by studying the work of
great photographers. That doesn't mean copying their style, just
understanding what it is about the light that makes particular shots
of theirs better than others. Black and white images are particularly
useful for this as the light and shade is not overlaid with colour.

It is no coincidence that the best and most successful photographers
all have a superb grasp of light and lighting.

For example, Ansel Adams is lauded for his superb landscapes, Henri
Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau for their street photography and
portraiture, and Robert Capa for his war and documentary photography -
a very diverse range of subjects. What these four great photographers
had in common was their ability to use light to its best advantage.

Photography is, after all, "painting with light". If you don't have
at least a basic understanding of light, you cannot expect to produce
attractive images - except of course by accident! No amount of work
in Photoshop is ever going to make up for poor lighting.

So my three tips would be:

1. Learn thoroughly the basics of light and lighting,

2. Understand your equipment and its limitations, and

3. Except for grab shots, think hard before you shoot and previsualise
the final image based on what you see in front of you, both with your
eyes alone and through the camera's viewfinder.

On Thu, 02 Nov 2006 01:48:14 +0000, Tony Polson <tp@nospam.co.uk>
wrote:

<snip>

>So my three tips would be:
>
>1. Learn thoroughly the basics of light and lighting,
>
>2. Understand your equipment and its limitations, and
>
>3. Except for grab shots, think hard before you shoot and previsualise
>the final image based on what you see in front of you, both with your
>eyes alone and through the camera's viewfinder.

1. Agree
2. For sure
3. Yes, always

Well put Tony.

RP©

That_Rich <rich@wrongaddress.net> wrote in
news:4umik25r9th53ch2l18kf4t0tkr61t62ei@4ax.com:


> Well put Tony.
>

Hear hear.

The other RP.

"Tony Polson" <tp@nospam.co.uk> wrote in message
news:aihik2l63k70t0j0op442o6lk0qtv7ikqo@4ax.com...

> Photography is, after all, "painting with light". If you don't have
> at least a basic understanding of light, you cannot expect to produce
> attractive images - except of course by accident! No amount of work
> in Photoshop is ever going to make up for poor lighting.
>
> So my three tips would be:
>
> 1. Learn thoroughly the basics of light and lighting,
>
> 2. Understand your equipment and its limitations, and
>
> 3. Except for grab shots, think hard before you shoot and previsualise
> the final image based on what you see in front of you, both with your
> eyes alone and through the camera's viewfinder.


Not bad, but always wince whenever I hear that "painting with light"
stuff. It's usually the pretentious and self-indulgent photographers
that come out with that one. I'm surprised at you Tony.



H.
--

"Bend over, I'll drive"

www.backfire.co.uk

"howard" <6576dygdhd@fgchdg.com> wrote:
>
>Not bad, but always wince whenever I hear that "painting with light"
>stuff. It's usually the pretentious and self-indulgent photographers
>that come out with that one. I'm surprised at you Tony.


Don't wince. "Painting with light" is the best and most accurate
description of photography that I have ever seen.

Yes, it has become a cliché. But that doesn't prevent it being true.

On Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:25:47 +0000, Tony Polson <tp@nospam.co.uk>
wrote:

>"howard" <6576dygdhd@fgchdg.com> wrote:
>>
>>Not bad, but always wince whenever I hear that "painting with light"
>>stuff. It's usually the pretentious and self-indulgent photographers
>>that come out with that one. I'm surprised at you Tony.
>
>
>Don't wince. "Painting with light" is the best and most accurate
>description of photography that I have ever seen.
>
>Yes, it has become a cliché. But that doesn't prevent it being true.

Actually, the term has become a new technique. So it's probably best
not to use it anymore, otherwise a quick Google search will result in
the newbie thinking he should go out and buy some flashlights:
http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22painting+with+light


--
Alex
atheist #2007

"Alex" <a@b.c> wrote in message
news:fkpjk2558tvac4bjtfpl0oc8kbupck3cp4@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:25:47 +0000, Tony Polson <tp@nospam.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
>>"howard" <6576dygdhd@fgchdg.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>Not bad, but always wince whenever I hear that "painting with light"
>>>stuff. It's usually the pretentious and self-indulgent photographers
>>>that come out with that one. I'm surprised at you Tony.
>>
>>
>>Don't wince. "Painting with light" is the best and most accurate
>>description of photography that I have ever seen.
>>
>>Yes, it has become a cliché. But that doesn't prevent it being true.
>
> Actually, the term has become a new technique. So it's probably best
> not to use it anymore, otherwise a quick Google search will result in
> the newbie thinking he should go out and buy some flashlights:
> http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22painting+with+light
>
>
> --
> Alex
> atheist #2007

Actually, it's not that new. I have a photo annual from the late '40s that
has a couple of images done that way...

--
Skip Middleton
www.shadowcatcherimagery.com
www.pbase.com/skipm

Alex wrote:

> On Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:25:47 +0000, Tony Polson <tp@nospam.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
>
>>"howard" <6576dygdhd@fgchdg.com> wrote:
>>
>>Don't wince. "Painting with light" is the best and most accurate
>>description of photography that I have ever seen.
>>
>>Yes, it has become a cliché. But that doesn't prevent it being true.
>
>
> Actually, the term has become a new technique. So it's probably best
> not to use it anymore, otherwise a quick Google search will result in
> the newbie thinking he should go out and buy some flashlights:
> http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22painting+with+light

nice example:
http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/forum/...hp?photo=18353

--
Paul Furman
http://www.edgehill.net/1
Bay Natives
http://www.baynatives.com

On Thu, 2 Nov 2006 05:36:38 -0800, "Skip" <shadowcatcher@cox.net>
wrote:

>Actually, it's not that new. I have a photo annual from the late '40s that
>has a couple of images done that way...

Only now, it's economical to do it since so few captures are any good
(even less than normal).


--
Alex
atheist #2007