New camera, could use some photography advice

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New camera, could use some photography advice - Printable Version

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New camera, could use some photography advice - Nis01 - 05-25-2007

Recently picked up a digital camera, the Canon Rebel XTi, and I have been trying to learn photography, minor editing/cropping, and posting in one sweep so I could use any hints that anybody may want to share (goodspeed?, apoc?) I've hosted through photobucket for some time now so I think I'll just stick with that site. Here are some of the first pictures I've taken with the camera, critique as you see necessary. I need some ideas on what would make these pictures look better. I have a lot to learn. Most of these shots were taken at the dealership while I was waiting for my state inspection... hence the Subaru/Porsche randomness.

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[Image: IMG_0110_edited-1.jpg]

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EDIT: I went back and numbered them for comment purposes.

- Goodspeed - 05-25-2007

I'm jealous...I want your camera... :evil:

I'm no professional, but I'll spill some of my secrets and some advice...

- Buy a polarizing filter. They really bring out the colors and they make your subjects look great. I can't get one for my camera but I try to simulate their effects in PS. The best car pics I've seen use them.

[Image: polarizing-filter.jpg]

- Spend an assload of time positioning the frame of your shot. For me, when I take pictures of cars, they have to be perfect...not only where I want them to be (if its the whole car), but if I'm taking a closer picture of just part of the car, I make sure to not cut off half of an emblem, or a bit of a sidemarker, or part of the spoke of a wheel etc. I just think that makes it look rushed. Spend some time composing everything and it'll look much better. Example see how in #4, a little bit of the license plate area is showing? or in #5, how the very little top of the wheel arch/lip is cut off? Nothing major, stuff like that just irks me. #4 actually isn't bad at all; of course you can't avoid stuff like that all the time, it depends on the design of the car. But if you can avoid it, do.

- Sunlight...it can be your best ally or your worst enemy. Not at all hard to work around, just position yourself correctly.

- Pictures of cars on grass are stupid

- Most people think high noon is the best time to take photos. False. Dawn and dusk provide more interesting lighting conditions, but they can take more skill and knowledge of your camera's capabilities to fully exploit.

- Photoshop....I use a copy I ripped off of our home computer, and the entire "Help" program doesn't work. So I've messed with it a lot. And honestly, all I ever do is a little saturation and contrast levels here and there, I haven't yet had a need for more.

- Most of all....take pictures...lots and lots of pictures. Its free with digital, so take thousands and just erase what you don't like. More practice = more better.

I'm really impressed by the XTi (and Canon in general, I don't plan on buying anything else), you'll be taking better pictures than me in no time 8). Brows the "My Photos" link in my sig for ideas and let me know if you have any questions!

- mrbaggio - 05-25-2007

The first two suck. The reflection of yourself is bad. Hide behind a wall or some sort of flat surface.

The rest I like. #3 is great. I also dig the M3 badge. Is that a WRB forester?

- Nis01 - 05-25-2007

Goodspeed: Thanks for the advice, I definitely agree with you about cutting things off as a poor setup... most of these shots I did not take time to setup properly. Didn't mess around with tripods or anything, just walking around the dealership snapping shots that I thought might look decent. Polarizer is on my list of things to get and play around with. Shooting mid-day didn't seem too terrible but the only reason I did it was because of my appointment. :lol:

Mrbaggio: I agree about the first two pictures, I made the same comments to myself but posted them anyways for feedback reasons. Both of those shots were taken in much different light so I have not mastered my light perception yet. Thanks for the comments. Please keep them coming. Probably going to try and shoot some more today with perhaps some tripod action but I like just learning walk around at this point. Thats the WRB Forester XT... love those things, although I think I'd like it in black. Big Grin

I tried messing around with #3 in an older photoshop program to try and get the car to "pop" a little more but I think I just underexposed the shot a bit much in that I used a higher ISO to avoid getting blur (really should have used a tripod). Going to try and play around with wide angle and distortion a bit today. Wish me luck. :roll:

- ScottyB - 05-25-2007

Goodspeed Wrote:- Photoshop....I use a copy I ripped off of our home computer, and the entire "Help" program doesn't work. So I've messed with it a lot. And honestly, all I ever do is a little saturation and contrast levels here and there, I haven't yet had a need for more.

for some photos a good standby that i use is filter->sharpen->unsharp mask with:

amount - 25
radius - 50
threshold - 0

i typically despise filters so i can tell you it's very useful to me for low light or low contrast photos, makes 'em a little more punchy. also a good way to ruin a shot too :lol: so just mess around with it. it's really helped some stuff i've done.

Shea - you're off to a very good start. while i don't know much about the mechanics of cameras (still a newb) i can tell you that composition is a huge factor and you're on the right track. keep the camera level (i hate tilted shots) and just feel out a way to frame what you like. don't be afraid to zoom out a bit too, the picture can looked cramped with everything jammed up in there.

:thumbup:

- Nis01 - 05-25-2007

ScottyB Wrote:for some photos a good standby that i use is filter->sharpen->unsharp mask with:

amount - 25
radius - 50
threshold - 0

Thanks for the comments Scotty, I think I got a little crop happy when I tried editing these things so I might have to back off a little bit from that. These settings help pull some of the excess light off of a sunny photo or any photo in general? I really know nothing about photoshop except for being able to move sliders around for levels/contrast.

Also, do any of you know how to do the "edge burning" type look? I tried finding it and can't figure it out but I like the look for certain pictures.

Oh and Goodspeed, could you possibly explain how to layer things in photoshop like how you make those signatures for forums? Is it difficult?

- Mike - 05-25-2007

1. read a book
2. take lots of pics
3. read a book
4. take lots of pics

I have a great book at home... the name is escaping me and Amazon is not helping, but I'll hook you up with the title when I get a chance.

- ScottyB - 05-25-2007

Nis01 Wrote:Thanks for the comments Scotty, I think I got a little crop happy when I tried editing these things so I might have to back off a little bit from that. These settings help pull some of the excess light off of a sunny photo or any photo in general? I really know nothing about photoshop except for being able to move sliders around for levels/contrast

np, i would say for pulling excess light off, you're best option is just plain old brightness/contrast (image -> adjustments). this is of course after the fact that you've shot it....if you can, reshoot with different camera settings.

unsharp mask is better for the opposite IMO...accentuating low light areas. again, play with the sliders to find what you like because i really think it's a very useful tool.

i taught myself photoshop with some tutoring from other friends when i was bored my freshman year....all i did was literally go into every menu and screw around with stuff until i did something i liked! just play with the program. some great stuff out there if you take some time to google the features you're curious about.

as for layering, it's hard to describe over teh internets but essentially just think of each layer as a see-through canvas. by putting certain items on certain layers you can place them in front/behind each other, change their oppacity to get nice fading effects or strictly for organizing multiple objects if you please. in many cases you cannot do certain things unless something is strictly confined to it's own layer, like making a drop-shadow for instance.

- Goodspeed - 05-25-2007

Nis01 Wrote:Oh and Goodspeed, could you possibly explain how to layer things in photoshop like how you make those signatures for forums? Is it difficult?

Its not easy, but it gets easier and quicker to do over time

For an example, my most recent one...

[Image: 6bwqa0j.jpg]

The 3 main parts were each opened seperately in PS, with one blank canvas of a predetermined size (800x200 for example) as a 4th window.

I used the gradient tool (I think) to make the fading dark blue gradients to help unite the two background pictures...I do this a lot cause its clean and classy.

I then used the selection tool (magnetic lasso if the desired portion had straight borders, regular old "blob" tool for the rest) to select what I wanted. This can take a long, long time to get it all, I usually zoom all the way in and use the selection tool at 1 or 2 pixels in the nooks and crannies cause I'm really anal.

From there its just a matter of Layer>Create new layer via copy and then select that new layer and Edit>copy and Edit>paste into the blank canvas. Background first obviously, then the top image, some text and a border and you're done. Thats how I usually do it. Its by no means the "correct" way, if there even is one, and I don't know, maybe I'm doing it the really hard way and I just don't know any other way. Good luck and give it a shot!

- ScottyB - 05-25-2007

Goodspeed Wrote:Its by no means the "correct" way, if there even is one, and I don't know, maybe I'm doing it the really hard way and I just don't know any other way.

no such thing dude. everybody has little tricks or particular preferences.

i work with one designer who does our catalog layouts and she's awesome. i opened up some work she sent me once...and she doesn't even use layers in some of it! it's utterly chaotic sometimes. but in the end it looks great and she's been successful for decades in her trade.

- Nis01 - 05-28-2007

New additions with a little less cropping work and tried using the filter that Scotty described. They were all taken in my garage as a makeshift photoshoot as I just wanted to play around with the coloring of the white car.
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[Image: IMG_0203_edited-1.jpg]

- Mike - 05-28-2007

get this: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photographers-Handbook-Third/dp/0756623553/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5820741-1576754?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180361898&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photograp ... 898&sr=8-1</a>

- Nis01 - 05-28-2007

Mike Wrote:get this: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photographers-Handbook-Third/dp/0756623553/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5820741-1576754?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180361898&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photograp ... 898&sr=8-1</a>

Thanks Mike. The other book I was thinking about is actually in that package, "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. Anybody have any experience with this book? I've heard its great.

- Feersty - 05-28-2007

Nice shots Shea. Just reading your camera manual will give you a gist of what your camera can do.

- Nis01 - 05-28-2007

Continued trials, trying different techniques in photoshop:

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[Image: IMG_0243_edited-1.jpg]

Comments are welcome and appreciated.

- Apoc - 05-29-2007

Try zooming out. Just my opinion but too many automobile phorographers go for the macro-esque shots. Technically I think they're pretty good.

- WRXtranceformed - 05-29-2007

Nice pics Shea! Wash the bugs / touch up your rock chips before the next closeups of your car though =P

- Nis01 - 05-29-2007

WRXtranceformed Wrote:Nice pics Shea! Wash the bugs / touch up your rock chips before the next closeups of your car though =P

LoL. The car hasn't had a bath in a little while. I thought the bugs gave it character? :lol:

Apoc: I agree with the zooming out, I've been playing around with the zoom stuff a bit more since I haven't really gone out for a real "photoshoot" type scenario yet so the backgrounds were not very interesting.

EDIT: Three more additions mid-carwash and also looked up how to add signatures on to photos which I played around with.

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[Image: IMG_0286_edited-1.jpg]

Going to go out closer to sunset for a real "photoshoot" for some use of background. Maybe this time I'll remember to change the setting over to RAW. Rolleyes

- Nis01 - 05-30-2007

Tried out wide angle in the direct sunlight and after looking at the pictures I think having the hood on the lens is a necessity to get a proper picture. I did some editing on these photos and think they turned out alright... but could have been a ton better. I'm a little disappointed in the pictures I've been getting lately but than again I'm just learning. Sad

- .RJ - 05-30-2007

#2 and #4 in the last set look good - the rest are too far zoomed in, no idea what you're looking at.