City Shoot

[Feersty]

I like the urban backdrops. Is there anyway to improve my shots besides getting a better camera? I have a Canon PowershotA60 2.0megapixel.







What da ya think MM?

[Mike]

a) read some photo books, your composition is weak.
b) 2.0mp is not enough if you're serious about photo, but you can still create some awesome photos with it.

[Ginger]

Accord to Ken Rockwell:

Why Your Camera Does Not Matter
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[Sijray21]

what i recommend is just take your time when you want a shot you like. a nice shot will just come to you. try and frame your target and your lighting is key along with exposure. getting the right angle, right light, and proper camera settings.

the reason why people get 'better' cameras (back in the day anyway) was because you could control all the settings manually. Now the megapixels help with the resolution, but really the most that will make a difference is maxed out near 5mp.

if you really want better shots just start taking more photos and see what turns out best and what you did to get those shots. reading books and taking classes will help too. i fully enjoyed my Photography class in HS and i would've loved to take one at JMU, but it was really expensive.

fyi - resolution shouldn't really matter a whole lot if you want some decent shots.

i'm not an expert by any means, but i think i can take a good shot every now and then. although subjective, i like these shots and these were taken with a Sony 2.0 megapixel CyberShot point-and-shoot fully automatic digital camera:




my trick is completely taking advantage of the 'half-trigger' of the digital camera. this will capture the "proper" focus, exposure and apature (sp) for your target. i tend to target a part of the shot where i want the light to be and then shoot another target with those settings. fortunately with a digital you can do this forever until you see on the little lcd what you think to be a 'good shot'.

[G.Irish]

I like the concept, work on the angles a bit. Resolution looks fine to me. Of course that depends on whether you want to print them though.

[white_2kgt]

you need better locations, urban is ok, fucking ghetto isn't, unless you are National Geographic on safari in Southeast DC. MP doesn't matter unless you plan to print big ass posters. Lean to use what you have and don't blame the equipment.

[Feersty]

Thanks for suggestions, I haven't even fully read the owner's manual, so I will read that most definitely.

[Feersty]

Sup Newk!

I saw this thread and have to say you are off to a great start! You asked for a better way to improve the shots without buying a new camera, IMO other then photo manipulation software like Photoshop... I would recommend working with composition.

I thought I would take a shot and do some quick chops for examples (using your originals). I did the editing with Adobe Photoshop. When I did the editing, I constantly looked at the original and then the newly edited photo. Try it out! You will see a huge difference! =)

I hope that helps! Keep up the good work! :thumbup:

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:thumbup: :thumbdown: :thumbup: :thumbdown:

[ScottyB]

take pics at dawn or sunset too, the light is often better and not so blaring.

[Myuki]

the cut photos you made off the originals are much better. they eliminate a lot of the needles surrounding area. You don't need all that extra background especially if it looks ghetto. Urban makes some good shots, but you may have to look around for a while longer than you did.

[Sijray21]

the cut photos you made off the originals are much better. they eliminate a lot of the needles surrounding area. You don't need all that extra background especially if it looks ghetto. Urban makes some good shots, but you may have to look around for a while longer than you did.

completely agree! those shots looks a LOT better cropped. sometimes you can get away with that while taking the photo, but other times it's good to do that in p-shop or another editor so you don't cut anything out of the original. i knew there was potential with the background you used, but you cut out the "crappy" background with your crops. good job :thumbup:

[Kaan]

where is your mom in that pic? she let you drive to the big city all by yourself?

[JackoliciousLegs]

Everybody's suggestions so far have been good. Everyone was spot on about your composition. That's my number one issue. Your crops are much better but you still need work. Ken Rockwell's site is a great read (I think he has composition stuff on there). Also like Mike said, a photo book would be a worthwhile read.

It's true that you don't need a good camera to take good photos, but imo, you need a decent camera to take great photos. Most digitals nowadays don't have much of a contrast range in the photos they take. And, like Jay said, your other option is p-shop. I was frustrated with the fact that I had to meddle in PS with every pic out of my old digital elph so I bought an old LOMO LC-A and it takes some BANGIN pictures (on film).


Notice how strong the contrast is that you get from these photos? They just pop. Disregard the subject, but the quality out of an old POS film camera is still good. You might want to try buying a disposable and having some fun with it. Also, you could buy an old SLR film camera. You should be able to pick up an old Canon EF series for around $100 on ebay.

I had some fun with your crop just bringing the darks out a bit...


So... to sum it up
-work on your composition (try messing around with a disposable).
-Bring your colors out in PS (levels are your friend)
-If you want to take really wicked photos, pony up for something a bit more than a digital point and click. Either a good point and click, an old SLR, or a gooooood SLR... (ask mike if he's regretted it) see below



Edit... If you just got the camera, it should have enough settings to mess around with so that you can make your photos have more range.

PS... For inspiration, check this guy's photoblog:
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He uses a powershot a95 for quite a few of his photos. (and 2 top of the range DSLRs, a LOMO, and 2 EFs)

[ScottyB]

Jack speaks the truth, good website

don't forget black and white photos too. some of the coolest i've ever seen are just plain b+w

[Feersty]

I love how the grill looks on the shot you ps'ed for me. Thanks Jacko