Photography

• Yoorah wrote on 2011-09-30 01:26
  Anyone here into photography, be it as a serious hobby or a just taking pictures for fun? :P
  
  If so, what camera(s) do you use?
  Do you have any preference to what you like to shoot?
  Any tips for other 'Nation-ers?
  
  I finally got my Olympus E-PM1!! (micro four thirds standard ftw!) [SIZE="1"]omg omg[/SIZE] Noticed a local store finally received their first shipment of this lovely new camera, so I cancelled my Dell order and got it there. :D
  
  

  [Image: http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/4467/09272011111.jpg]

  
  A crappy cell phone pic of a camera that's got far more capability. @.@
  
  I was pleasantly surprised at how cute this camera is in person, compared to the pics I saw online. But I was also unpleasantly surprised at how many settings there are in it. Having only shot with cellphones (lol) and a (nice, albeit very simple) Canon point and shoot, my noob skills proved insufficient, so I ended up shooting everything on full "iAUTO" mode when I took the camera for a first test run today.. which is kind of a waste of capability, but oh well!
  
  Took some fun shots, but this one came out.. unlike what I had expected when I came home and viewed it:
  

  [Image: http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4660/hayu.jpg]

  
  (see full version)
  :XD:
• Skye wrote on 2011-09-30 01:30
  Do you know the guy who's waving?
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-09-30 01:37
  Nope! I was just standing there, experimenting with various angles, when I saw a bunch of people crossing and thought it could maybe make a nice shot. I didn't notice him waving at me. xD
• Skye wrote on 2011-09-30 01:41
  Oh. XD
  Well, it is a very nice picture, if I do say so myself. The camera I have is pretty much a piece of crap, so I can't really go out and take glorious pictures, unfortunately, even though I'd love to be able to.
  
  But yeah, just read (or at least skim through) your manual and learn those settings and you'll be really good!
• Athde wrote on 2011-09-30 01:50
  Been thinking about getting into it. My grandfather does a lot of photography and so does my aunt (more so a hobby but could probably do it proffessionally if they wished.) Main things barring me from it are:
  A. Dont have the money for a decent camera
  B. Dont have the time. Too much school stuff going on atm
  
  But I would like to see some more pictures :3
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-09-30 01:50
  Which camera is it? Many cheap cameras are actually quite usable for taking nice pictures.
  
  Oh, and here's a full res crop of the cool guy:
  

  [Image: http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/2904/supx.jpg]

  
  8D
  
  

  Quote from Athde;603673:

  Been thinking about getting into it. My grandfather does a lot of photography and so does my aunt (more so a hobby but could probably do it proffessionally if they wished.) Main things barring me from it are:
  A. Dont have the money for a decent camera
  B. Dont have the time. Too much school stuff going on atm
  
  But I would like to see some more pictures :3

  
  That's cool! You could ask them for tips if you got into it. :3
  While B is not really an issue, I think.. as you can always find time for photography. It's far less time intensive than many other things. Dx
  But A can definitely be a problem, depending on what you want to do. As I said, a cheap point and shoot can be a good place to start if you don't have money for a DSLR or a MFT. But if you want to get serious, buying nice lenses will cost more than the camera itself (which is expensive enough already). ;_; A very quick way to burn money...
  
  As for more pictures, here's one of an apartment tower in the middle of a forest?!
  

  [Image: http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3833/tallbuilding.jpg]
• Skye wrote on 2011-09-30 01:55
  My camera is a Polaroid t830. It's like 5 years old or something.
  But once I get a job, a new camera is high up on my list of things to save for.
• SoulSeige wrote on 2011-09-30 02:01
  I'm looking into photography, I need to familiar with cameras too for school. I'm in the yearbook class and Advance placement art course so taking pictures is pretty much a must.
  
  I was thinking about getting a Canon 600d/rebel t3i, (I don't know why but I always want to get the latest + best thing that comes out. Even if its like 4534534523 bucks...)
  Also, I'm into cinematography, kinda been inspired by WongFu
• Strawberry wrote on 2011-09-30 02:05
  I've been thinking of going into photography as a casual hobby. I love to take pictures of still life even, such as flowers and nature itself. I also like to take pictures of horizons.
  
  All these pictures just help me make some images I can sketch and such, since I try to use the photo-realistic grid version of drawing to make it look exactly like the picture. And photography really helps me find up ideas real quick.
• Chockeh wrote on 2011-09-30 02:16
  My sister has one of those expensive cameras. I just like to take it and take pictures of various stuff xD.
• Zid wrote on 2011-09-30 02:55
  Back in high school, I took 2 years of Digital Media, and photography was a must. Needless to stay, I learned the basics of film and digital photography (plus basic and some intermediate Photoshop skills).
  
  You can just take a quick class into photography, since most of the basic guidelines for making an "appealing" shot are easy to understand and put in motion. For cameras, never rely on automatic features, even for high-capacity cameras that professionals (lol) use. I find that most of the time, after learning even an hour in basics, manual will always grant you the closer-to-intended shots.
  
  Important basic things to know about manual photography:
  
  

  • Learn your aperture-to-shutter-speed ratio and how to control both according to the shot you're taking. Understanding this is an absolute necessity into doing serious photography; point-and-click cameras will always disappoint in making "artistic" pictures.
    
  • Depth of field is key for controlling the areas of visual focus. It's common sense that people will pay attention to sharp objects more than blurry ones.
    
  • Optical zoom is always better than digital zoom. Pretty much the reason why you'll see photographers carry so many various lens with them.
    
  • Light is your greatest and most trusted ally. Honestly. Do not fight it. Learn to manipulate light. Don't rely on flash photography for making any sort of art. Color correction, true white, aperture/shutter speed, etc. You have to know how to deal with whatever light throws at you, and how to make light work for you.
    
  • Tripod. Your hands will never be enough for Abe Lincoln's steadiness.
    
  • Rule of thirds. Area of interests. Border control. Still life or in motion. Balance. Know how to grab your viewers' attention while not losing it or hurting them.
• Nikachu wrote on 2011-09-30 04:00
  I just use my iPhone and a nise app. ._.
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-10-01 03:56

  Quote from Skye;603680:

  My camera is a Polaroid t830. It's like 5 years old or something.
  But once I get a job, a new camera is high up on my list of things to save for.

  
  Ouch. High megapixel count on a cheap sensor is a bad combination. @_@
  But it should still work somewhat well under low ISO settings. You should be able to take decent pictures with it in well-lit situations, like outdoors. :3
  
  

  Quote from SoulSeige;603685:

  I'm looking into photography, I need to familiar with cameras too for school. I'm in the yearbook class and Advance placement art course so taking pictures is pretty much a must.
  
  I was thinking about getting a Canon 600d/rebel t3i, (I don't know why but I always want to get the latest + best thing that comes out. Even if its like 4534534523 bucks...)
  Also, I'm into cinematography, kinda been inspired by WongFu

  
  Always wanting to get the best and latest is a habit you better drop before you get into photography! Otherwise, you'll go broke very quickly. The T3i is an excellent DSLR (I was considering getting it!) but it's far from being "latest + best". :P
  
  

  Quote from Zid;603727:

  Back in high school, I took 2 years of Digital Media, and photography was a must. Needless to stay, I learned the basics of film and digital photography (plus basic and some intermediate Photoshop skills).
  
  You can just take a quick class into photography, since most of the basic guidelines for making an "appealing" shot are easy to understand and put in motion. For cameras, never rely on automatic features, even for high-capacity cameras that professionals (lol) use. I find that most of the time, after learning even an hour in basics, manual will always grant you the closer-to-intended shots.
  
  Important basic things to know about manual photography:
  
  

  • Learn your aperture-to-shutter-speed ratio and how to control both according to the shot you're taking. Understanding this is an absolute necessity into doing serious photography; point-and-click cameras will always disappoint in making "artistic" pictures.
    
  • Depth of field is key for controlling the areas of visual focus. It's common sense that people will pay attention to sharp objects more than blurry ones.
    
  • Optical zoom is always better than digital zoom. Pretty much the reason why you'll see photographers carry so many various lens with them.
    
  • Light is your greatest and most trusted ally. Honestly. Do not fight it. Learn to manipulate light. Don't rely on flash photography for making any sort of art. Color correction, true white, aperture/shutter speed, etc. You have to know how to deal with whatever light throws at you, and how to make light work for you.
    
  • Tripod. Your hands will never be enough for Abe Lincoln's steadiness.
    
  • Rule of thirds. Area of interests. Border control. Still life or in motion. Balance. Know how to grab your viewers' attention while not losing it or hurting them.

  
  You should have selected the pr0 option in the poll!
  
  Yea, I know manual is the way to go. It's just that I haven't figured out how to properly use it, yet. So I did everything on auto to test how well it performed, and I think it performed pretty nicely. Apparently, one of this camera's strengths is its excellent metering capability.. or so say the pr0s.
  
  Aperture stuff is definitely something I need to learn! I didn't even know what the F meant until I looked it up. orz
  Yeah, digital zoom sucks. It's even disabled by default in this camera, and I'd have to dig around in the maze of menus if I wanted to turn it on. Do not want!
  And ya, flash sucks too! This camera doesn't have a built in flash unit. At first, I was a bit concerned, as I've heard some n00bs criticizing it because of that. But then I realized that I never took an interesting picture with flash with the other camera I used. I can always install the external flash if I need it. n_n
  
  Here's another pic I took on yesterday's test run:
  

  [Image: http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/1994/jogwithdog.jpg]

  
  I kind of wish I had a dog to jog with! Can't really jog with a cat...
  
  You guys should post pictures too. n_n
• Okami wrote on 2011-10-01 12:04
  Yoorah lives in a beautiful place :)
  
  The leaves here haven't started changing all that much.
  
  As for myself, I really don't do photography. It seems like it would be fun, though. If anything I would pick it up as a nice hobby!
• Zid wrote on 2011-10-01 13:29

  Quote from Yoorah;604635:

  You should have selected the pr0 option in the poll!

  
  
  Soooo not pro. "Pro" would be the digital media teacher I had; his photography skills extend back into the 1960s (so yeah, he's really old). He was one of the journal photographers for the JFK assassination, so he also ranted about politics and corruption.
  
  Or "pro" would be if I won a spot at the city ISD's annual photography contest. orz
  
  

  Quote from Yoorah;604635:

  Yea, I know manual is the way to go. It's just that I haven't figured out how to properly use it, yet. So I did everything on auto to test how well it performed, and I think it performed pretty nicely. Apparently, one of this camera's strengths is its excellent metering capability.. or so say the pr0s.

  
  
  You only ever need automatic for quick screenshots of something. But I do think it's better than any "point-and-click" cameras for the casual mass.
  
  As long as you also have an accurate exposure meter for manual mode, then it's a good camera.
  
  

  Quote from Yoorah;604635:

  Aperture stuff is definitely something I need to learn! I didn't even know what the F meant until I looked it up. orz
  Yeah, digital zoom sucks. It's even disabled by default in this camera, and I'd have to dig around in the maze of menus if I wanted to turn it on. Do not want!
  And ya, flash sucks too! This camera doesn't have a built in flash unit. At first, I was a bit concerned, as I've heard some n00bs criticizing it because of that. But then I realized that I never took an interesting picture with flash with the other camera I used. I can always install the external flash if I need it. n_n

  
  
  With a good meter, you'll learn and handle aperture and shutter speed setting fairly quickly. =3
  
  Like automatic setting, you might as well use digital zoom only if you need to take snapshots without worrying about quality. Even the camera's amount of megapixels won't help digital zoom.
  
  And honestly, if you really need to use flash (for something like a portrait), external flash units are always better. My main reason for that, is because external flash units can be rotated or, even better, positioned around (if you have one of those units that you can carry and point around with your hand). A whole lot more control over the direction of where you want your flash light to be. Also, it's easier to "cone" the light too. For example, take a picture of something with the external light pointed upward at 45 degree angle. Then try to take the same picture again, but this time, tape a piece of white cardboard on top of your external flash unit so that the cardboard sticks out over where the flash light comes out.