So I'm officially better at taking photos..

APB · 26th February 2010, 09:36 PM

than I was.

Obviously using my DLSR, albeit a lowly Nikon D40

has made my photos instantly better! But I've taken some really nice snaps recently, mainly because the locations I've visited having the inlaws over... Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, The worlds tallest building - The Burj Kalifa, A local Zoo etc etc.

Where I really feel my photos would improve are;

Photo editing (I only have picasa so normally play with shadows, highlights and crop, good for making a decent pic for the album but nothing to give it the WOW factor)
Getting away from Auto (haven't got my head round the settings available, all I ever really do other than auto is knock off the flash when i'm doing landscape etc in dim light)

Anyone remember when they were taking better pics, seemingly developing an eye for it but not sure how to move forward???

Any tips or advice more than welcome!

Cheers

AB22 Easy Tiger · 26th February 2010, 09:49 PM

What I'd say about getting away from auto is just experiment. Mess around with depth of field on aperture priority for starters, and don't be afraid to mess up, you're not paying for film to be developed after all, we all screw up from time to time, however experienced we are.

Play with it and have some fun.

Oh, and download Gimp, it seems to be a decent photo manipulation tool, and it's free.

not spavin · 26th February 2010, 09:56 PM

Nowt wrong with the D40 marra - some of my best shots were taken with one.

My advice would be to knock the dial to A - aperture priority.

As a very rough guide, the low numbers (e.g. f4) mean that you'll have one thing in focus and the rest nice and blurry. This is f5.6, for example. Higher numbers mean that everything is in focus. This is f13, which is my preferred aperture for landscapes.

When you have aperture priority selected, the camera automatically sets the right shutter speed to compliment the aperture.

Discovering aperture priority kept me busy for a good 8 or 9 months. It makes it so much easy to have more control over your shots, which in turn makes you find out about what else you can control. Just learn one thing at a time though, it should be fun after all.

APB · 26th February 2010, 09:58 PM

Here's a few recent ones, some edited, like i mentioned above... crop, shaddow, highlights and light played with in picasa. all taken in auto on a D40.

I've been taking loads recently, theory being take more and become bettter. Any advice or comments welcome

APB · 26th February 2010, 10:02 PM

not spavin · 26th February 2010, 10:24 PM

Some very nice shots there marra. You've obviously got a good eye. Some really well composed shots.

Honestly, try playing around with Aperture priority - even fire a few off in the garden or whatever - and you'll soon be in a position where you know what you need to do to get he effect you're after.

For example, I really like that camel shot, but I reckon it would be even better if the background was a little blurry - it'd make him stand out more. In order to do that, all you'd need to do is shoot at a slightly lower f-number. Same goes for the sand.

APB · 26th February 2010, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by not spavin

Some very nice shots there marra. You've obviously got a good eye. Some really well composed shots.

Honestly, try playing around with Aperture priority - even fire a few off in the garden or whatever - and you'll soon be in a position where you know what you need to do to get he effect you're after.

For example, I really like that camel shot, but I reckon it would be even better if the background was a little blurry - it'd make him stand out more. In order to do that, all you'd need to do is shoot at a slightly lower f-number. Same goes for the sand.

Aye will do mate, I'll have a crack at it tomorrow!

Who knows what I'll come up with