The Photography thread!

[ssBaldy]

Ok @Andy Capp , I see you are quite enthusiastic with photography.
I like some of your photos. You said you wanted advice, so I'll try to give you some. Notice that it is my personal opinion and not some undeniable truths.

Our friend @rj144 pointed out that you may benefit from a better camera and I absolutely agree. Key points with a mirrorless/dlsr camera would be better (and interchangeable!) optics, bigger matrix and the ability to set preferences (iso, shutter speed, diaphragm, focus, etc) manually.

But regardless of the camera, composition is probably the most important factor that makes a photo good. You need to learn to set the main object and its surroundings in such a way that the viewer sees things the way you want them to. Regarding your photos, you may want to look at those aspects:
-General composition. There is no single golden rule here, but with theory and practise you will learn to place objects in your shot in such a way that it helps the viewer to see the beauty of the shot and focus on its main idea.
-Point of view. Usually if you see something and just shoot from your height, it is not going to be very interesting. Don't shy away from finding the most suitable angle for your shot. Sometimes you may even have to get dirty while doing it.
- Getting rid of "dead pixels". Generally you should try to make your shots look good without cropping them, but in some cases it's very much needed. For example, on the photo below you caught an interesting shadow, but most of the picture is just plain boards.

I would advise you to hit the search engines for composition tips (just don't become another mindless adept of the rule of thirds!), then try to apply your new knowledge. If you like the results, start the search for a better camera. Which optics to get would depend on what you prefer to shoot.

 

[ssBaldy]

Hey, just found this thread. Have a question, how do you know when you’re ready/need to move on to a better camera?

Wife got into photography last year and is using a Nikon D3400 and doing a good job of landscapes (until we all got locked inside) and growing her portrait abilities and using Lightroom to balance things. But when do you know you’re like, at your limit of what the camera can do and need to go to something mirrorless or at least full sized sensor to get it any better? What are your triggers for that?

Which lenses does your wife use?

 

[Andy Capp]

sorry bro - I have no idea what that means/what you're asking?

I'll get back to you when I have some sample images to show that will illustrate what I'm looking for. Thanks anyway.

 

[Andy Capp]

Hey, just found this thread.

You're welcome

 

[rj144]

sorry bro - I have no idea what that means/what you're asking?

He means make an animated GIF of a set of photos where each is zoomed in on the last. Don't know if you know how, but I was just clarifying.

 

[weed]

He means make an animated GIF of a set of photos where each is zoomed in on the last. Don't know if you know how, but I was just clarifying.

ahh I thought he meant for that one singular photo. now I realize what ol Andy meant.

@bigwaverider

heavy gif work seems to be easy for you - if you have time of course.

care to help out bro?

 

[Andy Capp]

Totally self-indulgent, I know, but I'm betting it will look pretty cool as you close in on Godzilla.

 

[bigwaverider]

I'd love to have a gif of this with each successive frame zooming in on the middle.
Yo, @22k anything you might care to do with that?

ahh I thought he meant for that one singular photo. now I realize what ol Andy meant.

@bigwaverider

heavy gif work seems to be easy for you - if you have time of course.

care to help out bro?

Yes yes yes... easy stuff. @Andy Capp about how long do you want the zoom to last? And specifically what area to zoom into and about how much should i zoom in?

 

[Andy Capp]

Yes yes yes... easy stuff. @Andy Capp about how long do you want the zoom to last? And specifically what area to zoom into and about how much should i zoom in?

Zooming in on Godzilla, slightly to the right of center
How much would depend on how long Godzilla remains clearly defined but until he nearly fills the frame is ideal, I guess
Not sure how long but I would like to think it is fairly easy to tinker with that and see what you think is best as an expert and artist. But to start, I think about 3 seconds would be interesting.

On the nice to have list would be for it to start slowly and accelerate.

I'm sure it will be excellent regardless leaving it in your hands. You're much appreciated, so thank you.

 

[bigwaverider]

Zooming in on Godzilla, slightly to the right of center
How much would depend on how long Godzilla remains clearly defined but until he nearly fills the frame is ideal, I guess
Not sure how long but I would like to think it is fairly easy to tinker with that and see what you think is best as an expert and artist. But to start, I think about 3 seconds would be interesting.

On the nice to have list would be for it to start slowly and accelerate.

I'm sure it will be excellent regardless leaving it in your hands. You're much appreciated, so thank you.

I'm falling a sleep brah. need to take a nap. Someone called me real early this morn and I need to go back to bed. I will get to this. I have it mostly done right not but I cant keep my eyes open.

 

[HockeyBjj]

Which lenses does your wife use?

Looks like a dx vr 18-55mm and a dx Vr 70-300mm

let me know if I didn’t get the right numbers off them to let you actually know what they are

 

[Andy Capp]

I'm falling a sleep brah. need to take a nap. Someone called me real early this morn and I need to go back to bed. I will get to this. I have it mostly done right not but I cant keep my eyes open.

No worries at all, please. Take all the time you like. I thought I was just fantasizing at first. I have no right to complain.

Thanks.

 

[ssBaldy]

Looks like a dx vr 18-55mm and a dx Vr 70-300mm

let me know if I didn’t get the right numbers off them to let you actually know what they are

Nah friend, I understand.
For now, getting better lenses will have more effect than using better cameras with lenses you have.
You said she's building her skill with portraits. She should get a new lens for that - I'd recommend 50mm and/or 85mm.
Start with 50mm 1.8 - it's cheap, easy to use and can produce some nice crisp shots with pretty bokeh. Don't recommend using it for ultra close shots where face fills all the frame, though. You need 85+ mm for that to avoid distortion. And be sure to get the G version for autofocus to work on your camera.

https://kenrockwell.com/nikon/50mm-f18-g.htm

 

[rj144]

Nah friend, I understand.
For now, getting better lenses will have more effect than using better cameras with lenses you have.
You said she's building her skill with portraits. She should get a new lens for that - I'd recommend 50mm and/or 85mm.
Start with 50mm 1.8 - it's cheap, easy to use and can produce some nice crisp shots with pretty bokeh. Don't recommend using it for ultra close shots where face fills all the frame, though. You need 85+ mm for that to avoid distortion. And be sure to get the G version for autofocus to work on your camera.

https://kenrockwell.com/nikon/50mm-f18-g.htm

I second the rec for 50 mm, f1.8. Really good lens that's pretty cheap.

 

[Greta Thunberg]

 

[Greta Thunberg]

 

[bigwaverider]

Zooming in on Godzilla, slightly to the right of center
How much would depend on how long Godzilla remains clearly defined but until he nearly fills the frame is ideal, I guess
Not sure how long but I would like to think it is fairly easy to tinker with that and see what you think is best as an expert and artist. But to start, I think about 3 seconds would be interesting.

On the nice to have list would be for it to start slowly and accelerate.

I'm sure it will be excellent regardless leaving it in your hands. You're much appreciated, so thank you.

"depend on how long Godzilla remains clearly defined"

I'm gonna get slightly technical but will try to make it as Layman as possible. Your picture has a lot of "colors" (not a totally accurate term) in it. Gif reduces those colors from potentially millions (or even billions or trillions, even hundreds of trillions in super super high end stuff) down to 256 colors. This really fooks stuff up. In my opinion there is not really such thing as a "clearly defined" animated gif when working with really colorful photos/video. I could get really technical on that, but let's leave it alone. I did my best and made this as "clearly defined" as I possibly could. At the end, when zoomed in, of course Godzilla got a bit "yucky" (that's my made up technical term ) and soft. I actually did some work on him in Photoshop to make him and the sky look better, but there is only so much you can do with gif as well as a bitmap image such as your photo. I hate gif. Can't stand it, but that is what we have. Gif was made in 1987... yes 1987. Why we are using it well into the 21st century is beyond me.

edit: OK this one is good. I had to swap out the first one cause one frame was mis-timed. Make sure to download this so you have a backup. These image hosting sites can go out of business and then this image is lost and gone forever.

 

[Andy Capp]

"depend on how long Godzilla remains clearly defined"

I'm gonna get slightly technical but will try to make it as Layman as possible. Your picture has a lot of "colors" (not a totally accurate term) in it. Gif reduces those colors from potentially millions (or even billions or trillions, even hundreds of trillions in super super high end stuff) down to 256 colors. This really fooks stuff up. In my opinion there is not really such thing as a "clearly defined" animated gif when working with really colorful photos/video. I could get really technical on that, but let's leave it alone. I did my best and made this as "clearly defined" as possible. At the end, when zoomed in, of course Godzilla got a bit "yucky" (that's my made up technical term ) and soft. I actually did some work on him in Photoshop to make him and the sky look better, but there is only so much you can do with gif as well as a bitmap image such as your photo. I hate gif. Can't stand it, but that is what we have. Gif was made in 1987... yes 1987. Why we are using it well into the 21st century is beyond me.

edit: OK this one is good. I had to swap out the first one cause one frame was mis-timed. Make sure to download this so you have a backup. These image hosting sites can go out of business and then this image is lost and gone.

That's awesome, thank you.
Now that I see it, faster might be better but honestly you should consider it finished whenever you feel like it so please don't feel obligated.

And Godzilla looks great. It will be fun to use in the right circumstances.

 

[HockeyBjj]

Nah friend, I understand.
For now, getting better lenses will have more effect than using better cameras with lenses you have.
You said she's building her skill with portraits. She should get a new lens for that - I'd recommend 50mm and/or 85mm.
Start with 50mm 1.8 - it's cheap, easy to use and can produce some nice crisp shots with pretty bokeh. Don't recommend using it for ultra close shots where face fills all the frame, though. You need 85+ mm for that to avoid distortion. And be sure to get the G version for autofocus to work on your camera.

https://kenrockwell.com/nikon/50mm-f18-g.htm

I second the rec for 50 mm, f1.8. Really good lens that's pretty cheap.

Hugely appreciated there guys. She’s artistic,
but does lack in the technical department. I was the one who had to figure out how to get her off camera flashes to sync to her camera and then show her how haha. I’ll share this with her and if she thinks that a new “toy” that would help her (whenever life gets back to normal and she can shoot models again). That price point looks good and we can put some of that magic stimulus money at.

I kinda don’t want to share any of her stuff as she posts it all on Instagram and has a few thousand followers there. My luck some asshole will dox and trace her back to something stupid I said in the war room here. But this really helped out as I’ve kinda been looking for a way to spark her hobby passion again with being cooped up and lonely.

 

[rj144]

View attachment 761055

Nice shot man.