New Camera, expected more

[MrB]

Here's a little video showing a remote release in action ...



(and it's not what you'll be thinking either) (go on -- you'll love it!).

Great video, Colin - thank you.

Philip

[captivating]

Hi All,

I took some photos yesterday and just used ALL Auto settings. I took these at like 1pm til 3 ish and it was bright sunlight. I am wondering if that's why they looked so washed out. I just was chompin at the bit to take some so I took a drive leaving my school work behind. My fave shot "I thought" was going to be the barn with pasture behind I'll show you in a minute. I was disappointed especially because of the sky looking so over exposed.

Maybe some feedback on what I could have done to make this a better shot? Or just any input at all Glad to be back on here to see how everyone else is doing as well. If you have any new photos up, will you put a link for me? Would love to see them, denise

[Andrew1]

Denise, in Auto, the camera averaged the scene. The dark building in the foreground would have driven the exposure up a bit to average both. Your mid-tone stuff, the trees, look just fine. Had that building not been there or was a brighter colour the auto would have dropped the exposure a bit and the sky would be more in line with expectations. This shot as with many landscapes would have been a tough one to do in-camera without a GND filter.

[captivating]

Thank Andrew. Do you think if I go out there on an overcast day, clear but overcast, I might get a better shot?

[davidedric]

That's a tough subject, and I don't think an overcast day would make a lot of difference. A big storm cloud might The problem is that your eyes work much better than any camera. However, I think you have a nice image there, so well seen and well done. If you have any post processing software it should be quite straightforward to quieten the sky and bring out the barn. I'd also be interested to see the shot before you cropped it - I assume you did.

[captivating]

Yes, I did crop it, I will put the original image. I did use my photo imaging software to try and get it to look like what my eyes saw:

[davidedric]

Thanks Denise, you certainly improved the image a lot. My preference would be to bring out the detail a little more in the barn. It isn't really a silhouette. I'll hand over to the PP experts at this point! I think it's great that you keep improving and seeking feedback.

[captivating]

I think it's great that you guys/gals are here to help me I was reading lastnight on a blog I found on photography. I enjoy learning about it but right now, all the homework I have to do, it's hard to get "out there" like I want to soooooooo bad ttys, denise
PS Maybe someone will come along and want to edit the image and see how it looks when they are finished with it! I did read lastnight how important it is not to rely heavily on image editing but rather learn the ropes so you can first snap the best photo you can to start with That made all the sense to me

[Melkus]

Welcome Denise,

That is always the best thing to do when starting out is to leave the camera on auto while you work on your composition etc. This is a fun hobby and should be relexing. Take your time read then read some more, get out and take them photos like there no tomorrow it's not like the old days when you only had so many shots using film. Practice is the only way your going to get better

[captivating]

I agree Paul and I will keep practicing as much as I can, every chance I get

Welcome Denise,

That is always the best thing to do when starting out is to leave the camera on auto while you work on your composition etc. This is a fun hobby and should be relexing. Take your time read then read some more, get out and take them photos like there no tomorrow it's not like the old days when you only had so many shots using film. Practice is the only way your going to get better

[Melkus]

Was going to say in that photo you took of the barn, look in your camera settings and turn off date and time unless you want it which no one dose. Also I see that power wire, beware of things you might not want in your photos

[jcuknz]

Then I ask the question ... was the shed leaning like I have a photo of one, worse than yours or are you on an incline?

WARNING! When getting rid of the power line watch for traffic

I agree that you should get the best result you can 'in camera' but don't forget that with practice in editing as well as the camera you will learn to do a lot of things and PP can help you achieve what was not possible at the camera stage. You should aim for a meld of techniques without being pre-occupied with one or other. My aim with PP is to make it look real as if I was a great camera operator, which I'm not

If no traffic and you had gone closer, for the shot like your crop but 'in camera', then 'forced flash', possibly set to a plus value in the menu, could have lightened the building without looking like a 'flash photo'. A dark 'thing' with the light above or behind it can often do with a bit of fill flash .... or when you get real good with a reflector board, like a top pro with a budget might.

I think there is merit in a comment I read recently ....our on-board flashes should be used in daylight as a fill light rather than at night time.

[Andrew1]

Denise, waiting for a duller day will get you a shot of a duller day. Everything will be toned down and yes you can increase the exposure to get more detail in the barn but your sky will be a dull grey or cloudy. That might be just fine and would make a good photo but it won't be what it appears you were after in this one. The high saturation added to the problem with your first one. The overall photo would be improved if the barn and landscape were all exposed to see some detail and also bring in some blue sky. I don't know the particulars of the site but off hand I would say just wait until the sun moves to a more appropriate time of day. I will make a guess that you are facing south to get this shot and may not be able to get the sun on the face of the building. If so, go back closer to sunrise or sunset when there is no harsh point of back-light. The tones will be closer together and you may be able to get a photo more to your liking.

[captivating]

Ok Will do Paul, ty much!!

[captivating]

ty JC, lots of good info!!

[davidedric]

One more post. I was taking shots when I was in school - and yours are way better. Keep shooting!

[captivating]

thanks Dave, This is one hobby I've found I really love, first time in my life and I am almost 60 now I just look forward to learning more and getting out there more denise

One more post. I was taking shots when I was in school - and yours are way better. Keep shooting!

[djg05478]

Wow....a ton of great advice here.

Its been touched upon a bit, but I'd like to emphasize to keep going at that manual.

You've basically bought a new mini computer and you need to know/learn how it works as well as learn/improve the fundamentals of photography. Its really two different disciplines going on at the same time.

There is NOTHING more frustrating than putting time and effort in getting to a destination or event with the sole intention of taking pictures and not being able to work the camera.

Spend time in your own yard or home, take pictures not for the pictures but to learn how the camera works. Take pix of the same potted plant at 5 different ISOs, change the focus point, +/- exposure compensation etc, change one thing at a time, compare the photos. Then delete and go again. My 2 cents. Have fun

Debbie

[captivating]

Thanks Debbie, this is great advice. I realized I didn't need to waste all that gas driving when I could have taken a walk around my neighborhood and tried some shots That's ok though since I enjoyed the drive. But my next time out will be close to home Thank you again, denise

[jcuknz]

The building needs a three degree right rotation to stand upright and there is material there to raise the building using curves.
The date stamp in this case was easy to clone out although later it was cropped out.

We do not know what editing programme you have and perhaps you may be tight for funds so I have done the exercise twice ... once with Paint Shop Pro which is not that expensive, actually very reasonable compared to Photoshop, and the free download Paint. Net.
I'm tempted to ask people to pick which is which but I won't and the top is PSP and the bottom PN.... though each has its own way of doing things. You cannot 'paint' out areas on the curves layer with PN so one has to use the erase brush, so one simply duplicates the image as a second layer, adjusts it to suit the area needing attention,and then erase the areas you do not want adjusted to reveal the lower layer .... this has application in various ways such as for blurring some areas and not others as with my Ka942 photo on another thread recently about zooming within a single exposure.
Hope this link works Zoom