Camera Exercises

[CG415]

Hello all!

I want to know if any of the more experianced people out there can give us beginners some exercises, practice tips, or something like a weekly lesson that we may take part in, in order to start advancing in the world of photography?

Thanks in advance for any help that y'all can offer.

Chris

[Bonish Photo]

This was something that one of the professors made us do while I took some classes years ago.

Pick a subject each week, and shot it till you get an image that you would be willing to put in your portfolio.

One week pick a macro subject, the next week pick a fast action subject, the next pick a scenic and so on. Keep doing this till you find something that once you shoot it, you know this is what you want to do, or just keep trying till you get so good, your portfolio speaks for itself.

Frans Lanting said in one of his seminars I took, that if you got one image per month that you could frame and sell in a gallery, then you'd get 12 images per year that could make you money.

Considering that many of the top professionals make thousands of dollars when one of their images gets put in a gallery, it makes since to slow down and try to get high quality images rather than just shoot thousands till one stands out.

The beauty with digital, is you can make all the mistakes you want. It's free!

As for topics, anyone can jump in and add to this, but start with a

* Landscape
* Portorait
* Macro
* Animal - one of them posed, and one action shot, so this can be two weeks worth of study
* Sports shot, fast action stopped, and a blurred, motion shot, so this can be two weeks or try both during your shooting sessions
* Studio shot which can involve lighting (opens up a years worth of study to even break the ice...LOL)
* Night shot, long exposure
* Long exposure of moving water

See where I'm going with this? Give your self an assignment each week, and if you only spent a half hour per day really paying attention to your setting and exposure, then in no time you're getting gallery quality shots

Good luck, and make sure to post your work so we can all pick it apart to help you out

Pat
www.everymilesamemeory.com

[CG415]

Thanks for the jumping off point. This will give me some areas to start working on.

Chris

[Walczak Photo]

Hey Chris,
Well, the first thing I would suggest that I found very helpful is...and this may sound kind of dumb so bear with me...but play with the camera itself and see what everything does, how it works and how to make it work for you.

As I've said many times, a lot of people own cameras, but very few seem to know how to use them. In my mind there is a very big difference between "snap shots" and "photography". Most people go out and buy a camera, leave everything on automatic and just take pictures. A photographer on the other hand, uses all the tools he has available to create his/her images. Part of this is understanding some basic principles such as composition, lighting, the rule of thirds, yadda, yadda, yadda, but a big part of it comes down to knowing how the tools work. A carpenter can't build a house without a hammer, a saw, wood, etc., etc., and a photographer can't make great images without a camera. You can bet your booty that the carpenter KNOWS how to use his tools and the same should be true of the photographer.

For example (and I'm not sure if this is really a good example or not), I recently got a new Canon lens for the holidays...the 50mm f/1.8 II. Instead of trying to get some "great shots" right off the bat, I've been experimenting with the lens with subjects that I'm already familiar with...the critters at the nature center, sunsets at a local beach, etc.. I'll do a series of shots at various apertures and such, not really worrying about "artistic quality" and then go back and look at them on the computer and see what's working and what's not.

I'll do stuff like this in my back yard too. Since I shoot mostly animals/critters, when I get a new piece of equipment such as a new camera for example, I'll take a bunch of stuffed animals with color and textures similar to real critters, out in the backyard and do lots and lots of test shots to find out how the new equipment works. With lenses for example, this is a great way to find out if and where the "sweet spot" is. It's also a good way to really learn your equipment.

I believe...at least for the type of work that I do, that photography is about artistic expression, but as a painter needs to know a little about brushes, canvas and paints (or my carpenter analogy above), so a photographer needs to know about the equipment he/she is working with. In my mind, the "technical aspect" of photography should really be second nature...you shouldn't have to think about it when you're shooting and this especially goes for equipment. If you're standing there trying to remember which button works the ISO or how to set a focus point on your DSLR, then you're not really paying attention to your subject or things such as composition.

Heres another way to look at it... Let's say that you're looking to take a picture to enter into a photo contest and you have 2 cameras available. One of those cameras is a new, high end DSLR that you just bought last week and the other is your 5 megapixel p&s that you've been using for 3 or 4 years. Even though the DSLR is probably going to be a much superior camera, chances are you're actually going to get a better shot from the p&s simply because you know the camera better and know how to get the most from it. Make sense?

In my case, again I shoot mostly animals and very simply if I have to sit there and thumb thru menus or try and remember how to change the aperture or shutter settings...I've already missed the shot. For me it really pays to not only know what each button on the camera does, but to know it instinctively. Shooting animals is challenging enough as it is...often they don't stop moving and usually you can't tell them "ok...lift your nose just a little to the left...now hold still while I adjust the lighting"...it just don't work that way! LOL!!! Regardless, when I'm shooting, the main things I want to concentrate on are framing & composition, in the case of animals, facial expressions, lighting, etc.. Of course if I want my images to come out sharp and in focus, it goes well beyond that, but I don't want to have to think too much about it when I'm actually taking the pictures, so it really pays to know that side of it ahead of time.


Alrighty...that's about it for now. I hope that somehow that made some sense! LOL! I'm sure I'll have some other things in a few days as I like to talk and I like to type! For now though, I'll let someone else have the soapbox and see what others have to say

Great topic there Chris...good suggestion!
Peace,
Jim

[CG415]

Thanks Jim,

I am or was one of those people that thought just because I can take pretty good pictures with my P&S Fuji S5100 when I get my new Nikon I will be taking great pictures. Well thats not the case I get the occasonal really good picture but I'm not consistent by far. That is why I started playing on this web site. I figured the veterans can help me hone my craft and give me some good advice on what to look for and really how to practice taking pictures.

I just want to thank everyone in advace for making this website what it is and helping each other out. This is deffenetly a place that use beginners need to take advantige of.

I have started practicing and will be posting some pictures in the next couple of days or weeks. I'm staying busy with work right now so we will see.

Thanks,

Chris

[Walczak Photo]

Hey Chris,
After reading your post, there's a little bit that I would like to add to what I wrote earlier.

After everything I suggested, I don't want to come off sounding like a hypocrite, but I probably should have mentioned that so much of what makes a "good" photo isn't about the camera...it's about the photographer. Camera's don't take great pictures, photographers do. A great photo is soooo much more than just pixels (or chemicals on a piece of plastic) that was exposed to light inside a plastic or metal "box"...it's about light, it's about composition and it's about (in many cases) artistic expression and capturing a moment to convey a sense of emotion. In many, if not most cases a really good photographer can do this regardless of whether he's using a $20,000 Hassleblad medium format, an $8000 top of the line Canon or Nikon DSLR or a $100 Casio point & shoot. Something that I've said many times before, just as a great set of clubs won't make a person a great golfer, a great camera won't make a person a great photographer.

With that said however and to connect this to my previous post, a great golfer knows how to use those clubs and a better set of clubs will allow him to get more out of them. The same is true of cameras and photography. It's not that a good photographer can't take pictures with a cheap camera, it's that a good camera will allow a good photographer to do more with his craft because he knows how to use the tools of his trade.

To use my carpenter analogy again, a good carpenter isn't standing there thinking to himself, "ok...I hold the hammer like this...and then I hold the nail in the wood like this...now I have to swing the hammer just sooo..."...the technical aspect of his work is a seemless thing to what he does which allows him to focus on his craft. Of course a good carpenter also knows which nails to use for a given specific application...just as a good golfer knows which club to use and a good photographer knows which lens to use.

I guess the point of all of this is that simply the carpenter needs to know what kind of nails and hammer to use before he can build a house, a golfer needs to know which club to use to tee off or get out of a sand trap and needs to know how to hold those clubs the right way and a photographer needs to know how to work his/her camera. Once you get to that point though, you'll find that it's not the camera..it's you .

The "tools" are only as good as the person using them.

Peace,
Jim

[Bonish Photo]

Good Point Jim

One of my biggest pet peeves...I have a bunch...is when people see my photos and say "Well if I had a camera like yours, I'd be able to get a picture like that too."

I went as far as one friend of mine who was trying to get into photography but always was bugging me that it was only my camera gear I had. Well I went and took a few really cool shots with a simple point and shoot that allowed me to adjust the settings manually.

When I showed him them and he said the ol "It's your gear" I said "nope, this was taken with a $200 P&S camera As$h*#@!"

So I dont think it has all that much to do with the camera. A good camera can really help out, but a good photographer will be able to work around what a normal camera will allow him/her to do.

[gldiana]

I agree with you Pat. I got the same a bunch of times. A good camera can make a photo better, not good. What I reply is:
A good photographer can take better photos with a cheap camera than a bad photographer can with the best camera in the market.

Another kind of people that get under my skin are those who say: "My husband/wife (insert favorite sibling) is such a good photographer he never needs to retouch his photos in any way" - that's a bunch of horse<beep>!

And if you allow me to add, to stay in my field of business, a great snowboard won't make a great snowboarder (nor will it make you win the X-Games) hehehe.

[CG415]

Hello again everyone!

I just wanted to thank all of you for helping out and giving me some exercises to work on, they are all helping. My wife and I took our 9 month old son to the Jacksonville Zoo today, and of course I took my camera. I just wanted to let you all know that I had one of those great Ah Ha moments to day while there. I took over 300 pictures and 3/4 of them are what I would consider keepers.

I am setting up a Flickr site and will post the link as soon as I get them loaded!

Again I want to thank everyone that has given me great advice and just keep it coming! This is a great web site and I have learned so much from y'all in a short while! I also wanted to let y'all know that my pasion for photography was re-energized after todays adventure to the zoo!

Thank you again for everything!

Chris

[Bonish Photo]

Hey Chris, if you can take 300 images and keep 3/4 of them, you're doing fantastic.

I tend to take a lot of images, but over the years with way too much spent on memory and time sorting through all those images, I tend to delete 90% of what I take.

I've come to the point that unless I say "WOW" when I open the image, then it doesnt stand too much of a chance for me keeping it.

Sounds like you did good and I'm sure your son had as much fun as you did.

[CG415]

Hey Pat thanks!

I'm sure in a few years after I get alot better I will look back on some of these and wonder why I kept them, but as of right now half of them make me say "WOW" and the others are "I really like that". So I'm keeping them.

Chris

[Bonish Photo]

Chris, memory is cheap, so keep anything that makes you happy and in the future, you'll just naturally know what your direction is by what you keep.

I tend to keep almost all of my long exposure water shots and anything that would look cool converted to Black & White. I know these are my favorites because of this.

I also tend to shoot a ton of Nudes, but cant post any of them on here, but that is one thing that really makes you learn what you're doing, as you usually dont get a secone chance with that photo shoot.

[hw771230]

Good point Pat.

I used to keep 90% of my digitals, but after a while I find myself keeping more long exposures and odd perspective shots (I keep less than 10% of my digital shots now). It is fun to look back at my older shots and see the progression of photos and what draws me in. Not many nudes for me yet, though. Maybe I'll get a opportunity for that at some point.

Caleb

[CG415]

Ok,

Since y'all started talking about long exposures could any one give me tips on how to take long exposures with water? I tryied it a couple of times and the photograph just came out white, or I should say it was over exposed. This is and area that I find really interesting but can't seem to get it to work for me.

Thanks,

Chris

[Bonish Photo]

This is some of my favorite types of photogrpahy because for me it some of the hardest to master.

You almost always have to use a polarizer, and a neutral density filter to get the exposure long enough and not blow out the highlights.

I usually try and go early in the morning or late in the evening. But since I'm the type that stays up late because of my bartending years, I dont get up too early so I'm usually there at sunset.

Set for a minimum of 1/15th of a second and try to run your f/stop as small as possible. Like a f/22 or something high like that to not allow in too much light. What ever it is, make sure that you'll be balanced so the exposure will turn out.

This shot of Alger Falls in Michigan's Upper Peninsula was shot at

ISO 200 1/2sec @ f/13 with a .9 ND Filter on a Sigma 24-70mm Lens

Upper Tahquaminon Falls - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

ISO 200 1/4sec @f/32 with a .9 ND Filter & a Polarizer on a Sigma 24-70mm Lens
This one was unique because I took it during the daytime and was amazed I was able to get the exposure correct with the light

Some random roadside waterfall in North Carolina

ISO 200 1/8thsec @f/32 with a polarizing filter on a Sigma 24-70mm

There are just a few examples with the EXIF data to give you an idea of what to shoot for. Like I said, this is my favorite type of photography, so I could post long exposure waterfall shots all day long

Hope that helps