First "professional" shots ever!

wmflyfisher · May 26, 2009

Ok, so these are far from professional but it's a start. I received two cameras in the mail today. One is a Canon SD880IS and the other is a Nikon D40. Plans were to use the Canon but after diving into this hobby further, I figured it would be best to get something a bit more advanced so that's where the 40 came in.

The Canon is now for sale but I wanted to fool with the settings and snap some shots tonight (batt is dead in the D40) before I sold it.

I know these probably need a lot of "work" but keep in mind, this is the first time I have ever messed with any of the manual settings on a camera!! Straight from the camera and unedited. What do you guys think??

musicaleCA · May 26, 2009

For a first time messing with those settings, that's pretty darn good. Considering they're unedited I won't fault you for the rather flat colour; that can be punched-up easily in photo editing software.

Oh, and having a DSLR doesn't make you pro. Being a pro makes you pro. Generally accepted as 5 years solid years of experience and some sort of major publication.

(And I'm no pro, just so you don't think I'm being snobbish.)

kundalini · May 26, 2009

musicaleCA said:
Generally accepted as 5 years solid years of experience and some sort of major publication. (And I'm no pro, just so you don't think I'm being snobbish.)

If you search through TPF the definition of what a "PRO" is has been heavily discussed. I believe the general consensus is that you receive monies in part or in whole for your income. There are no time limits, neither is being published a requirement.

To the OP, I don't know what the Canon model is that you have, but guessing it's a P&S. As a Nikon shooter myself, I would choose that over the D40. Both will have its limitations, but I'd rather be frustrated with not being able to interchange lenses than to buy into a limited array of lenses at a greater cost.

With that, there is nothing wrong to keep your eyes open for a second hand D50, D70 or D80.... all of which will suit you better further down the road........ provided you are interested in falling into this money pit of a hobby. :biggrin:

EDIT: Ooops, forgot to comment on your photos. Nice for starters! I prefer the second compositionally, but like the silky water in #1. Also, unless there's a need for testing or reference or whatever, it is best to at least try some editing to give your photos that little extra punch.... and shoot RAW if available. Next time please separate the photos with a couple of spaces.

itznfb · May 26, 2009

kundalini said:
As a Nikon shooter myself, I would choose that over the D40. Both will have its limitations, but I'd rather be frustrated with not being able to interchange lenses than to buy into a limited array of lenses at a greater cost.

With that, there is nothing wrong to keep your eyes open for a second hand D50, D70 or D80.... all of which will suit you better further down the road........ provided you are interested in falling into this money pit of a hobby.

what did you mean by this? you would have stuck with the P&S over the D40?

@OP, great first shots! what lens were you using... 18-55mm kit?

musicaleCA · May 26, 2009

[B][URL="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/members/kundalini.html said:
kundalini[/URL][/B]"]If you search through TPF the definition of what a "PRO" is has been heavily discussed. I believe the general consensus is that you receive monies in part or in whole for your income. There are no time limits, neither is being published a requirement.

Fair enough. From a strictly business perspective that's how I had heard photography described, particularly when one is working solo/freelance.

wmflyfisher · May 26, 2009

Thanks a lot guys for the great feedback. The camera I used for these shots was the P&S Canon, not the D40.

Kundalini, I just bought the D40 upon many great reviews. I'll probably use this a good while before I upgrade to anything else just to get the feel. I'll try to shoot RAW when I get the D40 going. What will be my main advantage in doing this???

As for editing, where do I even start?? I downloaded Gimp but there are sooo many different tweaks. Guess I'll just have to mess with everything right?

Josh66 · May 26, 2009

wmflyfisher said:
What will be my main advantage in doing this???

You will have much more control over the final product.

Really, once you get over the learning curve (which isn't as bad as it sounds), the only disadvantage is that every photo will need at least a little attention. At the very least, you will have to export it to JPG at the default settings - so, even if you don't do anything at all to it, it still has to be converted.

Josh66 · May 26, 2009

wmflyfisher said:
As for editing, where do I even start?? I downloaded Gimp but there are sooo many different tweaks. Guess I'll just have to mess with everything right?

If you're going to shoot RAW, you will need a converter.

One should have been included with the camera.

I don't know how Nikon's software is, but if it's like Canon's it will be fine at first, but eventually you'll want something more powerful.

manaheim · May 26, 2009

I wonder if that's gonna spiral...

:popcorn:

Josh66 · May 26, 2009

manaheim said:
I wonder if that's gonna spiral...

Why should it - it's the truth.

wmflyfisher · May 26, 2009

Messed with it a little. This looks slightly better IMO. Not really sure what I did but we will see.

Josh66 · May 26, 2009

That looks a lot better to me.

wmflyfisher · May 26, 2009

Thanks! I did something similar with this one.

Josh66 · May 26, 2009

The boost in contrast you gave these really helps.

GIMP is pretty good. It isn't the most user friendly software out there, but it can do a lot.
Do a few searches on YouTube for GIMP tutorials - you'll find them very helpful.