Newbie Here! How would I shoot this? NikonD3000

[ababysean]

I am totally new to the world of DSLR. I have been a point and shoot girl for years and years and finally took the baby step to move up from my 100 dollar 6 year camera....

So I am going to go practice tomorrow while the kids are in school.

How should I set this up to get this best image of MY own?

It is a bridge where I live, bright sun.

I have a NikonD3000 with the kit 18 to 55mm lens.

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[white]

Well, figuring out how to shoot something is the whole point of photography. For an exercise, try abandoning this notion that there is a "best way" to photograph something. There's all kinds of fun stuff you can do with an interesting subject, which this bridge certainly is. So figure out what aspect you'd like to emphasize and go shoot.

I like to think of potential locations as stages. Sometimes you have to wait for the action.

 

[mrpink]

if you try and collect every interesting part of a subject such as this into one frame- all will be lost to confusion. I would try and do a series of shots, highlighting the most interesting details of the location in single frames. How exactly to do this is up to you.

Go on the ends of the day as well (sunrise, sunset) keep the harsh shadows down.



p!nK

 

[KmH]

Or for the light to be just right.The mid-day Sun is not to bad in the winter but the mid-day Sun light is getting harsher by the day as we move further into spring.

The best images are mostly about the light. I would use 5 or 6 strobe lights and like mrpink suggests shoot it at dusk or dawn.

 

[ababysean]

I am going after I drop the kids at school around 8am.
Why are many pictures so dull and others so colorful?
Is this a lens/camera thing or is this photoshop?

 

[Vinny]

Since there are shadows in the photos that are at an angle, it is an indication that it is not shot at around mid day. I agree that it's all about experimenting with your camera to get a great photo. I would take multiple exposures with different f stops, shutter speeds (possibly going to need to change ISO for either), underexpose, overexpose, move in or out (or zoom in or out), take notes on what you're doing to see what you like/dislike.

Back in the day of film we would take a bunch of exposures for the hope of getting a single good photo. There's no magic, just a lot of practice and hopefully patience.

 

[Vinny]

There are different modes to take photos in cameras, the D90 has a vivid mode which changes the image somewhat and/or photoshop might be used as well. Professional photographs are touched up to some degree. I remember seeing a program years ago about magazine photography and what they do to make the model "perfect" for the pages of magazines.

I am going after I drop the kids at school around 8am.
Why are many pictures so dull and others so colorful?
Is this a lens/camera thing or is this photoshop?

 

[KmH]

Since there are shadows in the photos that are at an angle, it is an indication that it is not shot at around mid day.

Now, that you mention it, the first photo looks to have been shot pretty near high noon, IMO.

One of the ways to saturate some of the colors is to put a good (not a cheapo) Circular Polarizing filter (CPL) on the lens.

The front element of a CPL is then rotated as you look through the camera viewfinder untill you can see you are getting the level of effect you want.

CPL filters cannot be accurately mimicked with image editing software like Photoshop.

A CPL filter displays the most effect when the lens to image sensor axis is at a 90° side angle to the Sun and the Sun is less than 30° above the horizon, another reason to try and avoid shooting during the range of mid-day hours.

 

[inov8ter]

It looks like light poll where the low clearance sign is. the bridge would make a cool night shot with that light.

 

[Vinny]

In the first photo, take a look at the shadows behind the bridge. They look like they are from the trees and they are being cast at an angle running down the hill. I think the bridge gives the appearance of the light is almost directly overhead but the back shadows indicate otherwise at least to me.

Since there are shadows in the photos that are at an angle, it is an indication that it is not shot at around mid day.

Now, that you mention it, the first photo looks to have been shot pretty near high noon, IMO.

One of the ways to saturate some of the colors is to put a good (not a cheapo) Circular Polarizing filter (CPL) on the lens.

The front element of a CPL is then rotated as you look through the camera viewfinder untill you can see you are getting the level of effect you want.

CPL filters cannot be accurately mimicked with image editing software like Photoshop.

A CPL filter displays the most effect when the lens to image sensor axis is at a 90° side angle to the Sun and the Sun is less than 30° above the horizon, another reason to try and avoid shooting during the range of mid-day hours.

 

[Dominantly]

I would try a mild HDR.
I would try a tripod shot with a slow shutter and some motion blur.
I would try and get some shots REALLY close to the bridge. I mean as close as you can at 18mm.

 

[cnutco]

With all the above plus try to get some shots up close at different angles and low and high. Try everything you can think of so you can find the style you like.

Try to find out when there are the least amount of cars on the road too.