Things to take pictures off.

[photoman720]

I am getting my first digital SLR in a couple of days (Rebel XT with 50mm f/1.4 aperature lens and a 1 gb card.) What are some good things to shoot to start out and post here for critique. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mike_E]

Try starting with yourself. When you know what feeling like that looks like you will be on your way to being a good story teller.

mike

 

[boogaguy]

If you can get a picture of a dog, a flower AND a baby all in one pic...
oooh wee ! You are going to take the world of photography by storm.

If you really want to be a great photographer then you must always tout the greatness of film ( even if youve never used it) while expressing dissatisfaction with digital and "noobs".

Do all these things and you will be garaunteed success. If not in the real world then definately in the world of photo forums..
good luck. :thumbup:

 

[photoman720]

Alright thanks! I am only 16. Any other things that I could take pictures of that are good subjects/objects.

 

[doenoe]

doesnt really matter, just take pics of anything and play with the different modes. Best thing to do is probably put it on manual immidatly. Did that when i got mine and i learned the basics pretty fast. Just take pics of the same thing with different shutter speeds and F-numbers and stuff

 

[ksmattfish]

What are your hobbies and interests? Use photography to explore the things you find interesting.

 

[Don Simon]

Hello 'photoman720'. Welcome to TPF. Now to answer your question I refer you to the last reply...

What are your hobbies and interests? Use photography to explore the things you find interesting.

... pretty much summed it up there. There are plenty of aspects of photography that people on this site and others can try to help you with. Choosing a subject isn't one of them. I can't tell you what to photograph any more than I can tell you what to have for lunch tomorrow or what music to listen to. Try to imagine what would in your view constitute an 'interesting' subject, whether that means something with an emotional interest for you or simply something with aesthetically interesting texture, lines etc. If really in doubt, just wander about shooting anything and everything and something will stand out when reviewing the shots.
----

If you really want to be a great photographer then you must always tout the greatness of film ( even if youve never used it) while expressing dissatisfaction with digital and "noobs".

Do all these things and you will be garaunteed success. If not in the real world then definately in the world of photo forums..
good luck. :thumbup:

Hehe... you're a bit behind the times there, don't you know film snobbery is passé? Digital snobbery is the way forward. Anyway as for film snobbery and people having no patience for "noobs" (since when did photography become a game of Quake?) I think you're confusing this with other forums.

 

[spazoid1965]

Take a look at other peoples photos and see if you can duplicate the idea. You can learn a lot by trying to figure out what others have done.

 

[LaFoto]

“No more subjects?

You often hear amateurs lament that there was nothing there to photograph any longer, that everything had been taken before and that everything was therefore “used up” as subject.
‘If only I had the chance to have the equipment and money to travel to new countries and see exotic things’, you hear them say, ‘then also I would be able to produce more than the average snapshot…’

So many words, so many wrong assumptions. Just look at the average photographic results of a trip to the Mediterranean and you will see that most people also only see the clichés they had in mind before they travelled to a particularly beautiful, foreign country, so that in the end no photographic sensations will be achieved. For what he is able to see depends on the individua alonel, and not even the most photogenic surroundings can substitute the individual’s “eye” for the important, the essence.

And the above mentioned claim is also wrong in its first part, for life is full of things and events that serve as possible subjects, and every moment is once again as new as can be when it happens. Of course, it is not so easy to anticipate that one, that right, that decisive moment – to speak with Cartier-Bresson, and to push the release button in time to capture it for all times. That’s not what everyone can do and which requires high amount of talent, intuition and lightning speed reaction. Which is why the really GOOD snapshots are so rare.

But also the lover of the quieter photo without any express dynamics or action can find numerous subjects in his immediate surroundings. Nature offers limitless numbers of new and “unused” motifs. No need to go on any extensive travels, for you can find them right round the corner, if only you keep your eyes open. We offer you a couple of examples that could be added by thousands more, just to show the amateur the possibilities he has. In our choice we deliberately focus on things that everyone can find, without any major effords and costs. And you will see that there are still enough subjects to find, if only you have some imagination, an open mind and eye and a bit of taste – qualifications that you should have to successfully pursue photography, anyway.” – Heinrich Stöckler – Chief editor of “Leica-Fotografie”

From “Leica-Fotografie” No 5/1961, Umschau-Verlag Frankfurt/Main
(translated from German into English by myself)

Hallo photoman and welcome to The Photo Forum!

Sorry to be "greeting" you with this lengthy quote and with words that someone who is possibly long dead by now spoke virtually AGES ago, but somehow I felt this article might be interesting to you and everyone else, after I read about your quest for possible subjects to photograph.

I didn't think I would get the chance to quote it so early here on TPF, since I have only come across it first last night, after my dad allowed me to take home with me all his collected issues of said photography magazine ("Leica-Fotografie") from 1961 to 1966.

But somehow I feel the article applies somewhat.

What you need is the "feel" for the essence of things (sounds big to a 16-year-old who will soon get his first DSLR, but since you'll be getting a DSLR, after all, photography as such cannot be all new to you!).

Develop an eye for the motif (any motif, any subject at all), learn about taking said subject out of its context and into its new frame (the photo), where it will stand alone and will have to "fend for itself", on its own now, and only with your - the photographer's - help.

Teach yourself to look at your surroundings and things in your surroundings differently (and learning-by-doing will help you heaps, and thanks to digital photography you can learn by doing without any great losses even, and with immediate feedback!) so you can SEE even before you take the photo how best to place things into their "new frame", how to work (play even!) with said things and with colours or colour contrasts or light contrasts or shapes and forms and luminosity.

I am thinking, for example, of photos of few colours only (maybe only complementary ones, or some "play" with similar ones in their gradations), or of photos of strong geographical elements, squares, circles, triangles (modern architecture offers a lot here), or those that feature strong light and shadow situations, or those of garden plants in all kinds of different lights ...

Sorry, this is getting too long for a newcomer.

But maybe everyone is interested ... for I believe that the 46-year-old statement still stands that the world offers limitless subjects that want to be explored with the camera.

 

[cosmom3]

I think waterfalls with semi long exposures would be a ton of fun. Have yet to do it myself though.

 

[DRodgers]

All good replies but a good exercise to learn your equipment is to shoot a static subject in variable settings such as f4 at 1200 shutter speed then at f24 20 shutter speed and you could play with iso settings as well ..

something good is to shoot a object like a collectible figure and keep shooting until you cant get it better try every possible angle ,lighting etc then post up some images and you will get a load of help..

 

[KaraM]

Find new ways to photograph the city/town where you live. Shoot from different angles instead of taking the "standard" shots.

 

[photoman720]

Thanks everyone. I have taken some photos and put them in the gallery in my sig. How are they? Also how should I go about composing photos of larger things. Thanks!!!