A ? from a newbie... ok maybe 2

[NICKERJONES]

Ok first off I am a huge newbie. I have lurked for a while but just got a d3000 a few days ago. My dad brought it in to work and said " i know you have been looking at these , so here ya go!"
Anyway I took it to a hockey game last night since I want to try sports photos. I know Hockey is hard to shoot because of the ice and all. How do I get the Photos brighter? I think I had iso at 1600 .... I still dont know all the controls. I dont have a photo editing software so I cant crop or anything yet. Which one should I use ( Cheaper as better so I can learn some things before I drop a ton of dough) ? I also plan on taking a few classes to help me out with learning the basics etc.... I know these are bad but hey I gotta start somewhere..




and then here are a few of my dogs. The first few pics i took , straight out of box just messing around.

 

[robertwsimpson]

What mode are you shooting in? If you're shooting in any of the "automatic" modes, just bump your EV+/- toward the plus side to brighten up a photo.

If you want something to post process pictures with, everyone here uses gimp. I personally do not like that software, so I use one called raw therapee. Both are free.

have fun man!

 

[Inst!nct]

Well first of all, congratz!
ill start off with just the pictures themselves

#1.
I like the action in this, your shutter speed was fast enough to capture the moment which is always good, what im wondering however is your aperture, because i can see all the way to the back of the rink which scares me considering your shooting at 1600ISO with a not so bright picture due to your closed aperture. I cant check the EXIF since im on my laptop but would love to know

#2
Great picture, what bothers me the most is both the halo around the dog, and the dog to the right of him, considering you were probably only taking snapshots, this was a great starting photo. A tip for taking pictures of anythign that lives is to get to their eye level, when taking pictures from your standing eye level, its nothing new, but to change the angle and play with it is what photography is all about.

#3
I wont say much bout this picture, its really more of a snapshot then anything else, if i were to tell you to go back and do this, i'd tell you to lower your aperture, change the background to one more pleasant then a chain link fence, bend down so you get their eye level, and possibly focus on only one or two dogs doing the same thing, as a clear subject, because here its a bit all over the place.

So, i recommend that if you havent, get a good photography book, i dont know of many since i pretty much read everything i could online since im not much of a book person, also learn to change your angles, read a book on exposure (very important), but maybe im overloading you, you want to do it in steps, reading a whole bunch is never good, mainly go out and start taking pictures, gj and keep the work up!

Programs you could have, from free to expensive:
gimp
picasa (best free one for quick edits)
photoshop elements
lightroom
photoshop

I suggest you get lightroom, because i've had all of those and its really my favorite one, gimp is free, elements is about 90 i believe, lighroom 300 new, and photoshop i beleive 400? youd have to look that up, but yes, gimp for the time being im guessing, or picasa, gimp lets you do more technically, but picasa is straight forward, and free

 

[Goontz]

You say you don't have any editing software...use the packaged software that came with the camera. Congrats on the new toy. There's a lot to learn, but read and soak up as much as you can, and keep shootin' away. Welcome.

 

[Big Mike]

Boo Calgary Flames

I'd suggest doing some reading on metering and exposure.

The issue with the hockey shot, is that it's under exposed and the reason for that, is that the auto mode and all the white ice. When the camera's meter sees all that white in the shot...it just thinks that it's too bright, so in give you less exposure. You have to compensate for that by adding exposure. (read the manual for Exposure Compensation).

I dont have a photo editing software so I cant crop or anything yet

The camera should have come with some basic software.

 

[Goontz]

Boo Calgary Flames

Don't worry, the Stars are there too...:lmao:

 

[NICKERJONES]

it was an an auto mode...
I set the Iso to 1600 but when i looked at the info on the pic , it said iso 450... I have a lot of reading to do ...

BigMIke ... Come on cheer for an Alberta team that is actually gonna make the playoffs. BTW I am from Okc ( my wife is from calgary which is why i root for them) but the Oilers AHL team is supposedly about to be relocated to OKC...

But thanks guys!! Ill see what I can figure out!

Oh and I Donwloaded GImp on my mac.... I opened it and nothing comes up ! I dunno what the hell is going on with it . It shows Gimp up top. But there is nothing on the screen.

 

[icassell]

Lightroom 3 Beta is available on the Adobe website now for FREE (it will deactivate in April). This gives you a chance, however, to see if you like it.

 

[Goontz]

Oh and I Donwloaded GImp on my mac.... I opened it and nothing comes up ! I dunno what the hell is going on with it . It shows Gimp up top. But there is nothing on the screen.

If there's problems with the program or install, that's another issue. Note that if you simply open it, and not an image, you won't see much except the menu options and maybe some toolboxes on either side.

It seems like you don't have much knowledge in the area of editing/post-processing (no offense meant, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). If that's the case, GIMP, while [almost] as powerful as Photoshop, is far from being the easiest program to learn and use. For basic edits (cropping, minor color correction, etc), I would recommend something more like Picasa (already mentioned by someone) or the software that came with your camera. Adobe Lightroom 3 (also mentioned before) is also in beta right now if you want something a bit more powerful, and free for a few months.

 

[PHILLIP MAC]

I think for your first pics there good , use the camera as much as possible look at good photos and read as much as you can on the subject . There are plenty of free websites teaching photography out there (mine for ex) a good eye is important and knowledge on every facet on how your equipment works.

 

[LarryD]

I think that everybody has covered your need to increase exposure when the meter is likely to be fooled..

But it is usually easily fixed in post processing.

I think that you should also work on proper framing and composition....you seem to be shooting with the subject smack in the middle of the frame which is not usually the most pleasing look..

something like this may be nicer..

Also, with the jumping pup.... leave room in front of him so he has someplace to visually jump to..

Good luck..great start........