First pics posted

[saycheese76]

So I'm new to digital and know nothing about post. I tried to nail the exposure in the camera, so all I did was tweak them a bit in the nikon software. I know they are inconsistent as far as having the same brightness. I was just playing around trying to figure the software out. I shot these with a dark blanket behind the boys and a reading light from the side. The big guy was a bit more cooperative than the little guy. Any input is appreciated!

 

[PatrickHMS]

Cute kid...

A little more light (and / or a faster lens), off camera strobe, and a little better white balance. Too many deep shadows on the face.

Maybe a different color backdrop.

Soft focus works okay for me, but too many head parts are cut off.

Last pic makes him look like he needs to wipe his nose.

 

[saycheese76]

Cute kid...

A little more light (and / or a faster lens), off camera strobe, and a little better white balance. Too many deep shadows on the face.

Maybe a different color backdrop.

Soft focus works okay for me, but too many head parts are cut off.

Last pic makes him look like he needs to wipe his nose.

I am trying to figure out how white balance works. I used a greycard when I shot b&w film. I think there is a white card type deal you can get. I'll try that. So an off cam strobe would just be used to fill the shadows from one side? As far as the focus goes, I was using AF in single servo mode and I don't know how to tighten it up yet. The little guy always needs to wipe his nose.:mrgreen: Thank you for your input!

 

[PatrickHMS]

Others will know a lot more than I do about this, maybe I oughta "keep my mouth shut" about it.

Off camera to the side used to fill shadows on one side might create shadows on the other side of nose, and in recesses in face where shadows are now.

One flash pretty much directly in front of subject (behind camera) bounced off ceiling, or use 2 strobes. I guess that shadows can work in some cases, but takes some practice to know how to make them work for you.

You can keep it simple, or you can also start getting into triggers, multiple strobes, umbrellas, reflectors...

 

[saycheese76]

You can keep it simple, or you can also start getting into triggers, multiple strobes, umbrellas, reflectors...

I broke the bank getting the camera, so maybe I'll try outdoors or window lit next time. Thanks again!

 

[PatrickHMS]

understood...

That makes a faster lens like a 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 even more useful.

 

[saycheese76]

understood...

That makes a faster lens like a 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 even more useful.

Yeah, but I don't think I'd be able to get tight enough with a 50. That being said, a fast 50 is on the list.

 

[PatrickHMS]

Yeah, but I don't think I'd be able to get tight enough with a 50. That being said, a fast 50 is on the list.

What did you shoot these photos with?

 

[saycheese76]

What did you shoot these photos with?

D300. This is my very first effort with digital. I'll come up to speed soon enough. I'm just not used to the camera doing anything for me. All my experience is with manual cameras and a handheld meter.

 

[PatrickHMS]

I mean what mm was the lens at when pics were taken?

 

[saycheese76]

I mean what mm was the lens at when pics were taken?

Oh. yeah. Sorry. The tight ones were in the 60-70mm range.

 

[PatrickHMS]

Difference between that and faster 50mm is only 10mm, bet you could make it owrk by you moving a litle closer, and faster lens would make a ton of difference.

Or, increase the ISO and try the shoot again with same lens, essentially increasing lighting in the shot.

 

[saycheese76]

Difference between that and faster 50mm is only 10mm, bet you could make it owrk by you moving a litle closer, and faster lens would make a ton of difference.

Or, increase the ISO and try the shoot again with same lens, essentially increasing lighting in the shot.

Fair enough. It was hard getting the lit part bright enough while still keeping the shadow side dark...

 

[dtornabene1]

As a beginner, I personally think you did a great job! I especially like the one where the subject is moving his hands.

With that said, here you go. First let's discuss White Balance and how to correct it. What is White Balance? Well, it is a very unique adjustment with digital cameras. In the old days of film, a photographer used different types of film depending on shooting conditions.

Let's keep it real simple (I can get more complex if you need me to). Your camera is going to look at a scene and try to reproduce it as you are seeing it. The problem is your camera, any camera, is just not as smart as your eyes and brain. While people are not perfect, take clothes from a store under their lights and watch the color change when you hit sunlight, we do the job a lot better than cameras.

Now you can get into grey cards for your white balance, but there are some advantages by avoiding this in your beginning, big ones. You want to learn how to take your camera off of automatic or program mode and getting a grey card can be the equivalent to limiting your understanding and creativity as choosing those shooting modes.

Color ranges from cool to warm. Now instead of explaining how or why, I'm just going to jump right into what they are and what we call color temperature.

We use the Kelvin scale, hence the "K" after the temp's number. Lower numbers are cooler, or have more blue, and higher numbers are warmer, or have more orange.

Your pictures are very warm, but that does not mean they are bad. Simple question, do you like them? If so, the color temperature is fine. Are you trying to reproduce a more accurate skin tone, cool it up a bit.

Later you can get an Expo Disc, it just the best product possible, but your not ready for that.

Second, the focus issue. While some will argue manually focusing is always better than auto focus, auto focus is always, again always going to work better providing you are using it right.

Our eyes can not focus contrast as well and not even remotely as fast as today's cameras. But where are you focusing? Chances are you are using the all camera's focus points. Don't do that. Use the one in the center only, you can change this setting in the camera or on the fly.

The center of the camera will focus most accurately and you can control what is in focus, the real advantage. So let's use your pictures. You want perfect focus? Take the center red square you see through the view finder and focus on your subject's eye. Then re-frame for the shot you want.

You probably have the lens that came with the camera, so you are going to be limited on picture quality and focus effects. Don't worry about that, you have a lot more to learn before you'll need to know this. Try opening the Aperture as wide as the lens will go, that is the lowest number, while asking your subject to sit real still. You'll let more light in but blur the background. The faster shutter will allow everything to be black.

Lastly, try coming in real close just getting the face or eyes alone. You don't necessarily need all that black around the subject. Also try tilting the camera to the right or left by 30 degrees or so. Play with it and get creative.

Any future spending should be on better lenses. Any professional photographer will tell you, it's not the light, the camera, or any accessory you start with, it's the lens.

Ask more specific questions if you wish and I will respond. I hope this helps.

-Nick

 

[saycheese76]

We use the Kelvin scale, hence the "K" after the temp's number. Lower numbers are cooler, or have more blue, and higher numbers are warmer, or have more orange.

Is there anywhere I should look for a ballpark list of k values to use as a starting point? The manual had a little chart. Perhaps I'll start there.

Our eyes can not focus contrast as well and not even remotely as fast as today's cameras. But where are you focusing? Chances are you are using the all camera's focus points. Don't do that. Use the one in the center only, you can change this setting in the camera or on the fly.

The center of the camera will focus most accurately and you can control what is in focus, the real advantage. So let's use your pictures. You want perfect focus? Take the center red square you see through the view finder and focus on your subject's eye. Then re-frame for the shot you want.

Yep. I had it on the bazillion focus zone setting. I'll change it to one center zone and go for the eyes.

Try opening the Aperture as wide as the lens will go, that is the lowest number, while asking your subject to sit real still. You'll let more light in but blur the background. The faster shutter will allow everything to be black.

I had the lens opened up as far as I could. I have the 18-200 3.5-5.6 that the camera came with. I was at 65mm for most of them and that put me at f5. I was shooting in manual.

Thank you for so much specific and knowledgeable advice. I am very grateful!
Jason