The Beginner, Luck

[luckyblindshot]

Hello everyone,

Just starting to get into photography for the first time. I've never really studied it, but I've spent a good chunk of my young life drawing pictures and learning to set up compositions, so a lot of the principles aren't foreign to me. Still I have a loooot to learn, so feel free to give me some tips. I'm very receptive to criticism and I'll happily hear you out :]

The photos were taken with a Minolta X-700 from the 80's. The first set (sunset photos) was taken with some T-MAX 400 that had been sitting in the camera for a few years. The second set was taken with some new Fujicolor 200. With two exceptions, they were taken with a 50mm fixed lens at f/2.8. With the exception of touching up the black levels, the photos haven't been touched up at all.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

[note: taken at f/4 to bring the bushes into focus]

8.

[note: taken at f/4 to bring the bushes into focus]

9.

10.

11.

12.

Again, feel free to give some feedback!

 

[Juanka]

Always love the grainy look! They're nice pictures, but what makes them stand out is the lovely model. Like she was just born to do this.

 

[luckyblindshot]

Isn't she lovely? I always tell her she looks straight out of 1899 :]

 

[StuckInParadise]

The shadows kill me. you need a fill flash, reflector or something. I actually wish I could turn her around in some of the photos so I could see her face better. With that being said, she is a LOVELY model, and with better lighting and maybe adjusting your iso (I'm not feeling the noise) the photos have potential. I think #3 is my favorite. nice composition.

 

[luckyblindshot]

Can ISO be adjusted on an old film camera? And I can see what you mean by the shadows. I'm more for natural lighting, but I'm still figuring it out. Which pictures are killing you?

 

[tirediron]

Unlike digital cameras, with film, you were restricted to one ISO/ASA for that role; you could shoot above or below the film's rated speed (Google "push processing" and "pull processing") however, you had to do it for the whole roll, or some of the pictures would be incorrectly exposed.

 

[luckyblindshot]

Thank you, sir. In that case I'll probably just leave the camera settings as they are and adjust the environment to compensate for things.

 

[Cheesy_DSLR_Man]

really like the first one with the lens flare, just makes me think, Great photo

good model choice by the way, looks like she has done this before.

 

[luckyblindshot]

She runs an online vintage clothing shop where she models a lot of the clothes, and also a website for her mother's vintage wedding dress shop, so she's done a lot of photo shoots.

the Owl Eyes Blog Here's the blog if anyone's interested.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Can ISO be adjusted on an old film camera? And I can see what you mean by the shadows. I'm more for natural lighting, but I'm still figuring it out. Which pictures are killing you?

I am a newbie but I believe the ISO would be the film speed on the film used in a film camera.

 

[luckyblindshot]

Can ISO be adjusted on an old film camera? And I can see what you mean by the shadows. I'm more for natural lighting, but I'm still figuring it out. Which pictures are killing you?

I am a newbie but I believe the ISO would be the film speed on the film used in a film camera.

I believe you're correct. I was just wondering if you could adjust camera settings to make it act like a different film speed, which tirediron answered in his post.

 

[mfo]

Some nice images here for experimentation. Cropping/toning/B&W conversion etc.

 

[luckyblindshot]

Thanks! I'll definitely be playing around with editing them sometime soon.

 

[Keysersose]

Isn't she lovely? I always tell her she looks straight out of 1899 :]

The lap dancing bar in Sheffield called 1899??

 

[reznap]

#7 is a home run. A lot of Fuji film tends to come out on the magenta side, looks like these have a bit of that (skin tones show it anyway). If you want to try a great film for skin tones, the Kodak Portra 160 (nc or vc) gives very natural results, I can post an example if you'd like.

I like how, with film, you're buying the look.. not processing it. I know it's not that simple but it's a nice alternative to white balance & post processing sometimes - just to see what develops. Nice to see some film stuff anyway.