Well you all may know by now that Friday is usually reserved for Tutorials. However, today I need some help from you!
I am just over the hump on the latest eBook. It is a beginners guide to Photography, not HDR Photography, but DSLR photography in general. I need some advice, I am wondering what the number one thing is that you wish you were told when you picked up your DSLR camera?
It can be anything, I know there are tons of stuff I wish I were told, most importantly what Aperture priority mode was. I read my manual plenty of times, but it never really helped. It wasn’t until someone said, “You know you should try shooting in Aperture Priority mode as it lets you select the Aperture you want and the camera does the rest…” I was floored and became a better photographer after that tip.
Oh and the best one, seems simple, but setting your ISO. I was so used to film cameras I had no idea you could change the ISO on the fly. I was wondering how many pictures I would have to take before I could change it. Silly 35mm camera and the interchangeable film!
So what is the number one thing you wish you were told when you bought your first DSLR? Thanks for the help!
One of the First Pictures I ever took with a DSLR
(Long before HDR for me!)
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
Hi Blake, after the tip to shoot in aperture mode, for me it was the explanation of why I should shoot in raw, not jpg. Hope this helps!
p.s. have you seen the rumors about an E-7 possibly coming out this year?
Raw vs JPEG, that battle took a long time to win me over. It wasn’t until post processing that it finally won me over! E-7 in the future? Maybe I’ll hold out! I am about 3 months away from jumping ship and going Canon or Nikon!
Raw was easier for me as I began training at work in web and graphic design in the mid-90’s. I started in photography after building a decent foundation of experience on the post-processing side.
I am holding out through this year, obviously it is all rumors but September looks promising, http://m43blog.com/tag/olympus-e-7-release-date/. Will make a decision after I see what happens then.
Hi Blake, I thought I was getting a lot out of focus pictures when actually it was camera movement, when handholding camera. The longer the focal length of the lens the faster the shutter speed needs to be. Rule of thumb, if you’re shooting a longer focal length lens, example 200 MM you need to shoot a shutter speed of 180 or fast. What I like about the new DSLR, (some of them) is that you can set auto ISO then choose a minimum shutter speed.
Tri pod work well if your subject is stationary.
That is a great point as well. That simple focal length / shutter speed rule. If your shutter speed is lower than your current focal length it is a good idea to be tripod mounted or braced. The better ISO sensors do help. Unfortunately my camera has a horrible ISO sensor, 800 MAX anything higher makes for some nasty noise!
For me, I would say the number one thing I wish I knew earlier was the relation between the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture in terms of shooting water. I wish I knew that a low ISO and a small aperture would allow me the opportunity to use a longer shutter speed, thus allowing me to give moving water that silky look. Looking forward to reading the book.
Yes, that relationship is incredibly important when shooting water. Great tip, I have covered that one as I felt that was one of the coolest things I learned when I was a beginner. Thank you for the addition!
Setting a single focus point instead of having the camera determine focus, metering modes (evaluative, center weighted, spot metering) and when you should use each, how to shoot in manual mode (i.e., understanding the three part relationship of exposure), when and why you would want to use exposure compensation, zone system. Ooh, and how to use flash (both the pop-up and a shoe mounted flash)–I’m still trying to figure that one out…
Good additions Nick, I am glad to say I have covered all of them so far! Working on the flash and lighting chapter now… I hate it, haha!
The number one thing I wish I was told would have to be that the lenses matter more than the body since in a few years the glass will retain its value while the body with its current sensor will probably be depreciated quite a lot more since sensors & image processing quality will keep getting better every year. I would have invested more money in lenses than the actual body itself.
I also have had to train myself to check the ISO setting since so often I would change the aperture & shutter but forget to change the ISO. I’d be shooting at 3200 in daylight for example.
Awesome point! I am in the market for a new body and have been battling that issue. Go with the more expensive pro body or the armature pro and get better lenses.
My biggest concern right now is managing work flow. I am new to photography and I have all the programs: LR, PS, Bridge, Photomatix, onOne, and Topaz. How do you manage workflow? How do you set it up so that you when you put the memory card in the reader it automatically goes to the right program, downloads on to the intended hard drive. Then, how do you process each photo? Right now, my workflow is not efficient and I am basically “cherry picking” what I feel are the best images and processing them one by one. There has got to be a better way. Help!!!!!
Workflow is a tough one Len. It is one of those things that is so subjective to the individual and how that individuals mind operates. Mine is a very meticulous process. I do not use any programs like Bridge or LR to do the categorizing for me. It might sound crazy, but I believe my system is better, because my system works for me and how my brain is wired. Basic concept:
1. Take pictures
2. Bring all pics into one folder “Photos>Dated Photography” I then name it by the date the images were taken, something like this “Photos>Dated Photography>20130317 Ha Ha Tonka Pics” when I put the date in year,month,day it puts them in order.
This works for me because I also have a dated photographic memory, meaning, I can remember the lighting from that day based on the pictures I took and the folder they were in. It just “works” for me.
3. I then make another folder “HDR” and “The Used”. After I have used the 5 pics for HDR, I put them in “The Used” Folder and save the HDR in the “HDR” folder.
4. Once all of the photos from that trip have been HDR’ed I make another folder in the “HDR” folder called “Processed”
5. As I go through all of the HDR images and post process them in Photoshop (yes everyone of them I process differently) I put them in the “Processed” folder.
6. As I go through each step I never save over the original files. So In “The Used” folder is all of the original Raws.
In the “HDR” folder is all of the original tone mapped HDR images.
In the “Processed” folder is all of the final post processed folder.
I know there are many ways better than mine for some people, but as I stated before, this way works for me!
It’s taken me a long time to learn, but one of the best tips I ever got was to stop recomposing the image after I locked focus with the center focus point. Instead, I’ve learned to compose the image and then select the focus point over the main subject. It’s amazing how moving the camera after locking focus, even just a little, can reduce the sharpness of your image. I’m getting sharper images and more keepers now.
Hmmm, I may have to try that. The sharpness would then be relative to the focal plane of the Focus lock after movement. That usually works fine for me, but in some cases I could see how that could be a reduction in sharpness. I will have to experiment with that one. Thanks for planting the seed!