DSLR Skills 2012

The goblin

The goblin

<span class="poty">POTY Winner 2015</span></br>
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Marsha
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Hi

A few of us doing the TP 2012 52 challenge have also signed up to DSLR Skills course for this year. It's a 6 month course where they take you back to basics. Here's a link for anyone interested:

http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/DSLR-Skills/

There is further information in the Practical Photography magazine.

Here is my entry for this month:
http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/Photographer-of-the-Year-2011/Media-Gallery-Detail/?mediaItemId=236882

This months task is to shoot any of your favourite subjects as a B&W image, but as a JPEG, concentrating on your cameras focus points.

Feel free to tag along, add photos or anything else(y)
 
The goblin said:
Hi

A few of us doing the TP 2012 52 challenge have also signed up to DSLR Skills course for this year. It's a 6 month course where they take you back to basics. Here's a link for anyone interested:

http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/DSLR-Skills/

There is further information in the Practical Photography magazine.

Here is my entry for this month:
http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/Photographer-of-the-Year-2011/Media-Gallery-Detail/?mediaItemId=236882

This months task is to shoot any of your favourite subjects as a B&W image, but as a JPEG, concentrating on your cameras focus points.

Feel free to tag along, add photos or anything else(y)
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Nice entry Marsha.
 
I'm in. This is my B&W. Any 'shiny' connection is entirely non-coincidental.

IMG_4188c.jpg
 
I've subscribed to Practical Photography and have also signed up for this DSLR skills project. Really need to get something submitted for the first module.

I'm also excitedly waiting on my Black Rapid strap that was part of the subscription offer! Maybe if it arrives in time I could shoot that?!
 
paulbillington said:
You can also get 6 months subscription to PP for £10
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Well, not quite ;). That's the headline, but you actually have to subscribe for 13 months, and only the first 6 are that price, so it's not exactly an honest advert. That said, it's still a pretty good deal I guess.

I've enrolled, but so far am struggling for inspiration for the first shot. And I've only got 4 days left to do it!
 
Southdowns said:
Well, not quite ...so it's not exactly an honest advert...
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I agree. I think it is very very misleading. I was half way through signing up before I realised.

In fact I seem to recall that it is even worse than it looks. Subscriptions are normally 12 months. So I suspect the reason that they say a minimum of 13 months for the offer is so you also get sucked into a second year's subscription.
 
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Get 6 issues, by direct debit, for £10. Just remember to cancel the dd, so it is possible without the full 13 issues.
 
Well, you can, but that's against the terms of the offer, which is 13 months minimum, so you could find you have to pay anyway. I doubt they'd pursue it though, and all they say they'll do is reclaim the cost of the free gift (spirit level); I'll keep that to one side!
 
OK, here's my first homework:


Homework 1 - Misty Field.jpg by MarkBerry1963, on Flickr

Feels odd shooting in jpeg and in B&W after getting used to raw, but it's not a bad lesson having to think about how the shot will look without PP.
 
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They should still send you an email; they did me.

You have until 18th to upload for this module.

PM me and I'll forward the email they send onto you.
 
I've got my mag (but not the email) and that's pretty much the brief!

A head and shoulders portrait of a person (no pets please) with the DSLR set to aperture priority mode. Setting f5.6 or wider and zoom your kit lens out to the longest focal length. Prime lenses are ok if you have one. Shoot outdoors in shade for best results. Set low ISO and shoot in RAW or JPEG mode using picture style if you want to.

The gallery closes the 15 Apr.

Mandy this is so your month(y)!!!!
 
I've went and missed the deadline for the first homework assignment. The dog ate it, honest!

What really happened was that I never got the confirmation email when I signed up, except that I did. Googlemail however had decided it was spam and filtered it. I only found it this morning. I've got a shot ready to go as well. :(
 
The goblin said:
I've got my mag (but not the email) and that's pretty much the brief!

A head and shoulders portrait of a person (no pets please) with the DSLR set to aperture priority mode. Setting f5.6 or wider and zoom your kit lens out to the longest focal length. Prime lenses are ok if you have one. Shoot outdoors in shade for best results. Set low ISO and shoot in RAW or JPEG mode using picture style if you want to.

The gallery closes the 15 Apr.

Mandy this is so your month(y)!!!!
Click to expand...

Out of interest, I'm posting 'Creative Tips' for portraits in pinterest if any one wants to download them on their phone as handy hints?

Also, happy to meet up with any one in London if they want to create a portrait together - I'll walk you through my approach and share my reflector with you!? I'm most free at the beginning of April.

Cheers Mandy
 
I'm already following you in Pinterest and FB(y) Portraits is definitely a weak area for me.

I have to ask what is your lens of choice?

I'd love to meet up with you at some point, but with all my recent sick leave April isn't any good! As I start a new job (should have started two weeks ago) which is just on the edge of London. There's a tube link really close so potential to arrange something in the future.
 
I always use: 50mm at f2.8 or f3.2 on 'av' mode. I sit on the ground / or crouch and ask the subjects to sit on some steps. Sitting or leaning helps the body relax into a natural pose. The client holds a small reflector on their knee. The person faces the sun (but is covered by open shade eg a tree or shadow of a building).

Recently, I've added a sigma ring flash to the mix (2nd hand) on TTL. This combo works for me - as I use the auto modes I'm free to flirt with the model and generate a natural smile.

Cheers Mandy
 
manda said:
Also, happy to meet up with any one in London if they want to create a portrait together - I'll walk you through my approach and share my reflector with you!? I'm most free at the beginning of April.
Cheers Mandy
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Mandy, I would be up for meeting up for a portrait photoshoot, and would be really interested to learn from you. I'm happy to come in to London or if you prefer I would be happy to host a gathering here in Marlow (or out in the countryside) - half way between London and Oxford - so might be better for Marsha??
 
Ooo Marlow is not too far from me, I'd be up for it(y)

AliMoore said:
So are we just learning from each other is that the whole idea[/QUOTE

The idea is you learn from the articles and put it to test by practicing a lot (I find) The fact this forum exists is a bonus as we do learn from each other! I've learnt loads doing the photo 52 project and it's only March!
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Typically, i'm late to see this.

Can anyone tell me if i'm too late to subscribe to the course?
 
Cliveyp said:
Typically, i'm late to see this.

Can anyone tell me if i'm too late to subscribe to the course?
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Not too late, as long as you complete 4 or the 6 modules, you get your certificate.
 
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