Recent content by driver_wedge

One I took recently. First go at using a ND filter, so headed over to the local river for a play about. I was happy enough with that, but realise I have much to learn. [emoji4]

http://ukvapers.org/Thread-Taking-better-pics-of-your-vape-gear-part-1 http://ukvapers.org/Thread-Taking-better-pics-of-your-vape-gear-part-2 There you go. I haven't really watched the video or read the tutorial, but the guy does take some decent photos on a budget.

I know this industry very well and my advice would be to use any manufacturer stock photos that are floating about. Models change so quick that it's often more hassle than it's worth to take your own pics and will be doubly hard for you with your current lack of experience and proper kit...

In the words of Mrs Brown, "That's nice"... very nice, in fact!

I don't know much about taking photos of birds, but I can't imagine swallows being very easy to get accurate focus on. I also can't comment on the quality of the camera's AF system or whether it will function fully on a lens that's higher than f/2.8 - something for you to consider and look into...

Do the manufacturers not have any stock images you can use?

You've always got the ability to go back on all your changes in Lightroom - right back to the start if need be.

Do you shoot in raw?

The 1st one would benefit from having more of the sky and maybe warmed up a touch. Those clouds could be really dramatic looking after some gentle PP.

The 6400 ISO was much too high and the camera was giving you a high f-number in order to avoid over exposure. Your lens won't give so sharp images as a premium lens in any case, but these settings will make it worse. Pop the camera in aperture priority and choose the lowest f-number you can -...

I just had a quick look at one of the images on Flickr and it was showing as being taken with f/20 and ISO 6400 - is there a particular reason why you used these settings?

My attempt.... may not be as sharp as original as I had to take the file size down in order to upload here.

Your exif is saying f/4 on a f/2.8 lens - any particular reason why you're not shooting at f/2.8? I feel the images would benefit from having the subjects more isolated from the background, which the wider aperture would definitely help with...particularly at 200mm.

Don't rush out and buy one unless you need it. I remember having the urge, but now I hate using it and rarely do. I'd rather use my little cheap 50mm f/1.8 lens and make use of whatever available light there is. Sometimes you have no choice but to use flash though.

Yes, as Ian says. It also lights your subjects from above (when bouncing off the ceiling) which creates more natural dimension for facial features and skin tones, rather than a flat paparazzi style photo. In photographic terms, it increases the size of the light source (softer light) and...