A Dummy's Guide To Photography :)

Have you seen http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=142847

I don't have time to look now at your rapidshare link. If you want confirmation of your facts/proof reading/comments put it up in a thread in TP to get help..... make edits then make a new thread in tutorials with the result. help at all levels is welcome in tutorials.

In case it gets as far as new tutorial....I'm off for 10 days soon so PM a mod if no one notices a new tutorial awaiting approval.
 
There are links to the 'choosing a DSLR' thread (that you helped with) in that first post where a development thread in the 'talk' section lead to a new tutorial section thread. Up to you if you go that way or not.
 
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This file is neither allocated to a Premium Account, or a Collector's Account, and can therefore only be downloaded 10 times.

This limit is reached.

To download this file, the uploader either needs to transfer this file into his/her Collector's Account, or upload the file again. The file can later be moved to a Collector's Account. The uploader just needs to click the delete link of the file to get further information.
 
:LOL:

Think we may have some wires crossed.

I've just deleted a duplicate of this thread from tutorials.

Tutorials posts need to have the content in them - not referred to a download link (unless it is in the links section to another site with a tutorial). hence the suggestion about posting the content in the talk sections for comment and help, then posting the whole thing in tutorials when edited.
 
It's the rapidshare link that gives the error.
 
depending on which way you want to go with this after what Rob has said, let me know if you need this hosting as I can put it on my webspace for you!
 
Looks like FP needs to read A Dummy's Guide to File Sharing before we'll be able to read A Dummy's Guide to Photography!
 
Okay so bad night - too much vodka, passing out at 11, stolen phone equate to a really really **** night and a really really bad hangover.

I will re-do the tutorial another time to post in the tutorials section and for the time being is anyone who has a stupid amount of hosting available willing to host on their domain? I only have 1gb allowance per month :(
 
foodpoison said:
New link, hosted thanks to Harvey Nikon (y) A Basic Guide To Photography

The topic should be up shortly in tutorials, but I would like feedback on the facts/figures/concept of it.
Click to expand...

I have not read much but have found many incorrect statements
Some comments are too generalised as well
One issue is this :
‘A lower number (2500k) makes the image a lot cooler. A higher number (10,000k) makes a much warmer image. Cool is more blue, warm is more orange/red.’
The facts are the reverse BUT you add this adjustment to a wrong temperature to correct it.
2500K is very warm and 10,000k is very blue.
Another is
‘Focal length describes the type of lens it is. At 50mm, it is pretty much the standard lens.’
This is true on a 35mm film or full frame sensor BUT not on smaller or larger film or sensors point and shoot have very small sensor so a 500mm lens would be a long lens where as a large format is wide.

The thing about writing any thing like this is you have to get it 100% right. If not then its best not to do it.
 
Chaz Photos said:
I have not read much but have found many incorrect statements
Some comments are too generalised as well
One issue is this :
‘A lower number (2500k) makes the image a lot cooler. A higher number (10,000k) makes a much warmer image. Cool is more blue, warm is more orange/red.’
The facts are the reverse BUT you add this adjustment to a wrong temperature to correct it.
2500K is very warm and 10,000k is very blue.
Another is
‘Focal length describes the type of lens it is. At 50mm, it is pretty much the standard lens.’
This is true on a 35mm film or full frame sensor BUT not on smaller or larger film or sensors point and shoot have very small sensor so a 500mm lens would be a long lens where as a large format is wide.

The thing about writing any thing like this is you have to get it 100% right. If not then its best not to do it.
Click to expand...

I know about the colour temperature bit, but decided to write it in simple terms, as after all it is for a beginner. Why swamp them down by saying "The higher the number the cooler it is, but your camera is actually just making adjustments so the lower the number the cooler your image will be".
I may have worded it in such a way so as to state it as fact by accident, so when I get a few more comments I'll alter it.

I will add in the crop sensor bit. I didn't want to confuse people but I suppose it's a necessity.

As far as your closing statement mate, that's why I published it here for comments and just checking all the facts.
I'm sure when writing a book you get other people to check it over so what's different here? If no one ever embarked on attempting to do something for fear of doing it wrong then no one would ever get anything done.
 
Top notch for doing it Sean and a great addition to TP!
Only needs a couple of very very very minor adjustments apparently :)

Now finally when someone asks for a beginners guide the words 'Understanding exposure' as a first point of reference will be changed to 'Check out this guide'. Easy to understand, instant to get and all in the one place.

You are a true gent for making this and for giving it up freely to help people.

Nice one dude (y)
 
smoothedit said:
Top notch for doing it Sean and a great addition to TP!
Only needs a couple of very very very minor adjustments apparently :)

Now finally when someone asks for a beginners guide the words 'Understanding exposure' as a first point of reference will be changed to 'Check out this guide'. Easy to understand, instant to get and all in the one place.

You are a true gent for making this and for giving it up freely to help people.

Nice one dude (y)
Click to expand...

Exactly my intentions :)
Glad to be a help :)
 
It's nicely done and well laid out.

There is one bit I disagree with though. You state ISO 1600 is 4x more sensitive to light than ISO 100.

Think about it logically:

ISO 200 is twice as sensitive as ISO 100
ISO 400 is twice as sensitive as ISO 200

So:

ISO 400 is four times as sensitive as ISO 100 i.e. it needs 1/4 of the light.

ISO 1600 needs four stops less light but that is not the same as four times more sensitive.


ISO 1600 is 16 times as sensitive as ISO 100. i.e. it needs 1/16 of the light.


Steve.
 
I have to agree with chaz (and i agree with you about fear of doing it wrong) but i didnt find it a particularly helpful guide. I'm not a total novice (had a camera for 6 months) so i understood what you were saying, but i would not have done 6 months ago. Thinking about ISO for ebay photo's ? ISO is an extremely creative tool and while i can see where your coming from, it may mislead beginners a bit. Still life images could easily be under the aperture setting heading rather than saying ISO is the most important thing to think about, so i think you need to explain these better rather than just having 3 lists.

'i am taking high quality photos of a mobile phone for a magazine' This is'nt aimed at beginners really !

The flow charts are way too 'school like' and also contain spelling errors and broken words, the cartoons about focusing and recomposing dont explain the technique well enough, unless you already understand the principle.

I would feel a mean going through all the things i feel could be better (sorry, just being truthful) so i'll try to summerise the overall impression i get. The continuity of visual diagrams and prose change throughout so it feels 'messy' as though its been cobbled together. I dont think the quality of written explanations is good enough to give confidence to a beginner and at the same time i think you've relied on diagrams to explain important details that need clearer writing.

I think it's great that you've taken so much time to put this together, but it doesnt come across as being very helpful to your targeted readers.

I would not write this reply if i wasnt trying to be helpful because ive had similar problems writing brouchures for my business. To me it makes perfect sense but then i've been advised by friends that it is not that clear and when ilook back months later i realise how pants my explanations were. I'm glad my friends told me, because i may have given off the wrong impression.
 
Huujuu said:
I have to agree with chaz (and i agree with you about fear of doing it wrong) but i didnt find it a particularly helpful guide. I'm not a total novice (had a camera for 6 months) so i understood what you were saying, but i would not have done 6 months ago. Thinking about ISO for ebay photo's ? ISO is an extremely creative tool and while i can see where your coming from, it may mislead beginners a bit. Still life images could easily be under the aperture setting heading rather than saying ISO is the most important thing to think about, so i think you need to explain these better rather than just having 3 lists.

'i am taking high quality photos of a mobile phone for a magazine' This is'nt aimed at beginners really !

The flow charts are way too 'school like' and also contain spelling errors and broken words, the cartoons about focusing and recomposing dont explain the technique well enough, unless you already understand the principle.

I would feel a mean going through all the things i feel could be better (sorry, just being truthful) so i'll try to summerise the overall impression i get. The continuity of visual diagrams and prose change throughout so it feels 'messy' as though its been cobbled together. I dont think the quality of written explanations is good enough to give confidence to a beginner and at the same time i think you've relied on diagrams to explain important details that need clearer writing.

I think it's great that you've taken so much time to put this together, but it doesnt come across as being very helpful to your targeted readers.

I would not write this reply if i wasnt trying to be helpful because ive had similar problems writing brouchures for my business. To me it makes perfect sense but then i've been advised by friends that it is not that clear and when ilook back months later i realise how pants my explanations were. I'm glad my friends told me, because i may have given off the wrong impression.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to comment. To be honest it was cobbled together. My girlfriend didn't have a clue about photography but wanted to take nice pictures of landscapes in the lake district, and I had 2 days to write it.

I gave it to her, she read through it and said it was very helpful. Another friend of mine who wants to get into photography also said it was helpful.

As far as the flowchart goes, stupid me for not checking but the pdf conversion must have confused it slightly.

As far as the examples of subject matter where aperture, shutter speed or ISO are of the greater importance, I did note that this is not the extent of them and that they do vary.

You say you're not a total novice and that you wouldn't have understood it 6 months ago? I don't know how someone can say that...
I've given it to 2 total beginners and both have said that they found it extremely useful and that is more valuable to me than someone who understands all the principals that I'm writing about.

However, as far as the, as you put it, 'continuity of prose v diagrams' goes, no doubt it could be improved upon as it was a total rush job that I thought I might as well share with other people.

Sorry if that came across defensive, it wasn't meant to be, just explaining my thought train. Genuinely thanks for commenting.
 
Phew, i'm glad you didnt take it too badly. My comment about not understanding it 6 months ago might have been a bit ott, and had a friend given it too me i would have taken the effort to understand it, but as a novice i was looking for things that didnt take too much mental effort on my part (lazy i know, but people do look for the simplest, clearest explanation)

Best of luck with it.

No, it didnt come across as defensive.
 
foodpoison said:
I gave it to her, she read through it and said it was very helpful. Another friend of mine who wants to get into photography also said it was helpful.
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This may be how they find it, as anyone with no understanding would take this to be fact and not understand how different things might be when they have a greater understanding.
It needs to be right first time
And I guess Dummies Guide must have brought out a book already
I just looked and there is ‘Idiots digital photography’ £9.99 as well as a Dummies one £7.99
SO I see it as a market well covered.
 
I know the subject well, and as far as I know there weren't any really terrible mistakes - 95 if not 99% of the information was correct. It just might not have been as clear and precise as I had intended. Please stop implying that I have no clue what I'm talking about, as that is how it is coming across. To me at least.
 
foodpoison said:
I know the subject well, and as far as I know there weren't any really terrible mistakes - 95 if not 99% of the information was correct.
Click to expand...

I think you're right. and I think the diagrams are helpful too. Just go through it and refine it where neede.

I must have been bored this morning as I thought of something you could use as an analogy to show the relationship between shutter speed and aperture.

Think of it as a tap filling up a bucket. The tap is the aperture and the amount of time is the shutter speed.

Correct exposure is filling the bucket just to the top.

You can do it with a fast flow for a short time or a slow flow over a longer time.

Want a faster ISO? half the size of the bucket - needs less water (light).


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
I think you're right. and I think the diagrams are helpful too. Just go through it and refine it where neede.

I must have been bored this morning as I thought of something you could use as an analogy to show the relationship between shutter speed and aperture.

Think of it as a tap filling up a bucket. The tap is the aperture and the amount of time is the shutter speed.

Correct exposure is filling the bucket just to the top.

You can do it with a fast flow for a short time or a slow flow over a longer time.

Want a faster ISO? half the size of the bucket - needs less water (light).


Steve.
Click to expand...

Water pressure = ambient light level ;)
 
I dont think it was a waste of time at all.
Dont give up! Keep developing it and it will undoubtedly be of great use to entry level togs!

I think you should be commended for doing it - the thing I like is that it is very accessable with the diagrams and the way it is written - it does not overwhelm with page upon page of text!
 
HoppyUK said:
Water pressure = ambient light level ;)
Click to expand...

I was going to add that but I thought there were enough variables for now.

I suppose that by the time you have explained all of the variables and how they relate to shutter speed, aperture, etc. you could just explain how it actually works!

Steve.
 
I think its bloody good :)

Simple and clear and not overwhelmed with tech jargon! (y)
 
Steve Smith said:
I think you're right. and I think the diagrams are helpful too. Just go through it and refine it where neede.

I must have been bored this morning as I thought of something you could use as an analogy to show the relationship between shutter speed and aperture.

Think of it as a tap filling up a bucket. The tap is the aperture and the amount of time is the shutter speed.

Correct exposure is filling the bucket just to the top.

You can do it with a fast flow for a short time or a slow flow over a longer time.

Want a faster ISO? half the size of the bucket - needs less water (light).


Steve.
Click to expand...

What a great analogy (y) Very helpful
 
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