Jessica Grace Born 1/10/10 - a 365 - Challenge complete!!!!

Hi Pete just found your 365 thread with baby Jessica.
wow im speechless! amazing work! Jessica is beautiful Congratulations.
Basically im after some advice I want to get in to portraiture so when my wife is pregnant I can do something similar.
your photos or some of the best ive ever seen! incredibly sharp and pin point focus. how is this achieved? I to use a Nikon but its d3100 the only lenses I have are 18-55mm and 55-200mm that came with it.
Im currently looking at maybe 35mm f1.8 or a 50mm f1.8 but to be honest I don't know alot about lenses and what's best.
and advice will be helpful, lenses, lighting anything really

Thank you! and looking forward to Sunday!!
Liam
 
Thanks Liam that is very nice of you to say so!

I would say that I have a long way to go before I get the kind of photos that I aspire to but I am happy to give you advice where I can. I am lucky enough to have a D700 with a good collection of lenses but I think I could get a very similar result a lot of the time with cheaper kit, some of my 365 where taken with a panasonic gf-1 with 20mm prime lens.

I would say there are four important aspects, composition, lighting, post processing and kit, probably in that order of importance. In order to get good results you have to get feedback on your photos and not take offence when people critique them. If somebody takes time to tell me why my photo is rubbish I will listen to what they say and consider it. Most of the time (not all) they are right. Unfortunately there is no short cut to being a great photographer and after a few years of trying to learn I am not even close, but here are a few things to look up and consider...

Composition

Use the rule of thirds, make sure people and animals look into the photo not out, check your backgrounds are uncluttered as possible or thrown out of focus by the depth of field, focus on the (nearest) eye. Look at other photos and see why you like the composition, think about dead space and leading lines before you take the photo.

Lighting

Learn to look at light and understand the limitations of your camera. If there is bright light falling on the grass behind your subject and they are in the shade, you will either get a blown white area behind or an underexposed subject. Learn to use off camera flash to balance the light between your subject and the background. Learn what modifiers such as soft boxes and umbrellas do to light. Learn what soft light and hard light do.

Post processing

You can get everything right in the camera, but I shot in RAW which gives a lot of power to apply what would normally be in camera settings later. I can also correct mistakes and get much more dynamic range out of photos before getting noisy images. I use Lightroom and I love the fact that I can process lots of photos quickly. I have seen great results from Photoshop elements or Gimp.

Kit

Most modern DSLRs are far better that the stuff I couldn't afford when I first started. The prime lenses you mentioned will make a big difference to the sharpness of your images. My favourite lens is the 85mm 1.4, because of the crop factor the 50mm you mentioned will get a similar look. The difference between 1.4 and 1.8 is probably not as great as the difference in the money they cost. Get at least one off camera flash and a soft box and light stand. An sb-600 will trigger from your camera via cls, but you can get a much cheaper flash and trigger it with cheap radio triggers. They will also work outside where the CLS will be unreliable.


I hope that helps. Take lots of photos, ask for critique, have a hard skin when you're given it and enjoy the learning curve!
 
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Hi Pete thank you for your detailed reply :)
Ive been reading alot lately and comparing lots of photographs in an attempt to improve my skill. There so much out there its hard remembering it all.

Also I find myself forgetting the things I must do when taking a photo, but this is just practice. I do usually remember the rule of thirds so that ok :)

I would say lighting is my weakest point at the moment I need to do lots more reading and practising with it . although I feel this will get easier once I get my self a flash.
I have been looking at the SB700 which I believe is the new version of the 600?
I will also looking to soft boxes and umbrellas :)

I have and use Photoshop Elements 9 at the moment, Im still not very clued up on how to do things to be fair. I can clone things and I use the option to change the shadows etc, but I really don't understand anything else :LOL: all the curves etc, straight over! ha.
However im sure with practice and maybe some tuition ill be ok (y)

Do you know why those prime lenses I mentioned make such a difference to sharpness? do they use better glass or something.
I am going to Cornwall in sept with the whole family, Ive been thinking of renting a 50mm prime lens to see how I get on :)

Once again thank you for your reply. I found it very helpful! and look forward to more photos on Sunday.
 
Quickshooter said:
Hi Pete thank you for your detailed reply :)
Ive been reading alot lately and comparing lots of photographs in an attempt to improve my skill. There so much out there its hard remembering it all.

Also I find myself forgetting the things I must do when taking a photo, but this is just practice. I do usually remember the rule of thirds so that ok :)

I would say lighting is my weakest point at the moment I need to do lots more reading and practising with it . although I feel this will get easier once I get my self a flash.
I have been looking at the SB700 which I believe is the new version of the 600?
I will also looking to soft boxes and umbrellas :)

I have and use Photoshop Elements 9 at the moment, Im still not very clued up on how to do things to be fair. I can clone things and I use the option to change the shadows etc, but I really don't understand anything else :LOL: all the curves etc, straight over! ha.
However im sure with practice and maybe some tuition ill be ok (y)

Do you know why those prime lenses I mentioned make such a difference to sharpness? do they use better glass or something.
I am going to Cornwall in sept with the whole family, Ive been thinking of renting a 50mm prime lens to see how I get on :)

Once again thank you for your reply. I found it very helpful! and look forward to more photos on Sunday.
Click to expand...

Hi Liam, I'm not a lens expert but I guess prime lenses have less moving parts so are easier to get really sharp. The 50m 1.8 is what used to be known as a "standard" lens and used to come as a kit lens on many 35mm cameras. On a cropped sensor it is a bit tight for landscapes but is great for portraits and an absolute bargain.
 
ShawWellPete said:
Hi Liam, I'm not a lens expert but I guess prime lenses have less moving parts so are easier to get really sharp. The 50m 1.8 is what used to be known as a "standard" lens and used to come as a kit lens on many 35mm cameras. On a cropped sensor it is a bit tight for landscapes but is great for portraits and an absolute bargain.
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Hey. ah yes I see, that makes sense (y) brilliant well ill try and get one sorted in the next few weeks. Then I can practice my portraiture :)
 
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ShawWellPete said:
7





a quickr pickr post
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What a change.... Pete wish I could of done one of these....:)



:clap: Dave
 
Love this thread. You have a lovely family!

I have just become the father of twin girls and I'm looking for tips on how to photograph them. This thread has given me some great ideas. I noticed the Gingerbread themed nursery from the early pictures. We have a lot of the same stuff too.
 
Oh I love number 2 there... just gorgeous. Look at her standing up so well too - fab Pete. She's so like you!!!!


<but ooooooooooooooooooooooh, that's a scary baby in the pram :D>


Such brilliant shots. Really... they are. :clap:
 
Azure said:
Oh I love number 2 there... just gorgeous. Look at her standing up so well too - fab Pete. She's so like you!!!!


<but ooooooooooooooooooooooh, that's a scary baby in the pram :D>


Such brilliant shots. Really... they are. :clap:
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Thanks Naomi, I'm sure I've said before that of course she looks like me, she's bald and chubby! :LOL:

I agree about that doll, not ours but a friends so can not take the blame....
 
not long now till she's a whole year old!
looking forward to the birthday pics :)
x
 
Just came across this thread. Fantastic work, got a real feeling for the family and it's fantastic to see her grow through the photos!

Col
 
Not bored - just busy doing other things.............still brilliant diary but watch the sharpening , some look a little too much.

#2 from week 47 is fantastic.
 
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tiler65 said:
Not bored - just busy doing other things.............still brilliant diary but watch the sharpening , some look a little too much.

#2 from week 47 is fantastic.
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Thanks Tom, which ones show too much sharpening? I am very unscientific with sharpening, applying some on input to LR and then some on export too, but I tend to do the same thing with all shots which is clearly wrong. If you tell me which one looks worst I'll try and see if I can adjust it a bit and maybe learn in the process.

(y)
 
After a little catch up...did you miss me ;-)

I have to say I loving the last few weeks..but then I like all of the weeks...great seeing her...and the other kids grow up.....I love number 3......did it take long to get baby drool off the lens cap?

GJUK
 
GJUK said:
After a little catch up...did you miss me ;-)

I have to say I loving the last few weeks..but then I like all of the weeks...great seeing her...and the other kids grow up.....I love number 3......did it take long to get baby drool off the lens cap?

GJUK
Click to expand...

Thanks Gary, I did wonder if you had got bored!
 
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