Tutorial The TP Tips Bank

Attention Noobies (like me):

(1) read this thread...!
(2) look at other members submitted images - plagiarise their methods (not their ideas)
(3) most importantly - don't be afraid to ask

J.
 
For landscapes get a decent tripod - A cheapy will do if that's all you can afford but the more you spend the more you will realise that it's money well spent.

Dont be afraid to extend those exposures for as long as is needed - better colour saturation and is brilliant when shooting water (lakes, sea's, reservoirs etc)

A question asked by most new starters is why are all my skies blown out and white? or why are my skies beautiful and colourful but my foreground is black with no detail? It's the same problem - and it's all to do with the difference in exposure (light) between the bright sky and relatively dark foreground. One of the only solutions are ND grad filters. These slow down the light in the brighter sky part of the shot and give the foreground a few extra stops to expose properly.
 
great tips!!

I tried phil T's defog and pop.... your right! (I at first thought 500!!! no way!!) but it works!
 
When photographing children, ask them to try and spot their own reflection in your lens - guaranteed eye contact!!!

Anth
 
magpieant said:
When photographing children, ask them to try and spot their own reflection in your lens - guaranteed eye contact!!!

Anth
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I've heard this recently too, in a magazine I think....Sounds like a great tip to get them to keep a look at the lens! Thanks for that.
 
Hiya mate.

Aye, it was in one of those 'free' magazines that Venomator gave us ;)

Happy days!

Another tip ...... if going out photographing with a mate, make sure he is actually interested in getting some pictures, rather than chatting up the (albeit very good looking) lass with the big @@ who works in the first camera shop you pass!!!

No names mentioned Stu!

Anth.
 
Just remembered another one...

Before taking a photograph, always remove the lens cap from the front of the lens. Otherwise your pictures can come out very underexposed.
 
don't attempt a long exposure of water without a tripod...
 
I got this piece of advice from a friend:
If you're taking a shot, look at the scene through the viewfinder for about five seconds if you can.
Think of what should and should not be there and whether you can fix it somehow (best by recomposing, imo).

The same thing goes when editing.
 
When shooting macro use manual focus and move the camera in or out to focus not the focus ring on the lens.
 
I drill a small hole in the little plastic back-plates that fit on the spare batteries to protect the contacts. Drill the hole anywhere off centre and then mark a red spot on the battery through the hole.
Put the plate on the battery so that red spot is not visible if the battery is fully charged and put it on the other way around (so that the red spot shows) when it been used.

Bob.

PS....If you notice other red spots on your equipment it may be symptomatic of something a little more serious. ;)
 
Thats quite a handy tip Bob!

Another one (not sure if it's been done), is if youre shooting a wedding or a function (without your bag to hand).

Empty memory cards in your trouser pocket...Full ones in your jacket pocket :)
 
One I learnt today. (Canon 30D, don't know about others)

Accurate manual focus.

Set lens to Manual Focus, press shutter halfway turn focusing ring slowly and camera will beep when it's in focus. (Not tried this yet but I assume it means on a Mid (AF) point.

Give it a go!
 
Matty777 said:
One I learnt today. (Canon 30D, don't know about others)

Accurate manual focus.

Set lens to Manual Focus, press shutter halfway turn focusing ring slowly and camera will beep when it's in focus. (Not tried this yet but I assume it means on a Mid (AF) point.

Give it a go!
Click to expand...

Yup, the focus point will also flash



A tip from me that I saw in a mag and i've tried it and it works a treat:

If you don't have a fancy water/weather proof camera/lens and you want to shoot in the rain, get a plastic carrier bag. tear a small hole in the center of the bottom of the bag and put your camera into the bag lens first. Now, stretch the hole slowly until it's just enough to fit around the rim of the lens. Now put your lens hood on to secure it and voila, a weatherproof camera and you can still get to everything. You can also take it a stage further by removing the eye cup and doing similar by tearing a hole and fitting the eyecup. (y)(y)
 
Matty777 said:
One I learnt today. (Canon 30D, don't know about others)
Accurate manual focus.
Set lens to Manual Focus, press shutter halfway turn focusing ring slowly and camera will beep when it's in focus. (Not tried this yet but I assume it means on a Mid (AF) point.
Give it a go!
Click to expand...
Matty...I may be missing the point here....which I frequently do!
If you presume the focus confirmation is correct then why not use AF in the first place? I would assume (can't try it at the moment) that if the light was too low, or contrast too weak, for AF then it would be too low for confirmation.
What am I missing?
Bob
 
Lol, I haven't had the chance to test/try it out.

It was on The Blue Crane DVD for the 30D.:)

Maybe it works like that in the Basic zone, where you can't alter AF points?? (Hopeless stab in the dark!)
 
A milk carton (plastic) makes an excellent flash diffuser. The handle from a standard 6 pint one can also be cut off and "clipped" around the built in flash on most DSLRs and reduce the harshness of the flash.
 
i thought the pre sharpening was for contrast
for pop try this

Oh and dont forget a black bin liner

Are most of the links in this thread not working or is it my end?
 
When in a glass house/ butterfly house/ swimming pool (anywhere steamy.. I mean hot :LOL:) Speed up the defogging of your lens by breathing on(y)
 
CT said:
Don't use the preview screen on your DSLR for deciding ultimate sharpness of an image. If it's obviously unsharp then go ahead and bin it, but I've often been tempted to delete unsharp looking shots which have turned out to be fine once viewed on the PC monitor.
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Very true.

If you are using handheld and are not steady with your arms when you have spotted in your view finder what you want to take a picture of. Pull your arms in towards your body (chest) not inwards, just like bring your elbow more in to your ribs. Then that should help you stabilise your image :) But don't pull it as to make it hurt

Works for me anyway. Stops the moving of the camera loads for me
 
To add to Techno_Geek's post above, if you are shooting at slow shutter speeds and are hand holding try to time your shutter release for when you just finish to exhale. Believe it or not it stops a lot of upper body movement.

(it works with guns too :))
 
Not a joke here,

When buying a DSLR you need a tripod. Unless you are a photography 'pro' like all the guys and girls on TP... You're going to mess your settings up quite alot/ auto mode will mess your setting up quite alot. Also when i was a beginner I rushed alot of my shots but a tripod will make you think about the composition of the shot rather than sticking it to eye level and just clicking. I've got a load of friends saying why is this shot blurry/noisey and its because they don't have a tripod.

It might sound really stupid but i would recommend 99% of photographers to at least own one!
 
Get a waterproof camo jacket from the cheap shop in town.Cut the arms off, the cuffs are usually velcroed so easy to fasten around your lens hood, cut a hole underneath for the tripod mount and access to the zoom ring,trim to fit your camera and lens length, cheapy camouflage lens and camera cover......(y)

Plus you have a camo waistcoat, if thats your thing.....:cautious:
 
derrycity said:
:help:HOW IS THIS DONE WITH A CANON 350D ? SETTING WHITE BALANCE WITH GREY CARD
Click to expand...

Assuming your 350D has the ability to take a Custom White Balance shot - I don't know tbh...

Take a shot of a grey card iin the light in which you intend to take your shots. Make sure the grey card fills the frame (viewfinder)

Select Custom White Balance in the menus, which allows you to scroll to and select a picture to use. Select the picture of the grey card.

Bob's your auntie.
 
Having lost two viewfinder eyepieces for my 20D, I cut a small strip of double sided carpet tape and stuck it behind the eyepece. Replace the eyepiece and give it a bit of a press. It's going nowhere now, but you can still get it off if you need to.
 
When shooting automotive (preferably still cars), don't be affraid to be uber creative. Look around where the car is for a possible shot that might not be seen as 'normal' ie. up high, lie down, tilt left or right, even with portrait shots give it a slight tilt to get that creative look.
 
Wildlife photographers.... Keep a small bag of seed and peanuts in your bag somewhere. You never know when it will be invaluable to temp something towards where you want to photograph it
 
Can I add a third "Get a tripod" to this list? I know it's been mentioned twice already, but I think it REALLY is that important!!

And for my own suggestion - let your kids take some pictures - they have no knowledge of the Rule of Thirds, they're closer to the ground, and they may very well just surprise you (mine did!!)
 
You can use a piece of string as a sort of reverse tripod!

Take a length of string from the ground to bottom of your camera.
You need to secure this string to the tripod mount using a suitable threaded nut, I use one that used to hold one of those old style leather covers on one of those old style SLR's;)
Now attach a large washer to the other end of the string so that when you stand on the washer & hold the camera to your eye the string is tight.
This will add stability but can be folded up & put in your bag or pocket.

Now, I can't take credit for this idea as I found it online, however I have made a couple of modifications of my own;

1. Use nylon string because it doesn't stretch
2. Tie knots at regular intervals along the length of the string so you can still use it if you're kneeling or sitting by standing on the knots
 
When shooting bands, never use flash! Stop down and use the lighting provided

the only time you can use it if your shooting a new type of 'hardcore band' who like light trails. Stick flash on and a long exposure, this way you will get the motion blur of the 'guitar swings' and have some detail from the flash going off.
 
Phil T said:
De-Fog & Pop

First thing to do when you open an image you want to keep/print/publish:
Filter->Sharpen->Unsharp Mask set to 20, 60, 0.
You won't believe how the image becomes brighter & clearer. Select/deselect the "Preview" checkbox to see the difference.
Save this as an Action (.atn) & get into the habit of running it every time.

Last thing to do with an image (especially portraits, not so effective for landscapes but try it & see on different images):
Filter->Sharpen->Unsharp Mask set to (go with me here):
500 (yes, 500), 0.1, 0
Highlight the 0.1 value with your cursor & use the "Up" & "Down" arrows on your keyboard to increase/decrease the value. Usually around a value of 0.3 or 0.4 (for portraits - other types may need a bit more) you'll suddenly see the image "Pop" as the colours & contrast just all come together.

Trust me & try them.
Click to expand...

This is great but a question. Do you run both of these on each image or do you use one or the other depending on the picture?
 
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