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JZ
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ABC's of a good shot
Someone (JR?) want to tell us the ABC's of getting the good shot.
Maybe we will see more pics on the board if we know the basics. 
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FrankO
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Read your camera manual first.
Backlight really effects your shots. Too much w/o flash and all you see is dark in front.
Frame your shot. Think about what you like to see and adjust. Focus on your subject and then shift your camera for a better frame.
http://www.steves-digicams.com
Good stuff here, I think originally compliments of Neal.
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jrbaja
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Be real lucky
and be in the right places. Those are the only reasons I get good shots. I have a pretty good camera. Fuji S602 $500.00 u.s. but have never had any
photography training.
I spend many an evening deleting photos when I am in the hills and probably 60% of a days photos get deleted. The advantage to digital.
I have the help of PhotoShop to adjust the contrast which helps a lot on some photos.
And the older I get, the more I need to use the tripod. A monopod works well too if you are moving around a lot.
I think I learned on here or from Herb about using the sports mode for action shots, birds, etc.
I think Herb, Ken Bondy, Natalie and quite a few others are much more qualified to give photography advice.
But those are the things that help me.
Seems to me like you had some pretty awesome shots yourself there JZ. Keep up the good work.
[Edited on 7/14/2004 by jrbaja]
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Herb
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I'm just a wannabe but...
I have met some pretty good phtographers, and artists in general. I think mechanics can improve the shot in terms of clarity, focus and lighting.
But, if you want the subject to be truly captivating, I believe the photographer has to love the subject. Bernie was the wise one to point out how
obvious this is in JR's portraits of the rural folks. Ask Ken Bondy what he really loves to see and do, and I'll betcha it is what you will see in his
best shots as well...
Just my humble opinion.
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JZ
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Is that why all my shots have boats in them
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Ken Bondy
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Mood: Mellow
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What great advice..
...and wisdom is in these posts. I'm not sure that I could add much to the great suggestions already posted. It is amazing how the quality of your
photographs improves in direct proportion to your love of the subject. I also agree emphatically with JR that luck is perhaps the most important
ingredient in great photos, the right time, right place, right subject etc. So take lots of pictures to improve the odds!! Film (and now disc
space!) is the least expensive element in good photography. Here are a few rambling bits of technical advice that have served me well:
1) Take lots of shots but try to change something (composition, lighting, exposure) with each one. Many times a photographer finds a good subject and
then takes 10 consecutive identical images. If the original composition or exposure or something doesn't work (something undesirable in the frame,
for example) you end up with ten throwaway images. When you find a good subject, stay with it and be creative, changing something in each frame.
2) Don't put your subject directly in the center of the frame. Hard to do because it is not intuitive, but photos are often more interesting if the
main subject is off center. The big guys call this the "rule of thirds".
3) Make liberal use of your strobe. Even when outside, strobes make shadows less harsh and bring out details not seen by natural ambient light.
3) Be creative with lighting. Don't be afraid to put the sun in the frame and use your strobe to frontlight the main subject. The newer cameras have
fantastic metering systems that consider both the ambient back lighting and the main subject, and adjust for both to create the best exposure (they
call it "fill flash" metering).
4) For scenic outdoor photos, try this technique sometime: use the widest lens you have (preferably 16mm or less, Nikon has a 12mm-24mm zoom which
works great, use aperture priority and select a small opening (f16-f22 gnerally works), frame your scenic shot, then find a colorful and/or
interesting small subject in the foreground (flower, shrub, person's face, etc.). Get VERY close to the small subject, focus on it, put it in the
periphery of the frame (left or right side), take the shot. Everything will be in focus because of the small aperture and the effect is often very
interesting. This is a basic technique in underwater photography, it's called "close-focus wide-angle", and it also works topside.
That's obviously the tip of the iceberg but these are a few techniques that have certainly helped me. We should keep this thread going!
++Ken++
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Natalie Ann
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Everyone above has given quality suggestions. Since changing our camera equipment to digital a few years back, I've especially enjoyed the freedom to
take pictures at will. Like JR sez, don't like 'em, dump 'em. I once read an article written be a National Geographic photographer - back in the
days of film. He said that in order to guarantee 10 good shots for print he took an average of 3,000 or more photographs. Too pricey for us, even
with a darkroom. But digital - take all ya want!
I definitely agree that the best photos are those taken where your interest lies. For instance, mi esposo takes excellent nature shots and my people
shots are better.
If any of you have the latest version of Photoshop, you'll notice the addition of a Shadow/Highlight feature. In case you forgot to use fill flash
when you took the photo, this feature can be a big help. For some photos it will, of course, make a big difference. With others it's more subtle but
still a valuable tool. Let's see if the difference shows up here. Wait another moment for the photos to show up; I used close to the 50k limit in
order you might see the spiderweb clearly.
This photo was processed without Shadow/Highlight:
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Natalie Ann
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And this using the Shadow/Highlight feature:
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Natalie Ann
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Very sublte difference on above.
Now check out the next two.
First the original photo:
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Natalie Ann
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And now using the Shadow/Highlight feature....
The Addams Family Montana!
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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FrankO
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I have PhotoShop 6.0. Apparently this isn't the latest version since I can't find that feature..... It is a mind boggling program, especially since my
mind is frequently boggled.
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jrbaja
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Same here Franko
but the image / contrast works pretty well. It is complicated but the more you delve, the more you find out. Although at somewhat of a snails pace
in my case.
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Cardon
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FrankO, I also have Photoshop 6 and it has a similar button. Open a photo and then:
1. Click up on top where it says Image
2. Then click on Adjust
3. Then click on Brightness/Contrast and move the sliders til you get it the way you want it.
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Cardon
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Here it is slightly adjusted
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Cardon
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And if you slide the adjusters way over you can get this effect.
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Natalie Ann
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Color Level Adjustments
Before brightness/contrast we adjust the color levels.
Image, Adjust, Levels
Then move slides at bottom to the edges of the "graph" (sometimes the graph reaches the edges and no adjust ment need be made).
Doing the photoshop steps this way....
Original Image:
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Natalie Ann
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Adjust Color Levels and you get this:
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Natalie Ann
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Brightness/Contrast does this:
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Natalie Ann
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And finally an unsharp mask, although in this case it doesn't seem to make much difference.
I consider these the pretty basic photoshop techniques and use them regularly for images posted to the board.
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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FrankO
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Awesome info you guys. I have been playing w/it and am slowly learning a few basic tricks. It won't be long b4 I'll be really good looking in all the
family pics! That'd be some magic.
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