A few tips for taking pictures

[Finished Business]

I can't take it anymore!!

When you are taking a picture, please use the horizon to level your shot. I am in no way an expert photographer but this is one thing that ruins a picture.

Here is an example of what NOT to do....lol (sorry to roast my camera man!)




You can see the subjects look square to the photo, but the horizon is quite slanted and in my opinion ruins the photo.

Another thing I do to get the best picture I can take is ALWAYS take at least 2 pictures of whatever you are shooting, at least. Sometimes I end up taking over 10 shots if I really want to capture something worthwhile. The first picture is usually the worst. Most cams auto focus the first picture. The second picture the focus is set for the range you are shooting (so long as you are shooting the same subject) and the camera will not have to adjust the focus for the second shot.

That's the two things I will add.

The crooked horizon really eats away at me lol. and there is no shortage of them on here! haha. so take a sec, straighten out the camera and snap away. Don't forget to post the gooders so we can keep entertained on here.

It would be great if anyone else has any photography tips or tricks to share....

Click!

 

[Birdsnest]

That shot is into the sun as well. Put the sun to your back above and below the water. This can be hard to do in a boat but I always take the time to turn the boat so that the sun/"light" is right. Even if the sun is quite high as it is in that photo get it behind the camera. Makes a big difference. IMO

 

[Charter Tofino]

That shot is into the sun as well. Put the sun to your back above and below the water. This can be hard to do in a boat but I always take the time to turn the boat so that the sun/"light" is right. Even if the sun is quite high as it is in that photo get it behind the camera. Makes a big difference. IMO

Well said! This is the easiest way to improve pics.

 

[Dogbreath]

I studied photography in college for a year so I can do WTH I want-mostly I just go to beautiful places and start banging away if people don't like it they can RIH.

 

[Sculpin]

I studied photography in college for a year so I can do WTH I want-mostly I just go to beautiful places and start banging away if people don't like it they can RIH.

Best reply yet LOL!

It's hard enough to get folks to post pictures with there reports etc. let along critique them. I understand the OP in trying to help make a good shot and I fully agree with taking lot's of photos of the same shot. The lighting thing is a big one as well and good points about that.

I have posted a bizzilion pictures on here and lot's are bad but some are quite good. I am a total amateur when it comes to photos. At least I take the time to take them and post some up for folks to hopefully enjoy. The only thing that bugs me is sideways shots etc. or out of focus shots of me in bright shorts in Cabo lol.

Cheers,
John

 

[Gypseas]

no problem with the horizon just the boat looks crooked in the pic

 

[profisher]

I'm a learning amateur with a decent Nikon DSLR that was given to me by a generous client. I have a good working knowledge of the basics but was looking for some good tips to improve the consistency of the pics I take. I found a great book called "The Digital Photography Book" at Kerisdale Cameras in Victoria. I have book 1 of 3. Easy to read with advanced techniques explained in amateurs language. Good tips on composing, getting tack sharp focus and lighting. Tricks with camera settings are also explained. The author explains that most print publications dealing with landscape shots will only accept those taken during the golden hours of the day. This is 15 to 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after then 15 to 30 minutes before sunset and up to 30 minutes after. This is when you get soft warm light and soft shadows that give professional quality lighting for landscapes. Another reason to get your butt out of bed early. lol

 

[Finished Business]

Hey that's pretty cool Gypseas. My editing abilities don't reach to far.
After reading my initial post again, I didn't mean to sound preachy or was bashing the photos people post. I appreciate any picture someone adds to a post.
Maybe its just a pet peive of mine but the slanted horizon gets me lol.
The sunlight thing was something that never occured to me but good to know.

 

[Gypseas]

Is not that complicated you save it to photobucket, edit it and change its orientation to level the horizon

cheers

 

[Peahead]

Just play'in ......turned it into a slightly different photo

 

[Sculpin]

Just play'in ......turned it into a slightly different photo

View attachment 7014

Yeah that is different for sure. Nick is usually a pretty easy going kind of guy. You brought out the rage in him LOL!

I think he was giving the heavy metal horns not the fingers but who knows for sure lol.

Anyway's good topic and points keep em up folks.

I like to use photo bucket myself and it has changed a lot over the years. They keep updating the site etc. I am lazy and just hit enhance most of the time to tune up my shots. I know I can do more but I usually screw them up. Like I said I need to take a course or something.

I feel more for the folks that have trouble posting pics. Sign up to photo bucket then download your pics there. Once they are in a library click on the image code and copy it. Once copied then you can paste it anywhere in your post in a thread. Hope that made sense.

Cheers,
John

 

[finaddict]

I agree with the need for light behind you, but I completely disagree with level, mid-photo horizons. How completely boring if all shots were composed the same. Might as well have a family of Asians standing rigidly in front of whatever monument you are closest to in all your photos. Off angle shots capture some of the action felt while out on the big pond and I find that shots with high horizons or low horizons dramatically change the information. In fact, I had a camera teacher who would degrade any photos of mid level horizontal horizons as being uncreative.

 

[Finished Business]

no problems with the height of the horizon lol....just think it looks better straight. doesn't a straight horizon with a crooked boat show the true reality of the shot? rather than the other way around?

And ya they were horns, not the finger! haha....ugly ******* in that photo I tell ya! haha

 

[Seafever]

In photography there is an effect called "The Law Of Thirds" for composing shots. Imagine the frame divided into thirds vertically and thirds horizontally. Where these lines intersect on the frame is usually a good point to center the subject or create a "vanishing point". The Law of Thirds and the Vanishing Point is too difficult to describe in words so I would suggest a "google" of that. The use of "fill flash" is good when shooting people with the sun behind them. 99% of the digital point-and -shoot cameras out there today suck when it comes to flash because the flash is too close to the lens and this what gives a picture "red-eye". In the old days , when the flash was detatchable from the camera or extended on an arm you didn't have this problem. Most point-and -shoots will not accept filters but if your camera does a SKY1A will balance an overly blue outdoor shot . When people are in a shot, try to get as close to them as you can to fill the picture and still leave an identifiable subject or reference point in the shot. If you are photographing Aunt Dorothy at the Grand Canyon....don't place her so far away that she is an afterthought with unrecognizable facuial features. Bring her in as close as you can without blotting out the identifiable surroundings. When you bring the subject in close as part of the picture, concentrate on the face. Nobody cares about legs and arms or beerbellies. Unless it's an upclose portrait shot, never stick a person or a person's face right in the middle of the picture. This is where the Third's rule comes into play for good composition. (The point and shoot digital camera might be a plus in terms of onboard instant editing/deleting...... but it is the worst kind of camera for taking pictures where flash or using flash on people is concerned.)..........generally when you buy a lens or a camera with a permanent fixed lens you should try to get one with the lowest "f" number on it. The lower the "f" speed of the lens the more it will take better pictures in low light situations. The average speed of a generic lens these days is about f3.5....which isn't all that good in low light.

 

[Seafever]

Tip number two:- Most point and shoots have a lens that is "zoom'. This is good news and bad news. The good news is you don't have to buy a bunch of lenses. The bad news is:- a zoom lens , especially the cheapo ones they supply with point-and-shoots, are inferior to individual fixed focus lenses. Why? Apart from the construction design (elements used in the lens itself) The fact that it "zooms" changes the low-light acceptance ratio. A "fast" lens (one that is good in low light) would be on the order of f1.2 or f1.8. A generic p&s zoom lens will likely start off about f3.5 wide open and as you "zoom' it, it goes down to around f5.6 or greater...which isn't very good in a lot of circumstances. They design the zoom lens elements to compensate for the fact that you are zooming. Zooms overall are never as good as fixed focus lens , pound for pound. "Digital" zooms tend to suck on a camera that has a low megapixel count when you get to long range zoom. "Optical" zoom is better. The makers of point&shoots know all about the fact that red-eye is caused by flash too close to lens. But to get around it they offer up time-consuming "red-eye' removal programs and all the other b.s Point and shoots are o.k. for daylight general photography with "acceptable " results. But the next step up would be something like a Canon T3i SLR with a removeable SpeedFlash etc etc etc.

 

[Seafever]

Tip number 3.......lenses can be described as "wide","normal"."telephoto" etc. Many point and shoots come with a zoom lens that on "wide" setting is equivalent to the old time standards of about 28mm or 24 mm. This is the setting that most fisherman use to make their 5lb fish look like a 35lb fish. Because the distortion on a wide lens is such that objects held a little bit closer to the camera look bigger than they are...especially when the fish is held at arms length, this of course is a favorite with those who shoot "cover" shots for magazines. Can't remember how many times I've seen a bass on the front of a magazine that looks 21lbs but in reality is 4lbs. "Wide" lenses have greater 'depth of field" than normal or telephoto.....so everything in the picture tends to be in focus. The "wider" the lens the less you have to worry about "camera shake" and "jitters". The more telephoto you go, the more you will notice the "jitters" messing up your picture, to the point where only a tripod will get you the picture. The mm "wide" designation (or any designation) on digitals is slightly different than "old school" cameras. The flash power on a point and shoot isn't all that great......so if you use it for "fill flash" in the daytime/shade it may or may not give acceptable results. Probably the best results for this would be at a distance of 10 feet or less. The better SLR's have optional "dedicated " flashes which will figure out the exact amount of flash for a "fill"....... but on the point and shoot it might be a hard feature to find.

 

[Finished Business]

Great info Seafever. Thanks fer postin'!

 

[Seafever]

Tip number 5:- on average the human eye when looking at a photograph will travel from lower left of pic to top right. This good to know compositionally when you apply "The Law of Thirds" and "Vanishing Point". Most of the great oil paintings of old were not done "willy nilly". The Vanishing points were all precalculated along with various applications of the Law of Thirds. lets say you want to make a picture with sky, mountains, an old house and a winding road. You compose it so the ridge of the mountains runs along the top third horizontal line. The house sits on the intersection of the upper most third line and the far right third line. The road starts off from from the lower left corner of the picture and crosses through where the lower left/lower bottom third lines intersect and winds it way up to the house from left to right. Many people that shoot a lake or ocean scenic will put the horizon line going right though dead center of the screen. If there is something in the sky that you need to see this will sometimes work......but alot of times it doesn't. It's a whole lot of sky for nothing. Since exactly half the picture is ocean and the other half is sky, your brain and eyes have to fight with each other to decide which half to concentrate on first because there is no central subject. When you make picture , decide what is actually the subject. Then use everything else to 'enhance' the subject instead of competing with it.