Photography tips for newbs?

[apocalypse later]

I've had three digital cameras over the past five years. I broke the first one, I still have the second one, and I just upgraded to a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 a few weeks ago.

I'm just curious how some of you that take really good WAYWT pics make them look so good. Any really basic tips you guys can offer that most people might not know? I obviously know to correspond scene modes with what I'm shooting, turn on the flash in the dark, etc that kind of thing. Any info would be great.

 

[matadorpoeta]

never use flash, especially in the dark. if shooting outside in the sun, you can sometimes use flash to good effect in order to fill in shadows, but i'd say not to do this as a matter of principle.

the wider (shorter) end of your zoom lens will let in more light.

keep the camera steady. prop it against a doorway if necessary.

 

[Brian SD]

Originally Posted by apocalypse later

I've had three digital cameras over the past five years. I broke the first one, I still have the second one, and I just upgraded to a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 a few weeks ago.

I'm just curious how some of you that take really good WAYWT pics make them look so good. Any really basic tips you guys can offer that most people might not know? I obviously know to correspond scene modes with what I'm shooting, turn on the flash in the dark, etc that kind of thing. Any info would be great.

On-camera flashes should almost never be used. The only time I use an on camera flash is outdoors as a fill light, where it should barely make a difference except flatten out the shadows. If used, especially in the dark, your pictures are going to have ugly highlights and it will have a high-contrast blue-ish tone to it. Unless you want to spend a few hundred on a decent flash, you should probably just throw out the idea of using flash altogether.

Learning how to manually focus to the right spot is going to make a difference too, so your pictures will turn out nice and sharp. If your camera doesn't have a manual focus setting, set something like a stool directly behind you and focus on the front of that, then step right in front of it after you set off the manual timer.

Also, the more light the better, but cheaper cameras have trouble taking pictures outdoors and those pictures will almost always turn out extremely overexposed where the colors look washed out and the skies are white. If you have an SLR it's easy to compensate by going down a stop or two on the aperture (you'd be safe with anything faster than 1/25 on shutter, so save some sharpness if your focus isn't perfect by making the aperture smaller, by the way, smaller aperture = larger f number). Try and find a place with a fairly even light and hopefully natural. Tungsten lights will create overly warm photos, but chances are your camera has a white balance setting to counter-act this, or you can just manually set the white balance in Adobe Camera Raw.

Standing extremely still and having your camera take 4 or 5 consecutive shots before you go back to look again is probably going to help you too, because if you twitched or something , you'll have some other photos to use instead.

Lastly, Photoshop's Auto Levels and Smart Sharpen tools can work wonders on something like a WAYWT photo where you want to spend <1 minute on post-processing.

 

[Mute]

There is nothing wrong with using flash. However, it needs to be used properly. The way most average camera owners use their flashes will give the results that the other posters mentioned. Point and shoot cameras and their flash systems are good only for that, point and shoot type photos.

As to shooting with no flash in the dark, there are only two ways to do this. Bump up your iso or shoot with larger aperture and/or longer shutter speed. Both have certain disadvantages. Learning to properly use diffused and bounce flash can give you as good a shot a one done with natural or available light, so don't discount the use of flash altogether.

 

[retronotmetro]

To clarify a couple of things:

Originally Posted by Brian SD

Also, the more light the better, but cheaper cameras have trouble taking pictures outdoors and those pictures will almost always turn out extremely overexposed where the colors look washed out and the skies are white. If you have an SLR it's easy to compensate by going down a stop or two on the aperture (you'd be safe with anything faster than 1/25 on shutter, so save some sharpness if your focus isn't perfect by making the aperture smaller, by the way, smaller aperture = larger f number).

I assume that you are making this advice from the perspective of someone who always shoots in manual. If you close the aperture by one stop in an autoexposure mode, the shutter speed will lengthen by one stop, and vice versa. This will do nothing to alter the exposure because the same amount of light is hitting the sensor. If you are shooting in any kind of autoexposure mode (or even in manual mode if you are shooting to the meter), you would use exposure compensation to combat overexposure outdoors (or underexposure indoors). When I am using my P&S digicam (which has a manual mode that is more trouble than it is worth), I tend to use -2/3 stop of compensation at all times when outdoors to avoid blown out highlights.

Originally Posted by Brian SD

Try and find a place with a fairly even light and hopefully natural. Tungsten lights will create overly warm photos, but chances are your camera has a white balance setting to counter-act this, or you can just manually set the white balance in Adobe Camera Raw.

I prefer to shoot in raw mode and fix white balance later when possible, rather than rely on manual white balancing. Every time I use a manual white balance, I forget to change it, and end up with a bunch of blue outdoor shots--give a film shooter too many tools and he'll forget about them, at the worst moment.

 

[Maharlika]

If possible, consult your histogram. Best way to check proper exposure. Stay close in shooting your subject. Use "M" mode-- that's the best way to become familiar with your camera. Good luck! Oops.. take a photo course. I highly recommend this one:

http://www.ppsop.com/

Bryan is a good teacher.

 

[TheHoff]

Originally Posted by Mute

There is nothing wrong with using flash. However, it needs to be used properly. The way most average camera owners use their flashes will give the results that the other posters mentioned. Point and shoot cameras and their flash systems are good only for that, point and shoot type photos.

You may be surprised at the level of control some P&S have these days. I have a recent Panasonic but a different model from the OP -- and mine has full manual control including fill flash level. I can control, in 1/3 stop increments, the amount of fill flash popped off. It works a treat for filling in the shadows without looking like on-camera crap.

 

[Silvrzz]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

On-camera flashes should almost never be used. The only time I use an on camera flash is outdoors as a fill light, where it should barely make a difference except flatten out the shadows. If used, especially in the dark, your pictures are going to have ugly highlights and it will have a high-contrast blue-ish tone to it. Unless you want to spend a few hundred on a decent flash, you should probably just throw out the idea of using flash altogether.

Learning how to manually focus to the right spot is going to make a difference too, so your pictures will turn out nice and sharp. If your camera doesn't have a manual focus setting, set something like a stool directly behind you and focus on the front of that, then step right in front of it after you set off the manual timer.

Also, the more light the better, but cheaper cameras have trouble taking pictures outdoors and those pictures will almost always turn out extremely overexposed where the colors look washed out and the skies are white. If you have an SLR it's easy to compensate by going down a stop or two on the aperture (you'd be safe with anything faster than 1/25 on shutter, so save some sharpness if your focus isn't perfect by making the aperture smaller, by the way, smaller aperture = larger f number). Try and find a place with a fairly even light and hopefully natural. Tungsten lights will create overly warm photos, but chances are your camera has a white balance setting to counter-act this, or you can just manually set the white balance in Adobe Camera Raw.

Standing extremely still and having your camera take 4 or 5 consecutive shots before you go back to look again is probably going to help you too, because if you twitched or something , you'll have some other photos to use instead.

Lastly, Photoshop's Auto Levels and Smart Sharpen tools can work wonders on something like a WAYWT photo where you want to spend <1 minute on post-processing.

+1, well said