The photography thread

[AndySpeed]

It's far too dark (which is best for pictures of me ) it was a pretty overcast day in general, and it didn't help that I was standing under trees, but is there something I should have been doing with the camera settings in order to get a better picture, apart from just using flash?

If your camera allows it you should try and increase the exposure and/or lengthen the shutter speed.

[BDunnell]

It may also have been taken slightly into sun. I know the sun obviously wasn't shining through the clouds, but its position still makes a lot of difference to a photo even when there is cloud cover.

[Mark]

Yes, the background was lit by the sun, and I was basically standing in the shade under some trees.

[Christina]

Mark, what your camera has done is expose for the background, because there is more of it which means that there is more light for the light meter to read, the camera will automatically read the biggest part of the image. Without knowing what kind of camera you are using it is hard to offer advice. If SLR, Change your shutter speed/aperture so that you are correctly exposed and not the background. if it's a compact.. i dont know.. i dont use the things..

[Mark]

It is a kodak compact but it does allow manual settings.

[RaceFanStan]

Dare I click on the link supplied by Erki?

If you do, you are braver than I.

On topic now, I also enjoy photography.
I take pictures of anything that catches my interest.
I look for bizarre things, fires, serious accidents, pretty women & anything I consider humorous.

I have found that it is best that a person starts with a good camera.
I like a camera that does all the thinking that sets the exposures & speeds for me.
I don't want to be bothered with stressing over f settings, exposure times, etc.
A true photo-nut will have to be in total control but I love electronics that let me point & shoot.

I've taken some very good pictures, a local television station has shown several of them.
I like hearing my name mentioned when they show my pictures.
I have also submitted pictures to the local newspaper, once they used 1 of them but I got no mention.

Since I've went digital & I have ventured into photo editing the possiblities are endless .....

[MadCat]

I love photography and i've been lucky to be able to take it as an A-Level which is handy

Got my first DSLR at christmas and to date i've taken over 3000 images with it, my computers full of pictures. I'll put some of my favourites up later

[Christina]

I guess i should put my photographic info on here.. Umm.. well, i'm a photographer. kinda.. I've studied photography since i started high school, and continued to study after that and now have an "advanced dipolma" in visual communications or some crap. The course sucked, but it meant i could spend copius hours in the best darkroom layout i've ever had the pleasure to have at my disposal. It meant fun with big fancy feild cameras (the ones with the consatina and the black cloth over your head) and a lot of technical jargon.

I've since progressed from there to working a few different photographic jobs, but this being perth and the market being very limited there aint much fun in it. I did School Portraits for the better part of this year and it sucked the soul out of me. I havent gone out and done a shoot since. Snotty nosed kids and rude teachers. ugh. Although doing that work has made me a whiz with photoshop because half of the other photographers didnt know what "correct exposure" or "focus" were, so i'd spend the time not out at schools, in the lab correcting images. Now i work in a digital photo lab. it's boring, but i get to see some cool stuff sometimes. I miss working at my pro-lab but they shut down, that's how i ended up doing the portraits. I do a few photo-restorations from time to time as well.. it's kinda fun putting someone's face back on.

I shoot on a Nikon D200 (my kingdom for a D2x) with a variety of lenses. I love making those real abstract arty shots where you have to stare at them for ages to figure out what they are, and it turns out it's a blob of water or something. I'd show you some of my more recent work, but i've lost my CF port, so i cant upload.

[L5->R5/CR]

Mark,

If you aren't worried about "blowing out" the water in that shot you can also go center weighted on yourself in the center of the image. The camera's sensors will then adjust the exposure and shutter for the amount of light on your person. The downside is that there is more light in other parts of the frame so those will be over exposed. If you feel adventurous you can shoot the photo twice and then merge them for the overall best results (more or less what I would do if I were shooting it).


Most of the time the secret to becoming a better photographer, without training, is comfort. You need to first and foremost know your subject and know your equipment. I'm not a true expert by any means but I do alright and my clients seem happy...

[Christina]

Or failing taking two shots and merging them, get a reflector. will reflect that lovely soft light nicely! Plus they're fun to play with, especially those ones that work like the pop-up tents..