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Thread: Hey photo guys.

  1. #1
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    Hey photo guys.

    Recently borrowed my friends Canon 20D and have been doing some shooting with it, mostly riding.

    Photography is something that I've always been interested in, just never really got a camera or anything, though looks like this summer I'm going to have to get a nice DSLR

    I'm here looking for pointers to getting really good shots, what setting do you use when shooting (I'm a toatle camera jong, so be specific)

    When you are shooting do you typically use manual or auto focus? I tried a bit in auto focus, and they all turned out close, but not great.

    Heres a few that I've taken the past few days.

    (If these are hudge, sorry.)

    My first real attempt at manual focus



    Second attempt not the best spot the rider is in, but i like the whole idea of the picture



    My favorite from today



    And then this one is more artsy, and I'm stoked how it turned out.



    The riding shots are with a 70-300mm lens, and the power plant is the stock lens.



    OK JONG away!!
    Last edited by Yukonrider; 03-15-2009 at 09:53 PM.
    The whole human race is de evolving; it is due to birth control, smart people use birth control, and stupid people keep pooping out more stupid babies.

  2. #2
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    There is so much good info here, and shitloads of good info on forums like wheelsandwax, fredmiranda... the information can be overbearing.

    Take your time, start with the basics and learn as much as you can.

    Your first assignment:

    *Understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
    *Learn as much as you can about your camera's AutoFocus.
    *Report back: What is trap focusing?

    Report back when you've put in some internet hours. Like I said- the wealth of information out there is incredible.

    Most importantly go out and shoot... alot. Digital is 'free', go get after it.


  3. #3
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    What he said^^^

    Toatle-y

  4. #4
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    Also, you're right, those are huge. Grab some free image editing software (GIMP isn't bad) and knock them down to something ppl can see in a browser. While you're at it you can also start playing with cropping which should eventually help your composition.

  5. #5
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    Both of which can be done with Irfanview, even better is it's also free and MUCH smaller than the GIMP.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by pointedem View Post
    There is so much good info here, and shitloads of good info on forums like wheelsandwax, fredmiranda... the information can be overbearing.

    Take your time, start with the basics and learn as much as you can.

    Your first assignment:

    *Understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
    *Learn as much as you can about your camera's AutoFocus.
    *Report back: What is trap focusing?

    Report back when you've put in some internet hours. Like I said- the wealth of information out there is incredible.

    Most importantly go out and shoot... alot. Digital is 'free', go get after it.




    Good stuff! Working on all that now, will report back.
    The whole human race is de evolving; it is due to birth control, smart people use birth control, and stupid people keep pooping out more stupid babies.

  7. #7
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    Fill the frame.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by flatlander420 View Post
    Fill the frame.


    Word. Unless there is some oversensoring reason to NOT fill the frame....e.g. cool skyline.

  9. #9
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    I feel that,

    The best action shots always have a way of showing the context of the line, such as having at least an insinuation of the takeoff, the hucking human, and the landing zone all together in one shot.

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  11. #11
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    Read this. As others have mentioned--read, shoot, read, shoot, sleep, read, shoot, shoot, shoot annnnnnnd shoot. It will come. Good luck.
    The Griz

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by jce338 View Post
    Yup

    IMHO these shots looked OK focus/exposure wise, but the composition leaves a bit to be desired.

    Again IMHO I've seen some shots with god awful focus and iffy exposure that came out pretty good in their own way, but when the composition sucks, the image becomes just another blah snapshot. Good composition doesn't always mean law of thirds though, but its a good place to start.

    #3 is probably also my favorite and coincidentally enough, its the one that is closest to fitting the law of thirds.
    #1 would be much better cropped a bit on the right hand side. In fact it would be downright $$.
    #4 is pretty cool, but shots like that are shooting fish in barrel and I've seen many great night time long exposure lights over water shots.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tunco perfectly summarizing TGR View Post
    It is like Days of Our Lives', but with retards.

  13. #13
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    Read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-.../dp/0817463003

    The internet is a great resource, but it can be overwhelming at times, and if you're just starting out it can be tough to filter out the junk. And there is a LOT of junk.

    IMO, it's better just to keep it simple and stick with one book as a resource, and figure out the rest on your own.
    Last edited by dipstik; 03-16-2009 at 02:10 PM.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by grizzle6 View Post
    Read this. As others have mentioned--read, shoot, read, shoot, sleep, read, shoot, shoot, shoot annnnnnnd shoot. It will come. Good luck.
    Fucking spammer....

  15. #15
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    In terms of composition, I notice that in every one of your shots the subject is centered. That may be natural to you, but as someone else mentioned, with cropping ex post facto or in your framing of the shot, don't be afraid to off-center the subject, trust me, you'll like it.

  16. #16
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    I'd have to say number two is my favorite. Like a lot of people have said in here, rule of thirds is a big thing for action sports especially. I started out having everyone in the center for every shot too. Also, like some have mentioned a reference point for skiing/snowboarding really makes or breaks a shot. I like in the third one the focus etc... but you have no idea if he's thirty feet up or two feet up. With the second one you see what's going on. Also pay attention to your backgrounds, with the 2nd one my eyes go to the cars in the background before they go the the main subject. Good job with the night one as well, I like how the horizon line isn't dead center. Maybe think about cropping it where the main focus (the factory or whatever it is) is more to the bottom right and having more negative space off to the left; it makes for a more powerful image.

  17. #17
    Like everyone's said, practice makes perfect. Although educated practice is even better

  18. #18
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    So I have been taking photos, and researching. I am starting to understand the relation of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Though It is still hard to pick which settings to use under differnt lighting and conditions. But that should come with time.
    My camera doesn't trap focus, sadly. Also, when using aperture priority mode, the pictures turn out really dark no matter what aperture its in, any ideas here>
    I have been doing a bit of editing too, (still working on getting photo shop though, so these are as good as I can get with what I have.)
    Shooting opportunities have been fairly limited lately, but I have a few ones I like.

    So anyways, on to some pictures.

    My Car loves to go take pictures with me, so I shot it a lot to return the favor





    Friends jeep, lifted, At's, Stock 4runner made it farther up this one



    This was taken by my friend, of me, but I more or less composed the shot, and I edited it.



    Then my favorite of the bunch





    What do you guys think? Better, worse?
    Do you think getting a lens (for a camera thats not actually mine, but I will be buying one this summer) Will help me improve some shots?


    Thanks again!
    The whole human race is de evolving; it is due to birth control, smart people use birth control, and stupid people keep pooping out more stupid babies.

  19. #19
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    Nice work. This could be a banger dude:



    You have a good idea of composition and leading lines in that picture, action needs to be gnarlier and lighting significantly better, but the basics are there. Nice!

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yukonrider View Post



    Thanks again!
    I think a faster shutter speed might help on something like this in bringing out the details of the bike. Things are getting a little blurred, but I certainly like the subject matter There's plenty of more experienced/better photographers around here, so I'd be curious as to what their thoughts are...

  21. #21
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    BTW, what are your settings on the shot above ^^^?

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lev View Post
    BTW, what are your settings on the shot above ^^^?
    1/800, Aperture 9.0 with the ISO at.. well im not sure how to find that

    The camera was on an Auto sport mode.
    The whole human race is de evolving; it is due to birth control, smart people use birth control, and stupid people keep pooping out more stupid babies.

  23. #23
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    Hey Yukon, I see this thread has been sitting around a little bit... So with photo jonginess in mind, I'll throw a couple points out. If I were you, I would practice avoiding the auto sport modes. As nice as they may be in terms of ease of use, you're probably doing yourself a bit of a disservice with a manual camera that is fully capable of shooting action photography. In other words, if you want to learn your camera, break out of the auto modes, and really go practice shooting in the various manual modes that it may offer. I was checking some biking shots today on Flickr, and I noticed the shutter speeds were up to 1/2000 (but also higher ISO); much faster than what you were shooting with. Experiment, experiment, experiment. You're losing control in auto. Maybe next time, try out the shutter priority mode and see what happens... Good luck!

  24. #24
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    I found this thread in my early searches here, tons of good info: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=79804

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