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Photography Tips, Tricks, and Know-How

Photography Tips, Tricks, and Know-How

A room to discuss and ask questions about photography, the business of photography, etc.
JA Castillo (جاسون)
Could someone explain "exposure bias" to me? I get ISO, aperture and film speed, but how does "exposure bias" help / hinder?
On program, aperture priority, or shutter priority mode you aren't controlling all 3 aspects of exposure (ISO, aperture, and shutter speed) so the camera picks some of them for you (in program it picks aperture and shutter, aperture picks shutter, shutter picks aperture, and ISO is picked by you or the camera depending on ISO Auto being on or off). So the camera decides "this is the... more... - Benjamin Golub
So exposure bias is a way of controlling what the "correct" exposure is. - Benjamin Golub
A good way to see this happen is to flip your camera to program (P) mode, look through the viewfinder, and watch the shutter/aperture change as you dial in different exposure bias. - Benjamin Golub
Is there much benefit to exp. compensation when shooting in Manual? I shoot manually and have never fiddled w/ exp. compensation but on one or two occasions, just to see if any change occurred. Did not notice anything so have not returned to it. - JA Castillo (جاسون)
No, there's no benefit to it in manual mode. In manual mode, you just look at the meter and underexpose or overexpose to do the same thing. - Wirehead
Ah, so it's more a function for those modes outside of Manual. Very well...thank you! - JA Castillo (جاسون)
The easiest way to think of it is "Do you want your pictures lighter or darker?" for anything other than manual mode. - Brian Johns
Kol Tregaskes
Photography Critique - a group to post your photography and have users give critique, their advice, suggestions and ideas on how to change, approve or tweak your artwork. - http://friendfeed.com/photogr...
Photography Critique - a group to post your photography and have users give critique, their advice, suggestions and ideas on how to change, approve or tweak your artwork.
Feel free to post any of your photos to the group for critique and join in the discussion of other's: http://friendfeed.com/photogr.... The group avatar is one of my randomly chosen photos from my nature collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos... - Kol Tregaskes from Bookmarklet
Kol Tregaskes
What are you most used or favourite Photoshop Plugins (again for both special effects and touching up/tweak)?
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For instances what do you use for convert to black and white? - Kol Tregaskes
Smart Sharpen Redux and GREYCstoration noise reduction are my go-to tools in Gimp. - John Flinchbaugh
Noise Ninja's the only one I use currently but I want to take a look at Topaz Adjust. - ronin
Alien Skin's Exposure (http://www.alienskin.com/exposur...) & OptikVerveLab's free "Virtual Photographer" (http://www.optikvervelabs.com/) - Nathalie
What everyone say that Noise Ninja (with your camera's profile files) is the best for noise reduction? I've used it in the past but think it's not free, right? - Kol Tregaskes
Noise Ninja is about the only plugin I use. It's not free, but it's really quite good. - Angelo
Yeah NN isn't free and sometimes camera-specific profile files can take a while to come out (ex. D700 just came out a month or so ago) but works pretty well overall. - ronin
Kol Tregaskes
What are your most used or favourite Photoshop Actions (for both special effects and touching up/tweaks)?
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For instances what sharpening actions do you use? - Kol Tregaskes
can't wait to see some answers on this one as I've been searching. I rarely use actions to touch up my shots. I have a lensbaby action that I use on occasion as well as a few "border" actions. - Nathalie
I cannot find the specific link but I've used the actions from EpicEdits for a while now, very good: http://blog.epicedits.com/ - Kol Tregaskes
Most used PS Action for me is probably Urban Acid; I just love the look. - Mark
Mark, yes I've used that a lot in the past too: http://www.flickr.com/search... - Kol Tregaskes
I really like playing with A90Six Cmx (http://www.atncentral.com/downloa...), see my few attempts here: http://www.flickr.com/search... - Kol Tregaskes
JA Castillo (جاسون)
Ritz Camera gives up reorganization efforts, plans to sell remaining stores (http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jackson...)
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Ritz Camera Centers Inc., which has been struggling to reorganize and save roughly 400 of its more than 800 stores, said Wednesday it no longer has enough money to buy fall inventory and continue to operate. - JA Castillo (جاسون)
Carlina Xavier
Justin Korn
Just a reminder, I'd like to keep this room strictly for tips, tricks, and know-how. Questions are welcome as well, but please, no picture sharing (unless it is accompanied with a tip, trick or a question). There are plenty of other rooms and places for that. Thanks! :)
Kol Tregaskes
Do photographers take on people for their assistant without any previous experience? Anyone after an assistant or could be a mentor? I'll work for free to gain the experience. :-)
I'd love to shadow a photographer and learn from them. - Kol Tregaskes
i second that. i'd love to do that too. - Roberto Bonini
Make that three people who'd love to do that :) - Holger Eilhard
Anyone else? :-) - Kol Tregaskes
A friend of mine was taken on as photographers assistant by a pretty well-known fashion photographer without experience. I think he's looking for someone new, but he's based here in Seattle. - Kevin Pedraja
Ah, cool. I think I'll be needing something a little closer to home. But good to know pro photographers take on inexpierienced assistants. :-) Thanks, Kevin. - Kol Tregaskes
How does one actually get gigs like this??? I may just submit that question to TWIP. - Roberto Bonini
Alex Williams
Why you Need a Telephoto Zoom Lens for Landscape Photography - http://digital-photography-school.com/why-you...
Short, concise and good exemplification of the perspective shift. Great photo too. - Alex Williams
Kol Tregaskes
Is there a commercial/research photographer here that would possibly help with write a covering letter and perhaps amend my CV to apply for this research photographer role please?: http://jobview.monster.co.uk/GetJob... :-)
My CV is here: http://www.linkedin.com/in... and basically I have no professional photography experience to put on my CV so I guess a very good covering letter is needed? - Kol Tregaskes
I *really* want this job though. This sounds ideal!! A job I certainly would enjoy; travelling around London AND taking photographs. It honestly sounds bliss to me. - Kol Tregaskes
The only thing in my favour is my photography site: http://squashyfrog.com/, my Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos... and that I've been around a lot of London photographing it already (be it more in a tourist kinda way): http://www.flickr.com/photos... - Kol Tregaskes
I don't have much to say on this, but I think the key requirement is not your photographing skills, but more your ability to edit and present photos. These guys produce brochures and you need to be able to help them with that. If you can show this in your CV, your coverletter, or through real-life examples (e.g. study some real-estate photos, make a brochure, and send it to them), then I think your chances are good. - Vincent van Wylick
Thanks, Vincent. Yes, very good point. - Kol Tregaskes
Kol - in the requirements, it says NOTHING about having prior experience as a photographer. So I agree with Vincent. Prove that you are right for the job by demonstrating the skills they do require in your CV and elsewhere. Do some research, find out what commercial photography is all about and go take some pictures, edit them and post them on a separate website just for sharing with the hiring manager of this position. Good luck! - Justin Korn
Thanks, Justin. - Kol Tregaskes
What do you think it means by GIS concepts? Geographic information system? - Kol Tregaskes
I suspect so, since the job description also mentions walking specific grids. I have GIS for dummies sitting here and it looks pretty good - Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)
Darn, their online application didn't give me the option to post a covering letter and it went and posted my CV straight away upon registering! :-( - Kol Tregaskes
Hope it works out Kol. :) Property photography isin't my thing. But I must take a look at photography jobs in general. - Roberto Bonini
Thanks, Roberto. :-) - Kol Tregaskes
Kol Tregaskes
"Over the past day there’s been a little “crisis” going on over at FriendFeed" - Kol Tregaskes from Bookmarklet
Article written by Holger: http://friendfeed.com/holgr - Kol Tregaskes
Hope you don't mind posting the photo again :) - Holger Eilhard
Who's blog is that? Who contributes to it? Where does it state what author wrote the linked article? Where on that blog does the author tell you who they are? - Matthew DeVries
@Kol: did you get permission to use this screenshot? ;) j/k - Sean McGee from iPhone
Sean ask Holger. ;-) Holger, you'll probably get a takedown notice. ;-) - Kol Tregaskes
Kol: Guess what, I already have a version with a black bar lying around... ;) - Holger Eilhard
Ah good. :-) - Kol Tregaskes
So that's why that picture has been showing up so much. - John
I deleted the one I'd shared. - Jan - @wordsforliving
Great picture! It's my background now and I've printed several copies to hand out to friends... :) - Walt Ruppar
Adrian Culici
Olympus OM-1 MD camera / Zuiko 50mm/f1.8 lens testing. Ilia volunteered to model for the first roll, to test my new 30+ year-old camera. Shot wide open at f1.8 late in the day on Kodak HD 400 film. These are off the Walgreens Photo CD. All photos developed fine, so the camera is officially all good, at least at f1.8. Happy and relieved.
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My favorite one is the one where she's sitting under the arbor next to the broom. - Anika Malone
Depth of field, FTW. - Derrick
It's what I missed the most since I lost my last SLR... and the excitement of opening up the package of prints to see which ones turned out ok. For the record, 15 out of 24 turned out almost perfectly in focus and the meter seems to judge pretty wisely for most of the shots as I just did my best to center it. - Adrian Culici
I love the top one! - Anne Bouey
I'm sure you've been told a bagillion times...your children are gorgeous! Beautiful pics! - Anna Haro
@Anna - Yeah, the kids tell us everyday. :) - Adrian Culici
The sixth one down is *money*. - Cecily
The chair picture is wonderful, not disparaging any of the others. - Dave - SustainedEuphoria
Thanks Dave/Cecily, I'm starting to like that one a great deal myself. I just started messing with the overall levels and the green channel curves, as it's a bit overexposed and to try to rein in that green and it's responding very well. Nothing beats dynamic range of film. :) - Adrian Culici
Adrian that is geek talk to me, but if it were me I don't think I would touch it. I like natural and flawed things. Such is life. - Dave - SustainedEuphoria
Thing is, it's only a subtle change that's needed. Our backyard is an overgrown jungle with a lot of different colors which are a bit lost in the photo but can be teased out. Levels are essentially brightness/contrast and curves are basically color controls. Sort of... anyway, let me post what I have so far in a sec. It's pretty cool as it's closer to the real thing at that late hour. - Adrian Culici
These are really nice (and you have a lovely model)! That first test roll is always equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking, isn't it? - vicster
@vicster - thanks! Yeah, especially nerve-wracking with a 30+ year-old camera bought on ebay. :) - Adrian Culici
JA Castillo (جاسون)
Instant? As in polaroid? - Cecily
Something close...using Fuji Instax Mini film. - JA Castillo (جاسون)
NEAT. :) - Cecily
Adrian Culici
Here is the "chair" photo with a bit of level, green channel curve and desaturation, all in an attempt to bring out the individuality of the subject plants. Also the before (second photo). Any thoughts or advice? Original thread: http://friendfeed.com/adrianc...
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Comparing back and forth, I see I crushed some shadow details. But I think that's a fair trade-off in this case, as it almost suffered from "too much" detail. Check out the crazy grain. The out of focus effect is kinda wierd, but ok I guess. - Adrian Culici
what software did you use for this? I think the grain is very strong, indeed. - Aaman Lamba
This may explain why it's insane in the grain: 8PM, decidedly darkening, Kodak HD400 loaded into an Oly OM-1 w 50/1.8. Oh, I'm using Photoshop... Photoshop 7 /ducks under desk - Adrian Culici
Adrian Culici
NEWS FLASH: The hunt is over. Check out what the mailman brought today. Olympus OM-1 MD with 50mm/1.8 Zuiko lens. All mechanical, all metal, all manual. It looks and feels brand new, checks out mechanically so far, meter works, seals look good. It's been way too long since I've had an SLR, I've missed you, baby!
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I know exactly where you are coming from, I still own my first slr camera which was a Minolta X700 and I also have a Nikon FE2 boxed caps etc etc. Currently selling my Mamiya RZ67 on ebay reluctantly and my Sinar 5x4 - Rodney Forte
My first (and only) SLR was a Minolta 400si, which I lost on the way to the airport to Kansas City. :( - Adrian Culici
That Mamiya is... a REALLY nice camera. I am sad for you! Do you have photos from it that you've shared? - Adrian Culici
Ok, went and got a few rolls of film. Kodak High Definition 400, Kodak Ultra Color 100, Kodak Tri-x 400 (black and white), and Fuji Superia X-tra 800. Shot the Kodak HD roll and so far so good, but we'll see how the prints turn out tomorrow. As far as the shooting experience goes, the Olympus OM cameras are the only SLR's that have a shutter speed ring where the lens attaches to the... more... - Adrian Culici
Hm. Shoot a roll of Fuji Velvia. Eye-opening experience. - Wirehead
I looked for it but the camera shop did not stock it. There is heavy Kodak bias around these parts it seems (Southern California, but I'm pretty sure we live in Kodak Country too) - Adrian Culici
Hm. You need to go to a *good* SoCal camera store. Like Sammy's or Freestyle. - Wirehead
I was at Alhambra Camera which is the closest place to me, but there is a Sammy's in Pasadena not far and I haven't heard of Freestyle but will look it up. :) - Adrian Culici
put a Zuiko 21mm/2 on that for beautiful available light pictures indoors. not cheap but definitely awesome. Eugene Richards used that particular Olympus superwide/superfast lens to make his amazing book 'Cocaine True Cocaine Blue' - Brian Hendrickson
21mm/2 eh? Sounds good I'll look around for it. I've been mostly looking for the 24mm/2.8 (which is readily available on ebay) and a macro lens but I get most of my macro jollies out of my Pannie FZ28 so a fast wide angle lens is much more tempting to me. - Adrian Culici
I have many tranny's and black & white prints but not many have been scanned. I'll see what I can find - Rodney Forte
Fuji Velvia whilst very colorful can be a bit high on contrast so on very sunny days the deep shadow areas tend to block and have no detail, but it is very nice film - Rodney Forte
JA Castillo (جاسون)
Justin Korn
I want to start a new photo project photographing strangers. Any tips on best ways to approach the random passerby?
Make eye contact first. Smile making sure they see the camera. Read their facial and body language. Good luck. - Russellreno
Good start Russell. Thanks! - Justin Korn from IM
I took Shooting Street People from Marc Turnley several years ago. He said say away from the homeless because they are unpredictable, and some will follow you around. Therefore, I started shooting the homeless. Marc's Flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos... - Russellreno
The more outlandish the clothes, hair and look the more they want to pose. - Russellreno
I am more comfortable approaching woman in small groups. Stay away from children and anyone under 21. (But you knew that). - Russellreno
Great tips. I've really been enjoying the BW$P Project (http://bit.ly/tNrfX) I've been doing, which tends to be mostly homeless. I really want to expand on that and have been having trouble working up the courage to ask for a portrait....not sure why. - Justin Korn
Justin. I saw a video by Frederick Van where he interviewed a guy who was offering free lollipops in exchange for a portrait. - Johnny Worthington
Johnny - Thanks! I believe I saw that once upon a time. I should go find it a watch it again... - Justin Korn
I remember seeing a video of a photographer who would just go around, pretty much jumping in front of people and taking their photo. Pretty funny. - Beau (והאראסי) Liening
Beau - I don't want to get killed, so I think I will stay away from that technique :) - Justin Korn
Justin, when you go to a wedding or large family gathering, who do you hang with the most. Find that type in a park and start a conversation. Also, ask the stranger for advice. Tell them about your project and ask them how they would approach someone. People love to give advice. You haven't asked them to pose directly so they are guarding against a sales pitch. In a few minutes you say thanks, can I get of shot of you before I leave? - Russellreno
Interesting tips I just found at this link: http://www.100strangers.com/TipsTep... - Justin Korn
bring donuts - Geoff Schultz
mmmm....donuts. I might eat them all before offering them up :) - Justin Korn
do what liber does. buy a little portable printer and go to street fairs and offer to do portraits of people giving them an instant print out print in the process. - Thomas Hawk
Bring a female friend. - Kevin Fox
Thomas - interesting idea. - Justin Korn from iPhone
Kevin - then I'll just get pictures of dudes hitting on her... - Justin Korn from iPhone
Michael Hayslip
Zack Arias - Let’s Test 6 Degrees :: Calling Coldplay & Diddy. - http://www.zarias.com/...
Zack wants to photograph diddy and coldplay. Somebody out there knows somebody, who knows somebody, who knows ... You get the picture. - Michael Hayslip from Bookmarklet
Tommy Keene
theGimp is a great program in need of a thorough tutorial. This looks like a good start! - Tommy Keene from Bookmarklet
I learned using the Gimp from Akkana Peck: "Beginning GIMP - From Novice to Professional". It's a good book. - Peter
Scott of Two Countries
"I’ve had many emails from readers asking how to photograph fireworks displays, quite a few of whom have expressed concern that they might just be too hard to really photograph. My response is always the same - ‘give it a go - you might be surprised at what you end up with’." - Scott of Two Countries from Bookmarklet
JA Castillo (جاسون)
Flickr as an Interior Decorating Tool - Gadgetwise Blog - NYTimes.com - http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...
Flickr as an Interior Decorating Tool - Gadgetwise Blog - NYTimes.com
JA Castillo (جاسون)
Are Flickr Photos Fair Game for Home Printing? - Gadgetwise Blog - NYTimes.com - http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...
Are Flickr Photos Fair Game for Home Printing? - Gadgetwise Blog - NYTimes.com
...counter-point... - JA Castillo (جاسون) from Bookmarklet
Gregg Le Blanc
Expectations can meddle w/ our passions. I liked this re: expectation management & #photography, but it's everywhere: http://photomusings.wordpress.com/2009...
Gregg Le Blanc
I liked this long exposure / landscape tips and tricks post: http://paxtonprints.com/index...
JA Castillo (جاسون)
Rodney Forte
Today is a sad day, as I have finally decided to sell by beloved Mamiya RZ67 kit. I don't really use it much these days, but it's still my favourite camera. The final straw came when I had my transparencies, (if you remember those), thrown out by a picture library for lack of quality, as in, too much grain ! Pah!
That's funny, because I was just looking at manual SLR's and scanners. I can't take the digital P&S world anymore but can't afford DSLR. - Adrian Culici
Ah.... I didn't say I was going to sell my Nikon FE2! - Rodney Forte
Justin Korn
Everything pointed out in this post is true and we are far from accomplishing any of it. Anyone interested in talking more about this and possibly taking on such a project...DM me - Justin Korn from Bookmarklet
This is something that I have been thinking about quite a lot lately as I am trying to build a webpage for my photos. Would love to hear more of your ideas. - John Ford
John - I haven't really thought about it in depth yet, but it would be a major project. I'll be thinking more about it over the next few weeks.... - Justin Korn
I will be watching for updates and would love to help out if possible. - John Ford
JA Castillo (جاسون)
So, would anyone have any idea on how I use this / read this?! - http://www.flickr.com/photos...
So, would anyone have any idea on how I use this / read this?!
Wow. That thing is crazy looking. It looks like the f/stop is at the top, the ISO is to the left. Not sure about DIN and can't see the numbers that are at the bottom, but I'm guessing one of those has to do with shutter speed. Long answer, I know what everything is, but no idea how to read it :) - Justin Korn
Thanks, Justin. Unfortunately, there are no instructions for me to go by and the verbiage in the box just describes what the device does. Hoping to figure this out so shooting w/ my Brownie and Mamiya C330 will be a bit better than "lucking out"! :) - JA Castillo (جاسون)
DIN is what we call ISO today. I have a Sekonic meter that looks like it might date back to the same time as this one; I'll check the manual when I get home to see if I can come up with some instructions. - Cecily
Looks like you might be able to dig up a printed manual -http://www.oldtimercameras.com/stock... - Ken Sheppardson
@Cecily - thanks, that would be much appreciated. I am not able to sort this one out yet! Quick question...if DIN is what we would refer to as ISO today, what is the ASA equal to? - JA Castillo (جاسون)
@Ken - I may have to look into something like that if Cecily is unable to provide some insight. Thanks! - JA Castillo (جاسون)
I'm still looking! - Cecily
OK, here goes nothing (I couldn't find the manual). It looks like first you need to find a DIN/ISO equivalent chart - http://www.film.project-consultant.net/html... - the DIN/ASA/ISO is basically the speed of your camera (or film). Then point the end of the meter toward the center of your light source. The needle on the dial should point to a particular value. Set the... more... - Cecily
I can't make everything out from the photo (I need to see it larger) but you might follow along with the manual for my meter here: http://www.butkus.org/chinon... (don't worry, it's free). - Cecily
It still looks like my suggestion might work, but then again you might be better off trying Ken's link for a specific manual. - Cecily
I pulled down your manual and will give it a read tonight. Will see what I can decipher out of that. :) - JA Castillo (جاسون)
Justin Korn
Cliff Kemper
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