Photography..

[imamartian]

do we have any photography experts knocking around in here?

I'm trying to get to grips with the science behind this wonderful art, and struggling. My main camera is a Panasonic lumix dmc-fz18. Brilliant piece of kit, for most things. But i want to upgrade to a proper DSLR, however, i won't get one bought until i fully understand how to use this thing.

I have pondered evening classes, but i should be able to work it out for myself if i read enough shouldn't i? I keep re-reading the manual, and taking sample shots, but still not understanding the settings...

Anyone got any decent advice?

 

[daneski88]

joe's an expert

 

[diane1]

trial and error??....just keep taking pics and then adjust the settings accordingly...

 

[imamartian]

joe's an expert

well obviously.. how did i miss that ..... doh!

 

[joe-90]

Photography is the untalented man's art form. Did I mention that I paint and draw to a high standard? If you need advice on composition I'll be happy to help out.

 

[imamartian]

trial and error??....just keep taking pics and then adjust the settings accordingly...

ok, tried that, and they either look the same, or i forget what setting was what.... do i really need to understand F-stops and ISO's etc?

 

[daneski88]

Probably some forums around somewhere...

It's probably worth signing up to a couple of classes since experience of a practical nature will be easier to pass on there than on a forum such as this

 

[daneski88]

Photography is the untalented man's art form. Did I mention that I paint and draw to a high standard? If you need advice on composition I'll be happy to help out.

 

[joe-90]

You need to understand F stops to get the right depth of field.

 

[imamartian]

Photography is the untalented man's art form. Did I mention that I paint and draw to a high standard? If you need advice on composition I'll be happy to help out.

Joe, it does sound like you have a lot to offer in life (if you're being honest), but why do you have to add the inults to every comment you make?

"Photography is the untalented man's art form."????

You're now more prolific than David Bailey???

Joe let's call a truce...... i'll lay off the anti joe thing, if you temper your comments to accept other people and not put them down?

 

[Johnmelad502]

Photography is the untalented man's art form. Did I mention that I paint and draw to a high standard? If you need advice on composition I'll be happy to help out.

Joe, it does sound like you have a lot to offer in life (if you're being honest), but why do you have to add the inults to every comment you make?

"Photography is the untalented man's art form."????

You're now more prolific than David Bailey???

Joe let's call a truce...... i'll lay off the anti joe thing, if you temper your comments to accept other people and not put them down?

Just put him on your ignore list the same as a lot of members have done. Stop feeding the trolls.

 

[Goldspoon]

Very briefly:

A camera let's light in through a hole onto a surface (surface used to be film but now is something digital).

The hole is the "aperture" (I will stick to hole for now). The shutter is the gate that opens and shuts to allow light in through the hole and onto the surface.

There are only two things you can adjust: the size of the hole and the time the shutter open for (aperture and shutter speed).

So on a very dull day you might have a shutter speed of 125th second and a big hole. Then the sun comes out so you need 125th sec with a tiny hole.

Holes (apertures) are measured f4, f8, f16, etc with the larger the number the smaller the hole.

On auto program your camera might, for example, set 250 sec at f16. If you want to darken your picture for some reason (defy the camera) then you would have 2 choices: reduce the shutter time or make the hole smaller (reduce shutter speed or aperture).

Shutter speeds tend to double or halve e.g.60th of a sec, 125th of a sec, 250th, 500th etc.

ISO is different. It is best left alone by non experts. It is the sensitivity of the surface the light falls onto. So you can go from ISO 100 to 200 or to 400 or 800 etc. (notice that doubling again). The higher the number then the more grain the picture. Grain is not nice unless you want it for artistic reasons. I used to use slide film and ISO 64 was preferred by many, ISO 100 for when higher shutter speeds or larger aperture favoured (higher the ISO the less light you need to let into the camera so you can have more leeway on shutter and aperture).

Why choose high shutter speeds sometimes? Prevent camera shake, catch the action e.g. salmon jumping.
Why choose large aperture? Usually depth of field... I'll let you research that one.

Overall point is... shutter speed and size of hole are the two things you can change. The basic principle is the same as a pin hole camera.

Hope this helps.

 

[toptec]

Goldspoon,

Despite the impending incoming garbage from Joe - that is a very very good explanation of the fundamentals.

Twas better than the course tutor I listened to for a couple of weeks!!!

Well done.

TT

 

[joinerjohn]

Very briefly:

A camera let's light in through a hole onto a surface (surface used to be film but now is something digital)

There are only two things you can adjust: the size of the hole and the time the shutter open for (aperture and shutter speed).

Goldspoon, You obviously forgot that cameras now have lenses stuck on the front of them. The third adjustment is now focus. There is also flash photography (think direct flash, infill flash, bounce flash).
Trying to take a picture so the main element of the photo is in focus and , foreground and background are out of focus (using depth of field) takes knowledge and practice.
The OP would be well advised to sign up for an evening class in digital photography.

 

[Goldspoon]

Thanks Joinerjohn.

Yes of course - you can adjust focus. I left this out as it's not one people usually have a problem with. One can also adjust height of camera above ground, distance between camera and subject Flash is a whole new area.

It's when you start to look at how the exposure meters work it gets interesting (18% grey anybody...).

A top tip to improve exposures in general. Find your "exposure lock". Learn how to use it. It is good for when there is a lot of white or dark in a picture that is fooling the meter. I use it a lot on my small Lumix. Example below:

You are taking a pic of a girl in front of an all-white wall (similar situations are surfer against white wave, plumber in front of white van, skier, anything or anybody silhoutted against the sun). In the first example - when you take the pic and view the results you notice the wall is a dirty white and the girl underexposed. This is because all of the brightness coming back to the camera from the wall fools the camera (cameras, although improving in this area, try to make everything 18% grey - an average lighting scene and also close to pink flesh colour). Way to sort this problem out is "get in close" to the girl (ooer...) and fill the frame with her and her only (say head/shoulders). She is what a camera likes - an average brightness (unless she has a white or black balaclava on hee hee). Then, before backing off, lock the exposure. Return to original position and take picture. Result is that girl is exposed perfectly. Note that some cameras lock exposure and focus and you do not want this - just exposure lock. Don't forget to turn it off afterwards (most cameras turn it off if you turn the camera off.