Author Topic: Better photos and a few more "stickys"  (Read 4097 times)

Kukkudrill

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Re: Better photos and a few more "stickys"
« Reply #15 on: 20:24:39, 21/04/16 »
I agree about composition. It's a lot more important than the quality of your camera gear.


I have two DSLRs but I got too preoccupied with the technical side of photography - shooting raw, editing in photoshop, making sure my photos were tack sharp and noise free ... recently I got hold of a small superzoom compact and I decided I would no longer bother with the technical stuff. If a photo looks good on a PC monitor, then it's good enough. I feel this has given my photography a new lease of life.
Make the most of the available light

Wurz

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Re: Better photos and a few more "stickys"
« Reply #16 on: 00:40:33, 22/04/16 »
Absolutely thats because charging someone £200 for a one off 2 day course is a good little earner.


The smart way to learn it is to join a photography club that has some fellows of the royal society and proffesional photographers as members.


Costs me £35/year, each week is like a mini course in itself, for the princely sum of 67 pence per week, they run studio sessions, photoshop. lightroom, photo printing sessions, basically all aspects of the activity.


competitions- this is a steep learning curve, let me tell you after you have had a photo critised you don't make the same mistake twice.


Also have a series of lectures from top photographers like the landscape photrographer of the year and BBC natural history guys.


I would recommend this route to anyone who is serious about wanting to improve their photos.


Second the camera club option,  I belong to 2.  Most offer free taster evenings to see what you think before joining.  Some are much more focussed on competitions.  Some are more social.

CallMeSteven

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Re: Better photos and a few more "stickys"
« Reply #17 on: 08:19:59, 22/04/16 »
Sounds a bit emotional this next comment, but....


I walk, I see, I 'feel' the shot in my heart and I snap it  :)


I don't need any of my peers to say it's a good or a bad shot. Enjoy snapping away and enjoy viewing (and sharing) them. (Just delete the rubbish ones  O0  )

PAG1952

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Re: Better photos and a few more "stickys"
« Reply #18 on: 09:33:34, 22/04/16 »
Sounds a bit emotional this next comment, but....


I walk, I see, I 'feel' the shot in my heart and I snap it  :)


I don't need any of my peers to say it's a good or a bad shot. Enjoy snapping away and enjoy viewing (and sharing) them. (Just delete the rubbish ones  O0  )


And there-in lies my problem, what I see and feel at the time is not (usually) what the camera captures. I'm sure there are techniques and tricks to help capture the mood of the moment, it's just that I don't know what they are.
Maybe a certain amount of artistic flair helps - which I certainly don't have if my art teacher at school was to be believed. :(



Second the camera club option,  I belong to 2.  Most offer free taster evenings to see what you think before joining.  Some are much more focussed on competitions.  Some are more social.


Rightly or wrongly my suspicion of photographic clubs was somewhat reinforced yesterday when I visited the Bird of Prey Centre at Newent in Gloucestershire. Whilst waiting for the flying display to start I found myself standing near a group of several photographers (with equipment which if sold on the second-hand market would probably pay off most people's mortgages) and couldn't help overhearing the conversation, which was very much along the lines of "At our club most people prefer blah blah blah .........I personally use a Nikon/Canon blah blah blah body and a 150-600 f3.5 blah blah blah. Well of course the problem with the Nikon/Canon blah blah blah is that.........." i.e. it was all about the equipment and technicalities, no-one seemed in the slightest bit interested in the birds or how to get the best shots of them. I'm a pretty scientific/technical/geeky sort of guy and even I found their conversation boring.

The sun is always shining.......... it's just that on most days the clouds stop us from seeing it.

Wurz

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Re: Better photos and a few more "stickys"
« Reply #19 on: 11:14:11, 22/04/16 »

Rightly or wrongly my suspicion of photographic clubs was somewhat reinforced yesterday when I visited the Bird of Prey Centre at Newent in Gloucestershire. Whilst waiting for the flying display to start I found myself standing near a group of several photographers (with equipment which if sold on the second-hand market would probably pay off most people's mortgages) and couldn't help overhearing the conversation, which was very much along the lines of "At our club most people prefer blah blah blah .........I personally use a Nikon/Canon blah blah blah body and a 150-600 f3.5 blah blah blah. Well of course the problem with the Nikon/Canon blah blah blah is that.........." i.e. it was all about the equipment and technicalities, no-one seemed in the slightest bit interested in the birds or how to get the best shots of them. I'm a pretty scientific/technical/geeky sort of guy and even I found their conversation boring.



Well obviously Nikon owners are a bit clueless.  :D  Joking aside (I nearly switched to them) that's unfortunate and hasn't been my experience of clubs.  Any hobbies can generate a lot of talk of equipment as a geek you should appreciate that - look at astronomy forums or photographic forums, even walking forums the gear sections are always close to having the most traffic.  I've only ever heard banter about different brands and most people are more interested in technique and what you have to do to get a type of shot.  On Sunday I'm going to a RPS advisory panel, there will be little if any interest in equipment, it's all about the pictures.

Forkbeard

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Re: Better photos and a few more "stickys"
« Reply #20 on: 12:45:49, 28/06/16 »
First of all, and I suspect that I am not alone when I say this; I'm very much a walker that likes to take photographs and not a “would be photographer” that goes for a walk looking for a location to photograph.

I take hundreds if not thousands of photos a year and it’s probably fair to say that 70% of them are complete and total c-r-a-p, a further 20% are fairly c-r-a-p, 9% are, what I would call, reasonable “memories” photos, and 1% are (possible) worth showing to others. I very much doubt that I will ever produce a competition winning picture.
 I would, however, like to improve my photography so that perhaps only 50% are complete and total c-r-a-p.

So I've been lurking around a couple of the photographic forums lately but to be honest I have the distinct impression that if I were to put any of my photos on their forums I would either be ignored or ridiculed. Even in the beginners sections the impression I get is that unless you are prepared to invest a fair bit of your hard earned cash in the “right equipment”, and want to become “a photographer” like them, then you really shouldn't be there.

So what’s all this rambling leading up to you ask.
 
I think midweekmountain has already pointed out that:
A)    It’s nice to have somewhere to put your “piccies” for others to see,
B)    When threads go quiet for a while they tend to slip down the list before they finally disappear off the radar and die.

I suppose that I'm looking for somewhere to put my pictures where others can see them, comment on them, and maybe offer useful advice on technique and composition where appropriate (not just “oooooooh nice photo Bert21”).
 There are a few half decent photographers on here who could offer some constructive advice.

This thread could be a good starting point for posting pictures for some feedback, pictures that you wouldn't necessarily post elsewhere. The fact that its not actually a photographic forum might provide a more relaxed and less gear oriented environment. I think there's quite a lot of ppl on here who would be interested in taking better pictures, but who aren't interested in being 'proper photographers' or having 'proper gear'.

As you say, there are quite a few decent photographers on here who can explain a bit about what you can & can't do with a basic camera, and probably a lot of people who wouldn't say they're photographers but have tips & tricks to share for using things like phones & tablets and cheaper gear.
« Last Edit: 12:56:24, 28/06/16 by Forkbeard »

 

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