photography Looking for photography tips.

[KRONIKLChu]

I have recently developed an interest in photography and my friend let me play with her canon DSLR the other day and I just thought I would upload the pictures I took in the hopes of receiving advice, I would ask her for advice but she is really just an amateur who uses the DSLR for her Instagram, sorry for the photo quality but they were sent to me through facebook because I didn't have my own SD Card on the day and of course Facebook horribly compresses images. And some of them were just blurry anyway due to lack of tripod and/or shaky hands.

[KRONIKLChu]

Oh yeah and I have more photos from that day if anyone would like to see them  

[ALwin]

1. You can't really practice without having your own camera.  So think about getting one.

 

2. The photos you posted appear ok, at least for now as I am viewing the site on my phone.  Will comment more later when I get in front of a larger screen.

[KRONIKLChu]

3 minutes ago, ALwin said:

1. You can't really practice without having your own camera.  So think about getting one.

 

2. The photos you posted appear ok, at least for now as I am viewing the site on my phone.  Will comment more later when I get in front of a larger screen.

I am definitely considering getting one, my birthday is July 19th so I'm hoping to get one then

[Evanair]

One thing I noticed is you're always at the same level, except the one ECU shot.

 

Try experimenting with different angles, different ideas. One thing to think of once you've got the normal shots is, ok how would this look from a kids angle, from someone 8 feet tall, someone super shy, someone who hides in a tree... etc etc.

 

Also, look into the rule of thirds. That alone will help.

[ALwin]

There's really a lot to say about how to improve your photography skills.  However if you are really keen on it, I would recommend reading these two books as a start.

 

Within the Frame by David DuChemin

https://www.amazon.com/Within-Frame-Journey-Photographic-Vision/dp/0321605020/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1466902009&sr=8-4&keywords=david+duchemin

 

The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman

https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-Composition-Design-Digital/dp/0240809343/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466902080&sr=8-1&keywords=photographers+eye

[KRONIKLChu]

Thanks I'll definitely look into getting those books and the rule of thirds, I think I have pictures from a few other angles it's just a hassle getting them off Facebook at the moment!

[zdog16]

The 2 biggest facets of photography that I suggest people look at when they want to get better is 

1. Learn how to properly compose a shot
2. Get out of Auto

Composition is very important but for every great pic that follows the rules there's a pic that doesn't follow any rules, you have to learn when it's okay to break the rules and when you need to follow the rules. Since you don't have a camera yet use your phone. A camera is a camera, whether its also a phone or if its a professional grade DSLR, They work about the same, composition rules still apply so go out and shoot. 

 

Second, you have to get out of Auto mode. Every digital camera has an auto mode, if your still just playing with composition then auto is fine, but when you want to start taking better pictures, you have to get out of Auto. Learn how the exposure triangle works and how to manipulate your camera's settings to get the image you want. The images you posted look really good, but they look like they were shot in auto or in a scene mode for the action shots. If you don't own a camera yet, download an app to your phone that allows you to change all of the camera settings like a DSLR. I personally don't know of one because I have always had access to DLSRs so someone else will have to post what their favorite is. Also learn how to control your focus mode, focus is so vital to every photo you need to be able to get the shot in focus. You're first image is out of focus and while it's still a cool image, it would not be a usable shot in a portfolio or to be delivered to a client. 

 

Once you get into DSLR photography a bit more you should look into shooting in RAW format, but that's a bit more advanced, and unnecessary for anyone just starting out. 

[KRONIKLChu]

Well the camera she uses is the Canon EOS 1200D which is priced significantly cheaper than I expected at 330 euro so I think I'll be buying that before the end of July and while I do like the picture quality on my iPhone I don't know of any apps that allow for that much control of an iPhone camera even though apple added support for them in iOS 8 I believe. And I know about raw I just haven't really used it before because the only camera I ever had that supported it was my crappy HTC One m9 camera. It's my friends camera and she is a bit nervous to take it out of auto but when I get my own I definitely will. I took these two images yesterday. One on the Canon and the other on my phone (Obviously because the canon is in the shot lol) (Yes we were playing with bubbles  )

 

[ShadowCaptain]

17 hours ago, KRONIKLChu said:

Well the camera she uses is the Canon EOS 1200D

 

while I do like the picture quality on my iPhone I don't know of any apps that allow for that much control of an iPhone camera

 

and I know about raw I just haven't really used it before because the only

 

my friends camera and she is a bit nervous to take it out of auto

Nikon cameras at the budget end are significantly better, a D3200 or something is a better investment

 

Depends what you want to control, there are apps to give you manual ISO, Shutter speed and manual focus! 

 

Apps I use - Manual Cam, Hyperlapse, Hypocam (for B&W), Filmic Pro for video (amazing)

Editing - snapseed, lightroom

 

RAW is king  seriously when you learn to edit and process, you can do so much with RAW - its also a safeguard to some degree if you take a bad photo, you can often recover it in RAW - eg if a photo is too dark you can easily correct the exposure, white balance etc

 

ah tell them to shove it in M and go play, they can always switch back to auto, there is nothing to break

[Hackentosher]

Those photos look fine, but a little over exposed for my taste. You could increase your shutter speed a bit to darken the image a little bit, or use a higher F stop. 

[Bsmith]

22 hours ago, KRONIKLChu said:

Well the camera she uses is the Canon EOS 1200D which is priced significantly cheaper than I expected at 330 euro so I think I'll be buying that before the end of July and while I do like the picture quality on my iPhone I don't know of any apps that allow for that much control of an iPhone camera even though apple added support for them in iOS 8 I believe. And I know about raw I just haven't really used it before because the only camera I ever had that supported it was my crappy HTC One m9 camera. It's my friends camera and she is a bit nervous to take it out of auto but when I get my own I definitely will. I took these two images yesterday. One on the Canon and the other on my phone (Obviously because the canon is in the shot lol) (Yes we were playing with bubbles  )

 

-snips-

 

Like @ShadowCaptain said the quality of Nikon camera's in this range is most of the time far better(thanks for the reminder captain obvious)
But that doesn't mean that the quality of Canon is severely lacking anything, if there is anything with it and you are willing to spent some time to learn to work with RAW shots you can get very decent if not high quality shots out of them.
I shoot with a 1200D and it's sometimes not that bad, although it can be a bit of a stubborn thing sometimes when you ignore the build in light meter or shoot outside of it's comfort zone on purpose, if you do that it can lock up it's self after which you have to restart it(which is a matter of 2 seconds) for reference of what is possible I would like to refer you to my flickr account.

Like said above RAW is something that can save your photo since you have the ability to change exposure otherwise you have to be lucky that you can get all out creative with your photo and get a result that ends up like the image below.

fallout cosplay cartoon style by thommy saltzherr, on Flickr

 

an other tip that always comes in handy, never stop trying. I have been in the situation that I was about to give up but someone persuaded me to keep going and that ended pretty well in the end, owh and never be afraid to try something new, no matter what people say.