Photography Starter Question.

[inkpad.t]

Hi all..

I've delved in to taking photos in the past.. but each time I get them on to the pc they look really "NAFF" and I just end up binning them.

Most of the time its because where I live is a boring place for taking photos, well for me it is, there is nothing interesting to take.

I was just wondering if photography is really a hard subject to get in to, or am I making it hard for myself not making the right subject choice. ?.

As a starter is there a subject I should choose and get around that first before trying other things ? like just taking a photo of a flower, or a dog, or dust bin, or .. well you know what I mean.

I get all confused sometimes thing about light, angle, and don't even know where to start reference exposure and camera settings etc..

I only have a simple hand held point and click camera , is this what's letting me down ?.

I do believe I am totally frustrated and don't know where to start, or even if i should give it another go.

 

[ALB68]

Photography is not about the camera you have, it is about your creativity using it.
I keep recommending this for learning software, but the guy that presents is also a photographer. You might just want to check it out, I have gone through Adobe illustrator and two Photoshop courses and I highly recommend them. He has a full course on digital photography too. You can join for $25 and have access to everything and there is a ton of stuff on there.
Here is the link http://www.infiniteskills.com/
Edit-added this

Hi all..

I've delved in to taking photos in the past.. but each time I get them on to the pc they look really "NAFF" and I just end up binning them.

Most of the time its because where I live is a boring place for taking photos, well for me it is, there is nothing interesting to take.

I was just wondering if photography is really a hard subject to get in to, or am I making it hard for myself not making the right subject choice. ?.

As a starter is there a subject I should choose and get around that first before trying other things ? like just taking a photo of a flower, or a dog, or dust bin, or .. well you know what I mean.

I get all confused sometimes thing about light, angle, and don't even know where to start reference exposure and camera settings etc..

I only have a simple hand held point and click camera , is this what's letting me down ?.

I do believe I am totally frustrated and don't know where to start, or even if i should give it another go.

 

[Lauren Cabanas]

Dont get down! Youre just starting. Maybe street photography of people. Lots of people create awesome photography with just there iphones so dont let your camera weigh you down

 

[Lauren Cabanas]

look at different photography blogs to get you inspired

 

[fotograffiti]

My son was 8 and had a plastic camera (not digital) and took some wonderful shots.
Just take lots to practice. Go to a market, it's colourful and lots of things happen.
Good luck and don't hesitate posting some.

 

[IamSam]

Photography is not about the camera you have, it is about your creativity using it.
That about wraps it up.

I feel that knowing what to point your camera at is half the job. It's about how and what you see as being a subject of interest. Some photographers are well versed in the operation of the camera, lighting, etc., but are only good at portraits and still life. The true artists of photography see the world differently. They can offer a unique perspective and beauty on every day objects that we all view daily but overlook. You may think that where you live is boring..........I don't think it is. Change how you view it and you'll be surprised at what you might find!

 

[egosbar]

composition is the key , yes flash cameras do help as point and shoots try too expose for the whole scene where with a dslr if you know what your doing you can adjust

for starters learn composition , the rule of thirds is something you should look at , for practice pick say a shape and color so for instance go out for a couple of hours and shoot everything you can see that is a circle or blue or better still both , shoot from different angles and really study the backround before you press the shutter , light is a huge factor in photography the best light is soft like cloudy days , sunsets and sunrises , shooting in the middle of the day in harsh light especially with a point and shoot wont do you any favors , read as much as you can on photography composition , because your shooting auto you dont need to understand aperture iso or shutter speed just yet , its not hard its making sure you look through the viewfinder at what you want too see as a photo , look for things like trees or posts in the backround coming out of a persons head all you have too do is move or move them , good luck and keep practicing

heres some ive taken over the last few months to inspire you i hope , thing is i target about 5 real keepers like these out of 100 , with digital images its not as expensive as it was with film to experiment , all photographers dont get great images all the time , oh and make sure you are very steady when pressing the shutter , camera shake is a bad mistake , you dont want too compose everything well then get a blurred shot

if i can do it so can you , but i work hard and study about it , ive watches thousands of hours on utube or video tutorials , you must note that all of these are enhanced in photoshop as i shoot raw files , youd be amazed how much you can improve an image with a couple of minutes of adjustments too color , white balance , contrast etc

 

[Tom Mann]

Hi Inkpad -

Unfortunately, I find it very difficult to give someone advice in such matters unless I know them much better than I know you. For example, I don't know what type of images you like, and hence, would also probably like to be able to take.

For some types of images, the technical aspects (eg, sharpness, lighting, color) are paramount, so you probably shouldn't be trying to work in such areas using only a simple point and shoot (P&S) camera.

Whereas, for other types of images, factors like composition, catching the decisive moment, or uniqueness of the subject trump minor technical shortcomings. In yet other types, style (eg, clothing, accessories, a hip setting, facial expression and posing, etc. ) is the main attraction. You have to decide which of these areas appeal to you.

Personally, deciding on which of the above I want to concentrate on changes from day to day. However, I have found an approach that helps me decide which direction I want to go in: Over the years, if I see an image that I really like, I save it in a folder called "inspiration". Inside that folder are separate sub-folders for portraits, animals, sports, landscapes, bugs and flowers, other macros, events (corporate, weddings, parties, etc.), street, products, local news, etc.

If I'm not working on a specific project and feeling "photographer's block" coming on, I browse through my little collection and see what tickles my fancy at that moment. Next, I always try to understand exactly why I like that particular photo more than others, and what it would take in terms of technique, equipment, locations, etc. to do something similar. If it turns out that I don't have the skills, equipment or access to the needed location or materials, I might try to rectify the situation, or, if I'm a bit less motiviated, switch to a different type of photography until I acquire what is needed to do a half-way decent job in the area.

I have learned a huge amount using just this method. You might want to do the same. If you don't already have you own collection of example photos, just browse through Google Images till you see something you like, and then do the analysis I mentioned above.

However, while it is true that the importance of technical aspects does vary from one form of photography to another, no matter what you are trying to do, you always need at least basic technical skills (eg, exposure, sharpness, lighting, etc.) to be able to turn what you are envisioning into reality. So, if you don't feel confident in your skills, do some studying, either on your own, or in a more formal setting.

Finally, why don't you post one of your images that you sorta-kinda like, but you don't feel is really up to par. Let us know why *you* don't like it, and we can try to make suggestions.

HTH,

Tom

 

[Tom Mann]

PS - nice images, Ego! I especially like the cream toned portrait.

BTW, don't u love it when someone compliments your pictures by saying, "You must have a really good camera", LOL.

 

[inkpad.t]

Thank you very much everyone... such good info to take in..

Tom... the main type of images I was taking was pictures of streets and landscapes, some people and street objects like phone box's, post box's. benches, doorways , road grids and stuff like that.

I got inspired to start taking photos to get my own resources for Photoshop, I got really in to images that only what I can describe as as Sin City effect looking, I think there's another wording for it called colour splash? not sure.

I really like the black and white image with one focal point being in red, say a women's dress, or a post box on the street ect.
I really just sterted going out and taking images of everything I could see . but when got them on the pc just hated them and thought " I have no idea what I'm doing" when it comes to taking photos, they were grainy, ghostly, fuzzy or dull.

This frustrated me even further hence why I posted for advice, since I got so mad with myself I deleted the images, I will go out and try again and post the ones I take so you can see them and get more of idea of what i am trying to achieve.

I don't want to go out and buy a DLS camera that this time as 2 things stop me, is photography for me and I simply can not afford it at this moment in time.

I will however take on board what has been advised when i next go and take more images , and hopefully get a better result.

Thank you everyone.

 

[ALB68]

inkpad,
I am certainly not an art connoisseur, but the examples on your link certainly speak well of your ability as an artist and a photographer. So quit your complaining and go to work!!! Good job on all IMHO!

 

[Tom Mann]

"...I really just sterted going out and taking images of everything I could see . but when got them on the pc just hated them and thought " I have no idea what I'm doing" when it comes to taking photos, they were grainy, ghostly, fuzzy or dull..."

There are several reasons photos might look like that. When u get a chance, take a few more shots and post them. Fixing technical problems is a lot easier than fixing artistic/ motivational /psychological pblms, which I thought was where this was going, LOL.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[inkpad.t]

Thanks again guys...

it's both really Tom.. not good at explaining stuff about photography... Motivation is not an issue, The artistic and psychological problems seem to stem from not knowing the technical issues if that sounds right. Not knowing how to take the photo, sometimes they look terrible, For instance I got up early one morning and wanted to get a photo of our high street when it was empty. I stood right in the middle of the street and took the photo, thought OK not a bad one, but when it was on the pc I had not taken a good image as I thought, one side of the street was to far over to the right than the other . tilted to one side, and was out of focus slightly.

I wanted to get that far away feeling on then middle of the image on the horizon ( which was also out ) , but just didn't get there with it.

I think .. is it the camera? ( Vivitar, VivCam s128 ) one of the cheapest I know but all I have, or is the way I'm taking the picture ? do I move just as the press the button?

So really its both sides, i just can't seem to get a good image from an interesting artistic view as well as getting focus properly using the camera.

Sorry for wineing

 

[Tom Mann]

Good news, Inkpad: It's not you. It's almost certainly your camera ... not in the sense of you not knowing how to use it or something "wrong" with it, but because of its inherent limitations, especially in dim light conditions.

Here's the problem. I looked up the specs for your camera, and found that it has a fixed focus lens (ie, no optical zoom, no focusing). The good thing about this is that short of being stepped on by an elephant, the focus of the lens is almost certainly exactly what it was set to be at the factory, ie, some middle distance like 10 feet. They do this so that everything from, say, 6 feet to infinity will sorta-kinda be in focus. However, the bad aspect of fixed focus lenses is that if you magnify the image either using its built in digital zoom, or equivalently by cropping in PS and then magnifying to fill your screen, only a much smaller range (say, 8 to 12 feet) will actually appear reasonably sharp.

The next problem is that the sensor has a fixed, low native sensitivity (ISO = 200). The usual way the system works is that for bright, sunny days, there is no problem -- the camera uses shot exposure times. However, for dim light, it can't make the exposure arbitrarily long because of the problem of the camera shaking when it is hand-held, so what it does is to increase the exposure time to the maximum it thinks reasonable, say, 1/30th of a second, but to get an image with reasonable brightness, it electronically amplifies the sensor output. This brings out all the noise (grain) that you are seeing, exactly as if you had done this in Photoshop by moving the "exposure" slider way to the right to "fix" a dark photo.

The 1/30th second, or whatever max exposure time they set is another compromise. It probably will be just barely acceptable so long as your hands are steady as a rock and you don't attempt to magnify the image (again, either with the in-camera zoom, or by cropping and then blowing up the result to fill your screen).

So, my guess is that your early morning High Street shot probably brought all of the above limitations. About the only thing you can do to help that camera's limitations is to take all photos in dim light using a tripod. You can also experiment with the various settings on the "scene" menu, and be sure that "anti-shake" is turned on. BTW, in case you don't have it, the manual for your camera is here:
http://www.vivitar.com/files_products/609/ViviCam_F128_Camera_Manual.pdf

Sorry, gotta run. More later,

Tom

 

[inkpad.t]

ALB68.. Thanks for looking at the art and your kind comments, i must be doing something right at least,,thank you.

Tom... What can i say except thank you very much for taking the time to look at this and respond as you have... Not knowing anything about photography is becoming a stumbling block for me, i like going out and taking the photos even though its kind a dull here with not much of a place for content.

I will download that manual and take a look, I will also see if there's somewhere i can get a tripod for it. On the other hand though i might be better off putting that money in to the savings pot for now till i can get a better camera without so many limitations.

Once again Tom .. thank you very much.

 

[inkpad.t]

Just looking at that manual... i see you can set the scene.. what is a high sensitivity scene? and would it help me in any way?.

Thank you.

 

[Tom Mann]

Hi Inkpad - You are quite welcome! This has to be short because I'm about to get on a train, but to answer your question, "high sensitivity" will help in some ways, hurt in others. Basically, it changes the gain of the electronic amplifiers so that a shorter exposure time can be used. This will reduce blurring from camera movement (shake). The downside is that it will almost certainly greatly increase the noise/grain. You can have one or the other, but not both.

More thoughts about tripods and saving up for a new camera later tonight (Washington, DC time). The bottom line is that for the type of shots I think you want, you need a camera that allows you to be operated in a fully manual mode. You would be astonished at the results you can get even with an older model (as long as it has the above feature) when placed on a tripod -- just don't plan on shooting basketball or F1 racing with it, LOL.

Tom

 

[fotograffiti]

both a friend and my stepdaughter are on a photography course.
My stepdaughter has a little camera (she can change lenses however) while all the other students come with impressive DSLR's. I saw most of the photo's taken and guess what, her's were far better than the other one's.
My friend's teacher said : I will not force any of you into buying an expensive camera. He looked into the specifications of everybody's camera to be able to help them with the best settings.

I saw your work and I'm really impressed.

 

[egosbar]

if your really interested in improving your photography you will most likely have too move into the world of dslrs or maybe mirrorless might be the way to go , im not saying you cant get good images with point and shoots its just that you havent got the freedom to adapt to difficult conditions and most wont perform well in low light , if you are thinking on a new camera let us know a budget , for about $550 a nikon d3100 with 18-55 and 55-300 would be a good start but id save twice as much and get the d7100 or the d5300 for about 1000-1200
in the meantime study basic photography ie aperture shutter speed and iso and how they work together , at least this will let you and us know from your exif data what is going on in your shots , its a little confusing when you start but after when the lightbulb goes on its pretty easy

 

[egosbar]

just read your post on not being able too afford a dslr , with your photoshop and artistic talent im sure you will be great at photography when you get going (buying an older second hand camera wont set you back more then 1-300 bucks), ask around maybe one of your freinds or family may have an old dslr you can borrow , id prepare anyway, heres a good link that shows what aperture , shutter speed and iso mean , pretty much if you do get to borrow one your aim should be shooting the lowest iso the light allows iso 100 , then shooting a shutter speed at least equal to your focal length but i try for double , then all you have to do is decide on depth of feild focus ( aperture )

have a play here in different conditions , http://camerasim.com/apps/camera-simulator/
its also a good basic read