Creative photography

[TJ]

this is a continuation from the digital cameras 101 & 102 thread. feel free to read up on the original thread. there is also a link to my yahoo photo album that is free for viewing and if you have any comments or or wish to leave a critique, put it up on this thread. hope to get even more info, guides and tips from all of you out there. thanks


<sup>Moderator note:

The thread mentioned above is here:
http://www.digicamhelp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=q-b;action=display;num=1098209044;start=0

TJ's online photogallery is here:
http://asia.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/skylinefan23/my_photos</sup>

[ShutterbugGail]

Wow, TJ! I can't believe the improvement in such a short time. Congratulations.

Do you do image editing? If so, I have some suggestions.

When I take macro shots, as mentioned, I use spot metering. I meter at or near the brightest spot to keep the detail in that area and to avoid what is known as blown out areas.

When you do this, other parts of the image will be underexposed (darker). Then I adjust brightness and contrast (usually with levels) slightly to bring out the detail in the darker area. I always apply a bit of sharpening to my images (using unsharp mask).

Image sharpening:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/image-editing/image-sharpening.htm

Levels:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/what-is-a-histogram/levels-histogram.htm

Keep up the good work. We look forward to seeing more photos and watching your progress!

[TJ]

thanks gail, although i feel some of the pictures were not very outstanding any praise is still motivation to do better...currently, all shots in my album are not edited. thats cause i dont have photoshop and i find that the nikon view program that came with the 5400 is not very user friendly.

ill keep your advice close to heart and i am curious on how to switch to manual focus.

ill try to keep on taking more photos with different subject matter over the weeks to see how much i can apply what i have learnt here as well as what i have learnt from my friends.  

[ShutterbugGail]

...currently, all shots in my album are not edited. thats cause i dont have photoshop and i find that the nikon view program that came with the 5400 is not very user friendly.
 

There are some great, full featured photo editing programs which won't cost you a dime. Several are listed here:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/free-digital-camera-software/index.htm

I'm very fond of PhotoFiltre but it doesn't have the ability to create layers, though it has many fine features for basic editing: resizing, color enhancement, sharpening, etc.

Google recently upgraded it's great photo organizing program, Picasa2 (which is going to be featured in our next newsletter). It has improved it's photo editing features.

As to manual focus, when in a play mode, hit the menu button then scroll through until you come to Focus Options > AF area mode > then select Manual Focus.

[Deb]

Hi TJ, I love what you're doing. What fun!

Glad to hear that you're using a tripod. For such close up work, any movement on your part (nearer to or farther from your subject) could result in your focal plane shifting resulting in out-of-focus subjects. A tripod solves that issue.

One thing I thought I'd suggest, is that you experiment with your aperture settings. You can increase or decrease your range of focus by selecting smaller (ex. F16) or larger (ex. F2.8 ) apertures. This will give you more control over what part of your subject is included in your depth-of-field and, therefore, in focus. Give it a whirl.  

Keep up the good work and let us see more.  

[TJ]

thanks deb. ive learned alot since i made my appearence in this forum. gail helped alot in the early parts of my journey with my nikon 5400 (and she still helps out now). and in more recent times mike and yourself have given me advice on becoming a better photographer. these things help keep me in focus with my objectives.

the last 6 shots i posted were all taken while i handheld the camera. it took me about 5 minutes before i found a comfortable and stable position for taking the shots. i would have used a tripod but the lack of space did not allow me to do so.

ill definitely play around with the aperture settings when dealing with macros and i hope to post up better looking photos next time around.

ill try to post up more shots in a few weeks or so. this time i hope i can post up shots of people or some abstract work. i think my album is starting to feel a little predictable with so many macro shots.  

[Deb]

Happy learning and we'll be here if you need us.  

Looking forward to seeing your next collection,
Cheers!

[ShutterbugGail]

ill definitely play around with the aperture settings when dealing with macros and i hope to post up better looking photos next time around.

Meant to share this before.

Here's some information about apeture settings. On the page there is a link to additional info about Depth of Field, which applies when shooting macros.


http://www.digicamhelp.com/advanced-digital-camera-settings/aperture.htm

[TJ]

hey guys....sorry its been relatively quiet from me lately. been caught in some unnecessary and untimely interceptions to my plans of spending my holidays taking photographs. however, with chinese new year coming up in just 2 days from now, (tmr being the eve of chinese new year), i hope to get some snaps of the festivities to be put up on my yahoo album.

hope all goes to plan. see y'all soon! kong hei fatt choi!

[Deb]

Happy Chinese New Year and we look forward to seeing your photos!  

[TJ]

hey there y'all. as much as i regret to say this but my uni sem has finally started. that means for the next 3 months or so, i might be able to put up maybe 5-6 new photos total. (if im not swamped with work that is). this really puts me off but then it allows me to get some inspiration and maybe....just maybe i might be able to produce something really really good. best wishes to all those in the same predicament as myself and happy shooting photo fans.

see y'all soon.

[ShutterbugGail]

Hey, TJ,

No matter when your schedule permits, it will be nice to see more of your photos in the future. Most of us go through periods when we don't have time to take photos...and that is certainly okay. We should enjoy digital photography!

Don't work too hard.  

gail

[TJ]

hey guys, sorry for the super long absence. i finally took some shots today. was inspired by some wierd growth i saw. its all there on my yahoo album along with a macro of a plant and a sunset pic. once again let me know what all of you guys think......

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi TJ,

Good to hear from you. We look forward to taking a peek at your photos...though I'm not sure about the photo of "weird growth."     Please post the link in this thread so it's easier for everyone to find.

thanks

[Mike54]

I'm not sure about that growth either, are you sure that's not where birds hang out after eating purple berries. I do like that shot of the sun though.

TJ's Gallery is here.

[Deb]

Hi there, I like oogy things so your purple growth was a big hit with me. (Hmmm, maybe it is processed berries.    )

Saw a very cool slime mold once. It was "budding" and looked like glowing orange jelly with antennae.

[TJ]

hehe! that was my first guess mike. it really did look like "recycled" berries. but still makes for a rather disturbing yet interesting snap. ill put up the link to my yahoo album the next time i post more pictures up.

thanks for the comments and ill keep an eye out  for more things to snap at. see y'all soon

[TJ]

hi there guys...took some potrait shots of a few of my friends today..not sure how they fare but i kinda think they're alright....ill post them in my photo album in yahoo under potraits. by all means do swing by and post a comment if you want. thanks guys..hope to shoot more as the year ends.

http://asia.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/skylinefan23/my_photos

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi TJ,

Nice job! I really like the "playful" [photo. Makes you want to chuckle. So glad you're enjoying your camera!

[Deb]

Hi there TJ, thanks for sharing! "Joy" is my favorite. That smile makes me beam from ear to ear.