Advice on getting better.....
Discussion
I am sure that this topic has been posted before, I have had a quick look but cannot find anything so here goes;
About a year ago I invested in a D40, mainly for family photo's - I was frustrated with the lack of control that I had from the point and shoot digital so decided to go for a starter DSLR.
I have been getting to grips with the basics over the past year and have taken some shots that I am quite proud of but now want to do more. I am particularly interested in getting 'motion' shots (subject in focus but background giving the impression of speed), and atmospheric shots ('moody' landscapes etc). Ideally I would like to enrol on an evening class but as a contractor don't know where I will be working from one month to the next so need to find a decent self study or guide. I have bought the DSLR for dummies book but it is more of a guide on camera settings and photoshop than a guide to setting up decent photo's.
My question is, can anyone recommend a decent book/study guide that will go beyond the 'for Dummies' guide and help me compose the sort of photo's I would like to produce? There are loads of books out there and you could spend a fortune and learn very little - I always think its best to get advice from the experienced!
Thanks in advance for your advice.....
I was in the same situation as you. I have the D40x, its my first SLR, had it about a year and i wanted to get better at panning (motion) shots.
The best adivce i can give is go go a local race track, or if not go stand at the side of a buisy road and pratice. Practice getting shutter speeds right and panning (moving the camera with the car as it passes). Just keep trying over and over, some will come out better than others. Success rate of panning shots can be improved if you use a monopole but i sugest for now just practice keeping your hands steady and moving across.
Hope that helps and i wish you luck at perfecting motion shots.
The best adivce i can give is go go a local race track, or if not go stand at the side of a buisy road and pratice. Practice getting shutter speeds right and panning (moving the camera with the car as it passes). Just keep trying over and over, some will come out better than others. Success rate of panning shots can be improved if you use a monopole but i sugest for now just practice keeping your hands steady and moving across.
Hope that helps and i wish you luck at perfecting motion shots.
There's basically a few rules to photography you have to learn, some technical aspects, and the creative, artistic side. I don't think anyone is ever happy that they have mastered everything! You need to learn the technical aspects so you can achieve what you want, then get to grips with the creative aspects, inspiration, personal style etc.
IMO a knowledge of the following will get you a long way (after that you should be able to achieve what you want):
- Exposure values, and how adjusting shutter speed, ISO and Aperture affects them.
- The effect of different apertures on depth of field and shutter speed on motion.
- The reciprocal rule - avoiding lens shake by ensuring shutter speed is greater than 1/focal length of the lens used
- The effect of different focal lengths on perspective and depth of field
- Metering in different situations
- Composition - "rule of thirds", magic ratio, lead in lines, subjective focus etc.
- Basic post processing (Photoshop) - Levels/curves/sharpening etc.
IMO a knowledge of the following will get you a long way (after that you should be able to achieve what you want):
- Exposure values, and how adjusting shutter speed, ISO and Aperture affects them.
- The effect of different apertures on depth of field and shutter speed on motion.
- The reciprocal rule - avoiding lens shake by ensuring shutter speed is greater than 1/focal length of the lens used
- The effect of different focal lengths on perspective and depth of field
- Metering in different situations
- Composition - "rule of thirds", magic ratio, lead in lines, subjective focus etc.
- Basic post processing (Photoshop) - Levels/curves/sharpening etc.
Edited by VxDuncan on Friday 11th July 00:10
VxDuncan said:
There's basically a few rules to photography you have to learn, some technical aspects, and the creative, artistic side. I don't think anyone is ever happy that they have mastered everything! You need to learn the technical aspects so you can achieve what you want, then get to grips with the creative aspects, inspiration, personal style etc.
IMO a knowledge of the following will get you a long way (after that you should be able to achieve what you want):
- Exposure values, and how adjusting shutter speed, ISO and Aperture affects them.
- The effect of different apertures on depth of field and shutter speed on motion.
- The reciprocal rule - avoiding lens shake by ensuring shutter speed is greater than 1/focal length of the lens used
- The effect of different focal lengths on perspective and depth of field
- Metering in different situations
- Composition - "rule of thirds", magic ratio, lead in lines, subjective focus etc.
- Basic post processing (Photoshop) - Levels/curves/sharpening etc.
Firstly thanks to all for your advice so far. VxDuncan, this is exactly the sort of info I am after and am not sure where to find it..........so far I am yet to come across anything that lays out in simple terms how to use all of the settings together to capture the sort of shots I would like to be taking!IMO a knowledge of the following will get you a long way (after that you should be able to achieve what you want):
- Exposure values, and how adjusting shutter speed, ISO and Aperture affects them.
- The effect of different apertures on depth of field and shutter speed on motion.
- The reciprocal rule - avoiding lens shake by ensuring shutter speed is greater than 1/focal length of the lens used
- The effect of different focal lengths on perspective and depth of field
- Metering in different situations
- Composition - "rule of thirds", magic ratio, lead in lines, subjective focus etc.
- Basic post processing (Photoshop) - Levels/curves/sharpening etc.
Edited by VxDuncan on Friday 11th July 00:10
I went to the Goodwood FOS today and did have a bit of a play with the settings, sad to admit that most of the photo's turned out quite poor! I managed to get close on a couple of shots with the feel of movement but not quite in the way I was trying to capture - trouble is I am still trying to work out what settings make what difference, and its often difficult to see until the photo's have been loaded onto a PC.
Here are a couple that I shot today for your comment and feedback.....
I was trying to highlight the contrast of the blue sky with the rusting steel work that was in contrast with the Discovery.
This was one of many attempts at panning.
Another no so successful attempt at panning.
A point and click where I was trying to capture the drama of the Wildcat in full tilt.
One of the few shots I took today that I am happy with.
OK-ish
Not so OK, I wanted to get the car in clear focus with blurred scenery.
If you are at a loose end there are more here, please feel free to provide advice and feedback - its the only way I am going to get better!
http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa86/littleredb...
I know that this probably sounds quite basic stuff to you chaps
I would say the one of the BMW F1 car was taken at too high a shutter speed, you've got a little bit of movement in there, but you can still pick out individual people in the crowd and see the spoke arrangement on the wheels, I'd try going for a slower shutter speed in future.
You'll need a slower shutter speed for slower moving objects and to up the speed for faster moving ones.
You'll need a slower shutter speed for slower moving objects and to up the speed for faster moving ones.
Hi there,
Bit of advice (after looking at the EXIF on each of your images). It appears as though (in the last 3 images) you have selected AV mode on your dial (Aperture Priority) which means you have more control over the depth of field (DOF) as oppose to the Shutter speed which you mention you would like to improve on.
The motorbike shot looks as though it was taken in AV mode too but it has come out really good imho.
I use a 350d so settings for you might be slightly different on your D40.
- For pan shots i use TV mode.
- Make sure your camera is set to "continuous shoot" mode on my camera it is represented by three layered rectangle type boxes.
- Also make sure you have an AF point defined (see here for more details http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/m... ) - what this prevents is an automatic AutoFocus point being selected (ie a tree in the background).
I usually set the shutter speed 1/80 generally to 1/320.
Lastly some useful forums/sites to visit, as well as here, i go on flickr, purely to tap in keywords ie "nikon d60 pan shot" in your case, or nikon d40 shutter etc... check out images on there and (down the right hand side) in most case EXIF data should be available.
Photography-on-the.net i mostly browse as oppose to posting for motorsport photos taken and (again as above) i tend to try and seek out what exif data is available in order to determine how i might go about setting my camera up before i venture out to take photos myself.
Probably not a common place to go is the photography forum on the saxosportsclub.com - there is a few regulars who post there work on there for peeps to see, DaveG & Poah i think are theyre usernames are. They seem to know there stuff.
Hope this has been of some help to you.
We all have to start somewhere and i am sure over time like me you will see an improvement in your photography.
Cheers
Nick
Bit of advice (after looking at the EXIF on each of your images). It appears as though (in the last 3 images) you have selected AV mode on your dial (Aperture Priority) which means you have more control over the depth of field (DOF) as oppose to the Shutter speed which you mention you would like to improve on.
The motorbike shot looks as though it was taken in AV mode too but it has come out really good imho.
I use a 350d so settings for you might be slightly different on your D40.
- For pan shots i use TV mode.
- Make sure your camera is set to "continuous shoot" mode on my camera it is represented by three layered rectangle type boxes.
- Also make sure you have an AF point defined (see here for more details http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/m... ) - what this prevents is an automatic AutoFocus point being selected (ie a tree in the background).
I usually set the shutter speed 1/80 generally to 1/320.
Lastly some useful forums/sites to visit, as well as here, i go on flickr, purely to tap in keywords ie "nikon d60 pan shot" in your case, or nikon d40 shutter etc... check out images on there and (down the right hand side) in most case EXIF data should be available.
Photography-on-the.net i mostly browse as oppose to posting for motorsport photos taken and (again as above) i tend to try and seek out what exif data is available in order to determine how i might go about setting my camera up before i venture out to take photos myself.
Probably not a common place to go is the photography forum on the saxosportsclub.com - there is a few regulars who post there work on there for peeps to see, DaveG & Poah i think are theyre usernames are. They seem to know there stuff.
Hope this has been of some help to you.
We all have to start somewhere and i am sure over time like me you will see an improvement in your photography.
Cheers
Nick
Edited by pmcuksnapper on Saturday 12th July 21:19
Edited by pmcuksnapper on Saturday 12th July 22:09
I've just started out with trying on "proper" photography, and got myself an EOS 450d earlier this week. I went to the FOS today to have a go at precisely the things you want to do, panning action shots of cars in motion.
It's pretty difficult to get right! I did experiment a lot with shutter speeds in Tv mode, but found that focusing was the biggest problem. Getting the background blue is easy enough, but getting the car/bike in focus properly at the same time is very hit and miss for me.
Your shots look very similar to mine in quality (ie sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't) but I really love that shot of the Stratos taking off, it's brilliant!
Here's a couple of examples of when it worked for me today:
It's pretty difficult to get right! I did experiment a lot with shutter speeds in Tv mode, but found that focusing was the biggest problem. Getting the background blue is easy enough, but getting the car/bike in focus properly at the same time is very hit and miss for me.
Your shots look very similar to mine in quality (ie sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't) but I really love that shot of the Stratos taking off, it's brilliant!
Here's a couple of examples of when it worked for me today:
pmcuksnapper said:
Hi there,
Bit of advice (after looking at the EXIF on each of your images). It appears as though (in the last 3 images) you have selected AV mode on your dial (Aperture Priority) which means you have more control over the depth of field (DOF) as oppose to the Shutter speed which you mention you would like to improve on.
The motorbike shot looks as though it was taken in AV mode too but it has come out really good imho.
I use a 350d so settings for you might be slightly different on your D40.
- For pan shots i use TV mode.
- Make sure your camera is set to "continuous shoot" mode on my camera it is represented by three layered rectangle type boxes.
- Also make sure you have an AF point defined (see here for more details http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/m... ) - what this prevents is an automatic AutoFocus point being selected (ie a tree in the background).
I usually set the shutter speed 1/80 generally to 1/320.
Lastly some useful forums/sites to visit, as well as here, i go on flickr, purely to tap in keywords ie "nikon d60 pan shot" in your case, or nikon d40 shutter etc... check out images on there and (down the right hand side) in most case EXIF data should be available.
Photography-on-the.net i mostly browse as oppose to posting for motorsport photos taken and (again as above) i tend to try and seek out what exif data is available in order to determine how i might go about setting my camera up before i venture out to take photos myself.
Probably not a common place to go is the photography forum on the saxosportsclub.com - there is a few regulars who post there work on there for peeps to see, DaveG & Poah i think are theyre usernames are. They seem to know there stuff.
Hope this has been of some help to you.
We all have to start somewhere and i am sure over time like me you will see an improvement in your photography.
Cheers
Nick
Nick, thank you for taking the time to review the shots and exif info, in reviewing the shots myself I can see what you mean. I think that for some reason I forgot to change the priority from A to S when taking the moving shots (I took a lot of stills on Friday as well). I have a very long way to go but am making progress, I am still amazed at the difference a seemingly small setting change can make to the final product of a shot. I look with envy at some of the shots posted up on PH but am also beginning to realise that a lot of these shots have been corrected with photoshop or similar so I may soon be investing in some photo software.Bit of advice (after looking at the EXIF on each of your images). It appears as though (in the last 3 images) you have selected AV mode on your dial (Aperture Priority) which means you have more control over the depth of field (DOF) as oppose to the Shutter speed which you mention you would like to improve on.
The motorbike shot looks as though it was taken in AV mode too but it has come out really good imho.
I use a 350d so settings for you might be slightly different on your D40.
- For pan shots i use TV mode.
- Make sure your camera is set to "continuous shoot" mode on my camera it is represented by three layered rectangle type boxes.
- Also make sure you have an AF point defined (see here for more details http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/m... ) - what this prevents is an automatic AutoFocus point being selected (ie a tree in the background).
I usually set the shutter speed 1/80 generally to 1/320.
Lastly some useful forums/sites to visit, as well as here, i go on flickr, purely to tap in keywords ie "nikon d60 pan shot" in your case, or nikon d40 shutter etc... check out images on there and (down the right hand side) in most case EXIF data should be available.
Photography-on-the.net i mostly browse as oppose to posting for motorsport photos taken and (again as above) i tend to try and seek out what exif data is available in order to determine how i might go about setting my camera up before i venture out to take photos myself.
Probably not a common place to go is the photography forum on the saxosportsclub.com - there is a few regulars who post there work on there for peeps to see, DaveG & Poah i think are theyre usernames are. They seem to know there stuff.
Hope this has been of some help to you.
We all have to start somewhere and i am sure over time like me you will see an improvement in your photography.
Cheers
Nick
Thanks again, I am gradually making up a cheat sheet that should help - still looking for the 'magic bullet' book that will give me the leg up!
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