Photography Advice please

[Drexyl]

In anticipation of jetting off to Kenya for my 'olidays in a fortnight, I went out and bought myself a new camera. It's a digital SLR type jobbie and the first one I've really had, my last being a rather old Sony Cybershot compact.

Now, I don't know nuffin about photo software for the compooper, 'cause the Cybershot just linked into the USB and displayed the snaps. So I was wondering what would be the best software for a relative newbie to get to grips with? It's hard to say what I want to do with my pictures as I don't know what the different packages offer. So, as there are a few of you that are into your snapping, I'm really hoping you can offer some tips.

 

Many thanks

 

Carleton

[Stew]

If you wanna see lions go to Kenya! If you wanna see tigers go to kenya........

 

Sorry to be no help but that was one of the best internet things ever!

[Chesterfield]

There are no tigers in Kenya

 

The best advice I can give, having done exactly the same thing (bough my SLR before going to Kenya) is as follows:

 

Set your camera to take shots in "raw" mode if it can, rather than JPG. These take up more memory, so you will get less on a memory card.

 

The reason I say this is that shooting in raw mode captures more data than a simple JPG image. Which means that when you get back, you can learn how to use photoshop and other software to make your photos look truly amazing. If you take the shots in JPG, there is little you can do - but with RAW, you can alter exposure, shadows, hilights etc etc.

 

As they take up more space, you may need to buy more memory cards. I took about 5GB of photos on a two week safari.

 

What camera is it?

 

There may be a site that gives you some tips on how to use it.

 

Also, practice, practice and practice. Adjust the settings in various modes and see what difference they make, so you can get used to what does what.

 

To give an example of what I mean about RAW...

 

Here is a photo I took using my SLR - if it had been in JPG it would have stayed very much like this:

 

 

 

But because I shot in RAW mode, I was able to recreate how the place actually looked, and tweak the colours to really show off the location:

 

 

Ive also been able to tweak many of my safari pictures many months after Ive taken them. I didnt take them all in RAW, but I wish I had now.

[jim]

There are no tigers in Kenya

 

The best advice I can give, having done exactly the same thing (bough my SLR before going to Kenya) is as follows:

 

Set your camera to take shots in "raw" mode if it can, rather than JPG. These take up more memory, so you will get less on a memory card.

 

The reason I say this is that shooting in raw mode captures more data than a simple JPG image. Which means that when you get back, you can learn how to use photoshop and other software to make your photos look truly amazing. If you take the shots in JPG, there is little you can do - but with RAW, you can alter exposure, shadows, hilights etc etc.

 

As they take up more space, you may need to buy more memory cards. I took about 5GB of photos on a two week safari.

 

What camera is it?

 

There may be a site that gives you some tips on how to use it.

 

Also, practice, practice and practice. Adjust the settings in various modes and see what difference they make, so you can get used to what does what.

 

To give an example of what I mean about RAW...

 

Here is a photo I took using my SLR - if it had been in JPG it would have stayed very much like this:

 

 

 

But because I shot in RAW mode, I was able to recreate how the place actually looked, and tweak the colours to really show off the location:

 

 

Ive also been able to tweak many of my safari pictures many months after Ive taken them. I didnt take them all in RAW, but I wish I had now.

 

Chris - couldn't resist straightening the horizon in your picture. Always think it helps to make a landscape shot look better.

 

[3FIDDYZ]

Your D-SLR should come with some type of RAW editing software.... Enough to change the settings like Chesterfield did. What type of camera was it?

 

Then get a copy of Photoshop, I may have an old copy of CS2 hanging around somewhere

 

Oh and get a monopod before you go, it will help no end in getting great pics

 

Oh !! Cheap memory ca be found here http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html ... 1000189163 if you got Compact Flash the 4GB extreme III is a great purchase, and I would get a few and swap even if you havnt filled them... Just incase you happen to loose the camera....

[Chesterfield]

Yes the horizon needed doing too - oops

 

This is a good site that I have used before for basic tips etc. It also has a gallery section where you can see photos that were taken using the same camera as you own.

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm

 

The links for canon and Nikon at the bottom will take you to the sections specific to those models.

[Drexyl]

Thanks chaps. It's a Sony a350 DSLR. I was going for a Canon EOS or something, tried out quite a few and on recommendation from an impartial source settled on the Sony (edit; I forgot to mention, it also got the EISA award '08-'09). I also picked up a 75-300mm telephoto lens, UV filters and a polarizing filter (for nifty horizon shots!). I bought 2x Sandisc extreme flash cards @ 2gig each (for safety), but will look into getting some more memory cards.

All in all, I think I did pretty well with a few extras thrown in, gratis. I've been reading through the instructions (I know these are for girls and should be thrown away as soon as they're removed from the box, but hey...), and am sort of getting my head round it, but I reckon It'll be a while before I'm a threat to anyone here!!!

[Chesterfield]

75 - 300 lens will be great for Safari. I have an 18-200, the extra on the 300 will probably serve you well on occasion. Be sure to get a monopole though, at 300mm you will need all the steadying you can get unless its got an incredibly low F stop on the lens (though this would have been a pretty penny).

 

You may struggle for portrait shots with the 75mm though, and not be able to do the normal "at table" shots. For those, you may want to take the standard camera you had before.

 

You should have a fantastic time in Kenya - are you going to any particular locations?

[Drexyl]

75 - 300 lens will be great for Safari. I have an 18-200, the extra on the 300 will probably serve you well on occasion. Be sure to get a monopole though, at 300mm you will need all the steadying you can get unless its got an incredibly low F stop on the lens (though this would have been a pretty penny).

 

You may struggle for portrait shots with the 75mm though, and not be able to do the normal "at table" shots. For those, you may want to take the standard camera you had before.

 

You should have a fantastic time in Kenya - are you going to any particular locations?

 

It came with a 18-70mm lens in the box, which will do for the close up stuff. We're staying at Bamburi beach, about 12k north of Mombasa. Planning the inevitable safari, but also hoping to take a balloon trip around Kilimanjaro, great for piccies

[Stew]

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/kenya

 

I remember peeing myself (not literally) when I saw that for the first time. I had been on a very difficult job away for over 3 weeks though so I think that helped!

[rmmackfc]

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/kenya

 

I remember peeing myself (not literally) when I saw that for the first time. I had been on a very difficult job away for over 3 weeks though so I think that helped!

 

OT ... but you can buy a cuddly toy of the lions etc http://www2.printshop.co.uk/Weebl/Shop/ ... egory.html

[Drexyl]

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/kenya

 

I remember peeing myself (not literally) when I saw that for the first time. I had been on a very difficult job away for over 3 weeks though so I think that helped!

 

OT ... but you can buy a cuddly toy of the lions etc http://www2.printshop.co.uk/Weebl/Shop/ ... egory.html

 

I see, I see, very good, yes I can see how this helps me choose a FRICKEN SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR MY CAMERA!!!!

[Stew]

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/kenya

 

I remember peeing myself (not literally) when I saw that for the first time. I had been on a very difficult job away for over 3 weeks though so I think that helped!

 

OT ... but you can buy a cuddly toy of the lions etc http://www2.printshop.co.uk/Weebl/Shop/ ... egory.html

 

I see, I see, very good, yes I can see how this helps me choose a FRICKEN SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR MY CAMERA!!!!

 

Admit it - you were singing along!

 

You could drop Adam (ARPhotographs) a PM seeing as he knows what he's doing.

 

Photoshop seems as widely used as any though.

[rmmackfc]

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/kenya

 

I remember peeing myself (not literally) when I saw that for the first time. I had been on a very difficult job away for over 3 weeks though so I think that helped!

 

OT ... but you can buy a cuddly toy of the lions etc http://www2.printshop.co.uk/Weebl/Shop/ ... egory.html

 

I see, I see, very good, yes I can see how this helps me choose a FRICKEN SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR MY CAMERA!!!!

 

Thats why I wrote OT ...Off Topic

 

I would recommend something like Photoshop Lightroom, it pretty easy to pick and use and not to complex and gives basic photography tweaks

 

If you are wanting to be come an expert in manipulation, then Photoshop CS is the daddy, but for a learner it can be quite difficult. I have both and tend to use Photoshop. Hope this is more helpful than the cuddly toys... Stew's fault

[stanski]

Shooting in RAW is a good idea - for such a fab trip so you have the backup option of fixing pics back home if need be as stated before.

 

- get the biggest memory cards you can afford (but check camera can handle them?)

 

Buy at least a few spare sets of extra rechargable batteries but also a set of high power alkaline batteries, which tend to last longer (heat effects batteries badly!)

 

Otherwise enjoy yourself - if you PM me I can help with software for you

 

If your camera has a sport mode (i.e a constant focus mode - you can chase a fast animal with your camera as is speeds past - without worrying too much about a blury mess !)

[ARphotographs]

Hello!!!

 

sorry i've been busy with cars,

 

 

I use photoshop cs3, its got a brilliant raw converter.

 

I swear by raw, i hate using jpegs out the camera, cause even i'll admit, i can make exposure mistakes and raw you can correct them, without over-killing the photograph.

 

spare batteries and cards are always a good start!

 

pretty much everything people have said here is what i'd recommend!

[NWZ]

Having had my first SLR for my birthday (Canon EOS 450d) i'm learning all this as well!

 

The only thing I would emphasis is defo take spare memory cards and I personally wouldn't stick to one 8gb card I would take 4 2gb cards instead. It would be hell to loose all those great holiday photos.

[Drexyl]

Thanks for all the input, guys. I looked at that CS3 software and from what I gather, for now at least, it's best left to pro's. I loaded in the software disc that came with the camera, and that has image manipulation features, but I guess on a more basic level, and that scared the sh!t out of me!!! I'm not used to this at all, and I think it's going to take some time to get my head around it all. I really like the idea of getting creative with photography, but I'm such a novice, I don't know where to start, ha ha!! I'm just hoping that I can get some ideas together before my holiday to make the best of any pictures I take. I'd hate to get home, learn some new technique and wish I'd known about it while I was away.

As far as cards go, I have 2x 2gb cards now, but I'll definitley get more before I leave. how often do cards become corrupted that I should think of getting more smaller cards than one big one?

I think I need to try and get used to the camera before I start playing around with the software otherwise it's just information overload! I looked at the website link that was posted here before, but to be honest, I'm crap at treading stuff like that on a computer, I get bored and start looking at smut again!!! Perhaps i should invest in an idiots guide book or something.

[Cool Hand Luke]

I'd recommend getting as comfortable with the camera and its settings before you head off on holiday - the reason i say that is that the emphasis should be primarily on composing/shooting the best photo's you can in the first place and using any sort of editing software as a secondary concern to lightly retouch some pics as and when needed. Rather than the other way round which might see you taking a lot of 'bad' snaps and spending hours and hours on editing software trying to make them look good.

 

Get familiar with composition, exposure and lighting - you dont need to be an expert before you go but at least having an awareness will help your pictures a great deal. Basics of composition, shutter speed, aperture settings, ISO settings, depth of field, panning, etc should help you get some good results while you are away. You can shoot at home, out the back garden, etc just to try settings and techniques and get comfortable with the camera.

 

The A350 should be a good camera too - i've heard a lot of good reviews about it. Main pro's are image stabilisation built into the body instead of the lens (canon & nikon have it built into the lens which means lenses are more expensive) and a one of the best live view systems around at the moment. Cons are flip out LCD screen only moves in two planes of movement which means if you are shooting in portrait mode the flip out screen is useless and it is very slow when used for continuous shooting i.e. motorsport or animals in motion (on safari in Kenya maybe) as it only shoots at 2.5fps (2fps in live view) - the lesser models in the sony range, the a200 & a300 shoot at 3fps - this is due to the increase in megapixels on the a350 model.

 

Hope this helps.

[stanski]

Try to get a few 4GB memory cards -they cost peanuts these days !!

 

Go for something like Sandisk Ultra II speedy ones not the cheaper early ones - the faster the transfer to the card the faster the camera can take another pciture kind of thing?

 

As Luke has said get out and about and take pics - go to the local Zoo, stand near a motorway and get used to panning shots of cars whizzing past and use your funky modes on the camera! Just play!

 

Oh Memory cards are supposed to last for years but like CD's they dont - so dont keep all your photos just on card? Get them downloaded to p.c soon as you get home and transfer to DVD or CD-R.

[Drexyl]

Okay, so a week or so with the new camera, and I'm starting to get my head around the functions. To be honest, I'm amazed at the quality of the images created just by using the 'auto' function and letting the camera decide what works best. But I have been trying out different combinations of settings between the shutter speed and aperture, er.... thing. I have figured out that at low light, the shutter speed need reducing to allow as much light in as possible, the draw back being focus issues when hand held (bought a tripod now ). In strong light, with moving objects the shutter speed should be higher to capture the image. I know also, that the aperture, er...thing gives me vary degrees of depth of field. A higher F stop number increases the aperture opening, increasing both the amount of light in and a tighter/smaller area of focus, and the lowering the F stop decreases the aperture and gives a broader range of focus across the whole shot. At least, I think it's that way around, and can anyone explain why it's called an 'F stop' and what the numbers relate to? I have also grasped the ISO/film speed thing and know that a higher ISO number is for lower light conditions (I have the camera set to 200 for normal daylight use).

 

So, how am I doing? I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I need more practice, particularly with composition, but I'm hoping that will come. Can anyone offer any more tips, ie what I should definitly avoid, or what would be optimum settings? I'm not even close to going full manual yet though!

 

Interesting what Luke said about the flip out screen being a drawback of the camera, though. It's my understanding that there are very few SLR's that have a flip out screen at all. So having one with even limited movement HAS to be a bonus, doesn't it? I can take pictures above people's heads, or from down below waist height and still see what I have framed. Rock on!

 

Cheers guys

[Cool Hand Luke]

Interesting what Luke said about the flip out screen being a drawback of the camera, though. It's my understanding that there are very few SLR's that have a flip out screen at all. So having one with even limited movement HAS to be a bonus, doesn't it? I can take pictures above people's heads, or from down below waist height and still see what I have framed. Rock on!

 

Glad you're getting the hang of things Drexyl. If i get time i'll try and post up a bit more info for you on F stops etc.

 

With regards to your comment about the screen on the A350 - I didnt say the screen itself was a drawback - its the fact it only moves in two planes of motion thats the drawback. It is a bonus having it and i thought it was a great idea when i first tried it out then i realised that if you are shooting in 'portrait' orientation it offers no benefits whatsoever. I reckon i shoot about 70% of my pics in portrait as opposed to landscape so wouldnt really see the full benefit of it i dont think - it wouldnt be enough of a selling point and i'd probably opt for a camera with faster continuous shooting or better image quality, etc over a flip out screen if you see where i'm coming from.

 

As i said though its still a good camera and i'm sure you'll get impressive results form it once you've mastered the controls - and in those situations where you are shooting landscape and can hold the camera above your head or down at ground level you should get some more interesting results due to the angle the shot has been taken at.

[Kennydies]

Okay, so a week or so with the new camera, and I'm starting to get my head around the functions. To be honest, I'm amazed at the quality of the images created just by using the 'auto' function and letting the camera decide what works best. But I have been trying out different combinations of settings between the shutter speed and aperture, er.... thing. I have figured out that at low light, the shutter speed need reducing to allow as much light in as possible, the draw back being focus issues when hand held (bought a tripod now ). In strong light, with moving objects the shutter speed should be higher to capture the image. I know also, that the aperture, er...thing gives me vary degrees of depth of field. A higher F stop number increases the aperture opening, increasing both the amount of light in and a tighter/smaller area of focus, and the lowering the F stop decreases the aperture and gives a broader range of focus across the whole shot. At least, I think it's that way around, and can anyone explain why it's called an 'F stop' and what the numbers relate to? I have also grasped the ISO/film speed thing and know that a higher ISO number is for lower light conditions (I have the camera set to 200 for normal daylight use).

 

So, how am I doing? I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I need more practice, particularly with composition, but I'm hoping that will come. Can anyone offer any more tips, ie what I should definitly avoid, or what would be optimum settings? I'm not even close to going full manual yet though!

 

Interesting what Luke said about the flip out screen being a drawback of the camera, though. It's my understanding that there are very few SLR's that have a flip out screen at all. So having one with even limited movement HAS to be a bonus, doesn't it? I can take pictures above people's heads, or from down below waist height and still see what I have framed. Rock on!

 

Cheers guys

 

PM me your email address I paid for 5 DSLR for dummies guides off the net that were very handy for a first time user like me, I will send them you.

[Drexyl]

PM sent.

 

Thanks Kenny