The Creative Photography Thread v9 - "Take a whetstone to your lens for a sharper image."
9,562 replies, posted
[QUOTE=cr2142;45539584]Another trip to the harbour today, Only bought my Kit Lens (18-55mm) with me.
(anyone got any tips for Night photography, such as settings? I have a tripod but I'd much rather just walking about taking shots instead of carrying it with me.)
[/QUOTE]
don't be afraid to use a high iso. even if you need to go in to levels where the noise is severely coloured you could dump it to B/W and have it possibly still look good
and post-processed grain does a good job of hiding digital noise
and try exposure bracketing with higher/lower shutter speeds. i can hand-held 1/40 if i rest the camera against my face, but it's never nice to import in to lightroom and see that you've come out with blurry shots, so take your time and try both higher and lower shutter speeds to possibly gain a few stops of light
[QUOTE=The Salmon;45539638][url=https://flic.kr/p/ovVAKM][img]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5582/14778485131_67b24f8191_c.jpg[/img][/url][/QUOTE]
I think this'd look kinda neater if the subject was at eye-level.
Or if it'd show what the guy's shooting at.
[QUOTE=.Lain;45539633]don't be afraid to use a high iso. even if you need to go in to levels where the noise is severely coloured you could dump it to B/W and have it possibly still look good
and post-processed grain does a good job of hiding digital noise[/QUOTE]
I...never thought about that.
I always went with the whole "lower the ISO, the less noise" so I just went with that. I'll have a play about on Lightroom with some pictures I took earlier tonight with the post processed grain, Thanks!
[QUOTE=Saturn V;45539662]
Or if it'd show what the guy's shooting at.[/QUOTE]
Should it though? Nothing wrong with mystery I think
[QUOTE=FlippR;45540146]Should it though? Nothing wrong with mystery I think[/QUOTE]
I fully agree with you. It's a little hard to explain.
Maybe it'd just be the best to say that the composition could be a bit better. I like the light in it quite a bit though
[img]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5588/14595656300_297733715d_c.jpg[/img]
[editline]29th July 2014[/editline]
gramps
[QUOTE=FlippR;45540258][img]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5588/14595656300_297733715d_c.jpg[/img]
[editline]29th July 2014[/editline]
gramps[/QUOTE]
Man this kinda makes me wish I had a grandpa. My mom's side was a violent drunk and died of a heart attack and I don't even know who my dad's side was.
[QUOTE=Saturn V;45540151]I fully agree with you. It's a little hard to explain.
Maybe it'd just be the best to say that the composition could be a bit better. I like the light in it quite a bit though[/QUOTE]
I agree that I don't like the composition, largely because it looks like a really, really lazy "just standing up and pointing camera at my subject" instead of having made any effort to change elevation to suit the subject (who is kneeling on the ground). Maybe that's intentional, or maybe it doesn't matter, but I don't care for it either.
On the other hand I also agree that the subject isn't really super important, as most people who've shot recreationally, or even most people, will probably assume/guess they're just shooting at boring old targets set up at X distance.
--
Now for my cookie cutter portraits that no one likes or cares about but I've decided to keep posting because ugh i'm over it. Today I was convinced to help recreate that hipster glitter thing, which was an interesting exercise besides the tiny pieces of glitter now embedded in every crevice of my camera.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ow5Deu][img]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2930/14780249474_219e31882d_c.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oeNPEk][img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3862/14596098827_e4c0a0f7cf_c.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oeNhcx][img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3911/14595992989_1017e5ef9a_c.jpg[/img][/url]
[QUOTE=Biscuit-Boy;45540546]I agree that I don't like the composition, largely because it looks like a really, really lazy "just standing up and pointing camera at my subject" instead of having made any effort to change elevation to suit the subject (who is kneeling on the ground). Maybe that's intentional, or maybe it doesn't matter, but I don't care for it either.
On the other hand I also agree that the subject isn't really super important, as most people who've shot recreationally, or even most people, will probably assume/guess they're just shooting at boring old targets set up at X distance.
[/QUOTE]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/aSDfdsB.jpg[/img]
not really seeing how this is a weak composition, the subject occupies the center frame but also exists in the other quadrants (with similar weight being placed in the upper left and lower right), and almost every major line in the photo is either the subject or directly points back to the subject. very little distracting elements, and it's framed so that the eye does not leave the frame and would not focus on a potential target (which would be the focal piece of the photo if the target were framed as well).
standing affects the angle, not the composition. there's not really much to fault with the photo in terms of composition, subject placement, and leading lines.
That's me in that picture. I was shooting holes in my neighbor's truck because he blocks my driveway with his trash bins.
[editline]fofofadi[/editline]
[QUOTE=Biscuit-Boy;45540546]largely because it looks like a really, really lazy "just standing up and pointing camera at my subject"[/QUOTE]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/D9nHafU.jpg[/img]
I've spent the last ten minutes drafting up various disagreements and argumentative posts about all aspects of your post and the photo, but bullocks to it, what do I know
I'll give you that, when taking more notice of the shadow, I do seem to be able to reconcile myself with the angle and framing more easily, and find that to be a redeeming quality of what initially didn't sit well with me.
[editline]30th July 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=bopie;45540828]That's me in that picture. I was shooting holes in my neighbor's truck because he blocks my driveway with his trash bins.
[editline]fofofadi[/editline]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/D9nHafU.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
Okay, see, you're not only wrong because I was literally standing on my tip toes the entire fucking day trying to get eye level with that girl, but also I'm taking a portrait of a person standing instead of someone crouching on the ground.
but I don't care about that because I'm mostly concerned that I'm such a pessimistic, whiny asshole that not only does everyone hate my photography, but they also hate me. and even if I wasn't just lazily standing up and pointing my camera at my subject my photos are still shit, so that's nice and I should really just stop trying and not comment or post anything
and i assume you guys are aware that i'm the problem but just in case, i seriously respect you guys because you're all really great photographers
cue biscuit pls go
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBqTng4c2iU#t=134]You're not the first, and certainly not the last person to feel that way.[/url]
You're growing. Embrace the feelings. It's a natural part of art and critique.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/IlnLaQg.png[/img]
[QUOTE=cr2142;45539584]Another trip to the harbour today, Only bought my Kit Lens (18-55mm) with me.
(anyone got any tips for Night photography, such as settings? I have a tripod but I'd much rather just walking about taking shots instead of carrying it with me.)[/QUOTE]
ISO 3200
18mm f/3.5
1/60 to 1/30
turn on IS
[editline]30th July 2014[/editline]
shoot RAW so you can do proper noise reduction in PP
[QUOTE=Biscuit-Boy;45540837]I've spent the last ten minutes drafting up various disagreements and argumentative posts about all aspects of your post and the photo, but bullocks to it, what do I know
I'll give you that, when taking more notice of the shadow, I do seem to be able to reconcile myself with the angle and framing more easily, and find that to be a redeeming quality of what initially didn't sit well with me.
[editline]30th July 2014[/editline]
Okay, see, you're not only wrong because I was literally standing on my tip toes the entire fucking day trying to get eye level with that girl, but also I'm taking a portrait of a person standing instead of someone crouching on the ground.
but I don't care about that because I'm mostly concerned that I'm such a pessimistic, whiny asshole that not only does everyone hate my photography, but they also hate me. and even if I wasn't just lazily standing up and pointing my camera at my subject my photos are still shit, so that's nice and I should really just stop trying and not comment or post anything
and i assume you guys are aware that i'm the problem but just in case, i seriously respect you guys because you're all really great photographers
cue biscuit pls go[/QUOTE]
to be honsest I think you have a point, the pic really doesn't really do much with the situation at hand, it's always easy to come up with "I was thinking this and that and composition" afterwards but the pic doesn't really show that to me and here's why:
[QUOTE=Trogdon;45540775][img]http://i.imgur.com/aSDfdsB.jpg[/img]
not really seeing how this is a weak composition, the subject occupies the center frame but also exists in the other quadrants (with similar weight being placed in the upper left and lower right), and almost every major line in the photo is either the subject or directly points back to the subject. very little distracting elements, and it's framed so that the eye does not leave the frame and would not focus on a potential target (which would be the focal piece of the photo if the target were framed as well).
standing affects the angle, not the composition. there's not really much to fault with the photo in terms of composition, subject placement, and leading lines.[/QUOTE]
The object being in the center of the frame is not really a good choice. It makes the picture more static. The whole composition is much more suited for a "lets show a scene/situation" kind of picture, the subject is "in action" and a static composition doesn't do that any justice. Now please don't come with the "but that was my intention" stuff.
Furthermore the full shadow creates more "object" to deal with. So after centering the main subject he's now breaking symmetry with showing the full shadow, something that would be less noticable or non existant if he'd chosen a different perspective like front or back or leveled sideways or whatever. Now we're in a weird situation. The human - the object that the human eye will always notice first- is pointing stuff to the off and slightly to the right of the middle we get a new symmetry set up by the "human vs shadow" and "bright ground vs shadow" ..erm... I don't know the art student talk lets just call it connection. Anyway, it's confusing.
The worst part is that upper background change, you said there are no/very few distracting elements but just look at that. How cool would it be if him and the shadows were the only dark element in the picture? Pretty cool, almost surreal. But now since the photographer was "just standing there" we can't get that.
So please don't pretend there was any deeper thoughts behind the setup. The pic is well done in terms of tech and even in terms of "it has some form of composition" but it shows what the scene was: they were there shooting around, someone grabbed the cam and just took a pic, there is no initial thought of setup or relationship between composition and situation.
Summary:
The situation, which full of action and suspense(right before the shot) was photographed with a "scenic" composition created by, lets be honest, [I]the photographer just standing there[/I], the most common and boring perspective which is fine when the viewer is supposed to feel part of the scene(street photography) but kind of subtracts from this scene.
An examle where composition(middle,full front) and angle (duck perspective) work together really well is the Gramps shot from Flippr up there.
Angry/shouting subject: The composition shows the full subject and fills the frame with it, intimidating. The thingies(I imagine them to be parts of cars?) he grabs have two functions, they ground the gramp(heh) and make him look even more solid and at the same time they frame the viewer. The angle makes the viewer feel smaller, even more intimidating. Great shot.
Another case where the "just standing there" perspective really really pays off is the shot from Trogdon. How else would a girl flying into your face look that awesome if not when you were "just standing there" (as a viewer). You don't just get to see her butt(frog/duck perspective) and you're super close to the action, composition and all just happens to show you everything great about the scene at once.
[QUOTE=BlazeFresh;45539439]To the previous three posters;
There's so little content to your pictures, could you guys tell me as the creator of these images, what is interesting about them to you? Why do you think these images are interesting to other people?[/QUOTE]
Because i think 90% of documentation photography is boring. Also, light, shadows, patterns, scale and composition.
more phone shit. really love how well the nexus 5 can handle low-light. s/o to VSCO for being da real MVP.
[img]http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-prn/t51.2885-15/10533026_1461400164115123_778053603_n.jpg[/img]
[img]http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/10549734_319583018201215_1607468323_n.jpg[/img]
[img]http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpf1/t51.2885-15/10537259_1511933692376680_1171634737_n.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Killuah;45541626]Too long. DID READ[/QUOTE]
I've read this a few times over and I'm still not sure what you're actually trying to say.
I think I want to disagree with you, but your wording is too convoluted for me to be sure.
Back with more, thoughts on these?
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oyfw7a][img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3863/14804809613_3c9a951dbb_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/oyfw7a]Fair Day[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/owdEMk][img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3844/14781815581_0617163d05_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/owdEMk]'Murica[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/owdDRc][img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3887/14781812441_04f2f75fd2_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/owdDRc]Amusement[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oeZT3U][img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3892/14598256460_1cf6f29d15_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/oeZT3U]Fairground Steeds[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/owuMng][img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3925/14784959525_03f557fe87_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/owuMng]Lone Horse[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/of159a][img]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2917/14598293769_1084b04d16_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/of159a]Valves 'n' Pipes[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ousUhL][img]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5567/14761959596_ff718f203b_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/ousUhL]Oil[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/of1anf][img]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5586/14598311348_3f2b82ce73_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/of1anf]Pipes 'n' Stuff[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]F. Powell[/url], on Flickr
Sorry for the bit of a page stretcher
[QUOTE=Pickwickian-;45542180]I've read this a few times over and I'm still not sure what you're actually trying to say.
I think I want to disagree with you, but your wording is too convoluted for me to be sure.[/QUOTE]
Well maybe you could tell me the parts you don't understand? That way we could discuss instead of just posting how we don't understand each other.
100% bored with the form of photography. Any idiot with a camera and ehow can learn to line up shapes and patterns around their house. My Holy Grail would be using a photo to show something uniquely remarkable. Haven't done it yet and I may never, but I try to keep an eye out.
[QUOTE=Pickwickian-;45542180]I've read this a few times over and I'm still not sure what you're actually trying to say.
I think I want to disagree with you, but your wording is too convoluted for me to be sure.[/QUOTE]
The main thing I got from it is that Killuah feels that no thought or effort went into the image, that it was a straight up point and shoot, lazy photograph. Something which I disagree with but I feel my opinion may be biased having seem Salmon shoot, watched him edit and spoke to him about photography. Knowing how much thought and effort goes into his images I have to disagree with Killuah on that point.
[QUOTE=bopie;45542288]100% bored with the form of photography. Any idiot with a camera and ehow can learn to line up shapes and patterns around their house. My Holy Grail would be using a photo to show something uniquely remarkable. Haven't done it yet and I may never, but I try to keep an eye out.[/QUOTE]
Bronys having sexual intercourse?
That documentary came close. Anthropology is always interesting.
[QUOTE=Him1411;45542328]The main thing I got from it is that Killuah feels that no thought or effort went into the image, that it was a straight up point and shoot, lazy photograph. Something which I disagree with but I feel my opinion may be biased having seem Salmon shoot, watched him edit and spoke to him about photography. Knowing how much thought and effort goes into his images I have to disagree with Killuah on that point.[/QUOTE]
Maybe a bit. I never said lazy. And I don't intend to. I'll try to phrase it shorter and less condescending
- we can't know if he just pointed and shot effortlessly or not so lets analyze what do know, the picture
- Albeit professionally executed, the "just standing there" perspective(angle/composition) that Saturn V and Viscuit posted about is the most uncreative/ boring one you could choose and actually works against the subject of the picture
[QUOTE=Killuah;45542391]
- Albeit professionally executed, the "just standing there" perspective(angle/composition) that Saturn V and Viscuit posted about is the most uncreative/ boring one you could choose and actually works against the subject of the picture[/QUOTE]
I completely and wholeheartedly disagree with you here.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/YSSyIpa.jpg[/img]
ughhh the "just standing there" perspective is so boring
[QUOTE=bopie;45542409][img]http://i.imgur.com/YSSyIpa.jpg[/img]
ughhh the "just standing there" perspective is so boring[/QUOTE]
Well, this was with a slight chance taken for scientific and documentary purposes
Oh wow that horizon isn't even straight astronauts are terrible photographers
[QUOTE=Saturn V;45542413]Oh wow that horizon isn't even straight astronauts are terrible photographers[/QUOTE]
Strange how such 'terrible photographers' managed to take some of the most important photos ever.
:v:
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