some advise

[monty3777 0]

 

This is typically the kind of photo I take when fishing. How do I begin to transform my photography from this to what so many of you post? I use a new Sony Cybershot (perhaps one day a dSLR). What critique or suggestion would you make for future shots. I use the standard outdoor setting on the camera.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Threshershark 0]

 

This is typically the kind of photo I take when fishing. How do I begin to transform my photography from this to what so many of you post? I use a new Sony Cybershot (perhaps one day a dSLR). What critique or suggestion would you make for future shots. I use the standard outdoor setting on the camera.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Photography is mainly about the composition of the image, and to a lesser but important degree about exposure. To use your photo as an example, the creek does not form a strong leading line into the photograph. Changing your perspective, or in other words where you were standing, could have made this into a more striking composition.

 

I recommend a book called Photographic Composition by Grill & Scanlon as a good place to start, followed by Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Strong composition and learning a few basics about how to drive your camera (white balance, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation) are keys to getting the results you want.

 

[Ben Cochran 0]

Monty, there are several different approaches: HDR software is rather common these days but in a lot of cases it gives the image a painted look with halo's, although it is a quick solution for a complex problem and some of the results are rather good. Also, tone mapping or exposure blending can be another approach and this creates more of a photo realistic feel without the halo's, basically a means of adjusting for the weakness of the sensor in comparison to the human eye. The HDR look cannot be accomplished in camera as it requires the use of software or plugins, by multiplying one image into multiple exposures or by taking several shots of the same subject with different exposures, most commonly shutter speed adjustments, long and short of it is; it is never just one shot and/or file. Exposure blending, for in camera, would have to incorporate more gear for controlling the overall exposure of the composition, as a goal of getting it all in one shot as the final. The later is why we carry so much gear on assignments and due to the fact that the publisher's AD's demand original TIFF files or the RAW/NEF files, some allow PSD's and the newer DNG files but if a good relationship is established and earned, layer tiffs get the go ahead.

 

To capture a final in camera, light and exposure become more paramount. Color is nothing more than frequency ranges and each of these ranges is then translated into a color, as they hit our eyes or are translated by an algorithm behind the cameras sensor. Due to this, exposure becomes more important as this is what determines that amount of light that we allow to hit the sensor and the time frame that we allow it to hit the sensor. Red has the strongest frequency so, if we allow a longer more open exposure for dark object, with reds in the composition, the reds may be over exposed or appear as though they have too much contrast.

 

Everything about photography and art is about the relationships of darks, mid tones and lights. The type and intensity of frequencies in light is where the balance is made or lost, this is the reason why we use so many different types of lights, light shaping and bending tools, bounce, diffusers and flags. All light is measured in Kelvin and different types of lights have different Kelvin’s, this translates into hues and what the white balance factor is all about.

 

Midday bright sun is very difficult to shoot in as it hits hot with little diffusion. The best goal is to have diffused light, as it is broader in character when measuring the relationship of darks to lights. In your photograph, you will notice that the midday sun gave you spiked hotspots as well as darks, basically both sides of the spectrum are spiked, meaning they fall outside of the gamut and leave the photo with no or limited detail in those areas. Cloudy days are best as it is heavily diffused light as well as early morning and evening. If you want the appearance of a bright day, go for sunrise or sunset light or shoot on the cloudy day and zoom in until the sky is out of frame. There are ways of shooting in the midday sun but it really is a lot more intense and complicated. The results of your photograph are not because you are not capable and not because you had the camera set wrong, it was due to the fact that there is no way to properly expose that shot with out using some other tools or by using post editing software that allows for an automated or better yet, manually adjusted exposure blending correction. A polarizing filter may help some but in the shade of the trees and the tone of the sky, I don’t see that as a good solution in this case.

 

Hope this helps some, just don't give up as it will all come together once you see and take advantage of the concept of exposure and the relationship of darks to light in your composition. A good study tool would be studying the relationships of shading used by the early Dutch Masters, circa 1655, like Pieter De Hooch or Rembrandt. everything in their art is about the relationship of light to dark in their then newly developed shading blend layers technique (same as our exposure blending), this is all about exposure.

[Wulff 0]

What Ben said Monty. Read it carefully. I'll also echo getting Bryan Petersons "understanding" exposure.

 

To me it all about "light".

Whats the difference between this

 

or this

 

and a million other "duck flapping their wings" shots?

 

or this

 

this

 

and this

 

What one element makes those 1st two photos so much more interesting and captivating than the 3rd

Which if it hadn't been done as part of an event job I do would have been deleted during my first cull once I'm home?

 

Its all about the light.

Once you begin to "understand' light, see light your photos will start to improve dramatically no matter what camera, lens you use.

 

 

This just got published as a full page colour. What does it really have going for it?

[Peterjay 0]

Actually, the composition of your picture is pretty good, but you can't shoot under a blazing sun and expect to get good results. It's just like fishing for big brown trout - you can pound the water all day, but until light levels fall into the acceptable range, all you'll get is the occasional bluegill or stocked brookie. Same with photography. Take what John said about the light (It's all about the light) and tattoo it on the back of your hand. There are methods you can use to compensate for bad light, but most of them will give your pictures a manufactured look and none of them are simple. There's a reason that skilled outdoor photographers look tired all the time - they get up at 4:00 A.M. and head out into the cold while everybody else is still asleep.

 

I've never read a "how-to" photography book all the way through, (except for Photoshop books) but anything that's recommended here is probably worth the money. Whatever skills I have, I've learned from studying what the best people in my field have done and trying to figure out how they got their results. BTW, the best photography magazine by far isn't really a photography magazine, it's National Geographic. If you want to see what the very best outdoor/nature/journalist photographers in the world are doing these days, get yourself a subscription and forget about the other rags. Nothing else out there even comes close to NG.

 

It's true that equipment doesn't make a photographer, but if you want to get serious, you'll need a camera that gives you more control than a point-and-shoot offers. Don't forget that many of the guys on this forum have spent enough on gear to buy at least one new car, not to mention the rent on the doghouses that most of us live in. Equipment isn't your number one consideration when it comes to acquiring skills, but there's no denying that it helps to have the right gear for the job. What's really important is to define your goals; buying stuff before you know what you really want to do is a good way to wind up with a closet full of expensive dust collectors and a monthly alimony payment.

 

Above all, you have to concentrate on what you're doing. If you want to spend the day fishing then leave the camera at home and go fishing. If you want to learn how to get quality pictures, then leave the rod at home and head out with your camera. There's just no way to do both jobs at once, at least while you're in the early learning stages. You can be sure that the guys who get the memorable fishing pictures have already put in an ungodly amount of time and effort learning the ropes, so when an opportunity arises, they can do what needs to be done without having to stop and think about every last detail. Snapshots are a lot of fun, but if you want to move up to a higher level, you really have to work at it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tybugs1 0]

Just to chime in a few cents worth. One thing that has helped me is to watch the guys on this forum and other forums. To watch their compositions and lighting. I have learned alot from guys on here. There are some top photogs on here. Watch, listen and ask a ton of questions these guys are awesome at helping out.

[monty3777 0]

Thanks for all your input. I am going to concentrate on light and exposure as most of you have suggested. Now for some reading and a little more shooting this week. Thanks again for your help!