Photography help

[ripped_fear]

So I'm quite keen when it comes to photography and video as a little side line hobby.

 

I'm trying to improve my skills when it comes to static car pictures. If I'm honest allot of the settings are above my head, and 9 times out of 10 my DSLR stays on auto, so I'm wasting allot of opportunity.

 

This leads me to the equipment I have...

-Nikon d3200 DSLR

-1x 18-55 mm Nikon lense

-1x 55-200 mm Nikon lense

-Recently invested in a decent Tripod

-Intervelometer

-Remote control shutter

 

So not a great deal but a few toys to play with, now I have been reading some websites, and watching some tutorials and they talk about fstop, aperture, depth of field etc.

Starting to get my head around some of the terminology, but actually using the settings on my camera all in harmony.....not so much.

 

So lets say I have found my nice open location, on an overcast, or dawn and dusk time of day. What should I be looking to start playing with...

 

Also any links to some nice simple articles/video tutorials on automotive photography would be great.

 

http://digicamreviewsite.com/wp-content/flagallery/nikon-d3200/nikon-d3200-top1.jpg

[stevie_b]

Subscribed for interest

 

I suppose what you should start playing with, depends on what you want from your photos. Is there a particular style you're after? Are you after a documentary-style where you just try to capture crisp, well-lit photos with no specific style e.g. no moodiness from underexposure? (I'm guessing not).

 

In terms of kit, it's more to do with the quality and capabilities of your lenses (or "glass" as the photographers call it) than the camera body.

 

I have a Nikon D5000, with the same 18-55mm kit lens as you. I've also got a 18-200mm Tamron lens without VR, which I view as a jack of all trades and master of none. I also have a 35mm prime lens which is optically very good whilst being fast, cheap and small.

 

In your position, I'd play around with reducing the depth of field (DOF) - this throws the background into a soft blur to make it less distracting. In Auto mode, cameras tends to try and make everything in focus. Reduce the DOF by using a smaller f-number (opening the aperture).

 

I'd also look at getting an off-camera flash to use as a fill-flash. I'm not sure how useful it would be for taking car photos outside - the light from the flash might get lost, and you wouldn't want flash glare off the car's paintwork.

[grahamc]

talkphotography.com is a good place to start

 

I would start playing with Aperture priority or Shutter priority and see what the different settings result in.

 

Aperture (f-stop) - determines how much light is allowed in via the lens.... low f-stop means 1.2, 2.8, etc means that the lens is wide open and light floods in. This works well for low light situation or fast moving subjects. Can lack quality and depth of field (so only a small percentage) of the photo will be in complete focus. High f-stop means 32, etc means that a the lens is mostly closed and only allows a small amount of light in. Light is how the camera renders the picture. Most lenses will have sweet spots around 7/8 - so reasonable amount of light, depth of field, etc

 

Shutter 1/1000ms - determines how long the shutter remains open, again controlling the amount of light allowed in. Low is again good for fast moving subjects or low light.

 

For static car - you need to find the sweet spot of your lens and stick to that, always on tripod, always with remote control, low ISO value, medium depth of field, etc. Since subject is static and shooting for tripod, you really shouldnt have to worry about the shutter speed.

[Wez]

I would start playing with Aperture priority or Shutter priority and see what the different settings result in.

 

Agreed, these are the two modes I use for most things depending if I am taking moving / panning shots or static

[j_jza80]

Also, get yourself a half decent tripod, a spare battery and a remote control. Once you start playing around with the shutter speed, a tripod is pretty essential, especially for night shots. A remote will prevent any motion blur on long exposure shots.

[ripped_fear]

Subscribed for interest

 

I suppose what you should start playing with, depends on what you want from your photos. Is there a particular style you're after? Are you after a documentary-style where you just try to capture crisp, well-lit photos with no specific style e.g. no moodiness from underexposure? (I'm guessing not).

 

In terms of kit, it's more to do with the quality and capabilities of your lenses (or "glass" as the photographers call it) than the camera body.

 

I have a Nikon D5000, with the same 18-55mm kit lens as you. I've also got a 18-200mm Tamron lens without VR, which I view as a jack of all trades and master of none. I also have a 35mm prime lens which is optically very good whilst being fast, cheap and small.

 

In your position, I'd play around with reducing the depth of field (DOF) - this throws the background into a soft blur to make it less distracting. In Auto mode, cameras tends to try and make everything in focus. Reduce the DOF by using a smaller f-number (opening the aperture).

 

I'd also look at getting an off-camera flash to use as a fill-flash. I'm not sure how useful it would be for taking car photos outside - the light from the flash might get lost, and you wouldn't want flash glare off the car's paintwork.

 

Not looking for any particular style per-say. Just some nice decent quality pictures showing some emphasis on the car. Nothing too fancy.

 

RE your Tamron lens whats it like as I have been looking at similar ones, as I would like somthing that doesnt require me switching lenses all the time in some events.

 

How do I go about changing the DOF?

 

talkphotography.com is a good place to start

 

I would start playing with Aperture priority or Shutter priority and see what the different settings result in.

 

Aperture (f-stop) - determines how much light is allowed in via the lens.... low f-stop means 1.2, 2.8, etc means that the lens is wide open and light floods in. This works well for low light situation or fast moving subjects. Can lack quality and depth of field (so only a small percentage) of the photo will be in complete focus. High f-stop means 32, etc means that a the lens is mostly closed and only allows a small amount of light in. Light is how the camera renders the picture. Most lenses will have sweet spots around 7/8 - so reasonable amount of light, depth of field, etc

 

Shutter 1/1000ms - determines how long the shutter remains open, again controlling the amount of light allowed in. Low is again good for fast moving subjects or low light.

 

For static car - you need to find the sweet spot of your lens and stick to that, always on tripod, always with remote control, low ISO value, medium depth of field, etc. Since subject is static and shooting for tripod, you really shouldnt have to worry about the shutter speed.

 

I will take a look at talkphotography.com

 

Really sorry but although your paragraph on Aperture (f-stop) is interesting it is a different language to me. Any way to dumb it down? lol

 

Also, get yourself a half decent tripod, a spare battery and a remote control. Once you start playing around with the shutter speed, a tripod is pretty essential, especially for night shots. A remote will prevent any motion blur on long exposure shots.

 

As said in Post 1 I have purchase all of the above, just in need of some guidance on how to get the best out of the equipment.

[stevie_b]

Not looking for any particular style per-say. Just some nice decent quality pictures showing some emphasis on the car. Nothing too fancy.

 

RE your Tamron lens whats it like as I have been looking at similar ones, as I would like somthing that doesnt require me switching lenses all the time in some events.

 

How do I go about changing the DOF?

 

Really sorry but although your paragraph on Aperture (f-stop) is interesting it is a different language to me. Any way to dumb it down? lol

The Tamron lens is OK. Quite heavy but nowhere near as heavy as carrying multiple lenses. It would (probably) be better if it had VR (vibration reduction, to eliminate a bit of camera shake when hand-held). Tamron, Sigma, Nikon etc make plenty of lenses these days with VR, so that's just a function of my lens being older. I think you'll have better quality photos with a combination of your 18-55mm and 55mm-200mm lenses, than you'll get with a 18-200mm lens.

 

Lens creep can be an issue with some zoom lenses: something to consider if you'll hold/mount the camera pointing significantly up or down.

 

Lenses with large focal ranges (e.g. 18-200mm) are sometimes known as walkabout lenses: you can attach it in the morning, and not have to swap it out no matter what you want to take, as long as it's not specialist. If you find carrying lots of kit and changing lenses bothersome (I know I do from time to time, depending on what I'm doing), they're pretty good.

 

The easiest way of controlling the DOF (depth of field) is by putting the camera into aperture-priority mode. Like this, you choose how big the aperture hole is that lets light into the camera. The camera calculates the shutter speed for you, based on your choice of aperture. The size of the aperture uses the f-stop scale. The f-stop scale is a bit weird if you're not used to it: it uses strange steps, not something easy like f1, f2, f3, f4... All you need to know is that small f-numbers (e.g. f1.8) mean a large hole, and that gives a small DOF (the plane of sharp focus falls off quickly). Large f-numbers (e.g. f16) mean a small hole, and that gives a large DOF (objects that are a long way in front or behind your focus point are still in pretty good focus).

[j_jza80]

 

As said in Post 1 I have purchase all of the above, just in need of some guidance on how to get the best out of the equipment.

 

So you did Sorry, was just scanning the thread earlier

[grahamc]

aperture made easy and they have others for shutter speed

[ripped_fear]

So you did Sorry, was just scanning the thread earlier

 

...... dont worry we have all done it.

 

aperture made easy and they have others for shutter speed

 

Thanks mate, actually the sort of patronising thing I need, that helped. Need to get out and have a play I think

[Mason]

Yay photography thread!

 

As said above, the priority modes are a good place to start...my advice would be always shoot in RAW, and acquire Lightroom...this will allow you to change temperature, exposure, clarity etc at will and makes such a difference to your photos.

[CASHEYE]

You can watch and read as much as you want on photography but at the end of the day the best thing you can do is just go out and shoot as much as possible. Learn from experience, and not other peoples. I learned the most by just doing it, keeping a camera glued to my hand wherever I went. More than I did from my photography degree anyway .

 

Set your camera up on the tripod and shoot a series of test shots... set the camera to Aperture Priority and the ISO to as low as it will go. Then take multiple photos of the same thing, changing the aperture with each shot. Then do the same with the ISO. Turn it up and go again. Review the photos and get to know what you can get away with in different scenarios. Understanding what the settings you're using are going to produce means that's one less thing to worry about when you're trying to capture the "decisive moment".

 

I've owned and used a myriad of all types of photographic equipment and the one camera I mostly rely on is the one on my phone. It's not the best but nine times out of ten it's in my pocket when I need it. I've got a 5DmkII on the shelf above my desk which hasn't seen daylight for months and a Fuji 100T I bought to take on holiday and ended up leaving at home. I'd rather have the fixed lens Fuji than the flexibility of the Canon but it comes in handy for studio work.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about what format you shoot in or even editing your photos at this stage. You can Photoshop an image all you want but if it's not a great composition to begin with you're just going to be polishing s**t.

 

Zoom in, set the largest possible aperture and start shooting. And have fun.

[ripped_fear]

I'm currently not looking into editing software as I simply don't get the time. If it was just slight touch ups then that would be OK. Only have experience on Photoshop though

[stevie_b]

My thing is macro photography: taking photos of small things, actual size or bigger. Here's a photo of a fly's head. In macro photography, you're often battling against extremely shallow DOF. Notice how the fly's head is in focus, but its body isn't. The crisp focus has disappared in a matter of a few millimetres. This is an extreme example though, and you'll have much more DOF to play with if you're taking non-macro shots.

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[supra_ufo]

Best thing is learn your camera, know exactly how your camera reacts, works and play with it and understand what does what. Its a good idea to maybe have a scrapbook and take some notes (mainly if your using off camera flash as you do not know the settings) your pictures are labelled usually so you can see what ISO, shutter speed and F Stop you have taken the picture at (Light Room). On the tripid and anything with long exposure if your camera has VR i think its called (Canon is Image Stabiliser) then you switch that off, shutter timer is important when doing tripod work as if you didnt have a timer you often move the tripod which creates blurred images. Im actually learning static car photography at the moment, and will be playing about with my off camera flash and various other bits, ill post in here what settings I used for specific photos etc. All part of learning. I would recommend Lightroom as a bare minimum for photo editing, excellent piece of software and cheap too.

[Wez]

I actually dusted off the camera and used it at the MotoGP last weekend, a 200mm lens isnt enough for Silverstone though, was messing about with some panning shots but the bikes are pretty quick

 

[Scott]

I've got nothing to add that hasn't been said already, the information already given is way past the level I'm at. However, one thing I would say is that the P mode is very handy to use instead of full Auto. P takes care of the aperature and shutter speed but you have control over just about everything else. It makes a big difference to the quality of your shots when you're just looking to point and shoot. Using the flash to back fill makes a REAL difference to shots, even portrait shots of cars.

 

I RARELY have the opportunity to take the time to set up the camera properly to take a shot, it would take me too long. Experience gives you the knowledge to turn the camera on, set it and take the shot. Where I'm at is turning the camera on, setting it, taking the shot, tweaking the setting, taking the shot, tweak it some more, take the shot, etc, etc, etc. For day to day use, this just isn't possible. My Daughters, and Wife, would be so fed up by that point

[Mason]

I'm currently not looking into editing software as I simply don't get the time. If it was just slight touch ups then that would be OK. Only have experience on Photoshop though

 

I promise you Lightroom is worth the time, if your just shooting in JPEG and posting your photos to the web straight off the camera then your throwing away so much potential from that photo, it's also allot easier to use than Photoshop as it's purpose built by the same company but for photo editing...every option is made to be quick and painless.

 

I use it to get the most from my shadows, exposure and even temperatures and the end result is 300% better than straight off the camera..

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16696719/Images/IMG_7614.jpg

This image has no photoshop by the way, the blue ghosted stuff is done by waving around LED wire on a long exposure

 

Can see there that shadows are increased in Lightroom just by using a simple slider, also another slider for changing the temperature of the image which brings out the correct colors.

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16696719/Images/IMG_6505.jpg

 

This one was Castle Combe, the lingering smoke from the drift demo made the photo very grey and dull but because I shoot in RAW you can go back and adjust the exposure, brightness, contrast etc to how it should be...

 

It's not as difficult as people imagine which puts everyone off, you can actually load presets so you can one click your favorite type of process I'll give an example below with a friends BMW from a normal car show..

 

This is the image straight off the camera, it's alright but has no personality...

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16696719/Images/IMG_6027.jpg

 

As her favorite color is purple I play around with the temperatures, add a bit of clarity and increase the shadows...again this is all as simple as moving a slider back and forth very easy stuff..

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16696719/Images/IMG_6027ed.jpg

 

If you want to get the most out of your photos, always shoot in RAW and Light room is by far the best and easiest program for photo processing, it was reccomended to me by more than one photographer and it's now all I use.

[ripped_fear]

So finally got out an took a couple of pictures just playing with some Fstop settings, the pictures seem to be a little hit or miss. Seems to throw the focus out on some pictures. Some came out good though.

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?326851-Few-pictures-from-this-eve&p=4075555#post4075555

[supra_ufo]

The lower (wider) the aperture e.g. 2.8 the more out of focus the background will be, the higher (smaller) the more detail will be in the picture.

When my car is back on the road I shall be taking some pictures and ill post them on here and show you exactly how I achieved it.

[grahamc]

For the photos, the crop is a bit too tight... need some more background. What settings were you using??

 

The lower (wider) the aperture e.g. 2.8 the more out of focus the background will be, the higher (smaller) the more detail will be in the picture.

When my car is back on the road I shall be taking some pictures and ill post them on here and show you exactly how I achieved it.

 

Sort of.... DOF/Aperture doesnt just affect the background, it affects the whole photo.

[grahamc]

Here are some simple examples for locations, crops and editing:-

 

 

 

 

 

[ripped_fear]

Thanks Graham will take note of that for next time. I was using Fstop 5ish and upwards. Those last two pictures of yours is the sort of clarity im looking for.

[grahamc]

Thanks Graham will take note of that for next time. I was using Fstop 5ish and upwards. Those last two pictures of yours is the sort of clarity im looking for.

 

They would be around f8-10 and have been edited as well. All a on tripod and remote instead of pushing the button

[Abz]

Some good advice on this, I have to echo the comments re Light room, I have made some cracking pictures purely by using LR.

 

Also shoot in RAW so then I can give them a touch up, you can copy and paste settings in LR as well if you edit one picture and want the same collection to have the same edit. Quick and easy.