Introduction - Getting started

Comment

Comment by Bluebird on November 3, 2011 at 3:10am

Hi, just joined group and can't wait for November challenge to get going.  I think it's a great way to learn by experiment while having a goal each month and, as it's a group challenge, we all learn from each other.

Comment by dawna q on November 3, 2011 at 12:38am

hi nicole, digital photography is definitely a new area of interest and exploration for me as an art making tool. lighting is an area of interest to me as well as learning to take effective 'micro' (really close up) or really zoomed in shots. i look forward to learning what i can achieve with my little camera.

Comment by Nicole Umina on October 4, 2011 at 11:56pm

I'm in the process of gathering some stuff for Law Dan - i hadn't thought of that kinda stuff though so I'll expand my search. But it's hard to say in that situation really - generally it works that the photographer maintains all rights to their image and they cannot be used in a commercial sense without their permission. If they hadn't signed anything wavering that right I dare say that still stands. They should be able to be used as self promotion with acknowledgments to the photographer - when in doubt ask the person who took them and always best to get it in writing even if its an email. I'll look round for this kinda thing and add it to the Law section. I recon he should def contact the photographer and get some clear guidelines on how he can use them though.

Comment by Danielle Evans on October 4, 2011 at 11:28pm

Re:  LAW

My son answered an ad from a performance photographer who needed a model.  He is now in possession of some fabulous photos for free.  He seemed to be unclear as to what he could do with these photos.  Can he make money from them, have them published etc or are they just destined for the portfolio case.

Comment by sarah on October 3, 2011 at 6:23am

dof fascinates me. looks like this will be a fun and educational group.

Comment by Nicole Umina on October 3, 2011 at 6:22am

anne - we will definatly be looking at black and white and monochrome at some point - looking at the difference in mood between b&w and colour and when a colour image should really be b&w.

Comment by Nicole Umina on October 3, 2011 at 6:19am

Kimmi - food photography is a world of it's own and can be loads of fun - as for how to take a picture of your tomatos, the best sugestion i can give while starting out is to use google find some stock photos of the kind of photograph your intersted in and experiment trying to achieve similar things. Sometimes its the best way to learn is to try and emulate something else. I've googled tomatos and there is a load of different images out there. If you are taking the image indoors and not on the vine than enjoy messing around with plating. Pretend you are taking a photo for a cook book - look around at how food photographers set up their plates. Light is important with food photography and if you are plating up good direct light with little shadow would work well.

 

We will get into lighting later in the year at some point, most people will have to work with what they got using lamps and maybe throwing over something to difuse it and even how to make your own light box for taking pictures for etsy etc but its to big a topic to get into right off the bat. So Id say for now Just experiment - thats the best adivce i've ever been given. You learn the most that way. Take a lot of different images a lot of different ways find something you liked than try to perfect it.

Comment by laurie on October 3, 2011 at 5:18am

I want it all!!!!

laurie

 

 

 

 

 

Comment by annemtrudell on October 2, 2011 at 10:23am

I want to experiment with black-and-white and sepia as well as taking colour photos.

Comment by Nicole Umina on October 2, 2011 at 4:34am

Jan - We will def be looking at Depth of Field - working with foreground middle and background - and how to achieve the kind of styles you want or need for particular images - like for landscape you might need or want a more sharp foreground middle and background so your entire image is sharp and in focus - where as if you were taking a portrait or maybe even a floral you would like a nice blur so you would need more shallow depth of field. There is lots we can do working with Depth of Field and your Aperture Priority Mode. It's one of those small things that once you learn you are rather liberated with the things you can do.

We will look at lenses too - it gets a bit confusing due to the variation in the lens types, sensors and brands - but I'm sure we can go over the basics and give enough information to get people started and less intimidated.

Comment by Jan Lopez on October 2, 2011 at 3:40am

I've always been baffled by the Depth of Field also, so I am eager to read about that subject.  I also would like to learn about lens sizes and what they mean as in, telephoto, close-up, wide angle and how that translates to the numbers.