camera & photography crew...

[STANG KILLA SS]

well weve tried it out for a couple weekends and LOVE it! we shot about 700 pics a day luckily i only had the camera set to medium (5MP).
ended up just using the preset sports mode. already had the focus servo, and continous shot setup. and took care of all the apature etc stuff for me. only thing ive been disapointed in in the preset sports mode, is because of the white spray, and dark backgrounds. they often look blown out and/or too high of contrast. since its a preset mode it wont let me adjust to compensate.
but ill take it. now nearly every shot is usable instead of 1 out of 10. and in focus. its so awesome to be able to hand the camera over to a first time user (all pics taken by first timers) and capture awesome shots.
we found 115-135mm was about perfect for zoom.

on to the pics!

[mrpink]

great snaps SS.

Couple of pointers, well more than a couple....

One. Get a CPL (circular polarizing filter). Your skies will be bluer, your greens will be greener, your blown out spray problems will be minimized. You will also be able to get a stop or two on aperture, blurring the background a bit more.

Two. Don't be afraid to turn the camera to portrait orientation- vertical photo as opposed to horizontal. A vertical shot will give more of a sense of height to a certain shot. Your fourth photo down would have improved greatly from this, there is a lot of dead space on either side of the subject.

You seem to have a fair grasp on rule of thirds, just be mindful of it. When taking a photo of a singular subject with a dull or meaningless background it becomes very important to capture the image on that third.

Three. Exposure. It is going to be somewhat of trial and error to get a properly exposed subject in the conditions you are in- your first photo shows this. Everything except for the spray is underexposed. Try spot or center weighted metering if your camera has that option.

Four. The first thing I do when editing a photo with a horizon is level it. Unless you are going for the "dutch tilt" look your horizon lines should be perfectly level.

Level, crop, adjust levels, unsharp mask, watermark, print.

Five. Get your wallet ready- you've been bitten. Let me know when you get your first piece of L glass.



p!nK

[STANG KILLA SS]

wow huge thanks for the tips!

man that CPL sounds like a win win all around. i need to find me one.

yeah when im taking pics i do that when i remember. its harder to get a shot with the bucking boat because i dont have a battery grip (yet) but i love how it really focuses on the rider, you can zoom in more AND get the water in the shot to show the height.

yeah i took a photog class in highschool. i still remmeber the thirds, not always when im shooting but i try.

i know the Xti doesnt have spot metering, but it does have 3 options one of which is center weighted, not sure if it will let me adjust this in sports mode. have to check.

yeah i realized the cocked horizon after posting an extra 5 minutes could have fixed that. good tip.

whats unsharp mask?

haha yeah i already want a faster continous, and a lower apature lens......

many many thanks for the tips!

[Offroader5]

Looks like you're off to a great start with that setup.

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

man that CPL sounds like a win win all around. i need to find me one.

whats unsharp mask?

When you're looking for the CPL....spend some good money. There are filters out there that can be had for as little as $25....but you get what you pay for. For a 55mm to fit that lens...be prepared to dish out at least $60-70+ for a good filter.

If you're using Photoshop...unsharpen mask is under the "filter" menu then under "sharpen". It's a much better method for sharpening up images. It also allows you to adjust how much sharpening is done also.

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

wow huge thanks for the tips!

man that CPL sounds like a win win all around. i need to find me one.

Best value, three week shipping though...

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

yeah i took a photog class in highschool. i still remmeber the thirds, not always when im shooting but i try.

ROT can also be applied in post with cropping. It is always better to shoot a little wider than you think you want than to end up with a shot too tight. Cropping is easy, adding is impossible.

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

i know the Xti doesnt have spot metering, but it does have 3 options one of which is center weighted, not sure if it will let me adjust this in sports mode. have to check.

It should let you select center weighted in any mode. All you are doing is telling the camera to look at a smaller area for exposure as opposed to the entire frame (often called matrix metering). I use center weighted 90% of the time in my shoots, that way I can pick what has perfect exposure, not the camera.

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

haha yeah i already want a faster continous, and a lower apature lens......

many many thanks for the tips!

More FPS (frames per second) is in the body, the lens has nothing to do with that.

Mmmmm, fast glass....


zoo trip 9.4.10 008ww by Matt Francosky, on Flickr


I could talk forever about photography.




p!nK

[STANG KILLA SS]

experimented with some low lighting sunday night. most of the shots came out dark and blurry. i realize shoting action in low light is tough for any camera, but would a lens with a lower apature help?, mine is only 4-5.6, and at the zoom im using its at 5.6.
im still using the preset sports mode.

heres the few that were usable

[Donziikid]

Some nice shots, Killa.

The lower the aperture the faster the lens is going to be and/or become, yes.

[Offroader5]

The wider the lens can open (smaller F number), the more shutter speed you can use also...which would help a bit in getting rid of some blur. Looks like the camera is making up for the low light by setting a slower shutter speed..which is most likely the reason for the blur.

Remember this though...a good picture doesn't always need to be in sharp focus. Sometimes a bit of blur can make the picture.

I like the silhouette with the orange sky

[STANG KILLA SS]

great info, i assume the lower ap # would help in this case.

yeah i almost didnt post pic #6 because it was blurry,
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/1954/stalelein2.jpg
but i just loved it because it was so alive. trees motion blurred, the spray, it just seemed like it had so much movement yet a still pic.

[STANG KILLA SS]

some shots from this weekend.

[mrpink]

don't be afraid to turn your camera

V
E
R
T
I
C
A
L


it would really help those hover shots (cut out the dead space on either side)

Focus looks better.

Here is what I have been shooting...

Raylee 2nd Birthday Party 9.19.10 108ww by Matt Francosky, on Flickr

ray & allie 10.10.10 131ww by Matt Francosky, on Flickr






p!nK

[STANG KILLA SS]

yeah i need to turn it vertical but the Xti is so hard to hold that way without a battery grip it makes them difficult. this was actually a big negative listed in most of the reviews i read before buying the camera, there only room for two fingers on the body. guess ill need to break down and get a grip. but then it wont fit in my case. have to buy a new case too i guess, or a slr back back.

i have been VERY pleased with the pics this "cheap" setup has taken. lots of great shots, and made getting them easier. but i have noticed a pattern, the ones that arent good, the whites are always too bright and blown out and the colors and blacks are too dark. is that my small apature hole getting me?

pink your pics are always so. well "alive" is how i would discribe them, and the color temps (if thats the right term) are so right on. killer shots.

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

yeah i need to turn it vertical but the Xti is so hard to hold that way without a battery grip it makes them difficult. this was actually a big negative listed in most of the reviews i read before buying the camera, there only room for two fingers on the body. guess ill need to break down and get a grip. but then it wont fit in my case. have to buy a new case too i guess, or a slr back back.

i have been VERY pleased with the pics this "cheap" setup has taken. lots of great shots, and made getting them easier. but i have noticed a pattern, the ones that arent good, the whites are always too bright and blown out and the colors and blacks are too dark. is that my small apature hole getting me?

pink your pics are always so. well "alive" is how i would discribe them, and the color temps (if thats the right term) are so right on. killer shots.

Yeah, I have a D90 with a grip. I only run one battery- got it for the portrait shutter button. Ditch the hardcase. A good camera pack will allow you to take your gear more places. I suggest the Kata 3n1 series- works awesome.

As for your "issue". It all boils down to getting correct exposure. Either your camera is metering off the bright sky (your foreground image will be dark) or it is metering off the shadow-ey foreground and your sky will be harshly blown (along with motion blurred subject due to low shutter speed). Your aperture value is only one part of a three part "exposure triangle" (the other two being shutter speed and iso). If you want to learn more check out amazon for a book named Understanding Exposure. Really seems to help a lot of photo noobs get their heads around proper exposure.

Again, my only workable suggestion is a filter. Either a CPL or Liner filter will work for your wake boarding. The CPL will be a more all around usable filter. Beyond a filter, start taking more note of your camera settings and apply them in full manual mode.

Here is one I shot for my 2 year old daughters room....


threewise by Matt Francosky, on Flickr




p!nK

[STANG KILLA SS]

id like to buy just one filter for both wakeboarding and planes, which one would you suggest?
i need to check my metering settings again.

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

id like to buy just one filter for both wakeboarding and planes, which one would you suggest?
i need to check my metering settings again.

Check post #65 in this thread.






p!nK

[Shot-N-The Dark]

Awesome Thread.. Very informative.

[RANOVRU]

^ x 2!!

Enjoyed the schooling & photos.

Pink you have some skills.


And damn you all for making me want to go spend a ton of money on gear

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by Shot-N-The Dark

Awesome Thread.. Very informative.

Post up your work.....









p!nK

[Shot-N-The Dark]

Originally Posted by mrpink

Post up your work.....

I've been dabbling since High school, but just the past year or two have I wanted to pursue this more seriously, and try to make it more than a hobby. I'm open to any and all help and suggestions!!



















Since doing indoor stuff I've struggled with White Balance like in these pics.

[mrpink]

Originally Posted by Shot-N-The Dark

I've been dabbling since High school, but just the past year or two have I wanted to pursue this more seriously, and try to make it more than a hobby. I'm open to any and all help and suggestions!!



















Since doing indoor stuff I've struggled with White Balance like in these pics.

Your outdoor actions shots are nice, very sharp focus and use of DOF. My only suggestion here is get off of full auto and start using A or M.

Your indoor shots.... well. I think you biggest problem is your lighting setup. It looks like you have two fill lights set at 45 degrees off subject. This setup will result in a very flat, unimpressive image. Try moving your light sources around creating some depth on the subject. What type of lighting are you using? Flash or modeling? On the D5000 you can preset your WB very easily, read your manual to find out how.

Keep at it.






p!nK