Photography questions

[slackerinabox]

Any good ways to really know how to take great photos? Any good books that teach everything from composition to the nitty gritty (fstops, etc.)? Also, any recommendations for a good (sub-$200 camera) to learn on? I have a vivitar v4000 manual camera- will that do (I'm talking film here, not digital)? Thanks!

 

[slackerinabox]

 

[Sid59]

short of spending money on film and developing and spending truck loads of money, no. you might get some tips from reading sites. i think the tips are only good after you've seen your pictures and know what you can improve one.

easy tips

- bracket
- multiple angles and compositions of the same shot
- use different fstops
- on fast moving objects use different shutter speeds
- forget that film and developing cost money .. realistically .. 1 shot and your done, isn't good enough. expect a few good shots (2-6) on a roll of 24.

 

[Loggerman]

My old Yashica fx-7 still takes great pic.
Add a few len's.
Creative thinking (got some lighting pic's once :cool
F stops/film speeds/-,+ exposure

PM if you want

 

[TechnoKid]

Depth of field. Read up on that.

Think about composure and the way you like it. You will 'see' settings, places, things etc that just speak photo in your mind. Capturing it is done with the camera, but how you want it to 'look' if you will is your personal preference. However, there are guidlines [and dos and don'ts] in the realm of photography (like exposure, f-stop, shutter speed and all that stuff) but those are really more technical things; how things work.

If the photo looks good in your eyes, then by all means its a good photo. Thats what really matters, imo. Accept critique of your photography as contructive critcism (and/or how to improve upon your photo skills). Everyone has their own preferences.

 

[slackerinabox]

Thanks guys for all the tips... My big question is this : without DOF preview how can I be sure if I set my f-stop /shutter speed /etc. correctly? in other words, how can you be confident that everythings set right? I guess it comes with practice and time...

 

[JoPalm]

Is your camera fully manual? Usually you can set it to shutter priority or aperature priority where the camera will take everything else and figure it out. I think when you first start off, practice on composition. Also take lots of pictures! Good pictures come w/ practice . I've never taken a lesson myself but I absolutely love photography. In HS i was a yearbook photographer so that helped; I got to shoot of rolls of film w/o ever paying . Digital is great if you can afford it but nothing beats learning on a 35mm. I use both a 35mm and digital. Throughout school I mostly used film but now a days I use the digital more as it is cheaper to take pictures with. But if someone gives me a roll of film to shoot, I shoot it for sure!

 

[element]

go here

click on learn.

check out the forums too. and the pics. there's a lot of great info on there on how to take some great pics. challenge submission pics have some good discussions under them also.