Looking for CC and advice

[TonyaB]

I've posted before but have mostly been lurking and reading. My aspiration is to be a photographer. I am new the the DSLR world and am so far loving it. I have a "good eye" but as we all know, that only gets you so far. I am learning more about my camera every day but am still a novice with it. My first question is - can anyone recommend a good tutorial on the XTi? I'm obviously looking for more than a map of the camera-
Also, as far as PP, I like to do very little. I would rather get the shot right with the camera, but for minor touch-ups and special effects I'm using paint.net. Any comments on that program?

Thirdly, Here is a very rough outline of some of my 'better' photos. Would some of you take a few minutes and CC some of them for me? http://betancourtphotography.blogspot.com/
I prefer to use natural light as opposed to strobe, but I do use the on-board flash as a fill-in. I would like some advice on using strobe or other forms of light.

Lastly, I'd appreciate some advice on lenses. Currently I have the kit lens with my XTi.

Thanks everyone!

[TonyaB]

Anyone??

[SuzyView]

Instead of sending a link to your gallery, can you link a few photos, maybe 3-4 of your best shots and that way, we know what we are supposed to be looking at. I don't particularly like to go through a whole gallery right off.

Also, the kit lens has limitations, yes, but to advise on lenses you need to tell us what you shoot most or want to shoot most. If you ask what lenses would be good, we'd all say "L" quality, but that means you'll be spending $600-$10,000 on a lens. So give us the budget you are working with.

I do weddings and events. My main lenses are the 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 IS. If you like primes, I use my 85 1.8 the most, it's my favorite lens.

[howzitboy]

usually, to get some cc on these boards, you have to post up some of your fav shots here. we are lazy to visit websites and look lol. but i looked and they look fine to me. some nice shots but overall, they seem dark on my monitor. did u calibrate your monitor?
and, using firefox, some of the pictures are overlapping. might want to fix that too.

few at that top:
first shot is not too sharp, id try shoot at like f8 to get more detail in focus.

second shot (waterfountains) has too much foreground that should be cropped off and the horizon is crooked slightly.

third shot (bridge) again, too much foreground that has nothing to look at. id rather have more of the pretty sky then same old water. maybe shoot from the suns reflection and up with more sky?

fourth shot i like. nice pretty colors and it has lots of contrast.

[TonyaB]

usually, to get some cc on these boards, you have to post up some of your fav shots here. we are lazy to visit websites and look lol. but i looked and they look fine to me. some nice shots but overall, they seem dark on my monitor. did u calibrate your monitor?
and, using firefox, some of the pictures are overlapping. might want to fix that too.

few at that top:
first shot is not too sharp, id try shoot at like f8 to get more detail in focus.

second shot (waterfountains) has too much foreground that should be cropped off and the horizon is crooked slightly.

third shot (bridge) again, too much foreground that has nothing to look at. id rather have more of the pretty sky then same old water. maybe shoot from the suns reflection and up with more sky?

fourth shot i like. nice pretty colors and it has lots of contrast.

Thanks- no, I've not calibrated my monitor. What do I need to do to do that?

I noticed the over-lapping, but when I refreshed my page it righted itself. What do I need to do to ensure it doesn't do that?

[TonyaB]

Here are some photos from my site:

shot 1:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/agileollie/IMG_10640.jpg

shot 2:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/agileollie/IMG_10460.jpg

shot 3:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/agileollie/Adancollage.jpg


shot 4:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/agileollie/IMG_0483bw2.jpg



shot 5:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/agileollie/IMG_1046bws.jpg

shot 6:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/agileollie/Kayas.jpg

shot 7:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/agileollie/IMG_088110.jpg

I also get the feel that they are too dark, so I'm assuming I should open up my aperture more. I want to know what I'm doing, so these photos are more than mere snap-shots. I need more practice with my XTi, but I feel like I really don't know much about what I'm doing with it. I'm certainly not pushing it anywhere near it's limits. Ideas about that???

[SuzyView]

Are you shooting in RAW?

[TonyaB]

Are you shooting in RAW?

I checked my settings and am not sure. How do I set my camera to RAW?

Thanks.

[meatbag]

i noticed that some of the pictures on your gallery are different versions of the same picture. good professional tip, pick one. it may be difficult to choose but portfolios should never have re-hashes.

[SuzyView]

RAW is in the picture quality setting. What software are you using? If you are starting, use something simple that can do your RAW editing quickly and right off the CF card. I use PSE5 and shoot RAW + small JPEG because when you bring up the thumbnails, it only reads the JPEG file and the RAW is not shown but you can see there is an image there. So each picture has 2 files. I choose the RAW image (that is not shown in the thumbnail but is right next to the JPEG file and has the same number). The RAW file will have a CR2 instead of JPG after it. Read how to edit the RAW file, where the software can help you with exposure. And I would highly recommend a good book like "Understanding Exposure" that explains about exposure. I read the whole book after joining the forum. It has helped me tremendously with playing around with settings and experimenting with my camera. All the pictures you've posted are underexposed. It is much easier to work with the camera than try to PP to make each one better. Your camera has settings that can compensate for lighting. Read the book and you will learn a lot. Good luck!

[SuzyView]

I just reread your original post. Strobes, do you mean a good flash? Because Curtis here has done a few tutorials. Just find him in the Members List and I think he even has the link in his signature. It is a sticky, so it should be easy to find it. Flash photography is not so easy and with the close ups you've shown, I can tell you need some kind of diffuser. Directly shining the flash into a baby's face is never recommended because you want soft lights on the sweet face. I use natural light whenever possible, even using reflectors, not direct flash. Also, if you are just using the kit lens, that is a problem. You get what you pay for in photography equipment. The more you spend, the chances are, the better the lens. From what I can tell from your pictures, you take more portraits and want cute pictures of your baby. I would highly recommend you start with the 50 1.4 (around $300) and that will give you amazingly sharp pictures and the larger aperture so light will not be a problem indoors without a flash.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=35

[Deckham]

Having had a really quick look at your portfolio (and not talking about the images you posted), here are some tips on composition:

bend your knees. twist sideways. look under and through things. lie down if you need to. look for complimentary features to line up. look for shadows and light. 'see' the foreground, main subject and background and compose accordingly.

Often, the difference between a 'happy snap' and a decent shot, is that happy snaps are taken standing up, straight on, with no consideration for anything but the subject.

[TonyaB]

I just reread your original post. Strobes, do you mean a good flash? Because Curtis here has done a few tutorials. Just find him in the Members List and I think he even has the link in his signature. It is a sticky, so it should be easy to find it. Flash photography is not so easy and with the close ups you've shown, I can tell you need some kind of diffuser. Directly shining the flash into a baby's face is never recommended because you want soft lights on the sweet face. I use natural light whenever possible, even using reflectors, not direct flash. Also, if you are just using the kit lens, that is a problem. You get what you pay for in photography equipment. The more you spend, the chances are, the better the lens. From what I can tell from your pictures, you take more portraits and want cute pictures of your baby. I would highly recommend you start with the 50 1.4 (around $300) and that will give you amazingly sharp pictures and the larger aperture so light will not be a problem indoors without a flash.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=35

Thanks so much for the input. I'll go ahead and start looking for a 50 1.4. 300.00 isn't too bad!

I do want cute photos of my son, but ultimately I want to be a better photographer. I want to shoot weddings and portraits as well as landscapes.

Thanks again for your advice. I'll put it into play with my next shots. I am using the on-board flash. I'll start shutting it off more. Should I open my apperature a bit more in that instance?

[TonyaB]

i noticed that some of the pictures on your gallery are different versions of the same picture. good professional tip, pick one. it may be difficult to choose but portfolios should never have re-hashes.

thanks. It is difficult to choose, but I certainly see your point!

[TonyaB]

RAW is in the picture quality setting. What software are you using? If you are starting, use something simple that can do your RAW editing quickly and right off the CF card. I use PSE5 and shoot RAW + small JPEG because when you bring up the thumbnails, it only reads the JPEG file and the RAW is not shown but you can see there is an image there. So each picture has 2 files. I choose the RAW image (that is not shown in the thumbnail but is right next to the JPEG file and has the same number). The RAW file will have a CR2 instead of JPG after it. Read how to edit the RAW file, where the software can help you with exposure. And I would highly recommend a good book like "Understanding Exposure" that explains about exposure. I read the whole book after joining the forum. It has helped me tremendously with playing around with settings and experimenting with my camera. All the pictures you've posted are underexposed. It is much easier to work with the camera than try to PP to make each one better. Your camera has settings that can compensate for lighting. Read the book and you will learn a lot. Good luck!

Thanks. I figured out RAW just after my post. I am using Paint.net as my editing software. I'd like to upgrade. You use photoshop PSE5- what other options are comparable?

Thanks again!