Newbie here, I am so lost

[gasitman]

I just bought a elan 7ne with a 550ex speedlight and a sigma 28-70 lens and a 70-300. I have run about 3 rolls of film through the camera and I am not happy. The pictures look like they came out of a disposable camera. I have no idea what I am doing wrong, well, better yet, I have no idea what I am doing.:lol: I bought a few books and when I try to do some of the things in there, they look like crap. Are there any classes in the seattle/Tacoma are that I can take to learn how to take good pictures of my kids.

Any help or sugestions would be greatly appricated.

[Vetteography]

I am going to be the first, but certainly not the last, to say that you should post some examples so we can see if we can figure out what you are doing wrong.

There are some outstanding photographers on here and some very knowledgeable people on this forum and I have learned SO much already in my short time here.

[gasitman]

In the pic of the two girls, it is not very bright and I used the built in flash. Same on the pic with my daughter with the cat. The flower was upclose set on manual with the flash. The colors are not very bright as compaired to some that I see in the books. Not alot of bright colors. I used kodak 400 gold film. And it was developed at kits not walmart, allready made that mistake on the first roll. :o

http://img77.echo.cx/img77/4903/10170nb.jpg

[robertwgross]

To my eye, you got about the right degree of color saturation in all three.

---Bob Gross---

[gasitman]

I just took a bunch of pics with the 550ex, and the red eye reducer light does not work on the camera, is this right? I do not have the manual.

To my eye, you got about the right degree of color saturation in all three.

---Bob Gross---

Why are they so dark and not full of color???

[JSolie]

I would not even consider myself close to an expert with film, so this might not be 100% correct...

I'm under th impression that Kodak and Fuji films respond to different colors. Perhaps you'll get better color saturation if you try a roll of Fuji. Or at least different... I've had some pretty strange color levels (yellows and reds) with Kodak film in the past. But it could have been the processing (had it done at Costco).

As for flowers, I try to not shoot them with flash, as that tends to wash them out. I've probably got over a thousand flower pictures on the computer here that my daughter has taken with her little Canon digital point-n-shoot (an A75). Once she started turning the flash off on her camera, her flower pictures started getting much better.

Hope this helps...

[Jesper]

With film, how your prints turn out also depends a LOT on how well the processing and printing is done. You might want to try out different shops / labs to process and print your films.

If you want to learn more about the basics of photography, go to a bookstore and have a look at the photography books. There are many good books about the basics that you can learn from in your own pace.

[lostdoggy]

I haven't done SLR Film photo for a long time, so here is my two cent. First 400 film tends to be grainier then slower film even though they have came a long way, so they say, on high speed film. Try a slower film like 100. Second Its very hard to tell how good your shot is if it was scanned. The way it was scan will change the way we will see it. As far as lighting is concern, if ever posible use diffuse light its much softer. Another thing I notice is the distance between the front subject to the rear subject, If you want to keep the focus of your subjects in focus you need to reduce (increase the f/stop number) to increase the DOF (depth of field). I apologize if my termaology is wrong. Film is less forgiving in this way. With DSLR I could preview the pics before printing, which is the main reason I when to DSLR. Any way this is my 2 Cent.

[gasitman]

I'm under th impression that Kodak and Fuji films respond to different colors. Perhaps you'll get better color saturation if you try a roll of Fuji. Or at least different... I've had some pretty strange color levels (yellows and reds) with Kodak film in the past. But it could have been the processing (had it done at Costco).

.

Hope this helps...

I have fuji in there right now, and I have learned about the walmart processing. Kits seems to be the best around here. As far as how they look on here, they are very accurate from the scan. I had a elan IIe about 8 years ago for about 2 days, (lost my job and had to return it) anyways, the pics were great, but I did have a canon lens. Not sure if having the sigma makes that much difference. I just hope they get better, if I ever want to convince my wife of letting pony up $1k for a digital in the future. :oops:

[jeffherald]

First let me say don't get discouraged. It takes practice, and lots of it. It will be worth it. That is a good camera and the lenses are fine.

Second, as far as learning goes, you can get a book or two (or more, if your like me), learn from other photographers (you are already here), or you could look for a class. I attended a Nikon school (oops, did I say that here :o ) and that was a good source of information. The class is not camera-specific. You can find more info on places and dates for classes online, or in photo magazines. These are also good to start reading.

Third, this is a fast tip. I usually bump up the exposure about a half stop (read up on that) when I am looking to make my pictures less dark. That's me though.

Last, I think you would benefit by getting better film. No offence but I was never happy with Kodak Gold. Ask at your camera shop about film that is a step up from the basic consumer film from Kodak or Fuji. See if that helps.

Again, practice, practice, practice. Then worry about upgrading equipment.

Enjoy!

[jeffherald]

One other thing, you might try getting the prints processed in a matte finish, instead of gloss. I can't tell from the images you posted what finish they are on. I always like the look of matte. I think the gloss looks cheap. Again, that is my preference. It may not be yours, or anyone else's and that's fine. It's just a suggestion.

[gasitman]

They are matte, but I was thinking of going glossy.

[rich_yau]

try a a film like portra 160vc or 400vc (vivid color). Sometimes people who went digital sell it cheap.