Some Suggestions for Practice

As the poker players would say, I'm "all in" now...and I'm looking for suggestions that will help me progress.

My wife bought me a Digital XT (350D) a few years ago as a birthday present. I've spent the last two years essentially using it as a point-and-shoot - never shot anything in any of the creative modes - mostly taking "memory shots" at family gatherings. About 6 months ago, I got lucky and actually turned out a couple of great shots (mostly by accident). Got to thinking "doggone, this photo thing could be a great hobby - I wonder what this camera can do." And that, my friends, was the beginning of what is becoming a rather deep dive into photography.

I've read some good manuals on the Rebel XT (including the Magic Lantern book) as well as the Lens Works manual. I've also spent significant effort in studying about the basics: composition, light, color.

Started to take a few pictures using the kit lens and quickly found that I needed to upgrade my lens. Three lens purchases later (which also led to a battery grip purchase), I think I'm good on glass for now.

I think I'm now to a point where I've got adequate gear for learning (in fact, I suspect I've overdone it in this area) and I've done some pretty decent "book learning". I need to spend time behind the camera and practice, practice, and practice. I think I'm leaning toward landscapes, wildlife, and outdoor sports as my favorite subjects...but I don't really know enough yet to be sure of much of anything, so I'd like to try a bit of everything. I also recognize that I need experience with less than favorable conditions - something other than banging away at f/16 on a sunny day.

So, after all that rambling, let's get to my question. Does anybody have any suggestions for some good photo "assignments" that might help build my photography skills? I'd appreciate any advice you all can pass my way as I attempt to move beyond "newbie" status.

Take pictures at high school sports events, as well as offer individual sport portraits, and maybe take some portraits of your wife to make her happy.



Also try finding tutorials online and read them and actually do them, even if its hard figure out what it is you have to do to get it done

I found that acquiring some good books on photography was the fastest way to gain skill and knowledge - certainly faster than the trial and error method of taking countless pictures, very few of which "work".

All the books by Bryan Peterson are highly recommended - I have seen three, but there are more.

"Understanding Exposure" is the one most often recommended for those of us with a Point and Shoot background. I have read most of "Understanding Digital Photography" and it is also very good.

http://www.amazon.com …r=Bryan%20Peter​son&page=1

His approach is easy to follow with plenty of good examples and ideas.

Local carnivals and sporting events can help a lot... You can try the tight shots and the wider ones to get a different feel to the images... The world is full of photographic opportunities, bugs, birds, people, scenes, unusual objects... Try experimenting with different angles from the normal shots, vary the composition...

Taking a good image is one thing, being able to recognise the ones others miss is what makes winners...

http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/board/26

Great suggestions and I thank you all!

Love "Understanding Exposure" - it's in my bookcase, but I was unaware that Peterson had written more. I'll be searching Amazon in just a few moments.

The carnival idea is really appealing. All the action, lights and emotions offer quite a bit to work with.

The link to the Fred Miranda forum was great. I'll be working through their assignments, including the old ones.

Great suggestions. Thanks again!

fteter wrote in post #3276351
Great suggestions and I thank you all!

Love "Understanding Exposure" - it's in my bookcase, but I was unaware that Peterson had written more. I'll be searching Amazon in just a few moments.

The carnival idea is really appealing. All the action, lights and emotions offer quite a bit to work with.

The link to the Fred Miranda forum was great. I'll be working through their assignments, including the old ones.

Great suggestions. Thanks again!

I'm glad we could help. It was a very good question. I wish more beginners would ask more about improving themselves instead of focusing on their equipment so much. Photo "assignments" are fun and can lead you to take photos you wouldn't have otherwise seen as possible. They allow you to work on your composition, exposure, and selection of subject matter and then people will often offer helpful feedback so you can improve. Those weekly assignments on FM are really great.

In preparing to improve my pix, I have been reading and rereading Bryan Peterson's "Learning to See Creatively". A great book help with improving your "seeing". I don't have a Canon DSLR yet - just trying to get better before moving from film and P&S cameras. Good luck!

Steve

Shadowplay wrote in post #3276697
It was a very good question. I wish more beginners would ask more about improving themselves instead of focusing on their equipment so much.

That's one of the main reasons that I searched for a forum like this one. I can point and shoot with no problems. I always thought that an f stop was just up from a g spot! I am hoping to learn more by reading about others experiences.

1. Turn off the light meter and try to FEEL light as it changes...you are after all shooting light not subjects. (use the 1/iso @ F:16 rule...see posts here to understand it if you don't)
2. Try this sequence of assignments:
a. shoot only shadows vs. light (looking for intesting variations of shadows)
b. shoot isolated shadows or isolated light
c. shoot for repeating shadows or lines of light
d. shoot for patterns...repeating then isolated
all the above should be with small lens openings to get wide depth of field
now
e. with wide lens opening, shoot for isolating objects against the blurred background...and then against the blurred foreground.
f. shoot for static (delta) compositon
g. shoot for dynamic (sigma/s-curve) composition

shooting moving objects
h. shoot without panning with the object
i. shoot while panning with moving object.

Each session should be shot on its own so you can concentrate on one view of light at a time...

Shooting without the lightmeter (M-mode) sensitizes your feeling for changing light...it will improve your exposures...

enjoy...

There is a weekly photo "assignment' here called the world wide photo day https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=170603

and this is for this past weekend https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=324981

fteter

Just a few suggestions:

Study exposure, not just -Exposure=Intesity x Time-. Learn how to override what your brain interprets, it compensates for a lot in terms of subject brightness range (White is hardly ever white).
Try and pick up a used spot meter, spend an afternoon with it (leave your camera at home) pointing it at a variety of objects and try and guess what the reading will be. You'll discover a whole new world in tonal relationships.

Learn what your sensor is capable of in the same way as we used to test film for its limits in tonal reproduction and color accuracy. Armed with that basic information, you'll make smart exposure decisions.

A composition excercise presented to me in first year:
Choose a 1meter x 1metre square of grass and take 36 different pictures within the chosen area. It's tough but remarkably helpful. Repeat whenever you need motivation.

Books:
My favourites - "The Camera", "The Negative" and "The Print" by Ansel Adams. Not so relevant in our digital world but highly informative.

Find out what text books are in use at RIT for first year photography students.

Study first and then shoot as much as you can

Even more great suggestions since my last post! I can't thank you all enough. While I've been putting together my "self education" program, I've also been doing some black and white work, just to get a feel for light and opening my eyes for creative opportunities.

Took this shot yesterday afternoon. Ignore the camera data with this shot - I'm having issues there - I promise this shot was not taken at ISO 1600, nor on the date shown. The shot was actually taken in aperture priority mode at f/4.5 with an ISO of 100. I used the Canon EF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 at 100mm. The light source is a north-facing window just above the upper frame of the picture. I'm thinking this is not too bad for a "rookie" effort, but I'd like some other opinions.

HOSTED PHOTO
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Noob Error Alert

In subsequent reading (both books and comments on this forum) since my last post, I think I've committeed a noob error in failing to separate my shooting and my processing.

In my prior post, I implied I was shooting in B&W. I'm not. What I'm doing is shooting with an eye for contrast and light variations - not caring much about color. In my PP, I'm bringing the pic into Photoshop CS2 and taking the following steps:

1. Bringing up the Lightness channel
2. Applying the Unsharp Mask filter: Amount 150%, Radius 1, Threshold 10
3. Choosing Image -> Mode -> Grayscale
4. Save the image

So, the lesson I've learned? Shooting and PP are two different things - part of the same workflow, but still two different things - and in order to be precise, I need to keep that in mind as I think about, listen to discussions about, or talk about photography.

Now please excuse me while I pull my foot out of my mouth...

Still having issues with the camera data saved with each shot, but that's a subject for another thread...

My $0.2: 'Learning to see creatively', Brian Peterson

http://www.amazon.com …2_img/102-7396543-4262558