melinda_gaus

October 27, 2009

Sound advice. :)

I'll try not to light the memory cards on fire, either.

October 27, 2009

Hi -

This is my first time posting in the travel forum, and I'm just looking for some general input.

In early December I will be going on a Caribbean Cruise to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and the Bahamas. This will be my first "major" vacation after buying my first DSLR, A Nikon D80. I've taken smaller trips with it before, but this will be the first time I will have to deal with airport issues, high humidity, etc.

I will be taking my Nikon D80 with a 18-70mm lens. I don't have any other options here, as this is all I currently own. It's been good to me so far. I also plan on bringing my much older Sony Point and Shoot. This will be for days that we are on "messy" shore excursions. Ones that I'm worried about sand/water damage and possible theft.

First a few general travel questions: 1. How should I protect my memory cards when going through airport security? I will take the Nikon through regular xray machines, but the Sony will probably stay in my luggage, thus going through a more stringent machine. 2. Also, will there be anything I need to worry about customs? I doubt it, but I want to cover my bases.

Second, about the Caribbean itself: 1. Should I worry about the high humidity and how should I deal with it? I took a video camera on a cruise several years ago and it kept locking up saying "Condensation". In the long run it didn't hurt the camera, but it kept me from getting good memories.

I'm also open to any other suggestions regarding my trip. Other ideas, concerns, etc. Thoughts on my camera selections. I need a brush up on getting the best from a P&S. It's been awhile since I cracked that baby open!

Can't wait! Thanks!

October 25, 2009

Thanks.

October 25, 2009

Can photoshop Elements do this? Or just the full version?

Maybe someone can answer before I go delve into my PSE book. Since it's not at my house right now!

October 25, 2009

John -

I am currently looking into shooting RAW. I shoot in JPEG right now, as it was the default setting when I got the camera. A Nikon D80.

I was re-reading my manual/help book (I have a Magic Lantern series guide) last night to get a better grasp on things regarding RAW. There was a whole series on in-camera settings (i.e. sharpening, contrast, etc. etc.). The author of the book likes to shoot RAW and do much of his correction work in post processing. After each section of describing the in-camera settings, he had a little section labled "NOTE". It described which setting to use if you prefer to do the post processing yourself vs. letting the camera do it.

Maybe you can find something like this to help you, once you buy your DSLR. Although, most of the settings were common sense. Set to things like "normal" or "0" or "none". The most generic of the option.

Hope that helps a little. I'm only starting looking into RAW, so I'm not sure how much of assistance I can be!

October 24, 2009

Thanks....and FYI to all, I did find a chart in my book detailing how much space the various file formats will take up.

October 24, 2009

sorry, chart.... not chat. blah.

October 24, 2009

Thanks everyone... keep 'em coming if you got 'em.

Also, thanks John. Very helpful about the chat. I'll go look at my user manual now. Very funny about the Gaus-ian blur. It is my favorite tool.... wonder why? :)

October 24, 2009

Hi.

This is a spin off from the other RAW topic that is currently receiving a lot of attention. I am looking for suggestions on which shooting method to use based on my particular style of photography and pp. I am NOT looking for a generalized debate on JPEG v. RAW (I've read enough of those types of posts and articles). I understand the bare basics of the two, but still am on the fence as to what type of shooting to choose.

So here is my situation.

I currently shoot with a Nikon D80. I always shoot in JPEG. I made this decisions because, well, that was the camera default, and I wasn't savvy enough at first to realize there may be a difference. I do any of my post processing work in Photoshop Elements 6. My subjects are genearally nature, animals, landscapes, buildings, etc. I tend to shy away from people, unless they are candids. I do not really enjoy posed portrait work or formal wedding photography.

In terms of my shooting and pp, I aim to get everything right in the camera the first time. But I am a beginner, so I often have lots of goofs, etc. that need correction. In terms of pp, there are things that I enjoy, but other things I don't. I don't mind doing work in Photoshop. Making corrections can be fun and playing with the special effects (even just for playing) can be even more fun. But there is only so much of a limit I can take. I like "sprucing up" my better shots, but don't enjoy spending major time "fixing" things that were way off in the first place.

Right now my shots are for personal enjoyment. Hobby, nothing else. Although, I am considering maybe selling prints at small arts and crafts fairs.

Now down to the point (finally). I understand that shooting RAW gives you much greater control over white balance. Which is great, especially considering I am far from perfect in my shots. However, I find the downsides to be....well.... pretty down. I'm not a great fan of the fact that RAW takes up more space. How much space? Does it cut your space down by half? A third? etc? I also dislike the fact that everything needs to be converted. I'm not even sure how to do that and if it is possible to do that in batch. As for JPEG, I am happy with the results. I still feel I am able to do a lot with Photoshop in JPEG. But since I don't shoot in RAW, I may not know what I'm missing!

And then there is the issue of workflow. I'm not even sure how RAW works. Do you do your corrections in RAW format and then convert to JPEG for printing? I tend to work on my photos a lot over time. One correction one day, more the next, etc. I keep doing a "save as" which I know loses data. A big "no no", but I'm not even sure how to do it otherwise. If you shoot in RAW, can you see your photos on an LCD screen? Or do you have to wait until you get home to your PC?

I apologize for all the questions... I read many articles, but I wasn't able to get all of my answers. Again, I am posting here for suggestions on which you may think would be better for me. NOT for a big general debate.

And, yes, I know people are going to say "well, just try it out and see," but then I couldn't have all this fun of posting online and waiting for my responses. :)

Thanks in advance.

October 22, 2009

Thanks guys.

I think I will have some handle on the business side of things. I do have a Master's in it. :)

I am a bit more concerned about getting the right materials for matting and printing since I don't do much of that now. If I do ever sell anything, I want to make sure that it is something that will last for the customer.

October 22, 2009

Okay, first of all, I am putting this in the beginner category because I need a lot of patience with this question. This is a brand new topic for me and I'm very uneducated about it.

I have quite a few photos now that I'm fairly proud of. So far, I've only had them for "personal satisfaction" reasons. Basically, because I love taking pictures and showing them to family, friends, and folks around here. Nothing more than hobby stuff.

I just showed a few photos to my mom, and I feel I am getting better at this whole picture taking thing. Now, I know she is biased as a mom, but she suggested that if I am really interested in this that I look into trying to sell some photos at a few local arts and crafts fair. Something low key. A local church is putting on a community arts and crafts fair in December. I would not be looking to make any amount of actual working income on this, maybe just a few bucks on the side.... or break even on any investment involved in signing up for the fair, matting photos, etc. Now, December might be a bit early for me to jump into this (seeing as I know very little about the process), but maybe sometime down the line.

Now, most of my questions here do not really pertain to actual picture taking or digital darkroom stuff. I really have no idea of what is involved in getting into something like this. Most of my questions center around things like this: Where would I get these images printed? (right now, I just print for personal enjoyment at Sams Club or something) Where would I get these matted? (I'm not looking into major framing yet) How do I jump on board with something like this? Is it even worth it?

As you can tell, I'm in murky waters here. It sounds like a ton of fun, but I have no clue about a lot of the logistics.

Does anyone have any practical advice? I apologize that my questions are so broad... maybe someone could point me to a good website or online articles?

I shoot with a Nikon D80. My subjects usually fall into the nature/animal category. I'm more into shooting "things" (landscapes, beaches, animals, buildings, etc.) versus people. I know I'm not cut out for studio portraits or event photography.

October 22, 2009

Ditto Mark.

I took a course in Photography and one in Photoshop Elements at my local Community College. Nothing major, just some non-credit courses. I think they cost me about $100 each.

Having an actual "real life" person to learn from, talk to, and question was a great help. It goes a long way.

October 21, 2009

Glad I could be of help!

I am often torn about getting the "next best thing"... my eyes get all googly when I see the new ads come out. But I too need to spend more time learning how to use my D80 the right way. I'm coming along, but there is still plenty to learn. Maybe when I'm further along in the learning curve I'll invest more money in equipment.

But for me, for now, the D80 is a good fit. :)

Take care!

October 21, 2009

Hi Sally -

I have a Nikon. A D80 to be exact. This is my first DSLR and I only currently have one lens. The initial purchase set me back a bit on the budget, so I haven't really had a chance to buy much more.

I struggled a lot with my first purchase. Nikon v. Canon was a big issue, but I also worried a lot about getting the right body and the right lens. I drove myself batty for quite some time. Finally I realized I was spending too much time worrying about the camera system and NOT spending any time taking pictures! So I just crossed my fingers and threw a dart. Okay, not really. I did some reading... got some advice online... and went to the store and tried out the different cameras in my hand.

I decided on the Nikon cause it was just the fit for me. I would not change that decision.

But don't let this debate get the best of you. I've taken all sorts of photos on all sorts of cameras. I've taken crappy photos on my Nikon cause I didn't know what I was doing. And I've taken some of my best shots on a Sony point and shoot because I DID know what I was doing.

Equipment is definitely part of the battle, but don't let that be the only part of the battle. I think either a Nikon or a Canon would be a great choice. If you are already invested in Nikon equpiment and some Nikon knowledge, I would not make the switch.

October 10, 2009

Thanks for the apology, Greg. Not necessary however. :)

October 9, 2009

Bill -

Your kind compliments might just push me over the edge of forking over the $25 bucks to subscribe for the year. You think if I could afford the equipment, I could afford the cheap subscription! heehee.

The lion is one case in which I had to crop and zoom a bit in photoshop. I don't have a telephoto lens, so I could not get very close. Only a mid-range zoom.

October 9, 2009

Thanks for the compliment Bill. :)

October 9, 2009

Here's an example from my own work... just in case people are curious...

I took this photo at a local conservatory. When I first took it and had a chance to view it on my DSLR screen, I felt I had gotten a pretty good shot. The butterfly was in pretty good focus and the background was blurred out nicely. That was the general idea I was going for. I didn't have to do any sharpening in ps or blurring of the background.

However, I was limited in some very important ways. The conservatory was very crowded and dark. I didn't have a bunch of time to set up my shot. Also not a lot of time, considering I wasn't sure how long the little guy would sit. At this point, I only own one camera body and one lens. Nothing else. Not even a tripod.

So, naturally, I felt I had to do a little touching up. I saturated the colors of the butterfly a bit... to make the orange a bit more intense. I also had to lighten the background... it was a bit darker of a green because of the darkness of the building. I did crop to get a tighter fit around the subject. These were my changes.

Just posting so people can get a better sense of what I mean when I talk about "changes" in ps. If that helps change your opinion or gives new light to a previous post.

October 8, 2009

I have 6. There is still a ton to learn about it... and if I bothered to upgrade every time a new edition came out, I'd be broke. :)

October 8, 2009

Thanks. Makes me feel a little better. :)

Anyone else can feel free to answer, I'm not trying to stop discussion here!

October 8, 2009

P.S. - I know there will be some difference on opinion about what "counts" and "doesn't count" in terms of manipulating an image, but I'm trying to avoid a big debate on that. :)

October 8, 2009

Just curious from a newbie.

How often do you make corrections to your photos in a post production process? I'm thinking along the lines of using something like Photoshop, which is the program I am currently most accustomed to.

I'm not talking about quick fixes or changes like cropping, but major changes to color, lighting correction, etc.

I suppose what I'm really wondering is how many of your photos pop out of your camera perfect and how many need a little work. 50% that need corrections? 80%? What?

I'm asking because I'm fairly new to photography. I find myself able to take pretty decent photos on a regular basis, but I always find I can tweak them to be just a little bit better through Photoshop. Usually a saturation of colors, lightening of shadows, etc. But I also feel like I'm sort of "cheating" by doing this. I feel like every photo needs to come out of my camera 100% perfect or I'm failing at learning all this stuff.

Am I wrong in feeling this way? I'm just trying to see what some of the veterans might think about this. There is no right or wrong answer I'm looking for. I'm just curious about what a "norm" might be.

Am I cheating by making changes in Photoshop?

September 30, 2009

I didn't read all the answers... so I apologize if I'm repeating anyone.

I think the two go hand in hand... sometimes frustratingly. I took my first photography class with a point and shoot Sony something or other. Everyone else in the class had fancy DSLRs with fancy lenses and fancy buttons. I often "outshot" my classmates because I ignored the technical details and just shot what I thought would "look good".

During the class, I started to focus more on the buttons and gadgets and all that stuff I never paid attention to before. I learned a lot. Sometimes, however, in the learning, I spent too much time on the technical and missed out on the creative. Sure I learned more about the bells and whistles, but the photos were BORING.

I think it is important to learn the technical and to know what is going on with your camera. Sure I may have had some cool shots with my p&s, but most of the "good shots" were flukes (rather than a result of actually knowing what I was doing).

Right now I'm on a steep learning curve. I'm still trying to learn a lot of the technical, with some of the creativity suffering.

For example, I learned how to control DOF while taking photos of flowers. Cool, huh? Of course, my photos look a lot like anyone elses flower photos. BUT....I did learn how to control my camera, boring or not.

My hope right now is to learn the technical so that it becomes a second nature. To learn that aspect to the point that it no longer gets in the way of the creativity part.

I'm sure it will take me awhile to get everything down pat... there is a lot to learn.

But my point is that they go hand in hand. Sometimes I feel one outweighs the other.....and the next time the other outweighs the first. My hope is that I can someday, somehow work the two smoothly together.

Just some 2 cents from a very, very amatauer photo girl.

March 9, 2009

Hopefully someone can help me out here...

I quite enjoy the look of photos that have the subject situated against a totally black background. I've seen this done on portraits, with flowers, with animals, pets, etc. It's quite striking.

It seems most photographers (from a quick photo.net search) use some sort of black cloth background to help achieve this look. Positioning the subject on or otherwise in front of the black material.

Is there anyway to simulate this (while looking somewhat natural) in photoshop? I've seen photos of quite large animals (elephants, lions, etc) all on such backgrounds. I can't imagine people are bringing these types of creatures into their studios for such good shots! Are they using photoshop?

I would love to learn this technique. I am in a small one bedroom apartment and am, by no means, a professional. I don't have a studio or really any good space to get this effect.

If there is anyway to do this in photoshop, I'd be greatly thankful to know. I'm getting through a pretty thick book on photoshop now, so I'm just in the early learning stages. But is sure is a fun program!

Thanks,

Melinda

March 1, 2009

Thanks Mark.

Trust me, the crystal ball (and my wallet) says to stick with the D80. I'm only really now starting to learn all I can do with it. :)

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