pete_harlan1

<p>"He is selling the 18-200mm VR to me for US$ 750"</p>

<p>Sounds like he wants yours for $100 less than retail, so ask him to take $100 off his 18-200.<br>

You can buy a 18-200 for $750 brand new.</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>I think it important to distinguish the difference betwwen the word "amateur" and "pro."</p>

<p>Pro's are paid for their work, amateurs are not. The two words have little to do with quality of work. I have seen amateur work that is far superior to pro work.<br>

IMHO there are two types of amateurs. 1) One who shoots snap shots and 2) one who has gained understanding in many aspects of photography and is continually trying to improve.<br>

There are a couple ways to get these outstanding photos you are seeing. One would be to meticulously set up and fully understand the lighting; be it outdoors or in a studio.<br>

The advanced amateur when shooting "off the cuff" or shooting in a dynamic environment with little or no control over subject matter and lighting conditions have a secret they are unwilling to tell you or admit. They shoot a ton of frames! Perhaps out of 100 frames they find a "Keeper." What many never see are the rejected photos. That is another difference between a pro and amateur; pro's don't display their rejects for all the world to see.<br>

If you want to get stunning results as a amateur..shoot a lot of frames.<br>

Want to take better photos and increase your chances of more keepers? Study the art pf photography from A to Z.</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>Kenny,<br>

While I am not an advocate of online photography courses, I'm sure they may be of some value for a few.<br>

Like many here, I too came from the era of a lot of wasted film; not to mention the cost. To those who persevered, we were rewarded with understanding. IMO, one can purchase a few great books and have at it..and at a far lower cost than online courses.<br>

There are many things that can be taught with books and there are many things that can not. F/ stops, lenses, speed, ISO, grain/noise, editing, lighting setups etc can be taught from a book. Reading these books does not guarantee we will create great images.</p>

<p>If I want to learn to hunt, I will seek out a hunter and go with them. I may be able to tell you about this gun or that gun from reading a book, yet my education lacks w/o actually doing it. The experienced hunter will tell me how, what and why as we walk thru the woods.<br>

A few days spent with a experienced photographer is worth far more than books or online courses. Perhaps you can find someone to go out and shoot with?</p>

<p>Although courses give one technical teaching, they lack heavily in the artistic approach. I have always believed composition can not be taught. It is something we are born with or not. Many do not like hearing that. Sure, we can get better at composition, rule of thirds etc, but for some reason, composition escapes many.<br>

If you are shooting digital, may I suggest again a book, shoot, shoot and shoot some more. As one poster suggested, show your work...but not only to your family. LOL<br>

I'll leave you with this short story.<br>

A young untrained golfer needed a coach. While the young golfer had some excellent skills, he lacked in other areas. His couch started him off hitting the ball as hard as possible with little regard for control or accuracy. After some time, the teacher began to teach him control and accuracy. The teacher was Jack Grout and the golfer was jack Nicklaus..The rest is history.</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>Harry,<br>

I'm curious why you say the "learning curve is steeper?"</p>

<p>Other than the D3 being a FX, everything else is pretty much identical.</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>Adam; you are shooting a D-40 right?<br>

You are not wasting film;right? Why the concern over metering?One of the marvelous things about digital is the ability to hit delete and start over. Too dark? Open up. Too bright, close down. Back in the day, many of us had to learn how to use hand held light meters..we had to understand light, shadow and everything in between. With today's DSLR's this art is falling to the wayside. It probably isn't really necessary anymore. I carried a light meter for years when I shot medium format. I no longer carry a light meter unless on the rare occasion I shoot film.<br>

Matrix, center and spot when fully understood will nail any shot w/o metering off this or that. All camera's have a limit in exposure latitude. Your goal is to capture as much of that latitude as possible for a good exposure; barring of course intentional over/under exposure.<br>

My subject matter is far more important to me than metering off some portion of the sky.<br>

What I consider more important if I am shooting jpg, is white balance.</p>

<p>This is actually a excellent question.<br>

To use or not to use "Shoot Settings" and/or "custom banks" will be dictated by your use of the camera.<br>

Personally, I shoot such a wide variety of subjects, I have little use for them. Allow me to explain.<br>

I did try them for a while, for instance; One lens may require a little more in cam sharpening, or perhaps I want more SAT, less contrast, a B&W setting etc...etc...<br>

Here is where all these memories fail me. I pretty much know what I will be shooting. I know what I want to achieve. It is so easy to change parameters on the D-300, I see no reason to store anything. Sure; one can argue they want a indoor custom setting for a wedding shoot; but how many indoor shoots are the same?<br>

In my opinion, the subjects we shot are just too dynamic to constrain to this or that setting.<br>

I tried it. I saw no need for it.<br>

Pete</p>

<p>What one charges is up to you as well as what the market will bear.<br>

Here is a website you might find interesting...Look for the category "<em>photo business</em>." <a href="http://www.danheller.com">www.danheller.com</a><br>

If you are not planning on making a living from photography, may I suggest a easy way to determine what to charge?<br>

Ask yourself a question: How much per hour am I willing to work for? Add <strong>ALL</strong> your time<strong>.</strong></p>

<p>Jackie,<br>

Artificial lighting for most beginners is difficult to understand. Yes, there is a lot to learn; but it is learnable with time.<br>

One of the biggest mistakes I see with those just getting into lighting is getting too much equipment; believing this will solve a multitude of sins. It does not.<br>

There is no single simple answer; I will however offer an opinion based on my teaching experience.<br>

1) Get ONE light and work with it. Many fine portraits have been made with just one light source. You can go with a continuous lighting source or a strobe w/ umbrella. Weather to use continuous lighting or strobes is a subject of debate. I prefer strobes. I'd suggest a dual purpose umbrella shoot thru/reflective. Trying to master several lights for a beginner is a nighmare. If you buy a package of several lights, resist the temptation to use more than one for now. As you see how shadow and light play upon your subjects, you will want to add more light eventually; Main and fill. Finally you will begin to use hair lights, modifiers, gobos, scrims, reflectors, back lights etc...<br>

2) Get a good basic book on studio lighting.<br>

3) Keep a notebook on your lighting setups. Output power, distance of camera to subject, angles..everything! </p>

<p>all the best,</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>I fully understand the benefits of shooting RAW.<br>

"The first question would be why you're converting to JPEG before printing."<br>

Then (WHO) commercially will print a 12 bit RAW image weather it was converted in Capture NX or ACR?<br>

That is my question.<br>

I don't print my own images. I always send the keepers out to a professional print house.</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>Doug,<br>

I can only add a little to the good advice already given.<br>

Meters can and often are fooled by many lighting situations. Experience will eventually be your guide. White snow on a sunny day is a perfect example as the meter will dictate a F/stop that under exposes the image. All experienced shooters know this.<br>

The meter will get me close so I don't waste time, but the final outcome that I desire will often force intervention by the photographer.<br>

Matrix, center & spot metering all have their place once we understand what it is we are attempting to capture (The Subject) and HOW the various metering modes interpret the light.<br>

Pete</p>

<p>Not sure if this is the proper forum, but here we go.<br>

I fully understand the pros and cons to shooting RAW file forrmat.<br>

My question regards printing.<br>

Once we convert from RAW to JPEG, have we not "clipped" off all that great data we post processed with?<br>

Who or what can print this tonality range one in the JPEG file format?</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>Roy,<br>

Like anything else, some options are meant for different things.<br>

The self cleaning sensor on the D 700 works with certain kinds of dirt & dust. This option is more preventative in nature than it is a "clean all." (Welded) dust and dirt will probably NOT be solved with the self cleaning sensor. Now (new) dust can be removed before it becomes a problem. I'm a bit surprised you have so much dust already? You must change your lens often?<br>

Good technique when changing lenses can minimize the sensor dust & dirt problem, such as avoiding changing lenses outside when possible..holding the lens opening downward when changing etc...<br>

I'm not sure if I would want to enable the camera to clean every time I start it up. The system works by introducing multiple frequency sonic vibrations to the sensor. I have no proof to offer that frequent use of this is harmful except it goes against my better judgement having a good grasp on basic physics.<br>

all the best,<br>

Pete</p>

<p>Thanks all.<br>

I too may take out a paid membership once I look around a bit. My problem was paying these people just to contribute to the forums on that other site. There were many newbies and intermediate shooters I enjoyed helping when I could. They should have paid me! LOL I'm cool with paying for certain things; offering professional advice is not one of them. ;)<br>

Yep; I like what I see here; I should have come over long ago.</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>I migrated over to this site from Betterphoto.com. After being a actively contributing member of the forums, Better Photo.com has now gone to a 100% pay to play policy; meaning just to participate in the forums requires a paid membership!<br>

I can't speak for others, but when I began my photographic oddysey many years ago, I learned from some wonderful people without charge. I was taught and inspired by these people. I feel a responsibility to give something back where I can in the way of sound advice. This is why I am here. Now if I have to pay to participate in a forum; well; it's not for me.<br>

I am impressed with the Nikonian website, especially the forums which I hope to contribute to as often as possible.</p>

<p>The answers you've received so far are good, but Ithink one major area has been overlooked; one that will make or break nearly any business. The Business plan!<br>

When I started in the business of photography years ago, I really thought my wonderful skills and beautiful photos would carry me thru. They did not. After about 2 yrs of struggling, I finally figured it out. Photography as a business is just that, a business.<br>

You need to clearly define your goals in this. Why are you doing it? How much money do you want to make? What is the market for this. The list is much longer yet it is part of your business plan. After being in business for many years now, I am a firm believer in the 80/20 rule. 80% of my time is spent in the business aspect with 20% spent actually pressing the shutter release. To simply jump in with business cards, calling on potential clients, producing a end result, putting up a web page etc... is voodoo economics and probably doomed to failure.<br>

I heard a quote one that I agree with, "The business of photography is a way to ruin a perfectly lovely hobby."<br>

I'm not trying to disuade you, but you must count the cost before endevouring any business. Even if it is only part time, it is still a business.<br>

How many photographers does it take to screw in a light bulb? 50. One who did it and 49 others who said "I could have done that."</p>

<p>all the best,</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>Just wanted to say hello to all my photographer friends.<br>

I've been watching and reading this site for a few years but have not joined until now. Great site!<br>

I was a member of <em>betterphoto.com for 3 yrs</em>. Seems the owner is now charging a membership fee just to contribute to the forums.<br>

I'm sure quite a few more people will migrate over here soon enough.<br>

They might want to change the name to "more-expensive photo.com". LOL<br>

It's my pleasure to be here and I hope to answer questions and post a few photos when time permits.</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p>The D90 does NOT share the same focus system as the D-300..be careful here..The two cameras are not the same.</p>

<p>Pete</p>