Proyecto 365 Días
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I get a lot of mail asking questions about my photography, my processing, etc. I'm always happy to answer but I just thought it'd be easier to put all of this out here....
And all of this is just how I do it. I don't believe there's one right way to do anything ~ you figure out what you're comfortable with and you do it. As an example, the Nikon vs. Canon debate bugs me to no end ~ they're both good. Get what you're comfortable with. I use Nikon because my film camera was a Nikon. If you're thinking of getting a dSLR then go to a camera store and hold them both ~ see what works for you. It's the same with everything else ~ just because so and so does it one way doesn't mean that's the way you have to do it. Try different things a figure it out for yourself ~ being comfortable doing something seems so important to me.
Photography:
Go out there and take pictures. Take your camera with you everywhere. Take a lot of pictures. Try different things. I go out in the afternoons just to shoot flowers around my neighborhood, or to throw one of my kids in front of some bright colored wall.
1) My #1 suggestion to people is to buy a 50mm lens. Shooting on a really low aperture is what creates the shallow depth of field in a lot of my pictures, and the 50mm lens is perfect if that's the look you want. It's my favorite lens.
2) Lenses make a HUGE difference. I would rather invest in good lenses then camera body.
3) I am a "focus and recompose" person: I have my focus mode set to S (C drives me absolutely batty). So I focus on what I want and then move the camera to get the composition I want; it's hard to explain if you're not used to it. I've tried moving focal points around but I get better results doing it this way.
4) For portraits 95% of the time I focus on the eyes. I think that's what people are drawn to, and what should be the sharpest.
5) I try to leave room for post-processing cropping. I am very picky about my cropping and I'm drawn to the square crop (or 6x7) these days so when I take my pictures I tend to keep that in mind.
6) I use matrix metering most of the time. Spot metering occasionally, if the lighting is tricky.
7) I shoot aperture priority 95% of the time. I know how to shoot manually, but A works just as well for me and it's aperture I usually want to control. If I need to I'll adjust the exposure compensation, but I do that rarely.
8) I shoot RAW. I like fiddling with stuff, so RAW works for me. Mainly I love it for fixing the white balance, but I also do almost all my black and white conversions in Adobe Camera RAW.
9) I pay attention to my histograms ~ I make a concerted effort not to blow my highlights. I don't care too much about shadows.
10) Pay attention to light ~ I read some book long ago that said all photography is is capturing light (you should hear Cindy squeal about good light, seriously). If you're doing portraits, make sure you can see the catchlight in their eyes ~ position them near a window, or a reflective surface. And shoot at different times to get a feel for different light ~ morning vs. sunset, etc. There's no bad time to take a picture (though 1pm on a sunny day with no shade is challenging) but there's definitely better times to do so.
11) Look through the viewfinder and figure out what's in your shot. I know that sounds redundant but it actually took me a long time to make this a habit. What's appearing in the picture that's going to distract from the subject? Take it out, or move.
12) If you are going to shoot wide open, understand what's going to be in the focal plane. Position your lens directly parellel to your subject. If you're shooting kids, get down to their level. If you're shooting flowers, try different angles.
13) Your shutter speed should never be less than your focal length, to avoid blur due to camera shake (so if you're using a 50mm lens, you want to be at at least 1/60 ss)
Photoshop:
I love Photoshop ~ not everyone does. Some people set up their cameras so they need to do less post-processing but I enjoy that aspect, almost as much as the actual shooting. Very rarely I have something SOOC that I think doesn't need any adjustment. I believe that film has been developed to create a certain look (so if you want vivid landscapes you shoot Velvia, pretty portraits you shoot Portra) and tons of stuff occurs in the darkroom during development. So I use Photoshop to get the look I like.
1) I do have actions for sale now
2) I own a ton of actions but mostly just to learn how others do stuff. If I use an action on something I post I make note of it (I love lilyblue's honey action and her black and whites)
3) I adjust the individual color curves on almost every picture. I am going to make public a few tutorials I put up for a group, which will be in a set with this 365 ~ it shows what I'm talking about
4) I pay attention to my histogram in Photoshop, as well. I really don't like blown highlights, lol. What I mean by this is ~ if you open your histogram, the right hand side of it pertains to the highlights in your picture. If the edge of the histogram is up against that wall, it means your highlights are getting clipped and information is lost. Google it because I'm not explaining it right but I think it's really important.
5) I love gradient map adjustment layers ~ they tone down colors and add richness to black and whites. I will generally add a black to white gradient map set to 10-25% opacity on my pictures.
6) I'm a huge fan of the "Apply Image" function, under "Image". I choose the green channel and set it to soft light. Then I adjust the opacity of the layer down, anywhere from 85% to 20% ~ it just depends
That's all I can think of. Ask questions if you have any and I'll answer them to the best of my ability.
And I just need to add that I feel like I learn something new weekly ~ I read, I shoot, I get inspiration to try something ~ it all leads me to try new things and experiment.
And hopefully you see that there really is no magic. It's just figuring things out.
Just finished a shift, have a TON to do... would rather just zip myself up in the suitcase and GO! It won't be that easy, but it will be worth it :o) We have one kid to drop off at college for her Junior year... and then it's off on a little summer adventure... FINALLY! We have been home and working hard all summer long.
The possibilities of my presence on flickr are sketchy.
Hope you all had a wonderful day, see you when I see you!
Explore #182 on Oct 10, 2008
if anyones interested in seeing how this was edited, clicky here
Part of a series about 'being watched'. I took some more shots today (might post some more on my blog later) but this one is definitely staying in the series.
Copyright © Karin Elizabeth. All rights reserved.
I will delete comments that contain either of the following: group awards, group invites, admin invites, other sparkly images or .gifs.
I block assholes.
I'm not even going to talk about today's weird photo. It is what it is. I gave my SP its one chance and that's what I had to work with. :-)
It's all coming to a close shortly and my last picture (Wednesday) is gearing up to be very anti-climactic. It'll be my typical weekday shot. If it's at work, you'll probably see a rushed photo of me on the stairs. If it's at home, well...I won't even be able to attempt a shot till 8pm(pst). And even then I'm pretty much limited to boring lamp light. So, don't expect much out of me. :-)
Explored January 7, 2008 #94
New Camera!! Lots to play with...
30 second exposure, illuminated by a single tea candle.
(Eh, it'll get awesomer, I promise...)
abennett23... this one's for YOU!
See the bloodshot eye?? See the little half grin?? Yeah... ;o) Remember there will be days like this! I'm already pushed for time and close to being late for work. Won't be home until after 9pm. Need a 365, need a cup of coffee, need some energy, need some time...
there will be LOTS of days like this. But, none the less, I have no doubt your 365 will be fabulous. I'll be cheering you on! And hopefully, so will a few people who read this and start to follow your project from the start :oD
LOL... i tried to do a link but it wasn't working... will fix it after work... SEE WHAT I MEAN?? hahaha
*and now I've fixed it while AT work! ;o)
I forget, from year-to-year, the amazing sense of renewal I usually get in mid-Spring. I suddenly recall, on a very deep level, how wonderful and beautiful life is it's endless ability to regenerate and renew itself. Warm weather, trees full of tender leaves and bright sun cure my seasonal affective disorder (for a season or two). I was listening to a compilation of some "classical" piano music and was especially blown away by a Debussy piece that I hadn't listened to in years. Seemed to hook me into my annual reminder about regeneration.
I used this texture (thank you!): www.flickr.com/photos/tintagel22/2214042181/
And I used a brush set which is named secretlycivilian.dl.am-dirt, but I'm not sure where I got it.
I'll be honest. I'm pretty much to the end of my resources. I'm so tired! There's so much I need to accomplish!! My girls start school Wednesday and I couldn't make it to their open house tonight. I've only got two days off this week and I'm thinking about crying already. lol. Somebody call the WHAAAAAAAAmbulance!!
So, what to do for a pic at 10pm when you have to get up the next morning to go back to work? Thinking...thinking...thinking... OOOoooOOOooo SHINY THINGS! Look carnival mirror faces! Good thing I can blame it on the warped reflections... I'm sure I look like crap at this point anyway.
I'm going to try to make rounds before crashing....
Today I sent my first baby off to Kindergarten.
I haven't cried yet....that was yesterday.
Today I smiled and was SO FULL of love and pride.
He has been with me every single day for the last 5.5 years.
It's been a hard but beautiful journey getting us to today.
He may be in "real" school now but he will always be my baby.
My FIRST baby.
He made me a mom.
A VERY happy and proud mom.
...that everyone's voice would be heard...
...that people never die...
...no wars and peoples lives would not be risked...
....that there would be no pollution....
....to help the children who have nothing...
....cure diseases....
....that the weather man would get the weather fixed...
....to stop terrorism....
....to stop people from stealing and killing....
....world peace....
....to have more National Parks for animals....
....to stop the icebergs from melting...
....that people rode their bikes....
....people would listen to eachother to sort out problems...
tomorrow is the younger children....but with this group I feel the world may be in safe hands already....
This is me futabing while Kevin was filling up the tank on Friday for our 6 hour drive. It was getting hot so I opened up the door and well....... took my FUTAB shot too.
We made it back home safe and sound last night. The weekend was wonderful, fun, and exhausting *grin*.
Now it's back to the grind here at home. I have a ton of laundry, unpacking, and catching up to do. Hopefully the kiddos will let me get some stuff done today.
Happy Monday!
I missed you guys!
I miss you everyday
You stole the show when you said you had to go
Every time I think of you I’m fine
The only way to see you is to turn back time
I wish that you were here
You always said what I was thinking in my head
Every passing day you fade away
Every passing day you slowly fade away...
July 18, 2007
Day 228 of 365