The Photography Thread

[Tyche]

So for my photography class, our next project is a bokeh project I'm having trouble coming up with ideas of what I could do that stands out.

I wanna find a fire being put out, kinda like the pics earlier on this page, and get the truck lights and shit as bokeh in the background...but that seems hard to find around here.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=93122

[Fhqwghads]

If you've got a decent lens almost any subject that's worthwhile will look beautiful with some good bokeh. Can you use a macro lens? That right there will open up a whole new world of possibilities with a low f-stop for extremely shallow DOF. If you know someone with pretty eyes you can always fill about 40% of the frame with their eye if you get just the right angle, and have an outside scene for the background. Urban or rural; either would look nice IMO. Make sure they use multiple complimentary colors of eyeshadow to really make the image pop. Getting creative with the eye makeup can make some very very cool photos. Just an example I found with a quick google:

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs51/f/20...4a4cbc7490.jpg

There's a little too much eye in the frame to show off bokeh, so you'd need more of an angle without the bridge of the nose getting in the way. Also the makeup here isn't anything special. Really colorful makup would have made this really nice. Just some thoughts anyway...

[Headspace]

All I've got is a kit 18-55 mm

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[Headspace]

idk, I'm not a huge fan of soft out of focus backgrounds/bokeh that aren't really lights and interact with the subject/focus.

Just need to find a cool place with lights and shit around here...fucking florida is so god damn boring.

[Fhqwghads]

What's the lowest f-stop you can get with your kit lens? If it's low enough, or you can get a subject that's not moving, a downtown area at night would do well for a background filled with lights made of creamy bokeh.

[Tyche]

His lowest f-stop is 3.5, and quit being fucking cliche. 90% of you classmates are going to have bokeh with flowers or lights.

[Headspace]

Probably, but shit's more interesting.

[Zansho]

I'd grab a cheapie 50mm 1.8 and use that for your bokeh project - shoot wide open, and find a subject of interest.

Some recent work I did a while back. HDR Panorma of a church - I neglected to pay attention to the stain glass windows, so I'm going back to reshoot. But thought I'd share this with you guys - 35 images total for the HDR plus stiching via Photoshop CS5 for the Pano. Final size is 19x52.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/...139800f2_b.jpg

[thebearofscience]

great specs. well done on this^

[Zansho]

His lowest f-stop is 3.5, and quit being fucking cliche. 90% of you classmates are going to have bokeh with flowers or lights.

I think it's more for the learning exercise than actually trying to be omgawesome. They do have to learn to walk before they run, yes?

[Scorp]

Recently picked up a D5000 and the store was trying to push a $140 16gb class 10 SD card on me, I did a bit of research on what might be a sensible card to pick up and decided that it was excessive.

Prices seem to be a bit random and don't seem to fall in line with speed or size, so I'm wondering if I missed something. I'm probably after 4-8gb of storage because I intend to shoot in RAW a lot and would want to ensure I still have space for video w/e happens but... I have virtually no clue when the speed of the card will become an issue.

Am I just looking at the class of the card? What speeds do people here use?

[Nightbreed]

I use Sandisk Ultra II and Extreme III cards, they are cheap on Amazon right now and either one should be fine.

[Scorp]

Excellent thanks, they even have a nice chart for speeds and storage lol.

[Nibandh]

My humble collection of mine. Welcome all constructive opinions! =D

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0159.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0190.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0096.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0303.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0299.jpg

[Headspace]

So tomorrow night I'm shooting for Kappa Delta Pi sorority's formal banquet (not getting paid, but getting volunteer hours that are required for graduation, plus experience/portfolio shots/networking).

Any tips as far as shooting at this type of event with the lighting etc. I told them i don't have fancy equipment (they should be aware asking my professor to ask his students), so all I have is the kit lens, built in flash, tripod and remote.

[Tyche]

Mock up a way to diffuse the built in flash (empty box of ciggs) and prepare to use a pretty decently high iso if the lighting is low. Find out what the ISO capabilities are of the camera and try not to make it too noisy, as noise reduction software can play hell with skin.

[Headspace]

Well the t2i is pretty decent with high ISO and low noise. My dad said he had a hot shoe flash that would work so I may have that to bounce off ceiling. I didn't really plan to use the built in flash but compensate with exposure and ISO

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[Fhqwghads]

No flash? What's the lowest f-stop you can get that thing? If the room isn't too dim you might get away with good pics if you can bring a tripod and use a slow shutter speed and still keep the ISO kinda low. I'm cursed with having to deal with fast moving subjects in low-light conditions where I can't use a flash (lots of combat martial arts events.) I'll sympathize with you if the lighting is bad to the point you find yourself admitting defeat and tossing on a flash.

Pic related:

[Zansho]

You can do what's called "Dragging the shutter." Essentially, what you're doing is making the shutter expose for longer time frame than you normally could hold it for - for example, most people can handhold reasonably well at 1/125th of a second without having any kind of blur in their images. Some professionals I know can even pull off speeds as slow as 1/15th of a second, but these are guys with ice in their veins and rock steady grip.

Now, dragging the shutter requires you to have a hot shoe flash, or some kind of flash to supplement the light. What the flash will do, is freeze your subjects, provided they're not moving (e.g., fast action) quickly. The slow shutter speed, probably about 1/30th of a second or so, will allow the ambient light more time to expose properly on your shot, thereby making your image look "natural."

So, just to play around a bit - I'll give you ballpark for some situations - for somewhat dimly lit areas, you can drag your shutter to about 1/60th of a second, set your to expose your subject, your ISO at 800 or so. Aim, focus, and fire - you should get some results like this:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1408/...2231deba_z.jpg

For this particular shot, I had a 580 EX II pointed at my subjects, at -1 Exposure Compensation, ISO 800, Shutter speed 1/30th of a second, F-stop 5.6, all hand held. The flash exposed and froze my subjects (the main ones), the slow shutter speed allowed me to expose the background behind them (and add mood/ambiance) and made the photo look more natural.

The onboard flash is shit. Tyche's heart is in the right place, but why would you want to diffuse an already weak flash? The onboard flash is already weak as it is, diffusion will render it even more inefficient, and useless. Diffusion is all well and good, but I wouldn't even bother doing it to a weak little flash like that, and probably not even to a hot shoe flash - I'd get a bounce card or take it off camera if I could (obviously, the above situation is a bit different).

Bouncing is TONS better. Here's a result from bouncing the flash, in addition to using a DIY bounce card mounted onto the flash:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/...861bd223_z.jpg


My suggestion is to practice practice practice. The above situation was only lit with just torches and dim porch lighting, but had a white ceiling that allowed me to bounce and create a bigger light source and make the image look good without relying on available light. The above image was 1/250th of a second, ISO 400, and I believe at F5.6 also with Flash Exposure Compensation on my 580 EXII set at +2.

[Tyche]

My line of thinking was so he didn't blow out his subjects highlights. Figured diffusing would be better than either no flash, or blown out highlights. I don't know if they make a bounce card for built in flash, but I made a bounce card for my hotshoe flash. Cost a whole ~$5. Have a few different sizes, and I even sewed the velcro so I didn't have adhesive stuck all over my flash. The back of it is even black so you can barndoor it.