Okay. My camera is a Nikon Coolpix 995. It's four years old. It only shoots 3.2MP. The CCD is quite small compared to todays standards, and the lens is less than appealing in low-light situations... But on the other hand, its color reproduction is astounding. For the past two months I've been teaching myself to overcome the weaknesses and embrace the strengths.
I took the following pictures last night. Would you say I have made some progress? (There was only one flourescent bulb giving off light.)
(http://static.flickr.com/33/57103129_5d5653b5df.jpg)
(http://static.flickr.com/29/57103124_5742708dac.jpg)
(http://static.flickr.com/31/57103114_e679fa351f.jpg)
(http://static.flickr.com/29/57103101_7e456b6d93.jpg)
(http://static.flickr.com/33/57103083_4b9d7bd6f7.jpg)
(http://static.flickr.com/29/57103077_d7a2b05207.jpg)
or
(http://static.flickr.com/24/57103059_ea9e766cca.jpg)
Anyone have tips on lighting, quirky posing, or other things that could be helpful in my quest to overcome my camera's weaknesses, please feel free to comment.
Comment, anyway. I always enjoy feedback. It helps alot.
I don't quite know what you want, they seem really great and well lit.
I just need someone overly picky to point things to my attention so I too can learn to be anal and notice them at photo time.
Also, I was wondering if anyone had general photoshop tips for editing photos.. Like curing "motion blur" or just odd blur from a sucky lens.
I thijnk they are very good, actually!
#1 Has a bad background (lots of skewed lines which draw attention)
#2 Is excellent, save from a slightly too high contrast
#3 Great shot with great colours. The composition is a bit tight; there should be more air in front of her.
The last shot has excellent colours and composition, not much to complain on there :)
The shots with the kids holding guns are a bit geeky and not very interesting Apart from that, good job!.
I have a Canon F-1 camera from the 80's; Hell, it's not even digital, it's film. On a really good day, I can produce a pretty damn good picture. The point is (as cliched as it may be), it doesn't matter how old your equipment is, it's how you use it. Having a digital camera is just a pretty big advantage over the older film ones: you can click 800 pictures and delete the ones you don't want on the fly, while with a film one you don't see the results until easily a week to a month (or in the instance of one of my rolls, a year and a half) later.
With lighting, it looks like you have a pretty decent idea of what you're going for. Backlighting can produce dramatic silhouettes; nearby lighting from close angles can create heavy shadow, while from a distance can create very soft shadows. Depending on your style you can add a lot of really bright lights for a very flat, very blown out look, or several softer lights and diffusing lights to create a more portraited picture with a sense of depth.
In terms of composition, you might want to look real quick over the rule of thirds (http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/thirds.html). You also could Google photography tips; amateur photography is a huge market, and there is a plethora of tips tricks and tutorials for the budding photographer.
Motion blur or odd blurs can add a lot of interesting element to a picture, especially in long-exposure/low light situations. Use a tripod and play around with a large static focus in the background while doing something in the foreground.
The one thing that has helped me most in my photography, though, is to take a camera everywhere and just keep taking pictures. It's a hell of a lot cheaper on a Digital camera. If you feel embarassed traipsing around just randomly taking pictures, take a friend - especially one who likes to take pictures as well. The practice is invaluable and will really help develop skill at seeing what makes a good picture and what doesn't. It's tough to give detailed critique with posed shots in semi-portrait style photography; on the fly photography will really give you a feel for what direction you want to take.
Oh believe me... My camera goes everywhere. I drive people nuts when I keep holding them up to take pictures.
Thanks for all the tips. I agree with pretty much everything you said. But actually, all I do is take shots on the fly. These may look like portraits but they were quickly posed and shot. No lighting setup or anything. It was just a flourescent light hanging in the garage. I have never shot in what you would call a "controlled environment." Though I would like to, because that would probably produce pictures with less flaws.
Thanks a million, guys.