For this type of photography, my guess is that the elements of success are:
Camera choice: 10%
Lens choice: 15%
Food prep skills: 25%
Mastery of lighting techniques for glass containers and liquids: 50%
A good book is Light, Science, and Magic
and the Strobist website mentioned in another comment is also very good to study.
For the camera, it might be important to pick one hat you can shoot tethered (connected to a computer) so you can use a big computer monitor or TV screen to preview the shot in the studio.
Read The Photographer's Eye. On the impact/price scale, it was probably the best thing I did for my photography.
Edit: Then go out and shoot of course :)
Budget: $40
I actually read two books, that I found pretty interesting:
"Picture Perfect Posing: Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models" - Which takes on the rather technical side, almost drawing charts about where to put which body parts and what it signals. (Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Picture-Perfect-Posing-Practicing-Photographers/dp/0321966465)
"Psychologie der Fotografie: Kopf oder Bauch?", which is a German book about the psychological aspects. Here the focus is not about the perfect focus point, but telling stories with the pictures. I'm not sure whether there is an English version of the book, but I bet there are similar titles or articles if you google.
What I've learned: just start doing something. Just shoot some models. While during that, try out some weird and creative stuff. If you like the not-so-posed pictures, do stuff with them and document them in the meantime. Personally, I find that more fun than just posing, too. But it's all down to just getting started, learning to see, learning to communicate and direct, and then start exploring while using the experience.
Agreed but didn't they also write the #1 selling book on digital photography? To me that gives them a little more cred than most of the other youtubers that just grab a camera and start spouting stuff:
I'm a portrait photographer primarily. I wouldn't quite say I'm exactly where I want to be, but my photography has improved tenfold in the last 12 months, which I attribute entirely to deliberate effort.
For me, there are two major components- education and practice.
For education, I've proactively worked to educate myself with reading, watching, and asking lots of questions.
Here's a book I found invaluable to understanding light. The main focus is the behavior and characteristics of light, and would be useful for all photographers: https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0415719402/
Also, following photographers on YouTube/IG/etc. who make work I admire has been greatly helpful. Often, they're available for questions and providing feedback on your own work.
Reading and interacting with the community here has been incredibly useful as well, of course.
For practice, I've worked to establish a feedback loop which enables me to receive critique and evaluation from others I respect. Joe Edelman's TOG Chat group on Facebook provides the most insightful critique I've found and has been invaluable in helping me refine my work.
I also work to be critically honest with myself. This starts with reverse engineering work I admire so I can pick apart the elements which I appreciate.
What does this look like? I focus on the pose, clothing, background, lighting, retouching, sharpness, composition and any other elements of a given image which can be defined and manipulated by the photographer. Once I can understand these variables and how their manipulation changes an image, I can take intentional control of them during the photo-taking process, rather than allowing them to happen incidentally.
I think that these two components- education and practice, are the basis for becoming an "expert" in any field, especially photography.
I will recommend this book to you - The Photograhper's Eye by Michael Freeman. It is wildly helpful in explaining photo composition and does a great job quantifying why humans do or do not find photos attractive.
Edit: I can't recommend that book without also recommending The Photographer's Mind. They go hand in hand as some of the best "how to compose pleasing photos" books out there.
Last edit, I swear: Just check out all of Michael Freeman's stuff. It's all great.
I can't really recommend a website but a great book that I bought that was also recommended to me. Its called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.
You need to learn about how your camera works and what settings will result in a certain outcome in a photo. This book has loads of colourful photos that are accompanied by a description of how and why it was taken with what settings so you understand how the image was achieved.
Here is an amazon link..
Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390
So I don't know of any Anime particular effects resources to be honest, but there are some amazing books I definitely recommend that show some incredible effects.
A great start would be finding Joseph Gilland's Elemental Magic effects book. The book contains literal stepped processes on many different effects animation composed by fantastic american animators, a lot coming from classic 2d Disney backgrounds. It's a great start, and it isn't very hard to find a free pdf of it online, or buying the book physically which for some reason I like more.
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Magic-Special-Effects-Animation/dp/0240811631
Other then that, studying, and practicing what you find from great effects animators on Sakugaboru is what I'd recommend. Some of my personal favorite guys that immediadly come to mind are:
Yoh Yoshinari (Classic Gainax/Trigger Effects)
Yutaka Nakamure (Impact Frames, fire, lightning, in bombastic style, the guy is a legend for a reason)
Masanobu Hiraoka (Surreal, and mind melting work, incredible what he pulls off)
Hope all this helps out. Have fun.
The book is called “Understanding Exposure” here on Amazon. Changed my life, knowing the triangle.
Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera https://www.amazon.com/dp/1607748509/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_iq4wBb22A5D44
Looks great! If you’re looking to expand your techniques as well as materials for lighting, definitely check out Light — Science and Magic . Great book that goes over how to light any material and different approaches based on your goals.
It’s geared towards photographers but you can apply its teachings to C4D as well.
The 15-45mm is a solid lens and perfect for general purpose and learning photography. Hold onto your $400 until you're further along the learning curve.
Here is a book that helped me when I was starting out: Exposure
Try "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. Simple to follow and a lot of great information.
[edit: link for the book on Amazon]
These books are your friend!
Elemental Magic, Volume I: The Art of Special Effects Animation https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240811631/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_csJlFbTEJ0C0V
Elemental Magic, Volume II: The Technique of Special Effects Animation (Animation Masters Title) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240814797/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_xpJlFb7YJG8Z0
So they're a little zoomed out due to the confidentiality issue aneks was talking about, but here's two of mine from recently just to show about the level of complexity you'd hit in an 'average' shot: http://imgur.com/a/6NBO2
If you want to learn to comp at a high level, read this: the Art and Science of Digital Compositing by Ron Brinkmann: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Digital-Compositing-Second/dp/0123706386/ref=la_B001IO9KYE_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423931635&sr=1-1
I recommend this book. It covers everything you could ever possibly want to know.
Do yourself a favor an order "Understanding Exposure" off of Amazon. It's $24 but will start you on a great path of knowing how to compose a picture, what the difference and affect of changing aperture/ISO/Shutter speed and how the 3 all affect each other. It's literally the cornerstone of knowing why a shot 'didn't work' and why another one did. And how to make the best of any shooting opportunity. And best of all, it's all very well explained without making the reader feel like an idiot. :)
To learn about lighting, try:
Light: Science and Magic - Fil Hunter and Steven Biver
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0415719402/
I learned a lot from this. Great breakdown of how iso, shutter and aperture affect the image creatively and technically.
Hi Yorky, please edit the link to something without all the unnecessary bloat, e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/
See here if you're interested in details.
Lots of good advice here, but if you’re new to photography then buy this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?crid=1BRDWY3K5MOS4&keywords=exposure+book&qid=1670921882&sprefix=exposure+book%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-13
It will help you massively.
>I think I have to work on knowing my camera settings in different lighting conditions
If you think that is what you need, then I highly recommend this:
Read up on the exposure triangle. If the picture you took with those settings was properly exposed then you could double your shutter speed to 1/100 which would require you to double either your aperture or ISO to compensate. Since you're most likely wide open on aperture you would double your ISO which would be 1,000. Your aperture (F-Stop) is wide open as well which will result in a shallow depth of field (baby's eyes in focus, but not their nose or ears). So, if you were to increase your F-stop to get to lets say F/4 you're now quadrupling your ISO again which would result in an ISO of 4,000.
Each time you make an adjustment to one parameter you have to make an adjustment to another side of the exposure triangle.
To illustrate this try taking the picture again with a shutter speed of 1/100, F/Stop of 4.0, and ISO of 4000. The picture should be exposed similarly, but sharper. Then take another at 1/100, F/2.8, and ISO 2000. It should be similarly sharp, but slightly less grainy.
I recommend this book to learn all about exposure: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509
If 2D is okay, then check out Elemental Magic by Joseph Gilland. There are two volumes but I like the first one better.
https://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Magic-Special-Effects-Animation/dp/0240811631/
Hope this helps!
I’d be down to give some private lessons if you’d like. However, this book is worth it’s weight in GOLD, and I’d recommend starting here first: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1607748509/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HBXTNXZQXW7RB92Y40J6
I hardly ever shoot in live view mode, so I'm not sure. I think the live view preview should look the same as the actual exposure, except that the screen brightness can be adjusted. Perhaps it's the screen brightness that's throwing you off?
(I have not idea why that is showing just grey...)
BTW - check out this book - Maybe you could use some help with exposures...
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509
Book: Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
>but I am willing to research any and every little detail about every camera lol.
I know you're exaggerating for effect, but I'll go ahead and point out that would be a phenomenal waste of time. Aside from a minor difference in spec here or a few features there, all cameras are basically the same.
The best way to learn is to get a camera and a basic prime lens (50mm on a full frame camera, 35mm on an APS-C) and start shooting. Once we know your budget, we can make recommendations.
I highly recommend you read these 2 books. The first is a basic photography book that is a great starting point for newbies. The second is a good guide to your camera
Understanding Exposure by Brian Petersen
Guide to the 3200 by David Busch
In addition, there are multiple YouTube videos on the D3200.
You have a simple "exposure settings" question. Buy this book.
It's cheap, and answers this question, and more.
I don't usually pose strangers on the street who agree to have their photograph taken. I appreciate that they've allowed me to take the photo, I don't want to waste any more of their time than I need to, so I grab the shot with the best composition I can in the moment, and move on to the next person.
On occasion though, people spontaneously ask how they should pose, in which case I go for something minimal and neutral. The two guides I give people are "Imagine you've got a string attached to the back of your head and it's pulling straight up". (I read about it here and IIRC the logic is that it naturally elongates and neutrally straightens the spine). Then I ask them to tilt their head down until their looking towards the ground for a few seconds. I ask them to look up, and then I take the picture. I got that tip from Jamie Windsor, the idea again being try to catch them with a neutral expression.