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Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera?
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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
All of the major manufacturers entry level cameras are amazingly good these days, you can't go wrong with any of them really so just pick what you like.
Far more importantly, buy, read, and keep reading this book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-Shoot-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390
Until you fully understand it. This will make far more difference to your pics as a beginner than any camera!
Nothing wrong with getting a 30D and the Nifty Fifty to get started. Also get yourself Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and you'll be off to a great started with your new hobby.
Agreed. When I first started a few years ago I read all these guides but was lost on the terminology and how to put it all in use. This book made a lot of things finally click for me. He explains everything in very easy to understand way. Good read for a someone getting into it.
To address your exposure issue, completely black or grainy, read Understanding Exposure. It isn't too long and I found it so interesting and a great introduction to understanding the exposure triangle.
Basically you have a triangle to balance:
- Shutter Speed (1/100, 1/200 etc)
- Aperture (f/4, f/5.6, f/8 etc)
- ISO (100, 200, 400 etc)
You need to balance the three to get a correctly exposed picture. You can than use one to get the creative effect you want, Shutter Speed allows you to smooth or freeze movement, Aperture allows you to control depth of field and ISO allows you to compensate for the other two at the cost of Noise in the image.
But if you change one, you need to change a different setting equally and oppositely to compensate. It is referred to as 'stops'. So if you go up one stop in one setting you need to go down one stop in another. A stop of Shutter Speed is doubling it (1/400 -> 1/200 -> 1/100 etc.); A stop of Aperture is decreasing it by sqrt(2) about 1.4 (5.6 -> 4 -> 2.8 -> 2 -> 1.4 etc); A stop of ISO is doubling it (100 -> 200 -> 400 etc.).
I can't speak to your questions, but I can say that when I was in fourth grade, one of my teachers built a darkroom in a closet. Anyone who wanted to could learn to shoot and develop. I absolutely loved it, and I learned a lot.
I recommend taking a look at <em>Understanding Exposure</em> by Bryan Peterson. After that, composition.
Youtube is fantastic. There's a book called Understanding Exposure that's fantastic.
I could explain it to you in two paragraphs basically but I don't want to send you a wall of text.
This book was recommended to me by a few friends, I found it helpful in leaning the ins and outs my SLR. I don't get much time to break out everything these days, but knowing how everything works together is very helpful.
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390
Have you and /u/singlebrokefemale read Understanding Exposure? - it's everyone's first photography book that explains the fundamentals of SLR/DSLR photography in a way that's really easy to understand.
... I don't imagine you should need to change the lens from the kit too much unless you're trying to do something very artful. And the reason they're blurry/shaky (I think) is that there isn't enough light. You didn't ask for advice but I'd add a bright lamp (or a flash. but realistically a bright lamp) to the equation - then you can reduce exposure time leaving less opportunity for shakiness.
You should check out the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. He clearly explains aperture, iso and shutter speed while providing examples and the thought process he made to come to the conclusion in his decision for the photos. It's an extremely helpful yet simple read
Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure is a very good book. That said, before you leave, you should go over the materials contained at the top of this post to get a grasp on aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
I posed this very question in /r/photography's weekly QA thread, and was directed to this book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0817439390/ref=pe_175190_21431760_C1_cs_sce_dp_1
It's being shipped as I type this, so I haven't yet looked at it, but I figured I could pass along the response I got there.
I'll second this. "Understanding Exposure" is a great book to get started. It'll teach all that needs to be known about manually getting a good exposure. There's also Google, for those not interested in purchasing something.
A thread I can help with! Nighttime urban shots are my thing. First and foremost watch this video if you want to shoot low light handheld. By far it has helped me up my game more than any other advice I have receeived. Also, this has some great advice as well.
On your submitted photo
Good news:
1) Your composition is great! I love the people at the end of the street, the location of the street lights and the leading lines.
2) The colors are very natural for your first go, working with those lights is a PITA until you get used to it.
3) You did not go overboard with most of the typical newbie mistakes and end up with a very artificial-looking image.
4) This is a great first attempt, especially with a 3/4 sensor. Gear does not make the photograph and you're making the most out of what you have. I started with a 3/4 sensor RX100M3 and got some really great results, work with its limitations and you can still capture great images.
Areas for improvement:
1) Lower your total exposure let more of the background fall into shadow
2) Increase your contrast just a little to help create pools of light it will really add a lot of depth to your image
3) When you are shooting large buildings or a vanishing point down the stret, try to keep the camera level if at all possible if not, you may need to adjust your keystones to help straighten the image back out
4) Straighten your horizontal lines. the rest will fall into place after that
5) Watch for lens flare it tagged you in this image, cheater notes, you can pull the blue out of that flare and it will look a lot less obvious, also a local decrease in contrast for it and lowering its exposure will also help cut it down. But the key is to get rid of them at the point of capture.
You have a good eye keep shooting! It gets easier every time you do it. I love this kind of work and I am happy to help with whatever advice I can. Feel free to message me with any questions.
Advice for the total newbie to lowlight shooting:
Time for some hard truths.
1) If you want low noise, ultrasharp shots at night you will need a tripod. This is the reality. Long exposure is the name for god on the lips of low light photographers and that means tripods. This is the one I use and it fits in a backpack.
2) Anything other than long exposure, usually even multiple exposures setup with a very low level hdr with a light touch will be a compromise between noise, detail level, or clarity usually all three.
If you still want to shoot handheld.
1) Shoot in RAW you will need all the dynamic range you can get
2) Expose for the brightest object you want in focus, rely on your dynamic range you can get away with
3) Set your camera to about 1/30th shutter speed faster if you can't keep it steady at that, motion blur is worse than noise. Set your ISO to auto and your aperture wide open. This captures the most light your camera is capable of with the shortest shutter speed.
4) Be ok with shadow, not everything needs to have full detail visible.
5) Remember you are shooting digital you can recover shadow but you can't recover anything blown out. I will often adjust my exposure dial to -1 or even -2 at night wich is counter-intuitive but allows you to preserve the highlights.
6) Out of the camera, most low light shots are going to come out oversaturated and if you are shooting under tungsten lights may have wonky colors. Use a cheap white balance card to help resolve this. Also, drop your saturation in your editor by a point or two until the lights shrink just a smidge. It's hard to explain but you will see the effect easily enough.
7) For a shot like this, I like to put in just a little bit of split one, a little bit of blue into the shadows, and a little orange into the high lights. It will really make it pop. The key here is a little dab will do you.
8) The "waxy" look you're talking about it is noise, open your aperture all the way, or get a faster lens, or better sensor are your only ways to minimize it short of long shutter speeds. You can correct a fair amount of it with a specialized software, I use either DxO or Topaz Denoise. Keep in mind not everyting needs to be made for large printing, don't fear some noise if it makes the difference between getting the shot or not.
9) Shooting at night is very rewarding, it's hard, you make do with a lot of compromises but always remember to be safe. I wrote up a list based on my experiences shooting in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cinncinati, and Indy at night. Please read this..
Obligatory link to my work so you can get a sense of the style that I go for.
Full disclosure:
None of the links are affiliate links, they are simply products that I use every night I am out. I have bought all my own gear, this is strictly my own experience so your mileage may vary.
Try "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. Simple to follow and a lot of great information.
[edit: link for the book on Amazon]
The Royal Photographic Society ( https://rps.org ) is based in Bristol and does run workshops and classes. You may need to be a member which can be expensive. They also have shows on in their gallery which can be interesting to go and take a look at.
Martin Parr Foundation is also based in Bristol. No workshops or classes but it is free to go and look at their exhibitions and they have a regular programme of talks. https://www.martinparrfoundation.org
There are loads of books that can help you with specific aspects of photography. One that I found useful was Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-Shoot-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390
There is also How To Photograph Absolutely Everything by Tom Ang, which is good as a quick reference for how you might approach photographing a particular event or subject. https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Photograph-Absolutely-Everything-Successful/dp/0241363586/
Bristol Photographic Society used to run a workshop for people who wanted to improve their skills, introducing you to various techniques and giving critique of your work: https://bristolphoto.org.uk/photography-course-bristol/
> Any advice is appreciated just for fun.
Sorry for the amazon link. I couldn't google anything elsewhere. Google's almost useless but, I digress.
Bryan Peterson, Understanding Exposure.
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390
Late Edit: Looks like he's pushed a fourth edition. You probably want the fourth.
Read
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390
Short and easy. I have no affiliation.
There are many book you choose from. I have read many. If had a second start. I would start with these two.
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson Link: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390
The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression by Bruce Barnbaum Link:http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Photography-Approach-Expression/dp/1933952687
> what else should she get?
Books.
Understanding Exposure is a common recommendation for beginners. IMO, you can't go wrong with just about anything published by Craft & Vision either. Magnum Contact Sheets is another good one. Beyond your usual "how-tos" look for works published by master photographers to study (eg Henri Cartier Bresson, Fan Ho, Dan Winters, to name a few that I like).
If she prefers video, I'd recommend The Art of Photography. For audio, check out The Candid Frame.
I just finished the shutterbug classes. If you need to learn to understand the exposure triangle better, this will help. It'll help you understand many of the "golden rules" of photography as well. But if you already feel like you have a decent grasp on that, this may be a little below your level. Personally, I just bought my first DSLR in September and have been reading and reading everything I can. So for me, this was a little below what I wanted. However, I will say that it helped confirm what I thought I already knew.
There's also the free option right here on reddit. You're a little behind to start now but /r/photoclass_16 is phenomenal reading and gives you really good exercises that will help you apply the lessons. I also read through /r/photography, /r/askphotography, /r/canon, /r/amateurphotography and /r/photocritique every day. You'll be surprised how much you can pick up just from reading other people's discussions. The photocritique subreddit is a very good resource (when people actually offer critiques) for helping you understand composition, angles and such.
I just started it but multiple people have recommended that I read Understanding Exposure
There is something called the exposure triangle, its made up of (surprisingly) 3 elements:
- Aperture
- Shutter speed
- ISO Sensitivity
Aperture is the size of the hole that lets the light in to the camera. It is controlled by the lens and is measured in F stops. An f-stop is lens's focal length to the diameter of the hole. So, lets say I have a (fixed) 50mm lens and am shooting at f2 that means the hole must be 25mm. So a low number means a wide aperture (big hole), big number means small hole.
Shutter speed is how long the shutter opens for. The shutter is just a flap that is mostly closed, when open the film (or nowadays digital sensor) is exposed to the light entering the camera. Its measured in fractions of a second (e.g. 1/200th).
ISO Sensitivity is how sensitive to light the film or digital sensor is. Its measured on a scale that typically starts at 100 and doubles for each increase. The higher the number, the more sensitive the film/sensor is to light.
Each of the three elements of the triangle have advantages and disadvantages, these issues will decree what settings you use and thus what compromise you need to make in order to achieve correct exposure.
Aperture - a wide aperture will contribute to a shallow depth of field (look it up). Whilst this is often used for artistic effect you may want to have a larger depth of field to keep more of the subject in focus. A narrow depth of field (high f-stop number) can cause a visual anomaly called diffraction, which can also be undesirable.
Shutter speed - if its too slow (i.e. a long period of time) its quite likely that you'll see motion blur in the image, put simply the camera "sees" things move, sometimes blue can be caused by the operator moving very slightly whilst actually taking the picture, this will typically be evident at about 1/5-10th, depending on how steady your hands are.
At times a very fast shutter speed will ruin an image, usually where some motion blur is wanted, usually to show a sense of speed - imagine an image of a racing car. if a high shutter speed is used the car and everything around it will be frozen, the result is in the picture the car doesn't look as if its moving. By using a lower shutter speed and using a technique called "panning" its possible to get the car in focus, but the wheels blurred and also the background will be blurred, which gives the image a sense of speed. For normal shooting there is a rough guideline should be double the focal length - so if my focal length is 50mm I should not go less than 1/100th with shutter speed.
ISO - Disadvantage here is poor image quality, the more sensitive the sensor is to light the more "noise" ends up in the final image. Noise affects picture quality and exhibits itself as a grainy effect in the image itself.
So, what settings you pick are largely defined by the conditions. So lets say I'm shooting at 80mm, I should be at 1/160th at the very least, I'm going to shoot at f8 as I want a reasonable depth of field. Ideally I want to use 100 ISO as that gives me best image quality. But what happens ? well, there isn't enough light, so I find myself opening up the aperture a little (say f7.3) and increasing ISO to 200. More often than not it will be a compromise when shooting.
With regard to making whites less bright or blacks brighter - this is all controlled by the exposure. If the whites are too bright then drop the exposure a little, if blacks/greys are too dull then raise it a bit. The tricky bit here is when you have both whites and blacks in the same shot - high contrast is difficult and again, ends up being a compromise. This is where post processing comes in - by shooting in RAW format and gently editing the photo afterwards in Lightroom or a similar application you can correct the image.
Skin tones - in a word, difficult! much of this is down to lighting when shooting - background lighting, flashes and how you use them, if you look on the forums the guys who do studio stuff spend forever trying to improve. To an extent you can improve things in post processing, but the better you can make the original shot, the better end result you get.
Landscape - much of it (imho) is down to the artistic side - what you frame, perspective, the lighting (again), aperture has quite a big role too. Again you may use post processing to make colours 'pop', or crop the image slightly..
I haven't visited for a while but www.talkphotography.co.uk was always good, http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ too if you're a Canon guy. One thing about forums though - don't get sucked in to thinking you need expensive gear - lenses/bodies and so on - I've seen some amazing stuff taken with basic kit. The expensive stuff is very, very nice but it doesn't automatically mean you start taking great pictures.
This book is often recommended for understanding exposure http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440796717&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+exposure
Might be worth a look.
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390
buy, read, and go from there
Yep, it's on Amazon for less than $20. Paperback and digital.
Best thing you can do is learn the basics. Start with learning the basics of exposure, then composition, then lighting, etc...
Knowledge is power, and knowing is half the battle.
Cool picture. The only thing I can see that irritates me is the telephone pole in the upper right corner. It really detracts from the picture. Otherwise awesome shot!
Hey /r/photography! I've been contemplating picking up photography as a hobby, I'm 25, but better late than never!
I've read enough over the years to know the camera doesn't make the photographer and I definitely plan on picking up some reading material(if you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it!), but I'd still like to find the best bang-for-my-buck camera that fits my needs.
I really love night photography and I plan to spend most of my time taking photos in the evening and in dark settings. I also plan on going to car shows and doing photoshoots with my own car. Sometimes I'll be combining both night and automotive photography. This isn't to say I wont be doing day shots, of course, but I just want to make sure I get a camera that's capable of taking great night shots. Examples below.
Photos like this, this, this, this and this.
If you can't tell, I really enjoy the photos that come out of SpeedHunters/Paddy McGrath
Here are my questions:
1) I understand that the examples I provided use extremely expensive equipment and I can't expect to replicate those results even if I had the skill, but what camera/kit and setup for $300-$400 will allow me to come close?
Question can also be read as, "What camera will give me the $300-$400 version of these images?"
2) Considering this gear will be about 5x less expensive, what am I losing in photo quality vs. the examples I provided. Maybe if you can point me to some comparison photos of a budget camera vs a top-of-the-line one? Or just an explanation would be cool.
3) Books! I plan on picking up Understanding Exposure and The Digital Photography Book. Just looking for confirmation that these are good books to start with. Any better recommendations?
To anyone who responds, thank you for your time! :)
***EDIT:***
So it looks like the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 with a 50mm f/1.8 lens is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm going to sleep on it.
Any advice would still be greatly appreciated!
If you're into books, here are the following ones I read in order to get a handle on things (in the order I read them) --
Understanding Exposure - Great book explaining how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all relate to each other: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390
The Photographer's Eye - Great book on photo composition: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240809343/
Light, Science, and Magic - detailed book on lighting. It's a bit dense but very helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0240812255
If you'd like to learn about Lightroom and Photoshop, I'd recommend any books by Scott Kelby: http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelby/e/B000APPRO4/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
I would recommend this book if you're just starting out, http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390
Thanks :D Get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390
What really helped me was the DPS website at
http://digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-tips-for-beginners/
This is also my favorite book, but it's a little less about technical aspects as it is exposure and composition http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390
So start there and get your feet wet. Keep in mind during this whole process that musicians listen to a lot of music, authors read a lot of books, and photographers should be looking at pictures. So keep looking at shots and pay attention to how they were shot, the subjects, angles, perspectives, location of the subject in the frame, etc. Keep your eyes open, this is less about what you carry and more about how good of an eye you have.
I would also strongly advise you to learn to shoot in RAW and take advantage of a processor like Adobe Lightroom. The built in JPG capabilities on the Nikon 5000 series aren't very good. Strive to get the picture looking as it was when you shot it.
Get Understanding Exposure by Bran Peterson.
> I'm kind of back on my feet and could afford a DSLR. Worth the investment ?
Maybe.
I started really getting into photography about 18 months ago after I started using a Canon A1 camera which I bought for £20 ($35) on ebay.
I started taking photos and got some nice results considering I had little photography experience.
Then I decided to take the plunge and invest in a digital SLR, I bought a Canon 5D MK II, a £1500/$2000 camera.
I started getting so obsessed with lenses, memory cards and gear that I stopped taking photos. I got a few decent results and took some photos that I'm really proud of but I never really got the magic back of the photos I took on my old A1.
I think photography equipment can be a path to better results, but it's no substitute for ideas and inspiration :)
PS: whichever path she chooses to go down this book, Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera is almost obligatory.
Not to rain on qgyh2's parade, but I see a 3rd edition of this book is coming out in August:
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/ref=pd_ys_ir_b_3
The problem is a good chunk of this sub has zero understanding of photography. One of the basic books in photography that people tell you to read is Understanding Exposure. Once you read through it you realize it's all about balancing the exposure triangle, and all you're doing in astrophotos is trying to get a lot of light in through a long exposure.
To be fair, the astrophotography on the Pixel 4 XL is a bit underwhelming. It's basically the equivalent of me taking my DSLR out and shooting a 30 second exposure on my tripod. I'm guessing due to sensor limitations they need to take multiple exposures to stitch them together to keep the ISO noise in control, but honestly, if I need to take a tripod out, why not just take a DSLR out?
Moreover, a lot of photos I see here aren't good at all--it's just pointing at the sky blindly with no subject. Even astrophotography should typically involve a subject, and if you're going to point at the sky with no subject from the ground, then it better be of the Milky Way.
I have to agree, but also thoroughly disagree. Yes, learning on digital is easier and would be cheaper, but learning using film is so much more enriching. Using film is of course more expensive, but that would translate into forcing yourself to slow down, think about and carefully compose and frame each shot, also using a camera such as an A-1 or OM or similar with a full manual meter is much more intuitive. You really learn the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. And of course being film, your ISO is set by the film and you don't have to worry about another setting to mess around with. Not only that, but you can't cheat and use Auto on one of those full manual cameras. Even the AE-1 Program forces you to pay attention and get the exposure right first.
It sounds cliche' but shooting film really is an organic experience and can definitely help you appreciate (and hate) the things that digital users take for granted. Framing and focusing manually using an A-1 with a huge bright viewfinder and split prism will help a noob learn composition much better than they would using a tiny 95% viewfinder on a Rebel.
Also, the advice of trying something, snap photo, look at LCD, and repeat is frankly terrible advice. Machine gunning everything around and chimping every shot won't really help OP learn. Plus LCD's are horribly inaccurate anyway, I definitely don't use mine except for checking framing and the histogram. Knowing how to make a proper exposure is much better advice than spraying and praying.
One of the best purchases you can make as a new photographer would be the $17 for the book Understanding Exposure. It is a great resource to help you get started and learn the basics of photography and is relevant for both film and digital photography.
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