This is another 'Who can i follow?' question but there is a difference...
I'm here to improve my photography skills, which I'm sure a lot of you are too. So, who can I follow to learn as I browse his/her pictures? I see all these wonderful pictures but most of them I have no clue how to, if I were to recreate them. I want to follow someone who explains the techniques/specify the settings (beyond exif) they used to create their masterpiece in the description or comments etc. basically, someone who don't mind sharing/spreading their knowledge. I'm not interested in copying the exact same photo, but I want to learn the technique behind so I can create my own version.
Please post here who you think you learned from most.
I immediately thought of those two also. And I was going to add Brendan Maunder, but then I realized that's @agima that Amy mentioned! He has made some video tutorials. So, noONEto add here!LOL I will add that the challenges are a great place to work on skills.
@abirkill Absolutely breathtaking landscapes and so nice of you to share your knowledge with others. I'm not sure how much I'll use your helpful tips though as I'm not a big landscape photographer. However, I'm sure some of your techniques can be applied elsewhere as well. It's funny, I just went through your long post of 'Black card technique' this morning without realizing that you are 'the' guy. :) That post was very helpful because when I do take landscapes I always face the dynamic range problem and think that I need to buy those expensive filters. I'll take some time to browse through your album today.
@amyamoeba That is the sort of thing I am looking for - 'behind the scenes'. I didn't realize you do that. Will look for those in your album, also will take your suggestion on simply asking.
I love how you have set up your whitebox. I'm going to do that as soon as possible. I'm assuming that is a cardboard box cut on the sides and covered with some sort of white material? Is that white fabric glued?
@m9f9l Although, I have been in 365 on and off over a year, I just realized the potential of challenges to teach us techniques and keep us challenged, only last week. :) So, that's a great tip as well. I'll keep participating in challenges as I see fit.
One tip I learned from the challenges recently is a good example. It is an eye-opener for me, actually. I always struggle to achieve high-key backgrounds without lot of equipment or huge set-up of lighting which I don't have. Amy's solution of white box is a good one, but I have found another way two days ago.
While shooting this for the abstract ball point pen challenge,
I put my pen in the window sill that is open to the bright sky (We live in 4th floor) and focused on the pen with thin DOF. Voila, the bright sky promptly became my white background. It's hard to believe that picture was SOOC except turning it into b&w and playing with contrast, brightness. I do realize it's not a solution for everything, but for conceptual photography (with objects that fits into a windowsill :)) I say it's a great solution with virtually no setup. I know I'll be using it a lot from now on. The dynamic range disadvantage that @abirkill was teaching us to overcome became an advantage in this particular case.
I'm more interested in portraiture using natural lighting, photographing babies and children, street photography, and conceptual photography. And of course various photoshop techniques. So, please keep the recommendations coming for other helpful people on 365 who are good in these areas.
@Cheesebiscuit I couldn't agree more and really love that idea. Very useful for people looking for those kind of posts. How about we make one and make it official?
@birkill for landscapes and @wind_of_the_sothern_sea for conceptual but most people are happy to tell you how they did a shot if you ask them. Also, take part in the challenges.
@btorrey Thanks a lot Brenda :)
and yes most people are very helpful here, but technically I'd say @birkill ,he's just awesome and always ready to help!
@wind_of_the_sothern_sea This morning, I almost requested that you always explain how you do your shots. I was curious about that heart on the ice cube and wondered if the bokeh was from your computer screen again. :-)
@ikamera nothing as complicated as that! Although that does sound like a good idea for making one! It's one of these, but set up sideways. I didn't pay as much as on this link though. You can get similar soft boxes on eBay for less than £10 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001U4J6RI/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
@ozziehoffy thanks for both suggestions. Already following both. Love brendan's helpful tips on lighting and his perfectly lighted photos, but I haven't ventured deeply into off-camera lighting. It seems like a whole another area by itself. Tracy's portraits are extraordinary. Those are the kind that makes me feel like I have no clue on what I'm doing. :)
ditto @abirkill - if you really need something explained, he's your man... But any of the photographers on the list for the camera settings challenge are among the most kind and helpful on 365
I've tagged many of my more helpful photos with "howto" in case anyone's interested; some are better tutorials than others! ;) http://365project.org/tags/howto
@jsw0109 Jake, thank you very much.That list looks very helpful.
@grizzlysghost Very thoughtful of you to use a tag for all the helpful posts. I'll be checking them for sure. I already saw your setup video on bokeh. Impressive camera collection you have there.
@mitchell50 Well thank you Mitch. More than happy to help if I can. @ikamera Kiran, I've only gotten serious about formal portraits recently, but if I can help, please ask any time here. Thanks for liking the few I have done recently.
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Plus @agima who is really good with helping out.
There's quite a few folk who post "behind the scenes" stuff. I do it if I think its potentially valuable
Like this kind of thing...
just depends what kind of knowledge you're after really.
Sometimes if you see a shot you like, you're best asking how it was donec most are happy to oblige :)
I love how you have set up your whitebox. I'm going to do that as soon as possible. I'm assuming that is a cardboard box cut on the sides and covered with some sort of white material? Is that white fabric glued?
One tip I learned from the challenges recently is a good example. It is an eye-opener for me, actually. I always struggle to achieve high-key backgrounds without lot of equipment or huge set-up of lighting which I don't have. Amy's solution of white box is a good one, but I have found another way two days ago.
While shooting this for the abstract ball point pen challenge,
I put my pen in the window sill that is open to the bright sky (We live in 4th floor) and focused on the pen with thin DOF. Voila, the bright sky promptly became my white background. It's hard to believe that picture was SOOC except turning it into b&w and playing with contrast, brightness. I do realize it's not a solution for everything, but for conceptual photography (with objects that fits into a windowsill :)) I say it's a great solution with virtually no setup. I know I'll be using it a lot from now on. The dynamic range disadvantage that @abirkill was teaching us to overcome became an advantage in this particular case.
It's under the pic in my comments. http://365project.org/btorrey/365/2012-10-06
and yes most people are very helpful here, but technically I'd say @birkill ,he's just awesome and always ready to help!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001U4J6RI/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
@btorrey, I would love it too if @wind_of_the_sothern_sea always explains how he does his shots. :) They are amazing.
@amyamoeba Amy, thanks for sharing the link. That doesn't look expensive at all and some even have a set of extra colored backgrounds. I want one.
I've tagged many of my more helpful photos with "howto" in case anyone's interested; some are better tutorials than others! ;)
http://365project.org/tags/howto
http://365project.org/myhrhelper/365/2011-12-12
@grizzlysghost Very thoughtful of you to use a tag for all the helpful posts. I'll be checking them for sure. I already saw your setup video on bokeh. Impressive camera collection you have there.
@ikamera Thanks Kiran, I am happy to answer any questions you have about the portraits I take. If you don't want to ask here feel free to add me as a friend on facebook :D - http://www.facebook.com/tracy.williams.127?ref=tn_tnmn
@ikamera Kiran, I've only gotten serious about formal portraits recently, but if I can help, please ask any time here. Thanks for liking the few I have done recently.