# Breaking out into Photography!



## feilong29 (Oct 26, 2013)

Here are some of my current work, mostly edited with Photomatix, which is my current interest due to boredom, haha.



























































The guy in the pic is not me, just a friend. Feedback is welcome and I know some of them are overprocessed which was my goal as I'm just having fun.


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## ThePhilosopher (Oct 26, 2013)

The 5th and 6th shots are the best of the lot IMO, I'm not a huge fan of the overprocessed look; however, there's potential if you work on your composition a bit more.


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## feilong29 (Oct 26, 2013)

ThePhilosopher said:


> The 5th and 6th shots are the best of the lot IMO, I'm not a huge fan of the overprocessed look; however, there's potential if you work on your composition a bit more.



How do you suggest I go about working on my composition? School me please!?!?!


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## ThePhilosopher (Oct 26, 2013)

I'd suggest start playing with the height you're taking the photos at: try waist level, knee level, on the ground - shoot straight out, angled up, move a step over. To be honest the thing that made me most pay attention to composition was shooting with my Sinar since the image is rotated 180 degrees on the ground glass-try picturing the image completely edited, printed and hung (even if that's not the desired outcome). You could fake having ground glass by holding your camera upside down as you shoot.


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## Dalcan (Oct 28, 2013)

Shoot what you find interesting. Do you want to stay with landscapes, people, street life?


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## feilong29 (Oct 28, 2013)

thisisdoodoobaby said:


> Shoot what you find interesting. Do you want to stay with landscapes, people, street life?



Mainly landscaping and some street life.


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## Dalcan (Oct 28, 2013)

feilong29 said:


> Mainly landscaping and some street life.



What kind of camera and lens do you have? I recommend browsing Flickr and 500px for idea's or things to practice.


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## feilong29 (Oct 28, 2013)

thisisdoodoobaby said:


> What kind of camera and lens do you have? I recommend browsing Flickr and 500px for idea's or things to practice.



I have a Nikon D3200 with the kit lens, a 50mm prime, 35mm prime and I'm considering a Tokina 11-16mm. I've been looking at pixel-peeper a lot to check out lenses and how well they 'shoot'. Eventually I want a Nikon 24-70mm


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## Dalcan (Oct 28, 2013)

Do lots of research online. Use those sites. You can type in the lens and it will show you what people have taken with them.

If you want to test before you try, check out borrowlenses.com. Feel free to ask me any questions.


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## Dalcan (Oct 28, 2013)

Also check out Phlearn, Free Photoshop and Photography Tutorials, and Fstoppers | Video Blog for Creative Professionals for tutorials, tips, and tricks. Great resources.


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## feilong29 (Oct 28, 2013)

thisisdoodoobaby said:


> Do lots of research online. Use those sites. You can type in the lens and it will show you what people have taken with them.
> 
> If you want to test before you try, check out borrowlenses.com. Feel free to ask me any questions.



Oh, I do research on a daily basis lol. I just need to get out more and start shooting. Maybe I should utilize my current lenses a LOT more and hold off on buying new glass for a while. Thanks for the info and resources my friend!


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## Tang (Oct 28, 2013)

feilong29 said:


> I have a Nikon D3200 with the kit lens, a 50mm prime, 35mm prime and I'm considering a Tokina 11-16mm. I've been looking at pixel-peeper a lot to check out lenses and how well they 'shoot'. Eventually I want a Nikon 24-70mm



You should join us the The Photography Thread. Lots of great photographers on this board and the C&C you receive (if you want it) is invaluable for getting better.

Here: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/art-media-photography/18567-photography-thread-57.html


Now, as far as lens go I think you're on the right track considering the Tokina 11-16. It's considered to be one of the sharpest ultra-wide angles and by f/5.6 it'll take an eye out. Have you considered third party lens for the regular zoom? Both Sigma and Tamron make 28-70 f/2.8's that are every bit as sharp as their official counterpoints. I'd seriously look into and research them because their cost-to-value ratio is insane.

Sigma 28-70 f/2.8

Tamron 28-70 f/2.8

Tamron also makes the a VC version of the 28-70. VC stands for Vibration Control and once you get used to using it you can never go back. Especially if you're going to be shooting at the long end of the range. If we follow the standard 'rule of thumb' you're going to need at LEAST 1/70s shutter speed at 70mm. I believe Tamron advertises a 3-stop difference in shutter speed with VC activated so that would leave you with a minimum shutter speed of around 1/10s (if I did my math right) and that's the difference from ISO 3200 and ISO 800.

Tamron 28-70 f/2.8 VC version.


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## MFB (Oct 28, 2013)

feilong29 said:


> How do you suggest I go about working on my composition? School me please!?!?!



This : Rule of thirds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Which in theory translates to this :


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## ThePhilosopher (Oct 28, 2013)

Tang said:


> If we follow the standard 'rule of thumb' you're going to need at LEAST 1/(70*1.5)s shutter speed at 70mm on an APS-C sensor. I believe Tamron advertises a 3-stop difference in shutter speed with VC activated so that would leave you with a minimum shutter speed of around 1/25s (if I did my math right) and that's the difference from ISO 3200 and ISO 800.



You left off the crop factor, which is important here.


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## Tang (Oct 28, 2013)

ThePhilosopher said:


> You left off the crop factor, which is important here.



Oh yeah, I was assuming 35mm/FF. So at minimum it would be 1/100'ish at 70mm?


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