For Us Newbies!, A place to ask questions and share

Well, I hope this will be a good and safe place for all us who want to become better at photography. I hope this will be a place for folks albeit newbie or professional to share equipment, technical skills, etc.

I will start with this very common question.

How does one take clear, sharp photos without camera shake?

I was taught the following and thought I would share.

To prevent camera shake, one can use a tripod or monopod. If not available, then one can focus on adjusting their posture. Grasp the grip of the camera with your right hand, and press both of your elbows against your body lightly. Support the lens from underneath with your left hand, and position your legs one in front of the other, adopting a tripod-like pose. Press the cameral lightly against your face and gently sqeeze the shutter button. Some times it helps to hold your breath before hitting the shutter release. You can also simply rest your camera on a wall or other stable support. Hope this helps.

I'm gonna have to go with the tripod/monopod set-up (I have both). If there is one thing that really gets me riled is when a photo (of mine) is out of focus or has camera shake. I also recommend resting the camera on/against sometheng. But be careful here: make sure what you are resting it on won't get moved during your shot!

yeah, JP! I am with you! I think the tripod or leaning on a very firm structure is the best bet. However, not all of us have that opportunity. One of my friends had just purchased a new high end Canon lens. He wanted me to try it. Holy cow! That thing was heavy! I tried to take a decent photo (in low light conditions) and obviously I did not do well so resulted in a blurry photo. I do need to get a monopod next!

How about those of you who want to go out shooting for the day or vacation and encounter rain?! This happened to me when I visited Oregon a couple years ago. I plan to return the end of June and so I asked a few photogs what they suggested should it start sprinkling and for the times when I am out shooting close up ocean shots. I was given this site...

www.bhphoto.com I ordered a "photo rain cape" for about $20.00. The way I see it, it is much worth the price if it takes protecting my camera!

Ok, don't laugh! I am going to Oregon in a few weeks. The last time I was there it rained most the time. Plus we were staying at the coastal beach house, which we will be doing again this year. Well I bought for my camera a rain skipper to protect it from rain and sea splashes! It really is very cool.

Does it have galoshes too?
Just kidding!

Really, post a photo of it, Im interested in how it works.

Okay, now I have a question.
A friend and I were discussing our new Canon Rebel XTi digital cameras (she also bought hers from buydig.com, on my suggestion, which originated with you!). We were wondering about the cowls that many people have on their lenses. What is their purpose and do they work? Do they shade direct sunlight or what?
just wonderin'

As for the rain issues, That's a problem I had in Ireland with my dad's digital XLR. Ireland is of course known for rain. It was sprinkling when I was at teh cliffs of Moher, and I put my cloak up over the camera to protect it. Something else I wasn't able to do anything about though was sometimes the lens would get fogged up. something that bothered me but apparently didn't damage the hardware. I got some interesting effects in a couple shots because of it though.

No, not quite galoshes! But here is the link where you can get a look at it and where to get one too, if ever needed. It's really cool! If for some reason the link doesn't work, I got it on line at B&H photo. Type in rain cape and when it comes up, I bought the second one for $19.95 called the Awa-Marine.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...earch&Q=*&bhs=t

The last time I was up in Oregon I did the same thing Aaediwen did...tried to cover up my camera with clothing, but I wasn't that successful and *believe* it was the cause of some damage to my older camera. However, I could be wrong and it could have just been a coindicense. Either way I had to send it for repair, so this time I am NOT taking any chances!

Ok, the "cowls" or what I think you are referring to as lens hoods. Their purpose is to keep from sun flare getting inside your lens. They do not protect your photo from direct sunlight. In fact, if the sun is hitting on a certain subject and the lens hood is still not good enough (familar with purple spots in your lens?) I take my hand and shade it over the top of the lens hood to try to do away with that. Sometimes, if I am not careful, I miss it. But if I am paying attention (like I should be doing) I can just simply change my angle or put my hand over the lens hood and do away with any additional sun glare the lens hood does not. I hope that answers your question.

If I had to do it over again, I would have gotten the Canon Rebel Xti aka 400D. I LOVE my 350D, don't get me wrong. But you have more megapixels that I thought at the time I would not need, plus you have a much larger LCD screen that I could surely use!

Have you guys used LCD screen protectors yet? Boy! Are those ever worth the money. They protect your LCD screen in every way!

The church is keeping me SO busy with photography...no kidding...that I finally had to fork out the money to buy a decent external Canon 430EX flash. I had to charge it, which was not good as we don't like to do that in our household, but I have some upcoming projects coming up where I need a good bounce flash so I don't have those dreaded dark shadows behind everybody's heads! These photos have to look good and professional....to the best of my ability that is!

Have any tricks of the trade you can share to keep those dreaded dark head shadows away? Think the bounce flash will help that problem? Thanks!

This post has been edited by CelticRose on 22-May-2007, 05:03 PM

I am a huge Kim Komando fan. She had this article today on how to buy d-slr cameras. Thought I would share! Here is the link and hope it works.

http://www.komando.com/buyguide/index.aspx?id=2168

LCD protectors? Uh oh! I really don't know anything about those.
One tip I can give you. At out church we did a photo directory of our members. What I had people do was stand away from the wall we were shooting against. That way there were no harsh shadows behind them in the photos.

Good luck!!

Hey JP! Yep! LCD screen protectors are wonderful! Since the LCD screen is very easy to scratch and if your like me who wears sunscreen, it kind of clouds up the screen when I take photos. I got my screen protectors at a camera store. They are universal size and you just cut out the size needed to cover your screen and voila! You get 15 in the package and I have used the one I put on there for the past couple months and see no wear or tear. They are clear micro film protectors that protects your LCD screens from finger prints, scratches and enchances the image. I paid $10.00 for a pack of 15. Hope that helps.

I received my new Canon 430EX flash yesterday. Learning how to use that. I like using an external flash for bounce and fill-in flash.

JP, I will be taking photos of our church members as well. Thanks for the advice! One thing I wanted to ask you though is that they're kind of wanting black and white photos as they feel that would be cheaper in printing than color. Is that true? We were also thinking about putting a sheet up in the background to take these photos. I was thinking a grey cloth. Would you suggest otherwise? many thanks!

Heck, with a d-slr I have no clue how to take b&w photos, unless I go back to my old 35 mm and I much prefer seeing what I have taken at the time to make sure the photo I took worked. I love that instant gratification... Perhaps I can take the photos with my d-slr and have some one print them in b&w, but that is going to cost me a lot of money to do that!

Learned a lot about polarizing filters today. here are some links that may be helpfu to you and others. Btw, there HAS to be other photographers on this site besides me and JP! Some of you I know have far more experience than I have and would welcome all your feedback! I don't care how much or how little experience you have..please join us! The more the merrier!

Here are the links to the polarizing filters and some other tidbits. Hope this helps!

http://www.geocities.com/COKINFILTERSYSTEM...M/polarizer.htm
http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-.../polarizer.html
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorial...olarizers.shtml
http://www.best-family-photography-tips.co...raphy-tips.html

Happy photo taking!

First question I have is how are you making prints? Secondly, there is probably no difference between b/w and color when printing your digital images. If you take your memory card to a camera store, the cost should be the same either way. Same if you print it at home or church.
Also, shooting b/w is so easy with your digital! Not knowing your camera's workings, I'd suggest checking your owners manual on how to set it for b/w. With mine it is very easy. It simply is a matter of going to the menu, making a few clicks and voila! Give it a try and test it out.

I'll check out the LCD protectors. Thanks!

hey JP! I found these LCD protectors on Amazon.com, but you can find them at your local camera store.

http://www.amazon.com/Promaster-Screen-Pro...80097790&sr=8-7

I have found them to be well worth the money!

Secondly, I go to CVS drug store and make my prints from the Kiosk. Wasn't aware if I could make them in b&w or not.

Ok, if you can do it with your camera, I should be able to shoot b&w with my camera too . I hope,

Wish others would join here albeit experienced, professional or lack of a lot of digital SLR knowledge at all!

Don't be shy, y'all! We're all here to help each other!

Take care!

I am thinking I want a new lens for my Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Right now I have a 55mm and a 75-300mm zoom. I'd like to get a 28 or 35mm to 70mm zoom. Something to "fit" in between the two I already have. I am leaning toward a wide-angle lens.

What does everyone else use?

Personally, I use the kit lens my camera came with, 55 to 80 mm. Then I have an 80-105 and then 70-300. Doesn't mean I know what I am doing, but that is what I have at this time so just wanted share.

My biggest issue right now is just trying to learn flash photography with my new Canon 430EX. Gosh! Is that ever driving me batty!