Re-Learning the Ropes: Aperture
One of the things I’ve learned by being in business for myself… sometimes you have to go back to the basics. I do that often for my web development business, but when it comes to photography, I can’t remember the last time I’ve started from square one… unless you count me reading my manuals from front to back. But that’s not the “square 1″ I’m talking about.
Maybe it was when I got my last camera… over 5 years ago. It had been over 15 years since I picked up an SLR. A refresher was due.
Now that I have the D600, I’m more interested in the basics again.
A friend of mine sometimes works as a second shooter for a local wedding photographer. She also does post-processing for him as she has time… but only for him.
One of the reasons she gives for not doing post processing for others is this particular photographer is one of the most technically accurate photographers she has ever worked with. She says when you work with a “lazy” photographer (which, is kinda all of us who own dSLRs), she ends up doing a lot of touch up work. Digital has made it easy for us to just snap shots like crazy with no concern for aperture, ISO and composition.
While it’s nice to be carefree… those of you who shot film, like me, way back when remember it was important to shoot deliberately. It seems digital photography took much of that necessity away.
I won’t lie. I love digital. But she has a point.
Personally, I don’t want to do a lot of touch up work. I have a 2 year old, run a business and still play Domestic Goddess. The better I can shoot my photos straight out of the camera, the less time I’ll spend on my computer correcting them and the happier I will be.
That’s why I’m going back to the basics.
If you’d like to join me, the blog posts I’m reading are found at DigitalCamFan and are only on Week 2.
These photos are my Week 1 results:
1/250 sec at f/1.8
1/100 sec at f/2.8
1/25 sec at f/5.6
1/25 sec at f/5.6
1/13 sec at f/8
1/6 sec at f/11
1/3 sec at f/16
I didn’t finish the series, but suffice to say, I got the point.
Seems I was distracted by a little girl belting out a tune.
What do you think… better technically correct or just easier to fix photos afterwards in Photoshop?
I'm Yazmin. Wife to my best friend. Mom to my late-in-life baby girl. I blog about jewelry...
I’m with you, I’d much rather get the shot right in camera than have to “fix it” in Photoshop. I love editing photos more than is probably normal, but I like creative edits much more than fix it edits. Fix it edits makes me nutsy.
Over Christmas, a loved one got his first DSLR camera and went crazy. I was excited because finally there was someone to talk to in person about this stuff! But he’s not into learning more about photography – he just wanted a better camera. The way he shoots makes me cringe – everything gets shot while in continuous 10-sec boost mode (whatever that’s technically called, I can’t remember), and he believes he can fix all the bad stuff in Photoshop (which he doesn’t really know). So, not only does he have 10 photos of every single thing, he doesn’t care if they’re good or not because he’s relying on PS to do the work.
Oy.
I tried giving him some pointers, but I don’t know if he’ll ever leave Auto mode.
Brandi recently posted… I look down…
Hah! I can imagine how frustrating that was for you! There will come a point he will start to wonder why his pictures are as great as everyone else’s… just give him time.
Those are great! What better distraction than your sweetie belting out a tune! I agree Out of Camera is the way to go… Life is busy with kids, family, work it all takes time.
Amy recently posted… Finding Inspiration in High ISO
Thanks Amy! Not my baby, but she sure is cute, right? How could I continue shooting Minnie Mouse and not pay attention to the star attraction right in front of me!
Little singing diva is a cutie pie. I definitely agree with you. I really hate sitting in front of my computer. Anything I can do to spend more time with the kids or behind the camera and less in front of the screen is a definite bonus!
Tami recently posted… 38/365
She is pretty darn cute and boy she has the attitude to boot! My friend has her hand’s full with that little treasure. :)