Practice

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Matt, this might be a little better. I like this photo too. Just wish the focus was a bit sharper.

DSC_7681 by plh, on Flickr

[rickztahone]

Like Matt said, that is a great shot. I really like the lighting, very moody.

As far as the modifier I mentioned? It can be something as simple as a piece of 8x11.5 paper on top of the tank. A diffuser is anything that has pass through capabilities. A good diffuser that I have had in the past is the Gary Fong one.
http://www.amazon.com/Gary-Fong-Coll...ng+lightsphere

I really wouldn't pay that ridiculous price tag though. I bought one used for about $30 and ended up selling it for the same price. While I did like it, and saw the benefits of it, I'd much rather shoot without another thing hanging off of my kit. It adds bulk to your overall kit that just plain got on my nerves. So I sold it. However, in your situation, you would be doing stationary flash positioning and it would work out well. You can alternatively, make your own diffuser .

Here's a quick thought, and keep in mind I have not done this AT ALL, but I do not see why it wouldn't work:

Get a small bowl, preferably some kind of rubbermaid tupperware. Cut out a slit that fits the flash head perfectly. Line the inside of said bowl with aluminum foil. Still use some kind of paper in between the top of the tank and the flash. This gets your flash off the tank a little more and spreads the light more. The paper helps the diffusion further. You can use wax paper as well instead of the 8x11.5.

Don't you have a modifier as already though? If so, make some kind of bracket and point it straigh down to your tank and see how that looks. With this last shot though, you aren't having clipping proglms at all. Looks great to me.

[rickztahone]

Just in case you do not know what "clipping" is, that is when a spot is so bright (or dark) that you lose detail within that area because it is too extreme. Typically, even if something is bright and on the brink of clipping, you can recover it in post a little.

[sdrexler078]

Ok Rick. I think I'm ready for this. I just bought a new dslr. I've always used my phone but I really wanted a dslr so I did it and it's confusing. I've read books and manuals and have been practicing daily already. I got a Nikon D3200 Digital SLR Camera With AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G VR Lens. What other info do you need to teach me how to master this? I've only been using it for 2 weeks now in manual mode so as far as experience that's it. And eventually I'd like to get a good zoom lense for landscape but for now that's my starter camera and lense.

[rickztahone]

Ok Rick. I think I'm ready for this. I just bought a new dslr. I've always used my phone but I really wanted a dslr so I did it and it's confusing. I've read books and manuals and have been practicing daily already. I got a Nikon D3200 Digital SLR Camera With AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G VR Lens. What other info do you need to teach me how to master this? I've only been using it for 2 weeks now in manual mode so as far as experience that's it. And eventually I'd like to get a good zoom lense for landscape but for now that's my starter camera and lense.

pm sent

For those interested, I directed sdrexler to an open thread I have in the Photo center where we can practice the basics and get a better feel for shooting with ANY type of camera. You can find the thread here:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...-to-practicing!

[Second Hand Pat]

Nothing special. My back yard. I just realized that the water line is a huge distraction in this photo.

DSC_7687 by plh, on Flickr

[rickztahone]

I like the shot Pat. The horizon line is crooked which should be corrected (CW). The hanging leaves need to be either more prominent with a part of the tree showing or they should probably be avoided. As it stands, they are disjointed. I love where you placed the horizon line though. Most of the time people will put the horizon right on the center of the frame. TFS

[Second Hand Pat]

Better...

DSC_7684 by plh, on Flickr

[rickztahone]

For me? Much better. I like that you didn't pull the shadows in this. It would have looked too unnatural. Way to go. Your horizon looks better here as far as straightness, but you get close to the middle of the frame.

[Second Hand Pat]

More practice Ricardo. If I get another quiet evening...

[rickztahone]

Ok Pat, enough rest for you. Next, what I would like for you to do is to train your eye further. I would like for you to practice in a technique called 'foreground interest'.

This excersize is for you to look for not only a main subject, but also a secondary one. Your goal will be to find an interesting subject, but you must have a foreground interest to accompany this subject.

Let me give you an example:

If you check out your last photo here, that is a very nice landscape on its own. However, you've somewhat framed it with secondary objects. The small pier is a good subject for this scene because they have a sense of natural connection.

Let me give you another example:

You are at the beach and the beach scene itself could be a great looking shot. However, as you are framing up the shot, you see a small crab scuttling along. This subject has become your main subject now, and the far off lanscape has become your secondary subject. It works in inverse as well because there is a connection amongst the two. The shot of the crab itself would be nice as well, but putting him in a setting can be a more powerful shot than stand alone.

Your goal will be to find something similar in the next week or so.

Do not limit yourself to landscapes as you can do this with almost anything so long as the subjects are interesting. I do need for you to find interesting subjects though. We are trying to refine your "eye" and having to search for that shot is one of our main goals here.

Let me know if you need help with anything.

[Second Hand Pat]

Ricardo, I may already have some examples of this. The photos are not great in themselves but you can see if they illustrate what you are saying.

[Second Hand Pat]

DSC_7852plh

[rickztahone]

Young lady, you are doing something we call mining . At first, I did not believe this was a good example of what I was referring to, but on closer look, we see the alligator in the back scene. There is a lot of negative space here however and we want to compose this a little better. A lower stance may have got you that, but it is difficult to tell without seeing the shot. Also, the partial duck on the left is distracting. You need to resize to crop him completely out or clone it out.

My assignment for you is still the same however. I want you to get out there with this particular task at hand so that you refine your eye and start looking ofr interesting subjects. This would have been a good one had you taken it for this specific assignment. I want you to be able to pintpoint the techniques you are executing while doing them . Try again.

[Second Hand Pat]

Maybe a bit correct on the mining part Ricardo. I took this picture with composition in mind. I was stuck to taking the picture from the seawall (in a park) so getting down to the subjects level was not an option. Anyway you can see why I had not bother to publish it.

Anyway I shall see what I can come up with in the next week. Time for a walk about.
Pat