your favourite piece of advice

magicbastarder

the one you give to people if they ask you about taking photos.

my usual one (in the context of landscape photography) is "get up earlier".

the best piece of advice given to me was probably by a mate who's a pro - he said if i was ever considering going pro, i should go out every day and take just one roll of film, whether i wanted to or not, and see how long i lasted before it became a chore.

PaulieC

“Add light to light, add dark to dark” in regard to exposure compensation for very bright and very dark subjects

Huggy Bear

"Get in close and fill the frame" - portraits ...

Morlar

Take off the lens cap.

trooney

An angry subject is an interesting subject...! :eek:

Calina

Morlar wrote:

Take off the lens cap.

Works for me too.

trooney

An angry subject... is an interesting subject...! :eek:

trooney

Posting the same thing twice - by mistake - is not part of the 'making people angry' tip.

Nalz

never lend your camera to a fat guy

mervifwdc

Look all around the view finder before pressing the shutter, not just looking at your subject. Crop tighter if you've got distractions in there. Put "lines" into the corners. Put subjects / interesting points on "rule of thirds". Make sure people / animals are looking at you, or "into" the picture, and not out of an edge.

Rojo

Overexpose by a stop in black and white film photography!

Roen

Duck!

Wez

mervifwdc wrote:

Look all around the view finder before pressing the shutter, not just looking at your subject. Crop tighter if you've got distractions in there. Put "lines" into the corners. Put subjects / interesting points on "rule of thirds". Make sure people / animals are looking at you, or "into" the picture, and not out of an edge.

Seconded.. Absolutely makes a picture, and can save hassle of work in post proccessing (cropping etc)

311

Enjoy it!!

melekalikimaka

check your iso

elven

mervifwdc wrote:

Look all around the view finder before pressing the shutter, not just looking at your subject. Crop tighter if you've got distractions in there. Put "lines" into the corners. Put subjects / interesting points on "rule of thirds". Make sure people / animals are looking at you, or "into" the picture, and not out of an edge.

Thirded.

And my own tuppence: try different angles. Nothing worse than a million shots all taken from eye level...

I like this thread.

Morlar

Shoot raw.

abulense

(Probably very obvious but...)
Come down to the level of your subject.

The first and best bit of advice I've got.
There's nothing worse than a photo where the camera is looking down on the subject (esp. children/pets).

thebaz

Tuck your left elbow against your chest for steadiness -- nothing worse than camera shake --
recently for me -- try shooting straight -- i'm using a level -- and still not perfect

digitalbeginner

Turn the camera through 90 degrees when taking pictures of single subjects, that's why it's called 'Portrait Position'

Fenster

Take lots of bloody photos.

Valentia

melekalikimaka wrote:

check your iso

Big one!!

Charge the battery and stick in the memory card (film).

Try about 4 or 5 different f stops.

mtracey

take your time and compose

joolsveer

use a tripod where possible

thebaz

joolsveer wrote:

use a tripod where possible

I hate using tripods -- only use where absolutly necessary , they are so awkward and bulky -- i agree they are essential in certain situations -- maybe i need an easy to assemble one ..

magicbastarder

if you want sharp photos, accept no substitute.
tripods slow you down. which is a good thing.

Xios

Violence Sells - Journalistic photos.

GristlyEnd

Photoshop will NOT make a bad picture better.

Shrimp

Shoot Raw.

FinoBlad

This is probably the best advice any photographer can get.

If you are suffering from gadgetitis you may find this upsetting

http://cherylnicolai.squarespace.com/journal/2006/11/15/what-every-aspiring-photographer-should-know.html

paudie

Valentia wrote:

Big one!!

Charge the battery and stick in the memory card (film).

Try about 4 or 5 different f stops.

Seconded especially before putting your camera into a water housing and swimming for ten minutes to realise your battery is dead.

punchdrunk

all the posh gear in the world won't make a crap eye for a photo any better
learn to work with what you've got

Sebzy

- Flash tips -
Never use direct flash.

Always use a defuser or bounce off walls remember you can compensate for the color of the wall through RAW WB correction.

digitalbeginner

Sebzy wrote:

- Flash tips -
Never use direct flash.

Always use a defuser or bounce off walls remember you can compensate for the color of the wall through RAW WB correction.

I second, third, fourth and fifth that It's probably the most important point I make with my students.

With hot shoe cameras you can also use a cable to get the flash off camera for some really professional results.

Dave

magicbastarder

i did a wedding for a friend this year.
i don't own a flash, and the only one i was able to borrow didn't have a diffuser. being in a church, it was not an ideal place to be bouncing flash. i think i gave the poor couple sunburn.

Sebzy

magicbastarder wrote:

i did a wedding for a friend this year.
i don't own a flash, and the only one i was able to borrow didn't have a diffuser. being in a church, it was not an ideal place to be bouncing flash. i think i gave the poor couple sunburn.

Elastic band and some tissue or white plastic bag works a treat or even a business card taped to the head firing up at a 60Deg angle.

And before I say it I'm not joking
If you dont have any of the above but are bald just reverse the flash and bounce it off your dome. Even works with spare hand. Strange but true.

fionn67

which for some reason is burned into my brain

"expose for shadow, develop for the highlights" - probably redundant for digital but what can i say im a luddite

Fajitas!

Sebzy wrote:

Elastic band and some tissue or white plastic bag works a treat or even a business card taped to the head firing up at a 60Deg angle.

And before I say it I'm not joking
If you dont have any of the above but are bald just reverse the flash and bounce it off your dome. Even works with spare hand. Strange but true.

Cigarette rolling papers are also quite useful.

Roen

Best tip I ever got was to make one of these.

sineadw

Loving the head lamp Roen - very fetching

Feverishly jotting down all this gold...

Fajitas!

Erm...I know you think Roen was joking, but he's seriously not. He has a whole kit...

Fionn

good thread!!

mine would be:
where possible, have your camera with you!!! really! i've missed some shots coz i hadn't it with me.
and of course the usual about batteries checking settings etc.

oh! and have funn

Shiny

Dont always stick your subject in the center.

Include some background, adjacent item etc.

helios

use a small spray bottle on a dry day to give flowers that 'it just rained' look

Sebzy

In cold weather always keep your batterys in your pocket as this will perlong their life when put in your camera.

Your camera is only as good as the lens you have mounted on it.

Never wear all balck when shooting small kids/babies. Break it up with some color it puts the child at ease and trains their attention.

Always make note of your SLR's serial number and the same of the lens

thebaz

Fajitas! wrote:

Cigarette rolling papers are also quite useful.

Do you put paper directly over flash lamp and attach with some blue tac ?

311

helios wrote:

use a small spray bottle on a dry day to give flowers that 'it just rained' look

Cheater

Fajitas!

Thebaz, I just lick the skins and stick them on...slight smell of paper burning after a while...but noone really notices...

thebaz

Fajitas! wrote:

Thebaz, I just lick the skins and stick them on...slight smell of paper burning after a while...but noone really notices...

Cheers -- those rizla serve all kind of purposes