The Photography Hangout Thread

[myboostedgst]

Nikon, Canon, Sony. All valid options. Are you going to do any video? What’s your budget? Sounds like roughly $500-700? I would buy a good used body, (7100, or 70D) and then a few lenses. You also would need to decide what kind of shooting you want to do, which will dictate the lenses you need.

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[Grimace427]

Anyone here have a versatile off-camera flash setup? I'd like something I can use both in studio and on location, preferable one strobe with radio receiver(not IR slave) and TTL is nice too. Stands alone are a few hundred bucks and the lights with softbox and dish are usually in the $600-1k range for top quality. I'm just looking for a complete setup that will give me more creative options when I'm doing portraits or automotive shots. Adorama has nice bundles but they are $$$.

 

[myboostedgst]

Anyone here have a versatile off-camera flash setup? I'd like something I can use both in studio and on location, preferable one strobe with radio receiver(not IR slave) and TTL is nice too. Stands alone are a few hundred bucks and the lights with softbox and dish are usually in the $600-1k range for top quality. I'm just looking for a complete setup that will give me more creative options when I'm doing portraits or automotive shots. Adorama has nice bundles but they are $$$.

My two setups are Yongnuo 560 IV flashes (speedlights) and Flashpoint AD600. Based on your request for a strobe, I highly support the Flashpoint stuff (Godox is the rebranded version, Flashpoint is just the adormama brand). I like the strobe, and I get good results.

I shot a bunch of lingerie/glamour/swimwear and used my speedlights exclusively. I then used my friends Flashpoint strobe and the results were a little better. I plan to shoot some mountain bike stuff this summer and will be using his strobe.

 

[Grimace427]

My two setups are Yongnuo 560 IV flashes (speedlights) and Flashpoint AD600. Based on your request for a strobe, I highly support the Flashpoint stuff (Godox is the rebranded version, Flashpoint is just the adormama brand). I like the strobe, and I get good results.

I shot a bunch of lingerie/glamour/swimwear and used my speedlights exclusively. I then used my friends Flashpoint strobe and the results were a little better. I plan to shoot some mountain bike stuff this summer and will be using his strobe.

I have the III version of the Yongnuo flash which apparently is the same thing minus the wireless controller, looks like Amazon has them for $40 so I'll pick up one of those to give it a shot. What modifiers do you use with that flash? I'll probably get some practice with that setup before getting the strobe to stretch the budget a little.


Edit: looks like Amazon also has some Bowens mount brackets for speedlights so I'll get a small setup for that. Not too expensive too which is nice!

 

[myboostedgst]

I have the III version of the Yongnuo flash which apparently is the same thing minus the wireless controller, looks like Amazon has them for $40 so I'll pick up one of those to give it a shot. What modifiers do you use with that flash? I'll probably get some practice with that setup before getting the strobe to stretch the budget a little.


Edit: looks like Amazon also has some Bowens mount brackets for speedlights so I'll get a small setup for that. Not too expensive too which is nice!

I use the 560-TX controller with my flashes too. It’s awesome. I really like it and actually never get any misfires.

I just use some cheap umbrellas on Manfrotto stands. I do have a 60” octobox that is an umbrella style (aka a rod that slips through a regular style umbrella holder) and a few smaller umbrellas. For controlled lighting (indoors) with staged subjects it works well for me. Anything more and I’m not sure it would work with my single or dual speedlights inside the octobox.

 

[2015DIBGT]

Hello All!

Nice to see you found your spot in here Andrew!

Been pretty absent from the forum recently after the host switch. Wasn't a huge fan of the way image links are now broken (almost identical to the Photobucket scenario).
Spent a lot of time building/writing a build thread for a host change shortly after and all my linking became dead.

Never the less, there have been some changes! I recently purchased a new daily driver. In Jan of 2018 my father bought a leftover 2017 Fusion Sport with the 2.7tt Ecoboost and awd. I kinda fell in love with it.
Ive been in the market for a new vehicle and he offered to sell me his so he could get a new one. So, introduce my new photography subject while the mustang is in storage!

Untitled by Benjamin Martens, on Flickr

Untitled by Benjamin Martens, on Flickr

Untitled by Benjamin Martens, on Flickr

Fusion Snow by Benjamin Martens, on Flickr

Fusion Snow by Benjamin Martens, on Flickr

Fusion Snow by Benjamin Martens, on Flickr

 

[obgod3]

Not great photos but my ‘83 GT....My brothers ‘82 Indy Pace Car

 

[AmericanV8Guy]

Haven't posted anything for a while on this site as a whole, so here are a few random selections from recent shoots I've done. I finally gave layering a shot with the shoot involving my friend's comp-o Termi, and now I'm kicking myself for never attempting to use it before. Night and day difference I think, but you guys be the judge.

 

[JAH1991]

I picked up a cheap DSLR and shot a few photos of my car. I have a lot to learn and any advice will be appreciated!

 

[Grimace427]

Step #1 for any new photographer is to figure out what kind of photography speaks to them. Is taking photos of cars your calling? Do you prefer wide angles and getting as much into the scene as possible? What was the last photo that really caught your eye and perhaps gave you some motivation to capture your own images?

Step #2 is to learn your camera. What make/model? What lenses do you have? Modern cameras, even the less expensive ones, are very powerful tools with many useful features. Things like autofocus, focus points, metering(how bright the camera thinks the scene is), color balance(the camera's AUTO setting is pretty good here), and so on. I always recommend putting the camera into manual mode and adjusting the aperture, shutter, and ISO yourself so you can get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

If there is something with a photo you took that you are unhappy with post it and get some feedback. Could be something simple like make sure the background behind your subject is not too distracting and if it is, move yourself or move your subject until the background is less distracting or further away.

Less expensive cameras usually suffer in low light conditions compared to more expensive versions. Be sure you have enough light available to get clean images.

 

[BrettT]

Step #1 for any new photographer is to figure out what kind of photography speaks to them. Is taking photos of cars your calling? Do you prefer wide angles and getting as much into the scene as possible? What was the last photo that really caught your eye and perhaps gave you some motivation to capture your own images?

Step #2 is to learn your camera. What make/model? What lenses do you have? Modern cameras, even the less expensive ones, are very powerful tools with many useful features. Things like autofocus, focus points, metering(how bright the camera thinks the scene is), color balance(the camera's AUTO setting is pretty good here), and so on. I always recommend putting the camera into manual mode and adjusting the aperture, shutter, and ISO yourself so you can get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

If there is something with a photo you took that you are unhappy with post it and get some feedback. Could be something simple like make sure the background behind your subject is not too distracting and if it is, move yourself or move your subject until the background is less distracting or further away.

Less expensive cameras usually suffer in low light conditions compared to more expensive versions. Be sure you have enough light available to get clean images.

Agree with everything here. The best way to learn is to put it in "M" and leave it there. play with shutter and aperture settings. The viewfinder will tell you whether the picture is under/over exposed.

Having said that, in "M" mode , the scene has to be relatively static. Worst thing you can do is put it in "Auto" mode and let the camera try and figure what settings are best....Then you might as well just use a point and shoot..........

 

[Grimace427]

play with shutter and aperture settings. The viewfinder will tell you whether the picture is under/over exposed....

This is only true for mirrorless cameras. DSLR's won't show the exposure until you've actually taken the shot. One of the perks of the mirrorless is that exposure preview but it isn't a deal-breaker IMO. I shoot with both now(Nikon D750 and Z6).

 

[JAH1991]

This is only true for mirrorless cameras. DSLR's won't show the exposure until you've actually taken the shot. One of the perks of the mirrorless is that exposure preview but it isn't a deal-breaker IMO. I shoot with both now(Nikon D750 and Z6).

Thank you for the advice. I"m currently just shooting with a Canon t1i, sort of old tech but I picked it up with a 50mm prime, the 18-55 kit lens, and a canon 55-250 (which is what I shot these photos with) for $150. I've currently only been playing with shutter speed and ISO and occasionally the on camera white balance feature. I'll play around in the full manual mode and see what I can learn. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Grimace427]

Thank you for the advice. I"m currently just shooting with a Canon t1i, sort of old tech but I picked it up with a 50mm prime, the 18-55 kit lens, and a canon 55-250 (which is what I shot these photos with) for $150. I've currently only been playing with shutter speed and ISO and occasionally the on camera white balance feature. I'll play around in the full manual mode and see what I can learn. Thanks again everyone.

That 50mm will probably get you the best photos out of that group as far as subject isolation. Blurring out the background makes your subject pop. I'm not a Canon expert but I can definitely help you out with any questions you may have. If you want a basic setup you can start with this:

• Manual
• Set aperture wide open(for the 50 it would be 1.8) to start. Wider aperture means more light in and more background blur, but also less of your subject will be in focus. For a car at an angle you might stop it down to f2.8 to about f5.6 to get more in focus.
• Shutter speed should be 1/50 or quicker. In broad daylight you will probably be 1/1000 or higher. Slower than 1/50 and you can introduce blur from your hands shaking the camera.
• Set ISO to auto. The lower the number, the better the image quality will be but the camera is pretty smart about picking the correct ISO for the light you are in. If the ISO starts going higher than 1000 slow down your shutter speed.
• For autofocus pick One-Shot with single point. This is the simplest setting and easiest to make sure the camera is focusing on the subject you choose.
• For metering select partial metering to start, especially if your subject is darker or brighter than it's surroundings.
• Shoot in RAW, not jpeg. You will capture more data in the image where you can edit or convert later to post online or print. Jpeg compresses the files and loses a significant amount of data and detail if you wanted to edit the image later.

 

[15pgnatsum]

Thank you for the advice. I"m currently just shooting with a Canon t1i, sort of old tech but I picked it up with a 50mm prime, the 18-55 kit lens, and a canon 55-250 (which is what I shot these photos with) for $150. I've currently only been playing with shutter speed and ISO and occasionally the on camera white balance feature. I'll play around in the full manual mode and see what I can learn. Thanks again everyone.

As someone who has been doing photography for about 8 years and am pretty heavily invested and active with it as a hobby for the past 3 years, I never worry about white balance. If you're shooting RAW with the intent to edit the images yourself, then you really don't need to worry about it much. For JPEG, you're probably best just leaving it in Auto.

Focus on shutter speed and aperture first and foremost. It's not a big deal to let auto focus do its thing, but maybe keep it in "point focus" so you can decide what object in the frame your focusing on. I really only use manual focus when I'm doing something fancy or in low light situations where the auto focus can't grab onto anything.

I basically never touched ISO until I upgraded to my X-T2 because the D5100 before that would create a total shit image at any ISO over 400, so I had to figure out ways to work around it. Now with the X-T2, I can go up to 6000 or even a bit more without much noise in the image. Pretty incredible.

Also, "Spray and Pray" is a fine method to start out with as long as you pay attention to what you like and dislike about the photos you take and learn from that so you can get to the point (after a pretty long time) of only taking a handful of photos knowing the composition will be good enough. But when I first started, I just took shitloads of photos and spent the time culling them to find the good ones and determine what it was about the "good ones" that made them "good" so I could reduce the amount of shots I take of a subject.

Eventually you'll get to the point that you can imagine what the outcome of the image is in your head before you even take the picture, then you'll be at the point where you understand what each setting does and how it affects the composition, etc and you can spend less time taking multiple shots of the same subject because you don't know what will ultimately look the best.

Shooting your car is the perfect starting point since it provides you a definite subject. That's exactly how I started out. Now I dabble in everything from landscapes, to surrealism, to street photography, architecture, car photos, whatever. Always fun to explore.

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