What Do You Want a Tutorial About?

[ydnew44]

[QUOTE using externsion tubes with 50mm prime lens please!/QUOTE]

[RichardTaylor]

@ydnew44

This may help:

Extension Tubes for Macro Photos

or this.

Lens Extension Tubes | What are extension tubes and how to use them

or this.

Guide to using Extension Tubes for close up photography

[karen_s]

I'm pretty new so forgive me if these topics have been covered ...

1. Tips on transitioning from developing ones photography skills to actually making a little money to pay for the addiction. I've seen a few great tips in the forums so maybe just a round up of ideas?

2. A beginners guide to color theory might be nice. Many people new to photography have no background or understanding of all that color does in our brains. Things like how compliments work, how color affects the mood, stuff like that.

3. Deciding how to post process an image. I see a lot of great technique but only a so-so ability to fit it to the right picture ... ie. HDR for family portraits is probably not a great choice :-)

Just my 1 cent's worth. (Hey, moneys tight.)

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by zespri

How to Shoot a Sunset/Sunrise (probably quite basic for some I suppose)

...From a book in progress: Kiss,(Keep It Simple Shutterbug)

Landscapes b) Sunrises/Sunsets


ISO: Lowest
Exposure mode: Av
White balance: Auto White Balance
Drive mode: Continuous
Metering mode: matrix
Focus points: Centre
Auto focus: Single shot

Think about: Manual focusing- If auto focus fails


A pretty, colourful sky on its own, doesn’t really say much, but if you can find a situation where there is a subject in the foreground that would silhouette against the sky, such as an old, gnarled tree, or a church steeple-then you have the making of a great landscape-Shop around for the best angle, by rendering your subject recognisable, while eliminating unnecessary distractions from foreground/background.
The wide-angle 18mm -24mm end of your kit zoom lens will be the focal length of choice for this type of scene (This will allow room to crop out any other distractions)

Sometimes you will find that auto-focus has trouble finding focus, due usually to inadequate contrast-That’s where manual focus needs to be employed-
just switch off auto-focus and focus by revolving the lens’s focusing ring. As for metering, this could give problems balancing contrast of sky and land, so for silhouettes, try an aperture of, say, F8,filling the majority of your viewfinder frame with sky-You camera will take a reading from the brighter part of the sky, and expose for that, rendering all else as silhouettes. But if you want detail in the sky and the land, the answer is a graduated neutral density filter, or “ND grad.” These filters come in several grades both soft and hard, from 1 to 10 stops. They are half grey and half transparent-The upper, grey part, holds back the sky, while the land gets exposed correctly

Then there is the question do you want the sun in the image? If you do, you will need to watch for lens flare, and you don’t want the Sun dominating the scene- A lens hood, (Which you should always use) will often solve the problem.

Regards,Ken

[kfrab]

Anything flash, including detachable flash.
I also like the photoshop layering idea... because I still don't understand the layering process.

[boo6204]

I'm a complete novice in photography but I would love to be able to take great photos of flowers that I can then 'extract' in photoshop to use in my digital scrapbooking business. They need to look crystal clear at 100% zoomed with a 300 ppi (pixels per inch) resolution.

My problem is I only have a lumix DMC-FX33 and whilst this takes 'nice' pictures I don't know how to use it to its best ability to get the really clear and defined shots I need for my work.

Am I hoping for too much that this camera can do what I would like it to do or am I going to have to pull out all the stops and invest in something bigger/better etc? If so, what would you recommend?

If, however, there is a way to set this camera up to take super clear shots please could you do a tut for me.

Thanks so much, any advice would be very much appreciated

[RichardTaylor]

I have only shot a few flower pics & not many without a DSLR

Your camera has enough resolution for 10x8 prints at 300 "DPI"

Some thoughts.
(1) Shoot at ISO 100
(2) use a tripod.
(3) Try to shoot in diffused lighting (light overcast)

This web site may help.
Flower photography tips - how to photograph flowers

and this one.
Flower Photography - How to Photograph Flowers

If you find you find you want to take it further, almost any DSLR, with a proper (~100mm) macro lens for real close ups, will be fine.
Live view will help with those low angle shots.
The other acessories you may need (for shooting outside) are.
(1) Tripod.
(2) Remote release
(3)Reflectors for bouncing light back into the subject
(4) A diffuser or light tent to soften the sunlight if need be.

[boo6204]

Thank you so much for this information. Very helpful and much appreciated.

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

I have only shot a few flower pics & not many without a DSLR

Your camera has enough resolution for 10x8 prints at 300 "DPI"

Some thoughts.
(1) Shoot at ISO 100
(2) use a tripod.
(3) Try to shoot in diffused lighting (light overcast)

This web site may help.
Flower photography tips - how to photograph flowers

and this one.
Flower Photography - How to Photograph Flowers

If you find you find you want to take it further, almost any DSLR, with a proper (~100mm) macro lens for real close ups, will be fine.
Live view will help with those low angle shots.
The other acessories you may need (for shooting outside) are.
(1) Tripod.
(2) Remote release
(3)Reflectors for bouncing light back into the subject
(4) A diffuser or light tent to soften the sunlight if need be.

[Cos]

I am heading to the mountains next weekend and I would love to capture some star trails with my XSi.

Cos

[RichardTaylor]

@ Cos.

See this: Especially the bit about stacking.

Star Trail Photography - Wildlifephotography