A couple pics from a point and shoot.

[username in use]

I think these came out alright. I use a simple canon point and shoot, and then try and fix it a little in photoshop. I don't really know how to use photoshop well, so its simple stuff.

This one kind of looks photoshopped, not sure why.

This one actually came out really well. Its a new frag that I won at a raffle.

Any tips to make these better with my existing equipment? I open to suggestions.

 

[DaddyReefer12]

Grate Shots

 

[kilroy217]

Josh,
Looking good, as usual. The FTS looks a tad bit over exposed, but that's easily adjusted in PP. The macro is nice. Were you using a tripod?

 

[username in use]

No, its handheld. I hear you on the FTS. How do I go about fixing that in photoshop? I have it at work but have never really gotten into it so Im not sure on all the abilities which I know are vast. I may start playing with the bracketing in the camera and see what that yields me because I know the lights can throw off the light sensor and since this little point and shoot has the option I may as well use it.

 

[Seeing Green]

Best solution on it is to get some pictures and play with them. There are HOW TO's from everything from red-eye reduction to making sterioscopic photos.

Best solution I found was just messing around with simple things for friends and family before getting to heavy into things for the rest of the world.

Sorry if that doesnt help you much:

http://nyfalls.com/article-photoshop-levels.html

is a decent tutorial, though old.

 

[username in use]

good link, thanks.

 

[kilroy217]

you shot that frag pic handheld? well done. as for post-processing tips, i would agree with Seeing Green in that you should just play with it. I actually don't use photoshop, so i can't give you exact pointers, but i learned to use lightroom by just playing with it, and talking with a buddy of mine who is a professional photographer to get tips from him on specific shots.

Most importantly, have fun shooting!

Matt

 

[username in use]

you shot that frag pic handheld? well done.

All the inlay work and guitar work that I do has trained me to have a steady hand. It gets expensive if you twitch the wrong way on an ebony fretboard lol.

Im gonna keep playing with photoshop when I can at work, and see if I can't hone in on the techniques a little more.

 

[js1218]

under what light did you takeing the pic .they look good thanks

 

[username in use]

I have a 4 bulb t5 setup. 2 ati blue plus and 2 uvl actinic white's.

 

[clippo]

regarding the overrexposure of the FTS, only the substrate appears overexposed to me. There are actually areas that are underexposed also... the shadows. This is a common problem with high contrast scenes such as a full shots of brightly lit reef tanks. The camera just isn't capable of capturing the full range. One way to get around it is to take bracketed exposures and then merge them (a HDR image). You'll never recover lost highlight or shadow detail in PS IMO.

 

[username in use]

I can bracket the exposures easy enough, but how do I go about making an HDR image?

 

[kilroy217]

there is a program called photomatix that has a free trial version. if you use it, you get a watermark with their logo. i'm not 100% sure, but I believe the full version is $100. Also, if you have photoshop CS4 or higher (CS5 was just announced), you can do it in photoshop, directly, but i've heard it's not as good as the full version of photomatix.

 

[annularisx]

yeah nice shots im looking to get a camera any suggestions?

 

[clippo]

for 'hdr' tank shots I think PS is a better option that Photomatix.

You can do it with any version.

Basically, just take your bracketed shots. Then open them up in PS.

Drag the 'light' image (in which shadow detail is visible) on to the 'middle' image. Now select that layer (layer1) and add a layer mask. Click on the layer mask and then select the paintbrush tool in black. Adjust the brush size opacity and flow down to about 30%. Now paint over the shadow areas and you should see detail coming through. Once complete, flatten the image. Next open the 'dark' image (in which highlight detail is retained). Drag the flattened image onto this image and create a layer mask. Now do the same painting technique and you should see highlight detail coming through. Finally, flatten the image.

Photomatix is probably much easier to use but as mentioned you'll get watermarks. Results often look a bit 'cartoonish' from Photomatix too... and it won't handle moving objects (fish) well.

The tank looks great by the way. A background would set it off nicely. There's quite a bit of equipment on display.