Critiques Needed - New DSLR owner

[bdepp]

Nice InLimbo87. the Zoo's look super!

yea i use Photoshop CS3 to do my editting. great program that gives you heaps of flexibility.

Try to shooting in RAW mode. if your using PS you can edit the RAW pictures and play with the lighting modes and remove some of the blue cast so they look more "natural". the files are bigger but worth having a play with and see if you like it.

Depp

 

[InLimbo87]

Shot a couple at the dog park last nite. Lighting was marginal as it was about 1/2 hour from sunset but here's a couple I got:

 

[MAXreefer]

Pics are getting better each posting!
Very nice job.

As mentioned before you really should try to shoot in the RAW format. This way you can easily adjust the "white balance" which is always a big issue when taking tank pics.

InLimbo87:
I like the frames you are using around your pics. Did you create an action in PS or did you get them somewhere?

 

[bdepp]

These are loking great InLimbo87. I love sunset picture. the light is just amazing and i find it the best time to shoot outdoors.

MAXreefer, with the frames the best way i find to do them in is PS. i increase the canvas size by 6 pixels (3 each side) and set the background colour as white first, then repeat this step again and set background colour to black this time. easy.

 

[InLimbo87]

Or you can set a black background 30 pixels bigger and put a 7 pixel white stroke on the picture

I'm going to have to try shooting in raw next time I shoot the tank...

 

[MAXreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12626077#post12626077 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by InLimbo87
Or you can set a black background 30 pixels bigger and put a 7 pixel white stroke on the picture

I'm going to have to try shooting in raw next time I shoot the tank...

Thanks for that...

When you start shooting in RAW format:
I am using Adobe's Lightroom to correct the white balance etc... They have a 30 day Trial. Maybe you should give it a shot and explore all the options you have when using the RAW format.
There are quite some "presets" available to make life easier. If you decide to try it let me know and I can email you some Presets I use for my fish/coral pics.

 

[InLimbo87]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12626390#post12626390 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MAXreefer
Thanks for that...

When you start shooting in RAW format:
I am using Adobe's Lightroom to correct the white balance etc... They have a 30 day Trial. Maybe you should give it a shot and explore all the options you have when using the RAW format.
There are quite some "presets" available to make life easier. If you decide to try it let me know and I can email you some Presets I use for my fish/coral pics.

Can't I just do the editing within photoshop?

 

[BlueCorn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12630908#post12630908 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by InLimbo87
Can't I just do the editing within photoshop?

Yes, but if you start in Lightroom you'll find that need to, less often.

I makes processing RAW images no more difficult than processing JPG while retaining all the additional benefits of the former.

 

[InLimbo87]

I just took a look at adobe's site and the program looks promising... I'll have to give it a try

 

[bdepp]

I agree with beerguy. once your in and playing around, you'll find it just as easy and very flexible.

If you have any questions, there are a lot of us around i'm sure can answer any questions

 

[InLimbo87]

I started messing with lightroom. Kind of hard to get used to, but I think I'm getting the feel for it. Here's a couple more.

 

[InLimbo87]

FTS:

 

[bdepp]

very nice! i love the clowns swiming together. really nice shots. good tank shot. the white balance is looking really good.

my only point is that there is still a bit of blur on some of the photo's but fish are always hard. and remember to try and get the eye's in focus. you might need to up the ISO to 800/1600 and reduce your f stop to as low as you can go. the clown on it's own is spot on what your looking for.

 

[InLimbo87]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12648558#post12648558 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bdepp
very nice! i love the clowns swiming together. really nice shots. good tank shot. the white balance is looking really good.

my only point is that there is still a bit of blur on some of the photo's but fish are always hard. and remember to try and get the eye's in focus. you might need to up the ISO to 800/1600 and reduce your f stop to as low as you can go. the clown on it's own is spot on what your looking for.

Thank ya sir. I'm already shooting at ISO 800, but still shooting handheld. I've been looking at tripods to help reduce my blur but haven't made up my mind yet.

The clowns were quite the challenge to get a good focused shot of because they swim so erratically all the time

 

[bdepp]

i think we all have trouble with fish the damn things wont keep still.

i can recommend a manfrotto 190bpro as a tripod. it's brilliant.

have you tried at ISO 1600?

 

[InLimbo87]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12649440#post12649440 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bdepp
i think we all have trouble with fish the damn things wont keep still.

i can recommend a manfrotto 190bpro as a tripod. it's brilliant.

have you tried at ISO 1600?

I'll have to try that next time I try some shots.

Thanks for all your input bdepp, you've been a great help

 

[luisgo]

Nice pics. I have a D40x an I love it.

For fish I try to use a faster speed. 1/30sec. is difficult to freez the fish. I get great results with 1/125sec. and ISO 800. ISO 1600 is too grainy. I take 100 pics to get 3 or 4 really good for fish.

Here is mine with ISO 800 and 1/60 sec.


By luisgon

Here are some adjustments with Photoshop to your photos. Your first pic is a little dark. It was adjusted for exposure and added a little sharpness and contrast.


By luisgon

The clown is a little out of focus but with sharpness it can be slightly corrected.


By luisgon

 

[InLimbo87]

Couple new shots I got with my new 55-200 mm Nikkor lens

 

[bdepp]

your shots are getting better everytime you post InLimbo87. The crab shot is great. i would have loved to see i pic from the front though

i agree with luisgo. i think your pics need a bit of sharpening. do this as the last thing you do before you save it. there are a couple of ways to do it. Try using in photoshop, Tools > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

on the crab, i used Amount > 150%, Radius > 1.3, Threshold > 15. you only want to sharpen it slightly, just to bring out the detail that has been lost when you reduce the image in size.

 

[maroun.c]

Nice shots.
I have the 190 Pro B and it's a very good tripod however I always prefer to shoot without a tripod when shooting fish unless I have a specific area where I want to picture the fish in. in that case I just position my camera compose and with for the fish to be in and take the picture.
On fish shots I believe a flash is more important than a tripod as it doesnt' restrict you when follwoing a fish for the perfect pose or position. Also a flash will allow you to freeze a moving fish without having to shoot wide open in case you desire. a tripod will deal with camera motion but not with subject motion. Same for VR. A faster lens is always liked but sometimes you want to have the backgroud in focus? or maybe just a bit more of your subject in focus.
I would recommend an Sb800 or the Sb600 which is a bit less expensive and still very good flash to use.
Use a diffusor on top and angle it 45-60 degrees up and to the side if you prefer a more directional lighting then shot with the camera perpendicular to the glass (least distortion and best quality) or angled down. an upward angle will cause you to see the reflection on the glass. Using this method I don't see any reflection on the glass unless in FTS or in wider shots.
You could always play with Nikon CLS and add multiple flashes and diffuse them if needed for a softer light. also you could play with a single off camera flash (if the D40 flash can act as master in that mode???) if not the SB800 can work in slave mode or you could attach a connecting cable to the flash to have it off camera.