Would like to get some photo advice please...

[1morethan8]

To me light can be one of the most important parts of photography.

 

[DWalt]

Lots of good information here. Assuming you have the lighting down OK, one of the most important (if not THE most important) factors is to use a tripod or some other method of holding the camera absolutely immobile during the exposure. Post-processing can help greatly, especially the "Curves" feature in Photoshop, if you have it. That can make a huge difference in how good your image looks. Someone else mentioned using the highest resolution possible of your camera, then reducing the image size with your software. I always shoot for a 5" wide final image. If you don't do that, your image can be too large to upload or take forever to do so. One trick I use sometimes is to use my wife's quilt cutting board as a background. It's a medium green color and has a grid on it to show the size of the subject photographed, if that's important.

 

[bettis1]

This is an excellent post with lots of professional grade advice.

One suggestion that I would make is, if your camera will allow it take your photos in RAW (NEF) format. This will allow you to backup the photos and make your modifications to those backups. Never make your photo modifications to the original photo. Each time that you modify the photo, it is degraded.

If JJEH will allow me, I would like to pose another question related to his original problem. That is: "How do you deal with the filing of your photos after you have taken them in a way that allows you to quickly and accurately find and post them after you have taken them?"

The advent of digital photography has allowed us to take many, many shots of the same scene. Often these vary only insignificantly with each other and the selection of one over another is purely subjective. I find that I have a personal aversion to deleting one unless it is completely unusable.

I have tried a number of photographic programs and never settled on one over another, consequently, when I download the photos to my computer, they frequently land in no-man's-land. Each computer that I buy, each camera that I use, etc., each brings its own photo handling software...and then I have fallen prey to the marketing of several that I have added myself. Currently on my MAC I have iPhoto, Aperture, and ViewNX 2. Many, if not most, of my photos are only filed by the date taken so I spend more time looking for something than I did taking it in the first place.

Most of my life is lived in a state of organization that some would characterize as approaching neurosis. However, my photo life is a shamble. I would welcome some suggestions as to a simple procedure/system to clean up my "photo clutter".

Bob

 

[JJEH]

By "Jorge" I think he's got it! You can skip the deco stuff though.

I like the muzzle shot on the ammo box

Thank you

Still a long way to go, and still not really satisfied with the pictures. But I will keep practicing... I promise

 

[JJEH]

If JJEH will allow me, I would like to pose another question related to his original problem. That is: "How do you deal with the filing of your photos after you have taken them in a way that allows you to quickly and accurately find and post them after you have taken them?"

Sure you are allowed

I do have an external hard drive. I keep all pictures, separated in different folders of course. After modifying each picture I rename it.

I do not have RAW format.

 

[JJEH]

I did some homework. Still have alot to learn, but I like to see making progress

 

[JJEH]

Guys, yesterday I upgraded from a Fuji bridge camera to a Nikon D3100.
Here's the first test picture.

Not 100% satisfying (I'm never satisfied), but well... I think it's so la la...

 

[Onomea]

Looking good there, Jorge!

 

[Straightshooter2]

Light can be both good and bad in photos. Just taking the last two pictures you posted Jorge, the one with the red background could have used a little more light while the one with the blue background would have benefited from slightly less light. Also, with all the folds in the red background, the coffee cup, knife and ammo are a little too much. Try that same photo without the cup and the knife. As for the second photo, the partial view of something on the left is distracting. It pulls the eye away from the subject because the brain is saying, "What is that?" You never really want to distract the eye away from the main subject of the photo. You want to lead the eye into the picture, not pull it away to a corner or edge.
Now, when I say more or less light, it can be in fractions of a second or just one or two f/stops. In some cases the difference between 1/125 and 1/250 of a second or between f/8 and f/11 can be dramatic. In other cases, the difference can be negligible. This is something you will learn as you play with exposure. Have fun learning.

Oh, and yes, you are improving.

CW

 

[JJEH]

Thanks guys

Straightshooter2, I think you are absolutely right. I think I want too much right now and I should focus on the main item in the pictures - the firearm.

Even the D3100 is an entry leven camera, it's like a spaceship for me. Gotta have a lot of homework ahead of me...

I will take more pictures tomorrow and put them on my facebook site, some I will post in this thread. I really appreciate all the info and feedback. It's important to improve and progress!

 

[JJEH]

Back in the day I was not really interested in my school home work. Now I love it

 

[Dave from Pa]

Wealth of knowledge here,lots of great info.Wish l had somthing to contribute but l did learn a lot.

 

[JJEH]

This is my newest shot of my M&P9c.

Please keep sharing you pictures and experiences