So, about a month ago, I spent the better part of a weekend at Nikon school. I promised to write about the highlights. As I thought about what to say though, I realized I might inadvertently reveal a lot of ignorance about the topic of photography as I listed the new things I learned. Quite honestly, much of it could be gleaned from a thorough reading of the owner's manual. The problem with that for me is 1) I'm a visual learner and 2) when I read an owner's manual, I don't know what to pay attention to. The wonderful thing about a seminar is that the experts give you the highlights. They give insider tips of the trade and good advice. For me, it is invaluable. I have a few things learned to share but first, a few more general observations:
#1 Cameras and even cell phones with cameras have come so far that smaller, more simple cameras take excellent pictures for photographers who want to stay on automatic mode. I can honestly say that the only reason I deal with the weight and bulk of my camera is that I understand the basics about taking good pictures manually. If you want to stay on auto and engage in hassle-free photography, stick with smaller, light-weight cameras (so say the experts).
#2 Of course--photography is an art form that absolutely can be learned. Digital cameras are like little computers that we carry around and either allow complete control over the photos we take (auto) or tell very specifically what to do (manual modes). Anyone can learn how to use a camera, it's simply a matter of wanting to learn and taking the time to do it. The same is true of technique, angles etc. I look at photos all the time to get ideas for composition. Not that I am taking photos for a living but I am the sole photographer for my family which means my photos are literally making history for our girls, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren.....important stuff. Which is why I believe that anyone who wants to take great pictures of the ones he/ she loves should learn a bit about photography. Yes, you can get decent photos with a point-and-shoot or even a phone but you cannot get great photos that way. Or rarely at least. The better equipment is worth the bucks and will probably inspire you to be worthy of it.
About my rig: I have a Nikon D7000. I upgraded from the Nikon D5000 this year and it was noticeably worth it. Huge difference. I attended Nikon school to learn how to wield my new gear and was not disappointed. The teachers were engaging and I learned a lot.
A few nuggets:
*Optimal ISO is generally the lowest one available. As a rule of thumb, I use 400 in bright light but my camera goes down to 100. On the other end, I use 1600 for low light but recently shot a batch of nighttime outdoor photos on 3200. There was very little light but the subjects were still and the photos turned out great. In low light, if your subjects are not still, use the flash!
*White balance settings. If you have a Nikon, this is under the camera icon and can make a huge difference in indoor photography. If you take a test photo and find the image off-color, go to the white balance settings and adjust for incandescent, fluorescent, shade or whatever. The catch...
*If you save your photos as RAW files instead of JPEGS, you can adjust white balance later. Chances are, you're saving your photos as JPEGS because that is the easiest way to export them to blogs, facebook etc. If you change to saving them as RAW files, you will have to convert them to JPEGS later but your photo will be much more malleable. After the class, I started saving my files as JPEG FINE rather than just regular but I don't want the hassle of RAW files right now because that adds too much to my work flow.
*Speaking of which--one thing that came up in the class is the fact that even though digital photography has been wonderful in the sense that we can see our photos immediately, take oodles of them etc., it has doubled our work flow. Literally HALF of digital photography is taking the photo from the camera to the photo library to the print or whatever end we want for it. The guys had some suggestions about organizing photos. First, name them with the date--year, month, day. That way all the photos from one year are easy to access. Next, if you are taking photos every day, you should be organizing and editing daily. Once you have a system, it shouldn't take longer than about a half hour. I admit--this is my downfall and I have a New Year's resolution around it.
* When you delete your photos, reformat your card. It's under your tool icon (looks like a wrench). If you just delete them, traces of the images are left on your card. Not good for the card in the long run.
*Find some good editing software. Very important. I'm just using iPhoto for now. It's basic but my goal with my photos is to take them the way I want to show them. I'm not a big fan of doctored photos. Of course, doctoring is great while you're learning to take photos ready to use as is!
*Basic Rule: Get Closer (to your subject)!
*Pay attention to your background. Look around you--is there something interesting that will add that special something to the photo? Get it in there!
*Finally--LIGHT. Where is it? I asked a question in the class about getting good birthday photos. I always get blur if I shoot without the flash but the flash ruins the photo of the cake, candles etc. Their answer? It's difficult (which made me feel a bit better). You have to get the subject to hold still for 60 seconds and then your best bet is to bounce a flash off the ceiling or wall. I haven't bought a detachable flash yet but definitely will.
So that's it. I hope that was helpful to someone out there :)
I'll leave you with a couple of quotes by a famous photographer (and human being):
"We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished, there is no contrivance on earth can make them come back again."
" In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotiv."
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Thanks for the post! time to get out my camera and renew our acquaintance!!
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