*OFFICIAL* Snapshot of the Day (one image per post please) #1

[The1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Good focus, exposure and about the right shutter speed. I wouldn't pan that one, focus on the hand holding the food up and, use around f/8 or f/11 to get some DOF, and try to move around where you have the bird coming toward you and then shoot. This is where shooting 8-fps is a huge help. You might keep both eyes open so that you can see the bird approaching.

Dave

I learned this while shooting horse jumping. when only looking through view finder, you often find yourself taking a wild guess at what's about to happen. Or you find yourself watching and waiting till last minute to lift your camera to your eye to get the shot.

keeping both eyes open pretty much allows one eye to see the subject approaching, and just as they leave sight of one eye, they enter the sight of the other eye.

and you don't look goofy with half your face all scrunched up while shooting.



great advice dave.

[The1]

just goofing about.

Any advice on black and white PP?


watch-1 by Reed Jackson, on Flickr

[The1]

just for fun, you can tell it's a cold night by the smoke stacks.

why my lightroom exports photos, they seem to get darker after being made into jpegs, anyone else experience this?

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

just for fun, you can tell it's a cold night by the smoke stacks.

why my lightroom exports photos, they seem to get darker after being made into jpegs, anyone else experience this?

What do your default settings look like? I don't use LR, but with DxO I've got preset set to apply an S-curve, add Contrast and add Vibrance. All those will make a finished image look darker. I sometimes add a little brightness to offset when I didn't expose enough "to the right" in my initial image.

I would guess that it's easy to develop your own preset. For the image you show I'd like more Contrast and a little pull down in the RGB curve, if I were doing it myself. Those sliders and curves are all there for your usage. Don't be afraid to push and pull on them, just don't get carried away. (The Saturation slider is where too many people go astray).

Dave

[The1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

What do your default settings look like? I don't use LR, but with DxO I've got preset set to apply an S-curve, add Contrast and add Vibrance. All those will make a finished image look darker. I sometimes add a little brightness to offset when I didn't expose enough "to the right" in my initial image.

I would guess that it's easy to develop your own preset. For the image you show I'd like more Contrast and a little pull down in the RGB curve, if I were doing it myself. Those sliders and curves are all there for your usage. Don't be afraid to push and pull on them, just don't get carried away. (The Saturation slider is where too many people go astray).

Dave

no presets, just simple settings, i like going through my pictures 1 by 1 unless i know there's a grouping like if i do a photoshoot with friends, then i can do a mass edit, then small tweaks, but i start from 0 on everything.

Light room shows you the finished picture, but i'm assuming that somewhere in my transformation from RAW to JPEG somethings going a bit wrong, and i'm losing brightness or exposure, or something. Maybe i've got my quality set too low, and this is the result.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

no presets, just simple settings, i like going through my pictures 1 by 1 unless i know there's a grouping like if i do a photoshoot with friends, then i can do a mass edit, then small tweaks, but i start from 0 on everything.

Light room shows you the finished picture, but i'm assuming that somewhere in my transformation from RAW to JPEG somethings going a bit wrong, and i'm losing brightness or exposure, or something. Maybe i've got my quality set too low, and this is the result.

I set my jpeg quality at 100%. Why wouldn't you???

I think that you should try to find a preset that suits you. The whole point of LR, to me, is to establish your "look" and show your images like you'd like them to look. I like contrast and detail. Many people like an S-curve in their RGB or a pull-down in the middle of the RGB. If your jpegs look like they came out of the camera, what's the point?

Those setting in the camera, like "Scenic", "Portrait", etc. are applying RGB and Contrast adjustments to the in-camera jpeg. You should figure out what you like and use it. Yes, you'll still need to look image by image and tweak, but you'll start from a baseline that you like.

Dave

[The1]

turns out my quality was at 100% afterall

I don't actually change many of my photos over to JPG, so i don't have a need for high quality as most of the jpgs will just become online files viewed on computers.

if i do a shoot for someone, I change all the settings and sizes to suit the need, and put the quality at 100% And if i know pictures will be printed I put the resolution up to 320ppi or in and around that area, so there's the option of size.

I've only been noticing this problem since i installed version 3.7 as well, so i'll have to look into it a bit more and see what's what i guess.

[MATT0404]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Good focus, exposure and about the right shutter speed. I wouldn't pan that one, focus on the hand holding the food up and, use around f/8 or f/11 to get some DOF, and try to move around where you have the bird coming toward you and then shoot. This is where shooting 8-fps is a huge help. You might keep both eyes open so that you can see the bird approaching.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. I guess I really wasn't panning in this particular shot. I was actually focused on the hand and waited for the bird to swoop down for the worm and started firing. I guess this is where you run into the limitations on the 5d2. I probably should have thought about using the 40D. Great advice to keep both eyes open to track the subject. I really hadn't thought of that before.

Here's another shot from inside. The Steller's Sea Eagle. A very impressive bird:


Steller's Sea Eagle by mkrepp, on Flickr

[The1]

great detail

[Chewy734]

awesome shot Matt!

[MATT0404]

Thank you, both!

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by MATT0404

Thanks, Dave. I guess I really wasn't panning in this particular shot. I was actually focused on the hand and waited for the bird to swoop down for the worm and started firing. I guess this is where you run into the limitations on the 5d2. I probably should have thought about using the 40D. Great advice to keep both eyes open to track the subject. I really hadn't thought of that before.

Here's another shot from inside. The Steller's Sea Eagle. A very impressive bird:

Super portrait of the sea eagle. It looks like it's snowing which makes a really special captive shot.

If you owned a 7D, I might agree about using a crop-sensor vs. the 5D2. The 40D's processor and pixels aren't up to competing with the IQ of the 5D2, even when the image is cropped down to the same subject size as the 40D.

The 7D has a smaller pixel-pitch, slightly better AF and 8-fps vs. the 5D2, but, except for the 8-fps, all that stuff is very close, making which one to use pretty much a toss up for things that aren't moving fast.

Dave

[M_Six]

Nap Time

[The1]

still working with the 135?

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

still working with the 135?

Yep. Lovin' this lens.

[The1]

so you're putting it on the "to sneek past my wife" list?

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

so you're putting it on the "to sneek past my wife" list?

Not for a while yet. I'll own one eventually, but first comes the 7D and then a 70-200mm F4L IS. Then some more MF lenses. If a 135 in good shape shows up on CL with a decent price, I may find a way to grab it. Otherwise it will have to wait. It'd be more of a luxury lens for me.

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Cool B&W image, Jeff. Where is that?

Hey, Mark. Thanks. That is the Ferry Arch in San Francisco. It's up in the wharf area. Sorry for the delay in responding. Rarely been on the forum since last spring.

[dcstep]

Mule-deer buck lounges in morning sun:


Big mule deer buck lays down by dcstep, on Flickr

Instead of the 7D, this one's with the 5D MkII and the 500mm.

[M_Six]

Nice rack! Great pic, too.

[gary88]

Mixing board by garyhebding, on Flickr

[Seminole]

Bellagio Roof by Seminole, on Flickr