first of, before you go ahead on knock on anything, i wanna say that i'm not claiming my friend is a super hot magazine model... personally i think that she's cute and looks good on camera...
so lets just keep the "she doesnt belong on that car" comments to ourselves... if you like the shots, compliment, if you dont, leave it off the thread...
what i do need help with is how to set the camera to make the most of my shots... i will be taking shots at night... you can see the color of my car on the pics and i want to highlight it as much as possible... i will be running a Nikon D40x... should i use a tripod or should i not?
let me know... so far, these are some shots that i took on my point and shoot... and i want these type of shots on an SLR... i need some tips
bro...your car look seriously sick and if anybody doesnt find her sexy, they need some stronger glasses!!
nebster
08-02-2008, 11:19 PM
first advice, don't ever use a flash at night, use external light sources. 2nd, get a GOOD tripod, i dunno if its the camera or just the lack of tripod but the pictures aren't very crisp.
overall good job
indyTC
08-02-2008, 11:20 PM
nice..love the vizage =)
Scionarra
08-02-2008, 11:35 PM
first advice, don't ever use a flash at night, use external light sources. 2nd, get a GOOD tripod, i dunno if its the camera or just the lack of tripod but the pictures aren't very crisp.
overall good job
yeah i think its the camera... like i said, i used a point and shoot...
i have a tripod that i can use but as far as the iso goes, where should i set it at?
Scionarra
08-02-2008, 11:37 PM
also you mentioned to use external light sources... what you mean? examples?
nebster
08-02-2008, 11:43 PM
like flood lamps would work but most likely unneeded for this application, iso depends on how much light you have... the higher the iso the lighter the picture but the more grainy it will be. if you have a good tripod you can set it around 200-300 and then increase the exposure time.
BlizZard
08-02-2008, 11:47 PM
she's cute
Scionarra
08-02-2008, 11:54 PM
there were certainly some angles in which i felt like i needed more lighting bc of the way the shadows appeared so i was thinking of flood lamps to help but wouldnt i get reflection on my car from it?
if i do use floods, most come with bulbs that omit a yellowish hue... any other suggestions?
Dakine
08-03-2008, 12:52 AM
r u using a point and shoot camera? pics are horrible. but yes, u have a nice model and good lookin friend. i say retake your photos and use a tripod, SLR and practice
Scionarra
08-03-2008, 01:00 AM
At these pics, I used a point and shoot cam to show what kind of pics I want but I WILL be using a SLR. So for sure, I will be retaking shots.
trentonm
08-03-2008, 01:09 AM
lower iso, and no need for flood lamps what so ever. There is enough "natural" lighting. I use natural loosely, there are plenty of lights around you, no need to add anymore than whats already there. You will need a VERY steady model, that can not move for up to a minute. I think a minute exposure from what I can tell will be way to long, but 15-30 second exposure should work just fine.
a point and shoot digi cam works just fine. just need to play with it enough to figure out how to work it for your setting.
CSOCSO
08-03-2008, 01:25 AM
she looks good but tell her not to to this with her arms:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c112/jpulpulaan/IMG_0718.jpg
crooked arm... cant stand it :D:D:D
ADVICE:
you need a tripod for night shoots
dont use flash.. NEVER EVER!
lowest ISO
usually i put the exposure to 1-6sec.. anything above that i use it only in pitch black
let me show you something:
HOT but yah pretty much same advice as everyone else. ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. once you get the d40x just take a pic, change something, look, and repeat until you get the desired effect. :) sometimes takes a long time to set up right, well for me but im very novice. and a tripod is a MUST.
Viace
08-03-2008, 03:14 AM
She is pretty cute, your car looks good also
foose801
08-03-2008, 03:31 AM
csocso, great night shots and use of natural light sources man.... love it
Big_Bird
08-03-2008, 04:05 AM
I dunno, but damn she's cute
Scionarra
08-06-2008, 05:27 PM
ok, i went ahead and gone through part 2 of my 3 part series...
i took some shots last night... i am very happy with the shots... some came out blurry bc my model moved a bit but i think most of it turned out great for my first time with an slr...
i had the iso set at 100 and found that 1.3 secs of exp was perfect for her bc anything longer just made her look like casper
Second, the D40 has an automatic meter to show you if the shot is over exposed or not. Set the aperture to the highest setting possible (3.5 if you're using the standard 18-55mm lens). Set the ISO to the lowest setting, no need for the ISO to compensate for light if you're using a tripod, plus ISO = grainy pictures. From there, just adjust your shutter speed and you'll have sharp pictures every time. Only problem with low lighting and slow shots, is that it's difficult to get sharp shots of people, since it's hard to stay very still (usually for shots of 1 second exposures or longer). From the looks of the area, it's lit way more than enough to worry about that.
Just keep playing with the camera and you'll eventually learn what all the settings do. I got my D40 about 4 months ago and I only shoot with manual mode now.
And one more thing, take lots of shots. Take like 5 pictures for every shot you're trying to take, then when you finish, just go thru and pick the best one.
Scionarra
08-06-2008, 05:49 PM
I had a tripod, it just got windy over at lake michigan... (they do call us the windy city)
also, i wanted to take pics of my car in front of one museum but the lights they had were just super yellow... is there any way i could set the camera to eliminate some of that yellow hue?
CarbonXe
08-06-2008, 05:52 PM
Yes and no. I can't think of it off the top of my head, but there is a lighting option that attempts to compensate for different lighting colors. It works to an extent, I find using editing software more effective. I just use iPhoto to adjust ill-colored photos. I'm at work, so I can't really show examples...but I'll post some tonight when I get home.
On the right column, it's the 3rd from the top "AUTO". I leave it on auto usually because I just adjust it with software later on, makes my life easier lol.
CarbonXe
08-06-2008, 06:04 PM
Managed to dig this one up, it had more of a red hue to it in the background, but I adjusted it in iPhoto to give it more of a 'night' look. Not sure why the original had some red to it.
Just play with the camera, set values to an extreme, take a picture, set it to the opposite extreme, take a picture, compare...etc. That's the best way to learn how to use the camera. Just experiment, usually the really random unexpected shots come turn out to be the best ones.
Scionarra
08-06-2008, 06:06 PM
yeah i tried to change that part but it didnt help...
i dont have iphoto so i cant really mess with it much... the final product
CarbonXe
08-06-2008, 06:09 PM
There are some other programs out there that can do the same. Photoshop is obviously the best. I just use iPhoto because it came on my iMac and it's the easiest thing to use..Just look around for photo editing software.
Do you have any shots where the lighting was really bad, or did you pretty much post everything?
Scionarra
08-06-2008, 06:19 PM
i def did not post everything... she had 2 outfits and i took maybe 480 shots...
dont mind the blurriness bc this is when it got pretty windy but instead look at how yellow it is...
^ Do you remember what lighting setting you had for those shots? When I get home from work in 3 hours, I'll touch something up for you, just make sure this is somewhat bumped, otherwise I'll forget all about it :rofl:. Post the sharpest yellow picture, those aren't TOO yellow. I completely forgot to change the lighting setting one night during a shoot with my friends Evo, and everything came out yellow, and then the shots in the area with yellow lights were just AWFUL, lol.
ichibansf
08-06-2008, 06:33 PM
are you using the kit lens? another cheap solution for night shots is the Nikon 50MM Nikkor 1.8 lens. you can find it for about $130 new, maybe $100 or less used. You will have to focus manually because the D40s don't have the focus drive for that lens, but it takes exceptional low-light shots, even without a tripod. I thought I had some night shots with the lens but guess i don't ... this is a shot with tripod using the 18-135mm kit lens, no flash, ambient lighting at the dealership.
http://ichibansf.smugmug.com/photos/213430316_pUAq7-L.jpg
CarbonXe
08-06-2008, 06:37 PM
I have that lens, and it's awesome. I picked up that and a 55-200mm lens a few weeks back. Haven't had the chance to really test them out.
Also, Vibration Reduction works WONDERS!
ichibansf
08-06-2008, 08:10 PM
Yup, I have the 28-200VR lens now. Love it.
smilezdc
08-06-2008, 08:19 PM
imma say that ur levels are off... photoshop is ur friend
trang_man
08-06-2008, 08:35 PM
ISO - 200
F/ Stop- 3.5 if your using Kits lens
Shutter - 10
and bring a tripod.
I just recently upgraded from a D40 to D300.
Everyone knows what they are doing so yes..
Also just photoshop or Nikon Capture NX to edit your pictures
Scionarra
08-06-2008, 08:39 PM
imma say that ur levels are off... photoshop is ur friend
you talkin to me?
which shots? the yellower ones or ones with my car?
smilezdc
08-06-2008, 08:46 PM
from what i can tell... they are all off... some less then others but still off a bit...
Scionarra
08-06-2008, 08:49 PM
ok
now tell me whats off... as far as my title goes, and most of the ppl that has posted here already knows that im not very experienced... so i dunno how i can fix it when you say its "off"
doesnt help me much... but if you could kindly tell me what i did wrong and how i could correct it, that would be much better of a reply
TIA
smilezdc
08-06-2008, 08:52 PM
hahaha to be honest with u.. im a graphic designer before a photographer.. so i dunno how to fix it on camera, but on photoshop i can tell ya...
also.. im not sure what ISO ur on, but ur pictures seem a bit grainy.. im not really familiar with NIKON, but when i have my canon rebel on 1600 iso the pics come out grainy..
CarbonXe
08-06-2008, 09:24 PM
Okay, my editing is making the pictures 100x worse, probably because I'm trying to edit a compressed photo lol.
Scionarra
08-06-2008, 09:53 PM
my iso was set as low as the camera would let me set it to which was 100....
the pix dont look so grainy but i did upload it to photobucket so maybe its making them look like that... any better idea for a photo host?
CarbonXe
08-06-2008, 09:59 PM
Anywhere will kill off the majority of the quality. I use tinypic usually.
CSOCSO
08-07-2008, 12:24 AM
plus put the timer on two sec.. so the camera wont move when you press the button....
DonNguyen
08-07-2008, 02:49 AM
ISO 100 FTW + external flashes +umbrellas + tripod FTW!!!
CSOCSO
08-07-2008, 03:08 AM
why 100? you will get more noise with 100 than 50...
1_kLEan_tC
08-07-2008, 03:23 AM
Nice shots!
Cuthbert
08-07-2008, 03:29 AM
I picked up a Canon Rebel XSI a few weeks ago, loving it. Too much rain the past few weeks so I haven't shot my car yet, just some random stuff at a pool party/etc. I use a tripod whenever possible, and I can control the flash intensity if need be, so I can use it if absolutely necessary. I do agree that pictures always look better without the flash though. Nice shots, nice ride, and definitely nice friend:)
BZinn1
08-07-2008, 04:22 AM
CAr is looking awsome with that kit........model is a hottie also.....night shots are hard to do.....I am just learning myself how to do them......this is my second night and so far they all suck for me......LOL......you are doing better than I am.....keep practicing and enjoy the fun.
Scionarra
08-07-2008, 07:58 PM
thanx for the compliments....
ill post up the finish products once they are available