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Digital SLR / DSLR Camera Question / DSLR Thread 2

wannabe said:
As for design, I just went with one of the cheapest templates on bludomain.com.

As for not having any shots you like, I can't help you there. Trying to put up my website is one of the biggest reasons why I really began to shoot more. Once I sat down and tried to piece together a portfolio, I realized that I didn't have anywhere close to enough stuff to justify a separate website. So, the website kinda kicked things into gear for me.

I actually have quite a bit more 'portfolio-quality' stuff, but they don't fit into the two categories that I'm focusing on right now so I just left them out.

My main goal for the website was not necessarily to bring in more clients. I actually set it up to help open some doors for me. I figured that it would be easier for me to show that I wasn't just some random guy with a camera if I had a site up. I'm hoping the it'll make it easier to get access to some subjects if I could point them to a website with my portfolio instead of telling them to just add me on Facebook.

I guess the next few months will tell me if I guessed right. :dunno
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Bolded for my experiences exactly. It's hard to get anyone, even newbies to practice with for free, without a site that looks professional.

Looks great :thumbup

I've been pondering ditching HTML altogether and going Flash all the way, the thing that holds me back is not knowing enough Action Script to be able to modify in future, should I want to.

I also have *faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar* too many pictures on mine, it's kinda evolved into a place where clients can point people. I'm acting as a proxy hosting service :|

I really would like to keep that aspect, but I think I should go Nick's route and have a Portfolio section, then a Clients section.

I have far too many shots, and it's diluting the best. I also need a way to break out into Family and Portrait/Adult Portrait, which is where my (sorry about the pun) focus is.

I've actually had some paid product and building stuff, ironically those were my first paying gigs - so have left those in there.

I'm almost tempted to break it all out into different sites, but that's more upkeep *sigh* and I have a hard enough time with what I have. One of the reasons I should probably break out 'Portofolio' with the archive - at least I only update the Portfolio when I have something fantastic. The archive I can just shove up there.

Speaking of which, I think Dance # 7 and 12 are my faves :thumbup
 
San Jose Camera: I am NEVER using a credit/debit card there again. :mad

Bought the 35/1.8 something like a month ago now, and the $240 charge for that and a few rolls of gaffers' tape has been posted/removed/posted/removed from my account four times now. WTF people. You're really making it a pain in the ass to keep my account balanced. Please join the 20th century and buy a damn computerized register instead of your fucking handwritten receipts.

/rant
 
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And regarding websites: Aris, I like the bludomain one. Bought the template for mine from them as well. And I desperately need to clean it up, do a brutal editing of the portfolios, and incorporate some stuff from the last six or eight months.

Blog entry from Scott Kelby regarding exactly this: http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2009/archives/7577
 
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cycle61 said:
And regarding websites: Aris, I like the bludomain one. Bought the template for mine from them as well. And I desperately need to clean it up, do a brutal editing of the portfolios, and incorporate some stuff from the last six or eight months.

Blog entry from Scott Kelby regarding exactly this: http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2009/archives/7577
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Here's another one from Zack Arias:

http://www.zarias.com/?p=556

What's funny is that I was already doing what he recommended in the article. I've done a number of family portraits and senior pictures that haven't seen the light of day because that's not what I want to do moving forward.
 
cycle61 said:
San Jose Camera: I am NEVER using a credit/debit card there again. :mad

Bough the 35/1.8 something like a month ago now, and the $240 charge for that and a few rolls of gaffers' tape has been posted/removed/posted/removed from my account four times now. WTF people. You're really making it a pain in the ass to keep my account balanced. Please join the 20th century and buy a damn computerized register instead of your fucking handwritten receipts.

/rant
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How else are you supposed to enhance your write-offs? :later

FYI, went in there a few months ago, asking if they had any incandescents.

The guy said, in a very snotty tone, "No, we don't have anything like that. You have to go to some, you know, just a hardware store or something."

I says, ":|"

He carries on with, "We only have tungsten..."


:rofl:rofl:rofl

I laughed and walked out and gave my money to people who weren't so fucking STOOPID and arrogant.
 
I just got back from San Francisco where we had some late night fun at the Embarcadero Ice Center. A friend of mine convinced the manager to let us come after hours and shoot undisturbed on the ice. My subject was a competitive ice dancer in her youth. It turned out fairly decent considering the fact that I was just guessing on how to light the area. I ended up with a little cross-lighting using three of my Vivitar 285's high on stands all at full power with no modifiers. (Thank goodness I made the external batteries, or we never would have been able to pull this off.) Here's a couple quick examples from the shoot. I liked the look of one of the lights in the shot, so I kept it in the frame.

22763_234799537482_605697482_3693908_2567034_n.jpg
22763_234799547482_605697482_3693910_6251999_n.jpg


22763_234841842482_605697482_3694116_1517615_n.jpg


I was totally out of my element. I know how to shoot dancing, but I had no clue on the timing of figure skating. I think it turned out ok.

The big lesson from tonight's shoot: When working a location shoot outside at night, bring a towel because the moisture in the air will form dew on all your stuff. A lot of my gear was practically dripping wet when we were done.
 
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Looks good Aris :thumbup

Managed to make it look soft even without modifiers.

FYI, the official Canon advice is put your stuff in a plastic bag when moving it somewhere damp, until it's adjusted to the new temp.

Oh yeah, who on here is on Model Mayhem? And what are your numbers?

I think Nick has an account, but can't find him :p

http://www.modelmayhem.com/1245009

Is me.
 
stir the pot mode

So I'm debating taking the step up from our Canon SD1000 P&S and am considering the usual suspects:

Canon XS 1000D
Nikon D3000

Both come in "kit" versions around mid-$400's. I'm leaning towards the Nikon. Advice?
 
Joebar4000 said:
Looks good Aris :thumbup

Managed to make it look soft even without modifiers.

FYI, the official Canon advice is put your stuff in a plastic bag when moving it somewhere damp, until it's adjusted to the new temp.

Oh yeah, who on here is on Model Mayhem? And what are your numbers?

I think Nick has an account, but can't find him :p

http://www.modelmayhem.com/1245009

Is me.
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I think the ice rink probably acts as a very nice modifier...immense diffused light source to fill shadows, etc.

I'm on MM, but our IT guys installed a firewall at work over Xmas break and now I can't access it from here. :thumbdown Will try to get you the link tonight.

Edit: http://www.modelmayhem.com/1310135
 
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Are any of the Nikon Creative Lighting System books better than others?
 
Most of them are basically Nikon advertisements. Joe McNally has done some books/videos recently that break out of the 45 minute/75 page infomercial format. :thumbup
 
cycle61 said:
Most of them are basically Nikon advertisements. Joe McNally has done some books/videos recently that break out of the 45 minute/75 page infomercial format. :thumbup
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Joe McNally's first book is more of a group of short stories than a 'how to.' His second book is much more technical. I have both, and I think they're both worth reading and owning even if I only shoot manual strobes.
 
Yes, Shelby sits on Harley like this all the time! :laughing

ShelbysittingonHarley.jpg


Capitola at 11pm, taken with "nifty fifty"

Capitolaatnight.jpg


Seacliff beach on New Years Day

Seacliffbeach.jpg


Ian, take it easy on the n00b with the new DSLR... :teeth
 
cycle61 said:
I have "The Moment it Clicks"

That's the first one, right?
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Yup, that's the first book. The second one still goes through anecdotes, but McNally goes really deep into the technical in that one. He even goes into detail on how to hold your camera to minimize shake.
 
afmotorsports said:
Capitola at 11pm, taken with "nifty fifty"

Capitolaatnight.jpg


Ian, take it easy on the n00b with the new DSLR... :teeth
Click to expand...


That's a good start there, Alex. Did you shoot in auto or program mode the whole time, or did you try dipping your toes into manual mode? Manual mode is where you're really going to learn.

Just a quick question on the above pic, did you use a tripod, or did you hand-hold the camera for the entire 1.3-second exposure?
 
wannabe said:
That's a good start there, Alex. Did you shoot in auto or program mode the whole time, or did you try dipping your toes into manual mode? Manual mode is where you're really going to learn.

Just a quick question on the above pic, did you use a tripod, or did you hand-hold the camera for the entire 1.3-second exposure?
Click to expand...

I think that was in auto mode but it could've been in manual too because I was messing around with that as well. How do you know it was 1.3 seconds?? It seemed like it was longer than that when I took the picture, one hour before we welcomed the New Year at the beach. And no, I didn't hand hold the camera, I used a monopod and rested it against the railing along the walkway at Seacliff State Park.

I'm really having a lot of fun with this new DSLR! The 70-200mm f/4 is silly fun and I also picked up a Tamron 1.4x SP Pro teleconverter yesterday but have yet to take any shots with it. There's also a good chance I will own a 17-40mm f/4 L by this Wednesday - think maybe I'm going a little toy crazy?? :laughing Truth be told, I'm still taking a lot of really bad pictures due to inexperience and just inadequate skill, but I'm slowly starting to figure out what all the little buttons and settings will do so that I can capture images that I find interesting. Time to look into photography classes at De Anza or West Valley... :teeth
 
^^^What he said.

Just right click and check the picture properties. You will see the EXIF data there.
 
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