Minty Photography Update
I’ve written a few posts about photography. Mostly about my learning curve and struggles. I am still on the fence about a new camera though the desire is pretty strong when I view what I consider awful pictures taken at dark restaurants.
But I’ve been pretty pleased with most of my photography these days. I have now learned a few tricks.
1. No flash. Well, that’s not so much as a trick as an etiquette issue. I don’t want to attract attention nor do I want to disturb others around me. But mainly when food pics are taken with flash, they tend to look washed out and horrible. No amount of editing fixes the problem.
2. Work with a lot of light. So, I tend to be shy about moving to a light source or holding a light source near the item I’m shooting but every time I see my shots that have good light, I’m amazed. Duh! It helps to see the thing you’re shooting.
3. Take a lot of shots. From different angles. Just shoot the hell out of it. I used to take one shot. Maybe two-three depending if I thought it was blurry or not. Now I take upwards of five or six. But only when in company of other bloggers. I don’t want to hold up dinner!
4. Edit photos. By editing, I mean I tend to saturate and sharpen photos. But only until recently did I figure out what to do with some of my dark photos.
I hated this pic so much I never used it on my original Elements post.
It’s not much better but this picture I would have actually used!
Every time I learn something new, the more I hang on to the idea that I can do so much more with my basic point and shoot. Yeah, maybe I would like that fabled “food porn” camera a few people have but I have more fun being the best photographer I can be with the camera I have.
This is pretty bad, huh? It was so bad, I actually received a nasty comment from a complete stranger I shouldn’t take any more pics. Well, Mr. Negative, I’ve worked on it.
So again, it’s not the best but I like to think it’s better. Which means, yes, you’ll probably still see pics that are kind of yellowy and dark but hopefully less of them!
I just found my camera’s instruction book. I suppose it’ll help to read it! I am also thinking about taking a class. In general, I like my shots. I like to think being an artist helps my composition.
Now if only I had the time to go through all my photos and edit them!
Best tip I ever got from a photography professor was to read the manual for my camera… of course the class was on crime scene photography, but the elements stand up wherever you’re taking photos! Good luck with mastering your point & shoot 🙂
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Thank you!! Yes, I need to read the manual ASAP. I have also picked up some tips online. So far, so good!
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WHAT?! Someone commented that you should stop taking pictures? How rude. Hey, taking pics in dim lighting is hard work!
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oh yeah, people have too much time on their hands to go criticizing others! Seriously, he was like, “your pictures suck.” Um, okay. Sure, I know it. Don’t you think I knew it and that’s why I worked on it???
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Manual mode is best and yes turn off the flash use your built in histogram for light differentials. The histogram they tell you should look like a bell curve but that is like a “cliff notes” version of the truth. Experiment. ISO will change your level of grain so experiment with this. PIcassa has the a really good editing program that is free and really does a nice job and it super fast. You don’t want to spend too much time on it. Try to do as much as you can in your camera because editing cannot save a bad photo. Try to shoot from the hip food looks good from plate level. I like your new pics I noticed they look really improved!! Nice wider pics..I can even gain more weight just looking at them! HAHAH
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ha, well I’m glad someone else is gaining weight looking at them! I am gaining weight eating the stuff!
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I just read the bottom comment …your pictures did not suck!!!
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