[slip]

Portraits of people or candids? My friends like my candid shots, but I can't do decent posed shots for the life of me. "Ok, you stand here, tilt your head this way, no that's just wrong - redo!"

The other thing I'd like to work on is automotive and motorcycle shots - showroom type stuff.

I have a pro photographer friend and half the work seems to be getting the subject to relax. It takes someone with good people skills to get those shots that are great instead of just good. If you watch him in action, he gets them so comfortable after a while, the subject almost already knows how to pose.

candid or portraits that tell the persons personality and have great emotional impact would really be a great skill to me to learn
I was serious about nudes..... subjects would be hard to find, though

cheers

randy

[ccallana]

Advice to those wishing they were better at a type of photography - Get out there and shoot!!

me, post processing. I like to shoot just about anything - but I'm just scratching the surface on manipulating images... just did one with the new work flow posted by the "pro" on the forum - works pretty good actually. Now to figure out why

[clarenceclose]

People have been my most difficult challange. Next would be macros.

[Mallee Boy]

Nudes in a landscape setting
Now thats something I would have dedicate myself to :ugh: ...and practice & practice and...

[Alvin]

I have a pro photographer friend and half the work seems to be getting the subject to relax. It takes someone with good people skills to get those shots that are great instead of just good. If you watch him in action, he gets them so comfortable after a while, the subject almost already knows how to pose.

candid or portraits that tell the persons personality and have great emotional impact would really be a great skill to me to learn
I was serious about nudes..... subjects would be hard to find, though

cheers

randy

Thanks Randy! My turn to return the favour - taking candids during an event (ie. family gatherings, weddings) tips. Can't help with nudes. Never shot one yet.

My operative words - "invisible" and "trust".

I mingle, randomly get people to say cheese to gage how they might react to a camera in their face and develop trust. If someone reacts ok, then they won't be as surprised when I am trying to snap a candid.

While mingling, the random cheese sessions help to keep some attention off me because I'm part of the crowd ("invisible") and helps me keep the trigger finger ready for a good candid. I keep looking around for a good shot.

I don't use a hotshoe flash in groups of less than 50 people (scary).

I delete bad candid shots immediately eg. eyes closed, mouth open unless talking, turning away. People trust that I will not show bad shots of themselves - It also saves me during a "show and tell" situation which may happen a few times during the event.

Hope that helps

[spillway]

[QUOTE=ccallana;20031]me, post processing. QUOTE]

I second that. I have been using PaintShop Pro for years. But I am seriously
thinking about switching to PS so that I can have access to a larger
community of support.

[Photodan]

Man! Had to think about this. Not because I'm proficient in any single area but because I need to work on every area.

What I need to do is dedicate myself to taking better pictures and to do that I've got to get out there and shoot every day.

It's been too easy in the past few years to just leave the camera in the closet when I'm going out. When I drive past something that I feel is a worthwhile shot I've got to force myself to stop the car and get the shot.

Ain't gonna get no prize-winner if the camera's back at home.

If I shoot every day I should improve. What's the old saying?

"Even a blind squirrel will get an acorn every once in a while"

[Tom Lusk]

Two very interesting quotes from this thread:

I really like shooting people, when I can.

and a real prize winner:

clothes are pesky

Priceless!

[HogRider]

Still life and Studio type of stuff. I am pretty clueless when it comes to anything that has to do with remote flashes, umbrellas etc etc...

[buckethead]

Someone else mentioned this - but feeling more comfortable taking pictures. I have not have my dSLR long, but the few times I have taken it out into public I feel like a fool. I suppose the more I do the more comfortable I will get.

As far as the type of photo's I want to get better at I have no idea since I just did start. I do like B&W architecture photo's and landscapes so those are what I am going to concentrate on to begin with.

Jon

[Mark Castleman]

People. Much of it probably comes back to my cheapness when it comes to lighting but I rarely get good photos of people, whether candid or posed. What makes it hard, I think, is you know what they "should" look like and it is so easy to have good light on one part of the face and bad light on the other and harsh light from the flash etc. I did have good luck last year photographing some of our graduating seniors but I was fortunate to shoot them in the courtyard where there is plentiful indirect light and trees.

[ccallana]

Someone else mentioned this - but feeling more comfortable taking pictures. I have not have my dSLR long, but the few times I have taken it out into public I feel like a fool. I suppose the more I do the more comfortable I will get.

Wait until you start walking around with a huge flash sitting on top of your camera! You get some interesting looks thats for sure. - my *istDL sure looks top heavy with the 540 sitting up there.

Funny thing is, with an SLR in your hands, you are not the fool - most people looking at you are admiring you thinking "Wow, they must be a pro and really know what they are doing to use that camera!" unless of course they are shooting a Canon or Nikon SLR, then they see Pentax and have other thoughts in their head!

[WMBP]

People. Much of it probably comes back to my cheapness when it comes to lighting but I rarely get good photos of people, whether candid or posed. What makes it hard, I think, is you know what they "should" look like and it is so easy to have good light on one part of the face and bad light on the other and harsh light from the flash etc. I did have good luck last year photographing some of our graduating seniors but I was fortunate to shoot them in the courtyard where there is plentiful indirect light and trees.

Well, there are lots of reasons why people are tough to photograph, but I tend to think that the biggest reason of all is that so many people are hostile to the camera. Two of my daughters (ages 11 and 23) just don't care if I point a camera at them, and as a result, I almost never take a bad photo of them. Daughter #1 (age 26) and my wife, on the other hand, tend to be nervous about the camera. Actually, I'm the same way. When asked to smile, I set my jaw in a way that actually is quite unnatural for me, so there are very few photos of me that actually LOOK like me. I think the trick with people photography - candids especially - is either to take the photos without people knowing you're shooting them, or to put them at ease so you click before they have a chance to cop a bad attitude. There's a lot of photographic skill involved, of course, but also a lot of psychology. At Christmas, I use a zoom to shoot people from a distance and got good results - most of the time they had no idea that a camera was pointed at them. Here's a picture of my two tough subjects (daughter 1 and my wife) at ease for once - they didn't know I was taking their picture. Not an art photo, to be sure, but as a family candid it's not a bad picture of both of them. I very much liked Alvin's comments about going around at the wedding saying "cheese" to people randomly just to put them at ease. I may steal that tip myself and use it at family gatherings.

Will

[leaton]

I just wish I could get sharp focus more often.
I really have no interest in photographing people though.
I'm not so much interested in the art of the photograph as much
as the "I was there and captured the moment" type.
Guess you might call it sport photography, not photography of sports, but
the sport of capturing an elusive event

[balofagus]

My two favourite subjects are people and flowers. Since its the middle of winter, flowers sure aren't in abundance. My candids are a little lacking and need improvement but one thing I would love to try would be Studio Fashion shots. Don't have a studio though...