Technic Photography

[Myers Lego Technic]

 The (purposeful) vignette was pretty strong in the second picture. Also, the white balance changed (and I believe unintentionally) picture to picture. The sharpness and quality is OK, what camera (+ lens if applicable) are you using? Also, adding a slightly more creative photo could be neat, the setting and composition of your photos is all relatively cliche. (No offence) 

 

You asked for critique.,., and you got it! 

[JDL1967]

On 23-7-2017 at 5:49 PM, Leonardo da Bricki said:

Just posted these photos yesterday in this topic. Someone said @Jim has a rival... I disagree, but feel free to critique my skills. What should I/do I need to improve? More is on Flickr.

I only can say, i wish i could handle a camera better...

Edited July 25, 2017 by Jim
Removed image from quote

[Jim]

6 minutes ago, JDL1967 said:

I only can say, i wish i could handle a camera better...

Hi. Please remove the images when you are quoting. Thanks!

[Leonardo da Bricki]

@Myers Lego Technic The first photo was purposefully posterized (I hope you understand that, I may be using the wrong term). Second was altered purposefully, the last one I did nothing to. I am still learning a lot about camera techniques and photo altering, so yes, these are all pretty cliche. Creativity comes with mastery.

My camera is lame, just a Canon Powershot ELPH 170 IS.

@JDL1967 It takes time and practice... And plenty of mistakes. Check out my Flickr to see how my skills have progressed from crappy to about mediocre.

[JDL1967]

9 hours ago, Leonardo da Bricki said:

@Myers Lego Technic The first photo was purposefully posterized (I hope you understand that, I may be using the wrong term). Second was altered purposefully, the last one I did nothing to. I am still learning a lot about camera techniques and photo altering, so yes, these are all pretty cliche. Creativity comes with mastery.

My camera is lame, just a Canon Powershot ELPH 170 IS.

@JDL1967 It takes time and practice... And plenty of mistakes. Check out my Flickr to see how my skills have progressed from crappy to about mediocre.

I think that you need to have "feeling" for it. I mean how to get along with the camera. I dont have that. Sometimes you see pictures here that are beauty's, works of art. And to be honest the better a picture is, the better your build stand out. I got to take some time on google to get more information on how to make a good photo..

 

[Jim]

Technically shooting a decent pictures can be learned quite easily. It's a matter of knowing the camera and the techniques. Composition is a different ball game. Most of the time that's the hard part. Of course, you can learn a thing or two about composition, but it also involves having (or getting) a feeling for it.

If you want to shoot product pictures (like I do in my review) it's not a problem to center the subject. When you want to shoot artistic pictures, you need to avoid centering the subject. The rules of thirds is the most common rule for compositions. When you take a look at the following picture, you can see that the light house isn't in the center of the picture. 

The most important part of the picture should be on one of the four crossings of the horizontal and vertical lines.

So when you shoot a picture like this, never center the vehicle. Since the vehicle is pointing to the right, you should make sure the vehicle is on the left vertical line. That will result in a more natural composition.

 

Example:

http://www.nof8butwhatwemake.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/erichvantagereprocess-1.jpg

[Lipko]

Another thing to consider is how close the camera is to the object. For artistic pictures if you want to make the model feel as big as a real object, you should place the camera closer. But to properly show the shape/proportions and to make the viewer "feel the shape" better, in my opinion placing the camera further (I usually shoot my models from 1,5 to 2 meters distance) is better.

Two examples. The first picture is not a picture shoot to be "artistic", but simply I didn't realize that time that I have to place the camera further.

Jup, and as you can see, I also failed to crop my images to standard sizes or aspect ratios in the past...

Edited July 26, 2017 by Lipko

[Myers Lego Technic]

@Leonardo da Bricki , composition is, of course, more than just the rule of thirds.  It is about looking at a subject creatively to find the best angle. 

TOP is the picture I got when I gave one of my friends my camera (Who was proficient with cameras enough to use it) who quickly composed and took the shot, and BOTTOM is the picture I took, after looking at the subject creatively. 

 

My first pictures (I just got my camera some 7 or 8 months ago) are, by my current standards, terrible. But at the time I was completely satisfied and even pleased with them. My pictures never started to improve until I was hard on myself, and looked at everything I did with a critics eye. 

Photography is about looking at things differently. Most everyone is toting an iPhone or some modern photography machine, but what separates the true photographer from the social media snapper is form, finesse, and creativity. Look at things differently,  find a new and unseen angle, and take the shot the best you can. A few examples from my collection. 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2017 by Myers Lego Technic

[kbalage]

Camera battery is out of juice again, so the guys need to hold on until tomorrow :)

[JDL1967]

Ok guys, i know i'll never be a pro, but you gave me some good advize. I am going to buy a sheet of glossy cardbord paper, to have a good background. I think that is nr. 1. then i would try to make some pictures using your advize...

Edited July 27, 2017 by JDL1967

[dr_spock]

Has anyone else tried a photo a day project (365 project)?  It could be a good fun way to improve your photography skills.  If you like personal challenges, you can also combine it with a MOC a day project to push your creativity. 

 

[Myers Lego Technic]

3 hours ago, JDL1967 said:

Ok guys, i know i'll never be a pro, but you gave me some good advize. I am going to buy a sheet of glossy cardbord paper, to have a good background. I think that is nr. 1. then i would try to make some pictures using your advize...

if you are using bright lights, then you are going to be wanting a non-reflective background, so you don't get glare! 

[offroadcreations]

After seeing this topic resurface I thought I would share 2 photos I took of similar cars that were taken about a year apart from each other, to see how I have improved.

The older one, which had no editing.

And the newer one, that I did edit:

It also uses the rule of thirds, which the first photo ignores. And it was shot with a real camera, instead of a camcorder like the former. But sadly most of it is out of focus.

Tell me what you think!

3 hours ago, dr_spock said:

Has anyone else tried a photo a day project (365 project)?  It could be a good fun way to improve your photography skills.  If you like personal challenges, you can also combine it with a MOC a day project to push your creativity. 

 

That sounds fun, I might try it. But the question is, start now or wait until the new year?

[Jim]

I like it. Although I do think that the rule of thirds doesn't apply when shooting "studio/product" pictures.

You should probably try to enhance the pictures a bit, make it sharper. Which settings did you use on the cam?

9 hours ago, JDL1967 said:

Ok guys, i know i'll never be a pro, but you gave me some good advize. I am going to buy a sheet of glossy cardbord paper, to have a good background. I think that is nr. 1. then i would try to make some pictures using your advize...

Use this:

https://www.kunststofshop.nl/index.php?item=&action=page&group_id=10000018&lang=nl

[JDL1967]

Tnx. I will look in to it..

[Jim]

12 hours ago, kbalage said:

Camera battery is out of juice again, so the guys need to hold on until tomorrow :)

Nice pic! Clear and sharp 

[offroadcreations]

7 hours ago, Jim said:

I like it. Although I do think that the rule of thirds doesn't apply when shooting "studio/product" pictures.

You should probably try to enhance the pictures a bit, make it sharper. Which settings did you use on the cam?

Thanks! I didn't realize  I had used the rule of thirds until after the photo was taken. When the model was displayed I saw it from an angle like that and wanted to have a picture of it like that.

Since it is a point and shoot, not a DSLR, I can't change much, and the aperture is automatic. But here are the settings:

Shot: 1/8 sec. f/3.9 5mm
ISO: 400

Here it is sharpened:

It's a bit better, but the real solution would be taking the pic with the model in focus, like this bottom one. Settings:

Shot: 1/15 sec. f/4.3 6.9mm
ISO 200

However I believe this last one is the best, because of the colors of the car, the clarity, and the background. Settings:

Shot:1/15 sec. f/4.4 7.7mm
ISO: 400

Also all of these pictures use a filter to get a more consistent background.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Offroadcreat1ons

[Jim]

1 hour ago, Offroadcreat1ons said:

It's a bit better, but the real solution would be taking the pic with the model in focus, like this bottom one. 

What exactly do you mean? When you take a picture, the model should always be in focus, so I am not sure what you mean 

Can you fix the ISO to 100? Or isn't that possible at all?

The last picture definitely is an improvement 

(the second one is sharper too)

19 hours ago, kbalage said:

Camera battery is out of juice again, so the guys need to hold on until tomorrow :)

No spare battery?! 

[kbalage]

5 minutes ago, Jim said:

No spare battery?! 

Valid point :) I have a spare for my own camera, but I was doing the speed build recording with my wife's camera (my Olympus cannot be tethered to a pc, d'oh) and that has only one battery unfortunately. After waiting impatiently for the battery to recharge last night I ordered an AC adapter from Ebay for the next recording :)

[Jim]

2 minutes ago, kbalage said:

Valid point :) I have a spare for my own camera, but I was doing the speed build recording with my wife's camera (my Olympus cannot be tethered to a pc, d'oh) and that has only one battery unfortunately. After waiting impatiently for the battery to recharge last night I ordered an AC adapter from Ebay for the next recording :)

Hehe 

[offroadcreations]

1 hour ago, Jim said:

What exactly do you mean? When you take a picture, the model should always be in focus, so I am not sure what you mean 

The camera focuses on a small part of the car because it is not in the center of the photo. An example of where it focuses is the leftmost point on the car, so the rest of it is blurry. The first photo shows this.

1 hour ago, Jim said:

Can you fix the ISO to 100? Or isn't that possible at all?

Yes, here's an example. Shot was 1/4 sec. f/4.4 7.7mm

And here's the original picture, without the filter.

 

Edited July 28, 2017 by Offroadcreat1ons

[Alex Ilea]

Sharpness makes the difference ;)

Now I need to do this to all my potato photoes 

[kbalage]

45 minutes ago, IA creations said:

Sharpness makes the difference ;)

Just make sure you don't apply too much sharpness. Some applications (like Lightroom) give you the ability to add sharpness in a selective way. If your original photo was blurry (like the one above), then adding sharpness via software isn't the best idea. Use a higher F stop (and a sturdy tripod as your exposure will be longer) to ensure the whole subject is in focus.

[dr_spock]

On 7/27/2017 at 11:41 PM, Offroadcreat1ons said:

After seeing this topic resurface I thought I would share 2 photos I took of similar cars that were taken about a year apart from each other, to see how I have improved.

The older one, which had no editing.

And the newer one, that I did edit:

It also uses the rule of thirds, which the first photo ignores. And it was shot with a real camera, instead of a camcorder like the former. But sadly most of it is out of focus.

Tell me what you think!

That sounds fun, I might try it. But the question is, start now or wait until the new year?

Rules of thirds look weird to me when you have a plain empty background.  It might be good if you have a road or scene to steer the viewer's eyes to your MOC.  What kind of point and shoot do you have?  I used to use a Canon A590 IS.  It has manual mode control over shutter, aperture, etc.

You can start a photo a day any time.  It doesn't have to start on the 1st day of the new year, although you can have a big party on the last of day of the year to celebrate the achievement.   

On 7/27/2017 at 7:05 PM, kbalage said:

Camera battery is out of juice again, so the guys need to hold on until tomorrow :)

 

Ha, my new camera just ran out of battery as I started shooting for a set review tonight.  I shot another set review last week with it. Those mirrorless cameras don't seem to go as long as the big bulky DSLRs. I should get into the habit of recharging between reviews.

 

[offroadcreations]

12 hours ago, dr_spock said:

What kind of point and shoot do you have? 

I use a Fujifilm Finepix XP120. It works well for the simple pictures I take.
Also here's an example of a rule of thirds outdoor shot:

Edited July 29, 2017 by Offroadcreat1ons