isnt the actual photoshop like $300?

 

Photoshop?

j/k.


Too long to explain, basically a combination of shutter speed, aperture and film sensitivity(iso).

 

i thought iso and shutter speed were the same thing?

im so fcukin lost

 

lulz. dont worry about them right now.
just go out and take pictures, lotsa pics.

 

ha i'll do that

 

nah dude ISO is your film speed, in this case your simulated film speed since we're talkingg digital. that is how sensitive your cameras sensor is to light.

Shutter speed is how fast the picture is taken, or how long the sensor is exposed to light.

Getting a good picture is finding a balance between shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. Just google all this or something and you should be able to find a very detialed explanation.

And photoshop is more like $600-$700 but you can download trials online of it at adobe's website and then you can always find a serial number to steal from someone....you can google that too! but I didnt tell you that : P

 

ha well how do i change the shutter speed?

 

Who'd pay retail?

 

someone send it to me and a serial number ha

 

here.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/page7.asp

and so on...

 

BAD advice IMO.


Learn how to use the camera first, then use photoshop as little as possible.


To the OP, the best way to learn your camera is to read the manual and go out there and learn by "trial and error". Just make sure you have a good undestanding and know what is shutter speed and f-stop and what they do. Once you learn that, the rest is up to your imagination.

 

I think people mistake Photoshop as a "cheat" device... and I'm not saying that you think this way; rather, in general, there is the stigma that using Photoshop is cheating.

From a photographer wannabe (me) that's only been shooting for a year and a half, learn how to use Photoshop, but don't make it a habit to use it to compensate for major mistakes.

Learn how to use Photoshop to make your pictures "pop." Almost all shots can have Photoshop "enhance" them.

Look at Photoshop as post production... like how a photographer would process his/her film. There are different techniques/chemicals to processing film, and they make the final image to the liking of the person doing the dark room processing. From an artist's perspective, it's like choosing watercolor or oil paints. Different techniques, but in the end, they are both paintings.

 

BTW, yes, the 50 f/1.8 is a fun lens. Like Nizmo said, it'll give you an idea where you want to go next.

Unfortunately, there are so many directions... Wide Angle to take in more of the scenery, Telephoto to zoom in on your subject and have less of the background, wide aperture to play with depth of field (background blur/bokeh, or to stop action in low light...

The only way to know is to keep taking shots, and you'll soon realize the limitations to what you have, and what you wish you could do.

 

+1000000 on what ctwentytwo said about photoshop.....use it, as you would use a dark room.

if you dont wanna pay for photoshop, there is a free alternative out there, called GIMP (google it)

 

Oh I agree. I’m not saying not to use it. All I'm saying is that if you want to take good shot, photographing technique should be learned first.

The way it came at me was that the pictures that the OP took that needed more or less lighting are okay and the way to fix them is using PS. The correct way to fix the problem is by changing the setting in the camera.

To the OP. Yes you can fix them with PS but it will take away some of the details when you are dealing with lighting.

 

The car shots look dark because he probably metered wrong. +1 Exposure comp would have solved the problem if he was metering the whites of the car with something other than evaluative metering. Doesn't help that it's sort of backlit too.

The other pictures are exposed properly, but need that extra kick in the pants that post-processing would have provided.

To the OP: what makes the pictures look "normal" is the "normal" focal lengths, "normal" aperture, and "normal" perspectives. The easiest way to add drama, is to use unusual perspectives... or an ultra wide-angle or super telephoto lens.

My other advice is to take a ton of pictures of your subject from different perspectives... even ones where you think would not work. A lot of my best pics were just winging, trying weird angles. For cars, either crouch, lie down, or go on some steps or a ladder... a wall maybe. When you're finished with the perspectives, try different apertures... it'll give you varying degrees of DOF.

Lastly, as soon as you can, pick up a beginners book on general "how to" photography. Just stop by a Barnes and Noble, or Borders and read as much as you can to try to at least learn the basics. It's better than asking on a forum... or if you're on a budget, there are tons of information on the internet. Though in this case, I think the paper is better.

 

That's what I was talking about. Thats better than saying to fixing it with PS.

 

I just need to learn my camera first I think. Thanks for all the advie guys, its really helpin me alot

 

I only say use photoshop because dude man was talking about pictures being under or overexposed. Thats basically the sole purpose of me using photoshop, besides that I hardly ever use it. I just like messing with curves and levels, its a good way to change exposure in your pictures and have some fun. Im not one of those guys who goes and photoshops every one of my pictures. Rather I take like mad pictures at different exposures and then choose which one I like best.

I say learn the camera, as you learn photoshop if you want to, it will definitely help you understand how exposing a camera works.

 

yeah i got photoshop from my friend today. i just need a key generator. anyboy wanna help me out with that?