wafflecakee Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 in my experience (my 18-200) there's no such thing as a decent general purpose lens. all around means not very good at everything. thats not to say the lens is total crap but if you get 2 specific lenses you would be much better off. a wide angle is nice for sports, but shooting skiing you might need the zoom, unfortunately you're plagued with the fact that all around lenses aren't so good. I got mine to shoot snowboarding too... cheapest canon lens is the 50mm 1.8. its a super solid portrait lens. or the "all-around" 18-55 stock lens you could get for about 50 bucks online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedoe Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 came up on a few pieces of knowledge, good thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Go with nikon, dump canon! haha. Nailed! its worth considering. the cameras are all good so it really comes down to lenses, canon glass is always thought to be pretty good but if you're gonna get one from another manufacturer it doesn't really matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMdoubleXL Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 This is what I have to work with- So, my kid needs headshots for college applications I would love to be able to do these for her. As much as I can read about it, I figured I would pop in here and see if there are any pointers that could be given. I think you all are fantastic and know what you're doing. If theres no simple pointers to be given, I wont hold it against you...I figure it would be worth it to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 get some white bristol board. all the lights you've got in the house and experiment. best to get one lighting up behind her facing the background so you got get a shadow giving her head a funny shape. and keep her hair out of her face. i don't really shoot people so this is just my guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Headshots for college applications? No one else sees anything wrong with that? Not that I would mind if I went to the school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 it is weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercer Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 I'm a noob at photography and want to buy a dslr for my next winter ski season. I've managed to source a Canon t2i for relatively cheap, but it's just the body. Can someone recommend a decent me a decent general purpose lens? First - You should read the first few posts in this thread. Second - I'd go with either the kit lens which sucks, or a fixed focal length (no zoom) lens. All the "good all around" lenses tend to be zoom lenses with expensive features, no such thing as low cost and good when it comes to zoom. If you do go with a fixed focal length I'd suggest the 50mm 1.8, $100 plus no matter how much money you have to blow on lenses, having that lens is almost mandatory for anyone serious about street/portrait photography. Look into fixed focal length lenses if you want to save money and not use shitty plastic lenses. Either that or hustle harder for more loot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercer Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 This is what I have to work with- So, my kid needs headshots for college applications I would love to be able to do these for her. As much as I can read about it, I figured I would pop in here and see if there are any pointers that could be given. I think you all are fantastic and know what you're doing. If theres no simple pointers to be given, I wont hold it against you...I figure it would be worth it to ask. 1. A good background like a brand new clean white/black sheet with no lint on it. 2. A bright lamp 3 feet directly above the subject. 3. The on camera flash (if it can be adjusted up and down (ie 1/1, 1/2, 1/4 ect.) 4. Play around with the flash and lamp position. Most of the time I'll shoot 20 - 30 or more times for one shot when using controlled lighting to nail every shadow/highlight in the shot dead nice. Not so much with portraits but if it's your first try don't worry about wasting shots and keep going till it's nailed. After it's nailed give your daughter a break for a while and have her come back refreshed for a good smile and use the nailed down settings/lighting and take at least 5 to look at on the computer and pick the best one. While playing around with the lighting pay close attention to the shadows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayorMeanBeans Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 @smdoublexl I rarely use the flash but i think you will probably need to. Typically i find on-camera flashes to blast too hard. Try putting something semi-transparent over it - it could be masking tape (although to be honest, a very famous photographer has been known to tape a tostito to the flash when he doesnt have whole flash kit), this has the effect of deflecting the flash a little bit so that your daughter's forehead is blasted with white light. i also think its weird for a college to require head shots - do they want their students to look hot/ugly, is it an obvious attempt at something affirmatively acting, are they guessing someone's personability off their style, etc.? any of those are kind of weird situations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 paper works as a simple flash diffuser too. just don't put it directly on the flash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMdoubleXL Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 these are all helpful suggestions..and im honestly excited to try this.i appreciate it more than you know. hopefully soon (after the 1st of the year) i will be able to direct questions like these to a teacher as well. her school is hosting a few days in December which reps from colleges will come out, interview the kids that are interested, take resumes and headshots. It is very much dance/drama/musical theatre related. She wants to head east... She also will be auditioning for Disneyland in January as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMdoubleXL Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayorMeanBeans Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 ohhhh its a drama school thing - that makes sense - well i think you should still do it cuz it sounds like you're looking forward to it - but I would also recommend you showing it to a couple people who aren't family to ask their opinion. this might be one of those things where its worth paying extra if you think it might pay dividends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMdoubleXL Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I would definitely pay to have them done if i dont think i can get it right. She needs to build her portfolio anyways. I would just feel honored if I could be the one to do it for her..every now and then. I might be a lil hesitant to post up a finished product here. but you all have been nice enough and give very constructive crits, so I just might have to. I'll keep you posted. im very much excited, and will try all of the above mentioned tips. thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
and... Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 .RAW what? why? how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayorMeanBeans Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 jpegs translate light (the essence of photography is reading amounts of light) and turns it into colors. so when you take a picture of something with a bright sky in the background, that over exposed white look in jpeg means that the sky is just 'white'. with raw and a program, you can go in there and change that, as raw files don't compress and reduce information into colors like jpegs... it is called a 'lossless' format because it retains all the information available to the camera sensor... and how - depends on your camera. all dslr's have it, some of the newer upper end point and clicks have it also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrshmonster Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 any canon heads have a cheapish flash recommendation? if i remember right, there's like a hundred dollar one then it shoots up to $300.. also definitely buying a small 4/3 in the near future. word? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMdoubleXL Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 one more thing..what color/type of top should be worn for a headshot? please and thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrshmonster Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 a fancy one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrshmonster Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 haha wonk! nah, the best portraits in my opinion are ultra simple, lights, no lights, outside, inside, a portrait is a portrait. not a headshot. and unless you're trying to convey a part of that person's persona in the picture (like a dj with his records or turntables or whatever), to me thats a different kind of portrait. a simple eyes to the camera, a nice wisp of hair grabbing some light, or whatever, goes harder that someone holding a roland303 with douchey sunglasses. drunkout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 any canon heads have a cheapish flash recommendation? if i remember right, there's like a hundred dollar one then it shoots up to $300.. also definitely buying a small 4/3 in the near future. word? 100 is an adapter. not so good, i wouldn't recommend it. 300 the penleng or whatever the brand, they're all the same. decent. you'll only use a fish so much that i think 300 is a worthy price. if you search the brand of fish on flickr you get get some examples of the quality. its not all that bad. vimeo also has test videos using the lens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 ahah whoops. gotta put down the cough syrup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ginger Bread Man Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 jpegs translate light (the essence of photography is reading amounts of light) and turns it into colors. so when you take a picture of something with a bright sky in the background, that over exposed white look in jpeg means that the sky is just 'white'. with raw and a program, you can go in there and change that, as raw files don't compress and reduce information into colors like jpegs... basically when you shoot in a raw format you preserve all the information just as when you took the picture so in effect in post processing this allows you to ALMOST "retake" the shot <because you can process the image so much it looks like its a whole different frame <<f stop,iso, wb, contrast, levels, saturation and the such>> you are of course limited as certain errors cannot be corrected without actually reshooting. it is for this reason that the file size is significantly larger. my d300 when shooting 14bit uncompressed .nef would result in a 23-29 mb <4288 x 2848 px> file and when shooting with a d3x with same settings would spew out an image that is 50-65 mb <6048 x 4032 px> a pop so that you need much more computing power to process. we are talking huge file sizes for the most part although you can use the lossless compress settings to save 60-80 % of disk space. more info = larger file = more detail = larger prints with better quality. compressing into jpeg typically makes an image murky <degradation<<what results into blotchy colors instead of an even gradient of colors> although it may not be as noticeable to the untrained eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayorMeanBeans Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 gingerbread, how do you change the ISO in post production? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ginger Bread Man Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 oo shit apparently i was talking out my ass i was stoned out my mind. Mayor, you cannot change the ISO Aperture or Shutter but you can do certain things to fix a small error in a raw file vs a JPG. obviously if your shoot required Iso value of 1200 and you used 3200 or conversely 400 will result in less than poor results regardless WHAT camera you are using. i am in no way suggesting you be lazy at a shoot because post can be done later im simply stating that shooting in uncompressed raw is the only way to go when shooting important and usually expensive events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcan Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 quick question i just bought a canon rebel XTI and im looking for a 55mm lens...that being sid i found a few on amazon but those are canon SLRs...sooo the question is: will the SLR lens fit on my rebel XTI? thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercer Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 I thought the rebel xti was a Digital SLR. Even so, the best advise is to go to a camera shop and have a professional recommend a few. Most people who own rebels have interchangeable lenses so I'm assuming it does work with cannon compatible lenses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcan Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 yeah SM actually recomended some local shop im going to either call or actually go down i just thought id ask and see thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 you need an ef mount. as longg as its an eos slr with autofocus capabilities it will work (ef mount) the old slr's are fd mounts and wont work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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