Starting in Photography - my experiences. (56k warning)

[RimBlock]

As some people expressed an interest I am going to put some of my experiences here for anyone who wants to read and maybe avoid some of my mistakes.

i am going to do it in sections (i.e. Overview / Camera / PC / Studio) within this thread to get upto date and then just add to it as things change.

================================================== ==============================

Ok after a bit of feedback it has been suggested that prople may like an index so they can jump to relevant points without having to trawl through the whole thread so here goes......

In the begining - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2099141&postcount=4)
Computer specs - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2099194&postcount=6)
Lenses - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2099699&postcount=8)
Other equipment - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2099900&postcount=10)
Home studio - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2100023&postcount=12)
Clarification on aperture - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2101169&postcount=14)
Studio lighting - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2102578&postcount=15)
Models - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2103396&postcount=16)
First pictures / workflow - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2104096&postcount=17)
Second shoot / lessons learnt - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2113580&postcount=20)
Changes & things to come - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2121454&postcount=21)
Singapore shots - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2121698&postcount=22)
Bangkok shots - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2122175&postcount=23)
Chiang Mai shots - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2122497&postcount=24)
Koh Samui shots - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2122704&postcount=25)
Colour calibration - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2128790&postcount=28)
Lessons learnt fron Asia shots - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2129447&postcount=29)
Colour profiles explained (Kenlynch) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2134441&postcount=31)
Photoshoot 1 writeup - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2148834&postcount=33)
Free Microsoft RAW plugin - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2160417&postcount=34)
New camera / new shots / things to do - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2193612&postcount=35)
Expensive body, expensive accessories - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2195373&postcount=36)
Impressions of Canon 5D - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2199220&postcount=37)
Where to find models / More shots - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2252562&postcount=38)
More shots (body and Nana) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2274473&postcount=41)
Other RAW processing tools (Pukkita) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2277135&postcount=42)
Model shots (Kae) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2362656&postcount=46)
Model shots (Jira) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2362664&postcount=47)
Model shots (Xiang) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2362674&postcount=48)
Model shots (June) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2362687&postcount=49)
Model shots (ShuFen) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2362700&postcount=50)
Processed model shots (Kae) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2378357&postcount=73)
Processed model shot (June) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2378438&postcount=74)
It's all in the details - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2378535&postcount=76)
Test Canon 24-105mm f4 IS L - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2417074&postcount=78)
Test Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2417235&postcount=79)
Model shots (Davina) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2424176&postcount=80)
Model shots (Ting Ting) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2424192&postcount=81)
Where to go from here - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2436837&postcount=82)
Post processed (Ting Ting), Model shoot (Avani) & (Ru) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2576374&postcount=85)
Battery grip impressions - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2587966&postcount=91)
Dpi/ppi and much discussion - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2563366&postcount=18)
Epping forest, company for the day and me - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2601877&postcount=95)
More archived shots (Ixus 430) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2602052&postcount=96)
High ISO, she just makes me smile - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2629316&postcount=103)
Website thoughts turn to action - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2659651&postcount=113)
More island archived shots - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2660013&postcount=115)
Pre/post edit island archved shot - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2661719&postcount=117)
Hows this thread going vote - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319460)
Candid shot (Radiohead) - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2665892&postcount=124)
Image protection and copyright - here. (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2668179&postcount=139)

[Mr THX]

Will be interested to read that Rimblock, I've just dipped my toe into the DSLR waters and I'm very interested to learn more........

Look forward to it..... :smashin:

[RimBlock]

My interest is more in portraits and candid photography. I enjoy landscape shots but feel I am better with the other two areas. It is also worth noting that this is just a hobby for me and I have no aspirations to make it a profession.

Specifically my interest is more in photographing women from portrait, to glamour to art nude. A study of women and the female form and currently I am in a position to be able to do this. :clap:

I live alone but am lucky enough to have a GF who used to be a model in her native Taiwan and so is happy for me to persue this. :thumbsup: Oh I am also in my early 30's.

[RimBlock]

The time was right what with me looking for a new hobby, going to Asia for 3 weeks and fantastic reviews of the Canon 350d.

Being a total impulse buyer it was into Jessops on the way home and walking out 30 mins later with a lovely silver 350D, USM kit lens and bag etc.

That was not he last I was to be seeing of Jessops.

Top Tip 1:
Jessops by Liverpool Street will reasonably price match a UK shop or website price with stock in. They need to check with head office before doing it though.

Top Mistake 1:
Didn't know about price matching. Paid full price for the pack. Should have done more research.

Top Tip 2:
Don't buy the memory cards from Jessops unless they price match them.

Top Mistake 2:
Approx £80 for a 1GB CF memory card. Should ahve done more research.

As far as the camera goes, I love it. My first SLR coming from an Ixus 430 and even with my long fingers I have no problems holding the camera. Must be all the practice with the PSP, now that is difficult to hold and use the thumb stick.

Top feature for me must be the ability to take rapid multiple shots. Pointing the camera at a female friend would cause a pout. Pushing and holding the shutter release create a flick book like account of the pout breaking out into a beaming smile. Fantastic.

[Geordie Jester]

interesting stuff. do you have a website with your work ?

[RimBlock]

Working in I.T. I have a reasonable spec'd machine. Not top of the range as I have grown out of the 'keeping up with the Jones'. There are much better things I can now spend the money on including holidays in Thailand. A new top of the line video card will cost as much as a 12 hour flight to Asia in non peak season.

Starting Spec;
A64 3500
1 GB ram
Ati 9800 pro video card
SCSI 15k boot drive
Various IDE storage drives
19" CRT monitor.

This runs Win XP and CS 2 fine. The only problem I have encountered is when opening multiple Tiff files and copying and pasting to stitch them together just fills up the ram and brings the machine to it's knees.

Top Tip 1:
Get as much ram as you can. Doesn't need to be the fastest but it is worth having the spare space so CS or any other programs have room to stretch their legs. Working on single files will usually not cause issues with 1 GB but it really is the more the better.

After playing with CS 2 for a while I decided that I needed to upgrade a few parts.

I now have changed;
1 GB ram -> 2 GB ram
19" CRT monitor -> 24" Dell widescreen monitor.

For me it makes a big difference. The Dell monitor was around £650 and is fantastic. PM me if you want to know where it was bought from. I will not advertise the site as their forums have a near fanatical desire to stop people even mentioning competitors. If the prices are fair and they are competitive then what is the problem ?. Oh well just my view.

[RimBlock]

Two comments already.

Thanks guys. Nope no website yet. Still trying to get the post processing of images to a point where I am happy to display. Bit too much of a perfectionist for my own good :-(.

Guess the website will be another section for the future.

Right lunch time and then I will do sections on other equipment / Studio / Studio lighting and models. That is if work does not get in the way :grin:

[RimBlock]

Well the kit lens was fine until I started reading that is was 'just' fine and there are a lot of other lenses out there which will give much better results.

Well that along with going to Thailand again made up my mind that I wanted a lens with a longer 'reach' so I started looking around.

Two lenses popped up as possibles and they were;
28mm-105mm f4-5.6 USM
28mm-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM

Both were going for reasonable prices on ebay and I consider this a good place to buy as I have not had any issues buying or selling over the last 4 years not that I am a big buyer or seller there.

Ok so first a little bit about the specs on the lenses;

Both the lenses are zoom lenses having a range of focal lengths between the first 'mm' number and the second 'mm' number. If there is just one 'mm' number then the lens is a prime lens and cannot be used to zoom in or out of the subject. The advantage of this is that the quality for the same price is usually better as prime lenses are much easier to manufacture.

The second set of numbers are the maximum aperture settings at the top and bottom of the focal range. The lower the number the bigger the hole to let light into the lens. The bigger the hole, the faster the shutter allowing for less to no blur when capturing fast moving objects or the better the picture if taken at night. Basically the lower the number the better.

USM is for ultra sonic motor allowing fast and quiet auto focusing.

IS is for image stabiliser which hopes to eliminate the blur caused by small body movements when the shutter is open and the picture is being taken. These movements are emphasised more the greater the focal length of the lens.

The lenses will be marked with another number after these which is the filter diameter should you wish to attach any filters in the future.

I went for the 20mm-135mm lens as it had good reviews, was faster (had a larger aperture at the low end) and had IS. I bought from e-bay for £100 less than buying new with lens hood (used to help minimise the sun shining directly into the lens). The lens was exactly as advertised and I was a very happy bunny.

Since this point I have also purchased a 50mm f1.4 and a 85mm f1.8 prime lens specifically for portrait work. I am happy with all the lenses and a happy coincidence is that all but the 28mm-135mm take 58mm filters so are interchangeable.

The two primes were bought from Jessops (85mm f1.8) and York Cameras (50mm f1.4). Jessops didn't have the 50mm either in their shops or in their warehouse and neither did Jacobs Digital (New Oxford Street). The very helpful guy in Jacobs did point me to York Cameras which is just up a road opposite the British Museum entrance. It is a small 'enthusiasts' shop rather than a 'chain store' and as such the prices can be a little higher but they had one in stock and the price was reasonable.

I have heard talk of the 50mm f1.8 being phased out of production. When looking for the 50mm f1.4 I was told they were so hard to find because they were being phased out. I suspect this may be the case.

I would recommend York for hard to find equipment, Jacobs for good advice and a little chat (depending on who you get serving) and Jessops because......err...... its on my way home :smashin:

[Geordie Jester]

images mate......... post some attachments.. would be great to see photos from various lenses/topics etc

[RimBlock]

Ok with studio work in mind and with a not too steady hand I knew I needed a tripod and a remote shutter release.

So I now have a manfotto 190 tripod and a 3 way head. I also picked up a wired remote shutter release which has two positions for both focus lock and shutter release just like the half push on the cameras shutter release.

Top Warning 1:
The Manfrotto website is seriously bad. I suspect someone is running it from their bedroom. Don't expect being able to download manuals etc from the site with any ease.

The tripod is lovely though. I can strongly recommend.

I also bought a zigview which clips onto the back of the viewfinder and displays an image on a small lcd screen. The quality is not great and trying to spot where the auto focus point was within the picture was sometimes a problem but, and here is the big plus, when taking portrait pictures I can speak to the model without being behind a camera. She can see my facial expressions and eyes which adds a more personal connection to the session.

I also find that the eye piece for the 350D means you need to push your face pretty snugly up to the back of the camera squashing your nose etc. The zigview means I no longer need to do that but I only use it indoors.

I have also purchased a graphics tablet for giving better control with picture editing. i have yet to sit down and really use it so cannot really comment yet although the installation went smoothly and I can now control Windows with a pen as well as with my normal mouse.

[RimBlock]

Ha-ha......

I am at work and do not have my pics here. I am also off out to the pub tonight so wont get a chance until tomorrow night to post some pictures.

There are two already in the forums, one portrait and one land (sea)scape.

I will try to get more up over the weekend. They will be linked to the experiences sections (i.e. Thailand, First model shoot) within this thread unless you want pics of the computer and of the camera equipment :)

[RimBlock]

Ok, I don't have a garage and I can't be bothered hiring a studio every time I want to do a shoot but I do have a spare room. The room is a pretty good size and is empty but for wardrobes along one wall and the computer.

This is how I turned it into a studio....... drawing pins, fabric and studio lights (see next section).

Is really is as easy as that.

The fabric was purchased from Fabric Land (http://www.fabricland.co.uk/). The people were able to arrange and next day Saturday delivery (impulse buyer remember :grin: )

Fabricland do black fabric used for costumes for £1 for a 1 mtr by 1.47mtr wide length. I bought lengths to cover the wardrobes and one wall along with the floor making the interior of a black three sided cube. The other thing about this fabric is that it has some lycra in it so it can be pulled taught. It is also easy to Photoshop any seams out. I got an old dining chair from my loft and covered it with a small throw for the model to sit on. I also have an exercise floor mat which I can put down and cover with a throw if the model is laying on the floor to make it more comfortable for her.

I also bought some black velvet and some cream printed cloth.

That's it really. Three sides of a room, some black cloth and space for lights and the camera / tripod. Having the PC in the same room means I can proof the pics when the model is changing into another outfit.

Top Tip 1:
Using drawing pins to secure to the wall can give you a numb thumb tip depending on the hardness of your walls or lots of bent pins. I got through 50% of my pins as they bent.

Using this method I can unpin the all but the top pins and roll the backcloth up and store on top of the wardrobe. It takes me around 10 to 15 mist to get it pinned out again and the cloth attached to the wall I do not touch save for rolling the floor covering up to the wall as it was a git to get the pins in the wall in the first place.

[kenlynch]

The second set of numbers are the maximum aperture settings at the top and bottom of the focal range. The lower the number the bigger the hole to let light into the lens. The bigger the hole, the faster the shutter allowing for less to no blur when capturing fast moving objects or the better the picture if taken at night. Basically the lower the number the better.
Just a quick correction/addition. Lower is not better. A larger aperture will give less depth of field for the same focal length, this may not be what you want. All lenses are at their softest wide open, so stopping down the aperture is often a good idea to get the best performance from a lens.

In photography you have a range of shutter speeds and apertures that give the same exposure, so you should select the shutter speed and aperture according to the exposure and the creative effect you want from the shot - if you want to blur action to create a sense of movement or get lots in focus front to back, then use a slower shutter speed and a smaller aperture - if you want to freeze the action or use selective focus to pick out a point of interest whilst bluring the rest, use a wider aperture with a higher shutter speed.

[RimBlock]

Sorry, I did not make myself as clear as maybe I should.

Specific applications in photography do not require a larger aperture and therefore will not benefit from having a faster lens. Getting a faster lens widens what you can do with the lens and get good results (dependant on the lenses quality of course). A wider minimum aperture gives you more options on what you can shoot with the lens and come out with good quality.

I was using better generally. Someone with specific uses in mind like shooting long landscapes in bright sunshine would not benefit from larger apertures if this is all they were going to be doing.

I was also trying to save getting into the whole relationship between aperture, iso, blur, shutterspeed for another section rather than get bogged down in that one. It is hard enough to keep them this short :grin: .

Cheers
RB

[RimBlock]

Well now I have the basic studio setup I need to be able to light it.

I am under no illusion that this will be a professional studio with ceiling rails and thousands of pounds worth of equipment but then I want it to at least be semipro rather than just having spot lights.

The two main options available were tungsten lighting which work like always on spotlights and proper studio flash that only fire when triggered.

The problem with the tungsten lights is generally heat build-up. They tend to be quite high wattage and as they are always on you are going to get the model pretty hot (in a bad way :devil: ). They are cheaper but not ideal.

The studio flash lights generally only fire when triggered but usually have a modelling light which can be turned on to help arrange the lighting for the desired effect. These modelling lights are usually fairly low in power and don't generate much heat and so don't give the model a tan while she is posing.

Now most of the books I have read give a basic setup fro portrait lighting as requiring;

Key light - Main light to highlight the face.
Fill light - To fill in shadows created by the key light.
back light - To light the background.
Hair light - to light the hair :grin: .

Some of these lights can be replaced or enhanced by using reflectors.

So what to go for. Well the cheapest as mentioned was the tungsten system but for me this was just not what I wanted. The next cheapest was a flash system provided by good old Jessops. They put together a range of starter studio kits. The kits are called portaflash kits and usually come with all you need to get going. Two of the kits looked good to me, the cheaper 2 and the more expensive 3. The 2 had a master and slave flash where the 3 has two master and two slave flashes.

The master flashes have modelling lights where as the slaves are just flash bulbs. Well the books say that I need 4 lights so I went for the kit 3. Nope not from Jessops as £529 was a bit more than I could justify what with buying the camera and lenses etc as well. Along to EBay and I managed to pick up the kit plus a few extras for around £380.

So what did I get.
Two master flash heads. Power can be stepped up/down in 1/4 increments (i.e. 1/4 power, 1/2 power). Modelling light switch, sync cord socket.
Two slave flash heads (corded on/off switch)
Two umbrellas (for bouncing and spreading the light).
A softbox (for defusing the light).
4 colour filters for the slave flash heads
2 diffuser filters for the slave flash heads
3 stands
A snoot - funnel like device for channelling the light into a small area.
A honeycomb - like the snoot but for stronger channelling.
Various brackets.

There are two main ways of getting the studio flashes to fire. Using a PC sync cord (nope not PC as in personal computer). This is a cable that will run from the camera to the master flash unit allowing the camera to stell the master to fire. The other flashes will detect this firing and fire themselves. The second is via an infrared trigger unit. This type of unit will fire an infrared flash pulse that is invisible to the camera but will trigger the flash heads.

I chose the PC connection route as the hotshoe adapter (the 350D doesn't come with a PC sync socket). The adaptor was a few pounds at Jessops. Yes it adds another cable (along with the flash power cables) but I have also heard of misfires from studio flash due to a camera's preflash used for focusing in difficult conditions. A few pounds for the adaptor against £150 or so for a wireless flash trigger and there really was no competition.

I am pretty pleased with the whole setup but there are a few issues which I will cover in another section. These issues are more to do with lack of space more than anything else.

[RimBlock]

Ok so now I have a mini studio, lights and a camera. It all looks semi-pro and I am happy but still I have nothing to photograph.

I could photograph flower pots, pets, family members or I could hire a model and photograph her :thumbsup:

Ok so family members are cheaper, a smile and a cuppa usually is all that is required but hell, I know my family members, luckily.......

So first I need to decide the requirements I am looking for. Personally I find nothing much more beautiful than a lady laughing with obvious pleasure. I also find the female form to be usually quite beautiful and never one to be held back by normal convention I decided to find models who were happy to do portrait and glamour work and to a lesser extent nude work.

Next is working out what sort of model I want. Do I want a new model who is trying to break into the business or an established mode. There are swings and roundabouts to both. New models can be quite unreliable as they may be tempted to try but not really that serious if there is any effort involved. Established models on the other had may blow you off (as in cancel :eek: ) because a better paid job comes up or because they want rest from their main modelling and don't need the money.

Now what can I do to make the idea of working for me more appealing. After all in essence I am a stranger who they have never seen or met asking them to come to my home and undress whilst I take photos :devil: . Sounds a little suspect now doesn't it.

Well first I usually enter into an e-mail dialogue with the model who is interested. Whilst talking about dates for the shoot, makeup, hair and clothing it gives both of us a basic feel for each other. Also talking about the subject matter helps lay the groundwork for the shoot. The more you can get resolved over e-mail the less talking you have to do to get started when you are shooting and so the better spent your money will be. Sending samples of your work or a link to your website also helps establish this as a legitimate exercise.

A couple of models have asked about bringing chaperones. Ok this is a lady going to a strange mans home. If it was my girlfriend then I would probably feel the same. My stance has been strongly against. I don't want a boyfriend standing in the doorway while I am taking pics of his love nude. Even if he has been told to keep quiet you can be sure the dirty looks will be flying. The only compromise I have gone for was for a particular part of one shoot where it was totally reasonable for the lady to ask. I agreed but only if it would be a female. Just my preference.

Now to also help stop any fears the model may have I generally go and collect them from the local station so we meet in public and have a short work. She can see I am not wearing a raincoat, I am not in a midlife crisis and as much as can be deduced in a short time that I am not any risk to her. I also make it very clear that reasonable checkin calls with someone are fine and she gets my name address and telephone numbers before she comes.

The model I am shooting this weekend I will be meeting up for lunch with first. Partly as it is a 4 hour shoot after lunch and I am not busy and partly so we can spend some time getting comfortable. Of note is the fact that I am not paying to the time spent although I will probably end up paying for the lunch which is fine by me.

So how do I go about finding models.

Well I could advertise in a local paper, trade paper, internet site or catch people on the street.

Depending on where you live the local paper in likely to net you completely inexperienced models. This may also lead to very unprofessional models more interested in fun than working to produce the effects you are paying to try and get.

Trade paper may get you better results but most mainstream models will not be interested in private work and the higher class models will not be in most peoples realm of acceptable cost.

People on the street...... How many times have we heard from female friends that she met a guy in the street / pub who is a photographer and wants to make her famous. I am just not one of those guys. The sets I do will not make anyone famous. I will not mislead anyone into believing otherwise.

So that leaves the internet......

I will cover this a bit later as I have the details at home and not here at work.

Things to know.........

Age: AFAIK any nude and I suspect glamour shooting needs to be done with models over 18 whether it is for publication or not. All the models I use are over 25. I would suggest never entertaining the idea of shooting anyone at home younger than 21 without another person present at all times.

Release: A release is a signed document by the model giving you specified rights to the photographs and their use. This may be full rights to do whatever you wish or partial rights for printing in one book only. A release will usually cost the models single or double hourly rate. I do not use a release as the only use I have for the pictures is practice and portfolio. If you want to be doubly sure then always use one but as I am not making money off of the photos I do not.

Rates: Depends on the model but £40-£50 for portrait, £60 for glamour and £70 / hour for nude / adult are the usual rate I have quoted. Many inexperienced models will not have rates so this is a good indication of the models level.

TFCD / TFP: Time For CD or Time For Pictures is a partial or full barter with the model whereby they will model and you give copies of the pictures or a CD of the shots. You get to keep the pics and she gets some more shots for her portfolio. You will need to convince her that the shots you produce are worth having though and many ladies will not do this as they have enough pictures.

Model: These ladies are there to model. They are not there to be pawed, stared at or provide any other kind of 'services'. They are not cheap escorts and most I have met are lovely ladies in committed relationships with partners. Treat them with respect and the shoot will go well. If they feel comfortable then it will come over in the shoot.

Now I am no master with this and do not pretend to be. I am also a little unconventional with the way I deal with models but I have no deadlines or pressure for results and I get very positive results both in the pictures and from the models.

[RimBlock]

Ok,

So you wanted some sample pictures.

Here are some. They are just to show the differences in the lenses. Most have been corrected slightly for exposure and all have been sharpened bust most have been sharpened the same degree. None of the pictures have been retouched in anyway and they are just to show the results from the lens and not for comment on the model or the fact they have not been retouched. They are not the finished article.

Workflow;
Rawshooter;
Exposure compensation
Save as TIFF
Photoshop CS2
Sharpen (100, 1, 2)
Resize 800xXXX
16 bit -> 8bit
Save (Jpeg level 10)

Hosted on photo bucket.

First the 50mm Prime f1.4

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Lydia/50mm-f8-125s-iso200.jpg
50mm Prime, f8, 125/s, iso200 (before I realised it was set to iso200).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Lydia/50mm-f9-160s-iso100.jpg
50mm Prime, f9, 160/s, iso100

Second the 85mm Prime f1.8

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Lydia/85mm-f11-160s-iso200.jpg
85mm Prime, f11, 160/s, iso200

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Lydia/85mm-f6.jpg
85mm Prime, f6.3, 160/s, iso100

Third 135mm of the 28mm-135mm f4-5.6 IS

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Lydia/135mm2-f7.jpg
135mm, f7.1, 160/s, iso100

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Lydia/135mm-f7.jpg
135mm, f7.1, 160/s, iso100

Last 37mm of either the stock lens or the 28mm-135mm IS (sorry not sure which one).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Lydia/37mm-f9-160s-iso100.jpg
37mm, f9, 160/s, iso100

[Iain Shields]

Great thread so far RimBlock :smashin:

A question if I may... In regards to the shots you posted, you can clearly make out the detail in the black cloth background, as my personal preferance is to see shots like this with a blurred background I'm wondering what would be the best way of going about getting this effect? Would it be simply moving the model a bit further away from the background, or would this need to be combined with reducing the depth of field by going to f/5.6 or f/4?

I'm guessing the answer would depend on your available space, could you talk a bit about that in regards to what available space you have and give dimensions of your spare room?

Oh, and I noticed one of these on ebay, dosn't seem too expensive, look any good?:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Radio-Wireless-Trigger-for-Portaflash-Series-3_W0QQitemZ7558671200QQcategoryZ3860QQrdZ1QQcmdZVi ewItem

Regards,
Iain.

[milkmanchris]

Ah the memories this thread brought back.

I went through these stages at 15 years old, and went on to University to study photography and later journalism school.

I got disallusioned with the whole thing about 15 years ago, then BANG along came digital, got back into 'the game' and loving it more than ever, and back earning a full time living from football.

The tips here are pretty good, the main thing i will say to anyone is just get in the studio or out in the open and shoot and shoot some more, hell once you have the gear the only cost is your time, and more and more and more gear :)

Studio work has never been my thing but the shots here are well shot and well lit.

Keep up the good work.

[RimBlock]

Thanks guys.

It is nice to have some encouragement is I know my time putting all this down is not for nothing.

Iain,

Yep the detail is very evident which considering it is a black cloth is not to much hassle. I also like the blur to help the model stand out from the background.

The problem I was having with this is that the lights were too bright to drop to a aperture that would cause the bluring in the distance I have to play with.

I have got a ND 2 stop filter which I have been trying today with another model who came round for a shoot (paid of course). Georgous Japanese lady.

The ND filter has now enabled me to get within range of Rawshooters power to adjust the exposure so the pictures come out fairly good.

I have not been overly impressed with the 50mm for this work, the 85mm is pretty good but I have found myself working with the 28mm-135mm with a polarizer on the end which seems to me to have produced some pretty good results today. I also did a few shots free hand relying on the IS system and they are notably less sharp than using the tripod and remote release (as you would expect).

Three examples. Again this is for the lenses and not for commenting on the model (unless it is flattery of course). I do have some pictures from the shoot that are better and show the blur to good effect but they are more of an artistic nude variety so I will not post here. I am als fairly sure the young lady would not be pleased if I did.

All shots with the exception of one have been amended for exposure but nothing else save resizing, converting to 8 bit and saving as jpg (quality 8).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Nana/28mm-135mm-at-100mmf5dot6-200sec-is.jpg

100mm, f5.6, 1/200 sec, iso100 (28mm-135mm IS Lens).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Nana/50mm-f1dot4-200sec-iso100.jpg

50m (Prime), f1.4, 1/200sec, iso100
Note the slight bluring but this is after Rawshooter has compensated by 3 stops for brightness. Shame as it is a lovely shot of her. Quite good for a high key pic though.

Finally one of my favorites from the evening (well of the ones I can post here for sure)..

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Nana/85mm-f1dot8-200sec-iso100.jpg

85mm (Prime), f1.8, 1/200sec, iso100


Iain, your second question about the device on ebay. I have no idea but it is just a radio transmitter and receiver unit. Will it work.. well the only thing to stop it I can think of is radio interference and if it can keep up. Massive saving on the Canon solution though.

Chris,

Thanks, glad it is bringing back (hopefully happy) memories. Only other thing for me after getting the gear which I have pretty much done for the level I am at is paying for the models. I may have stuck up a good working relationship with the lady from tonight and as we had a great time I think she will be very happy to come back and maybe do some TFP or just for fun as that really is what we were doing to the point where she was feeling quite guilty taking the money for the shoot.

Thanks for the comments about the shots. Being at it was from my first shoot with a model and the pics had minimal to no post processing bar one I find them really encouraging. I belive that the shots done today are a vast improvment although that could partly be because I find the lady modelling extremely cute. Keeping hands off can be quite difficult some times but I would like to think I have been able to maintain a professional relationship with the ladies I have worked with and so far two out of two have reported that they had a very fun and relaxed time.

Ok I will contine the experiences at work tomorrow all things being quiet.

Thanks again
RB

[RimBlock]

Ok as it has been a little bit of time since I have added to this I thought I would gather my thoughts, update on changes since the beginning of the thread and give an idea of things to come.

So first, changes.

Well although my credit card has not quite stayed in my wallet I have managed not to buy any camera equipment since my last post :clap: . Being an impulse buyer and being currently lucky enough to have a pay packet which can reasonable sustain the bad habit this is a major victory.

I have upgraded my computer. So now here is a list of the new stuff;

ATI 1800XL PCI-E video card
Asus PCI-E motherboard
New 580W PSU.
Wireless Logitech gamer mouse.
Re-installed WinXP Pro from scratch.

Well that was Saturday last week gone (along with some work commitments). I wanted to upgrade to PCI-E and had the spare money so went for it.

I am now pretty happy with the result and really can't think of anything I need or particularly want to upgrade apart from maybe my printer.

I really have not tried using the new tablet for editing pics yet. Having never used a tablet before the logic of how it works is a new concept like first using a mouse was way back in the 80's (for me). Moving the pen over the tablets area moves the mouse pointer. Making contact with the tablets surface is like clicking (right button) so can be used for dragging windows etc. There is a two was rocker button on the stylus. Pushing forwards is like left click and I can't remember what the other direction does at this time. I think it will be very useful but it is finding the time to learn it's use. The other thing with the tablet is that it connects with USB and as it samples for a change in the stylus position very frequently it is best not to put it on a hub / USB controller with something else that requires quite a lot of bandwidth (like a mouse or external hard drive). When first connected to the same hub as the mouse I ended up with the mouse movement stuttering due to lack of space on the USB bus to handle input from both devices at the same time. The tablet also came with a mouse but to be honest it looks :thumbsdow . It probably works fine but I have no interest in finding out.

Ok so what is to come;

Well so far I still have to write-up my Thailand / Singapore trip, Shoot 1 with a fetish model, shoot 2 with a lovely Japanese lady and some book reviews / website links.

Oh I also thought I would give a little bit more info about myself. Not too much but to give a better understanding to people reading this about where I may be coming from....

Ok I was born in 70 something :-), went through college and Uni studying IT and then on to work for some of the major international trading banks in the city (Londons' financial area). I have a partner who currently lives in New York and hopefully will be moving to the UK next year. After that time there will be wedding bells if all goes as expected. She used to be a model in her native Taiwan although now works in the New York financial sector (business side).

I have always liked photography much more than the other 'arts'. Going around an art gallery I find boring. A photographic exhibition though holds my interest a lot more. I suspect since embarking on this journey such exhibitions may now hold more interest.

So why the fascination with photography. One phrase I have heard a number of times is 'God is in the details'. Whilst I am not particularly religious it is the detail in photography that grabs my attention. In a shot of New York from the air looking down for example I can find myself lost looking down the roads, trying to make out the people, the sights and sounds. Having a sense of being there. It is the detail that holds my attention.

So why did I choose to look at photographing ladies. Well that is an easy one...... I can. I am lucky enough that my partner, having been a model, has no problems with me wishing to photograph ladies. I have always been fascinated by the female form and now have a chance to explore the beauty of it. I enjoy the portrait work, the glamour is ok but my favourite is the art nude. Trying to find models who are willing to pose up to art nude, especially Asian models (Oriental Asian) is pretty difficult.

Ok so why specifically Asian models. Not sure but Asian ladies have always held more of a fascination for me. Is it a case of the exotic... maybe but I don't find myself drawn so much to black or Indian ladies. Maybe it is an interest in the culture as well which in many ways is wildly different to Western cultures.

Ok so enough about me and my ramblings.

We'll get right back after a short intermission :smashin:

Oh and thanks to Steve for making this a sticky.

[RimBlock]

Luckily I have some pics from this trip here at work so can add them.

Please note that the pics were generally shot in jpeg high quality due to the fear of filling up the two 1Gb cards I had with me and not knowing if I could get them burnt to CD in Singapore or Thailand. I needn't have worried.

Overview.
Having been to Singapore last Christmas (2004) working and Thailand for two weeks in May I had the chance to work in Singapore for a week and go from there to Thailand for another holiday. Being a contractor (self employed) I have to pay for my flights and food, lodging etc but I can put them against business expenses and so reclaim tax back. Luckily Singapore Airlines were doing a free stopover to Thailand so I could claim the full flight price back although obviously only the hotel and food expenses for the time in Singapore.

I didn't spend too much time taking photos in Singapore. I had done most of the tourist stuff back last Christmas. The weather was hot although not quite as humid as it was on my last visit. If you have never been to Asia or a tropical country then it can be quite a shock. Just about everyone uses public transport or taxis. The 15 minute walk from my hotel to my work showed me why. Drenched in a fine sheen of sweat.

I took the EOS 350D with the 28mm-135mm IS lens, a polarizer and hood. I also had my speedlight with me and a mini tripod although I didn't use the tripod the whole trip. I forgot my remote release.

I arrived in Singapore in the morning and got straight to work trying out the camera in the cab on the way to the hotel.


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Singapore/Picture006Medium.jpg

Well as I said I didn't take many pictures but here are a few.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Singapore/Picture009Medium.jpg
7 Eleven seem to have taken over Asia.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Singapore/Picture015Medium.jpg
Coming up to monsoon season the weather was not always good.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Singapore/Picture020Medium.jpg
The view from just outside Suntec City mall and offices. The financial district is in the distance and the building works in the foreground are for a new MRT (Mass rapid transit or subway) stop. Not much has changed since the previous Christmas.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Singapore/Picture021Medium.jpg
Shooting on the move. Don't stare at it or your eyes will go funny.

Top Tip: When shooting and moving use a fast shutter speed or they will end up like this. :smashin:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Singapore/Picture027Medium.jpg
Just a street shot of Singapore. Behind me is the Raffles hotel. In front on the left is the Raffles City Mall and on the right is an old monastery that has been turned into bars, restaurants and clubs :eek: .

Well I did say there were not a lot of pics from Singapore.

Condensation caused a bit of an issue. On going from an air-conditioned building (i.e. just about any building in Singapore) to the outside will cause the lens to mist up. Giving it 5 minutes to warm up before shooting allows the lens to clear.

Having just re-organised the pictures on photobucket I have now broken the links to the other model shots so I better go fix them.

Next up, Thailand and a few more shots.

[RimBlock]

As I went travelling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (north) and Koh Samui (Island to the south in the Gulf of Thailand) I will split this into three sections.

Bangkok.

Being my second visit to Bangkok in 4 months I didn't take to many pics this time. I was only in Bangkok for a couple of nights before moving to Chiang Mai.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Bangkok/Picture030Medium.jpg
Welcome to Bangkok. View travelling along the expressway before hitting the famous Bangkok traffic. Yes I arrived around the rush hour. Note the rainbow type effect on the glass of the cab's window as the polarizing filter on the camera reacts with the polarized glass.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Bangkok/Picture037Medium.jpg
Capitilisum comes to Thailand. Note the Tesco Lotus sign. In Thailand you need a Thai partner to operate a business. I guess Tesco teamed up with Lotus to achieve this. Also old Ronnie McDonald doesn't wave in Thailand but Wai's (putting both hands together as if in payer and bending the top half of teh body forward). THe height of the hands when giving a wai indicates the level of person socially you are giving the wai too.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Bangkok/Picture040Medium.jpg
My one and only long exposure shot from my hotel room. The camera was on a tripod but with no remote shutter release you can see the amount of vibration added to the shot by just pressing the button. The picture is also using the long end of the 28mm-135mm lens.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Bangkok/Picture042Medium.jpg
Bangkok gives a traditional goodbuy as i await my plane to Chiang Mai. Monsoon season was well and truely here.

Next, on to Chiang Mai

[RimBlock]

Ok now there were a lot of pics taken in Chiang Mai but I will try to keep to a sensible amount.

Chiang Mai is located to the north of Thailand. Often referred to as the Rose of the North it is the cultural centre of Thailand. The countryside is greener and it is bordered by mountains to the north. The city itself is reasonably large but much more spread out than Bangkok where I got the feeling that everything was crushed into as little space as possible.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture048Medium.jpg
Welcome to Chiang Mai.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/IMG_0452Medium.jpg
A trip to the night bazaar. Everything 20-90% off ;) . The Night Bazaar was flooded again this year. Due to the heavy rainfall one of the rivers tends to flood and as the bottom level of the bazaar (there are 3) is below street level it tends to flood. This year people were up to their ankles in water. Last year people on the bottom level were up to their necks. When I went there were only a few puddles.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture172Medium.jpg
Another stormy day overlooking the city on the way to one of the temples.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture191Medium.jpg
Polarizer at work :) .

I was staying in an area about 30 minutes by taxi outside of Chiang Mai called Mae Rim. After driving out of the city we went up the mountain slopes and ended up quite high in the mountains close to the cloud line. Due to the time of year I happened to be the only guest in the hotel for the first 3 days :smashin: .

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture012Medium.jpg
The beautiful contrast of the different shades of green along with the bright flowers just looked wonderful.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/IMG_0493Medium.jpg
One swimming pool all to myself. The weather was rain then dry, rain then dry and the heat / humidity was fine. It was lovely and warm but not very humid so pretty comfortable.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture019Medium.jpg
The cloud level sometimes descended.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture064Medium.jpg
And then the heavens would open up. When it rained it really rained.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture018Medium.jpg
But the off shoot of all the rain was wonderful flowers like this.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture055Medium.jpg
A half day trip to the elephant park (I have more elephant pics if anyone wants to see them). The thing that surprised me was the intelligence and playfulness that was so evident in the elephants. One of the highlights of my trip.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture146Medium.jpg
The thinker....... A trip to the monkey park. Note to self..... if in doubt, FAST shutter speed :cool:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/Picture156Medium.jpg
Someone's coming to say hello.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/IMG_0486Medium.jpg
One of the waterfalls in the hills around Chiang Mai. Hang on, how did I get in to the picture ;) .

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/IMG_0473Medium.jpg
A Thai family enjoy a picnic by the waterfall.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Chiang%20Mai/IMG_0408Medium.jpg
Speedlite in action. Using an external rather than internal flash really will add an new dimension to your photos. I was using the speedlite quite a lot of the time and when I didn't want a flash I would attach the speedlite and just turn it off. The onboard flash would stay down as the speedlite was attached but as the speedlite was off it would not flash. I am sure there is a menu option to turn the flash off but this way saved me looking for it and took away the need to also turn it back on.

Well that is a very small sample of the Chiang Mai photos. Most were taken with the EOS 350 but some were taken with a Ixus 430.

Next up - Samui.

[RimBlock]

So it was goodbye to Chiang Mai and back to Koh Samui. This is the second time I had been there. It is situated about level with Puket but in the Gulf of Thailand. It tends to be a bit quieter than Puket and hasn't got such a reputation for the bars and rent-a-girlfriends.

Of note, if anyone has seen the wonderful movie 'Butterfly Man' then most of it was set in Samui. I am still trying to work out where the Big Buddha in the movie was as it looked nothing like the Big Buddha when I visited this time but the kickboxing school I am sure is the one in Lamai. If you haven't seen the movie then why not. If you are going to Thailand and especially if you are going as a single guy or just for the nightlife then there are a lot worse 'primers' for Thailand than this.

Anyway......

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0521Medium.jpg
Sunset going to Samui. Yep the plane was a turboprop. This one was with the Ixus 430 again.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0758Medium.jpg
Welcome to Samui. Ok well I cheated. This was taken leaving Samui. The flight from Bangkok is only around 1 hour although Bangkok Airways are the only airline allowed to fly there. This means that they can charge whatever they like........

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0703Medium.jpg
Samui was a sleepy little island not so long ago. It is now under a big development program and you can see building going up all over the place. Things had changed since my last visit in May. You can still get lost in the hills there but the main area (Chewang Beach) has turned in to a pseudo Southend on a hot Friday night. What is worse is it is not just English Chavs but Chavs from all over Europe who are descending there. I tend not to like Chewang any more so decided to stay at Lamai (south of Chewang) and Cheung Beach (north of Chewang).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0708Medium.jpg
The view from the restaurant at Lamai. You can see the sea is pretty choppy and the clouds are looking pretty rainy. Yep there was a storm coming.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0757Medium.jpg
The hotel also laid on some traditional Thai dancing. I had been to a couple of Thai set dinner and dance nights and they had been great. I am not usually in to this much culture but I really enjoyed it. The costumes were fantastic.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0762Medium.jpg
This was one of my favourite dances. The music was very upbeat and catchy. The moves were very elegant and lowed beautifully. Of course the only problem was a watching great spotlight facing straight into the camera.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0746Medium.jpg
Three ladies wai to the guests on their way off the stage. The stage was a raised platform in the middle of a pond.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0800Medium.jpg
The suite I stayed in when I moved to Cheung was an old wooden two level boat. It was very nice although a little old and probably in need of a refit.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0799Medium.jpg
Yes the weather could be nice and it only rained a couple of times when I was on Samui.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0808Medium.jpg
The beach was great and uncluttered but it was the wrong time of year for the lovely water colour usually seen on photos of Thailand.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0810Medium.jpg
Some people went swimming while the large fishing trawlers bobbed up and down in the background

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Samui/IMG_0673Medium.jpg
Some people just contented themselves with a traditional Thai massage on the beach. Rumours were that this guy was very good :grin: .

Ok so that is the pictures.

Next up - Lessons learnt.

[ash71]

Hi RimBlock

The Thai photos brought back good memories. Just a quick question for you regarding the photo of the trawlers, Would the hotel in the back ground be the Tongsai Bay resort? We stayed there a couple of years ago and have a shot similar to this taken from the next beach around the bay. The trawlers would anchor off shore every couple of nights and make a racket as they moved off before sunrise.

Samui's airport is something else isn't it. Pretty much what you'd expect a tropical airport to be like.

I've got a couple of days stop over in Singapoe early next year, can you give me a few photo highlights/locations I shouldn't miss.

Cheers

[RimBlock]

Ash,

Yes it could well be. The beach was Cheung Beach and I was in the Imperial Boat house hotel.

The beach was nice but not quite as nice as Chaweng Beach where I stayed in May. Mind you the beach was a lot less crowded.

Samui airport really is a tropical island airport. The immigration and departure lounges are just open sided thatched roofed buildings and they had complimentary drinks and snacks :smashin: .

As for Singapore, there is not that much to do there as it is such a small place. The locals usually hang out in malls in their time off. Orchard Road is like Oxford Street in London. A couple of good places to go would be Sentosa (http://www.sentosa.com.sg/) , a small island on the south coast of Singapore connected by cable car and road bridge. They have a few attractions and a couple of man made beaches and The East Coast. Best place for seafood in Singapore. Must try the pepper or chilli crab. Cab fares are cheap and from one side of Singapore to teh other takes just 30 mins by car. They also have a night safari but I have not tried that one. Robinson Quay by the financial district is also a good place to go for bars and open air dining.

Singapore is lovely, warm, clean (big fines for dropping litter inc cigs). The population is around 80% Chinese, 15% Indian and 5% other but with Raffles catapulting it to an international trading port it has a big English feel and English is the first language taught in schools. Saying that, Chinese is more widely spoken but most people can understand at least basic english.

If any single people are thinking of travelling there then 'renting' a girlfriend is legal but confined to two main areas. Geyling and Orchard towers (four floors of ...err... ladies of easy virtue). Need to watch out in Orchard towers as a couple of the bars are main hangouts for ladies of dubious sex. Of course this is all hear say from friends I see when over there ;) .

Singapore if good for a short visit but I think I would go crazy living there.

RB

[RimBlock]

Ok so I lied....... A thread running now prompted me to post this as it is also something that I have been looking at as well....

Colour Calibration and ICC / ICM profiles.

The problem with using a camera, monitor and printer to output is that they will usually handle colour in different ways.

Shots from my 350D look fantastic using the imbedded icc profile in the pics. Using the default monitor settings they also looked great. Printing looked nothing like they did on the screen......

Ok, I thought, new printer maybe as this is just a HP 2760 (£90) printer and although I have been happy with the quality before, maybe now it is time to upgrade due to the quality I am now aspiring too.

To test this out I sent a pic off to Photobox (note they will not take TIFF's so you have to compress as Jpg). When the A4 print came back the quality was great but the colour, contrast and overall pic looked worse than the one I had printed at home.

Now was the time to investigate ICC profiles.....

Well first I tried to set my monitor to mimic the printer output....... nope, cant get the brightness down low enough. The monitor is a Dell 2405 and is very bright when first out of the box.

Next I downloaded the driver for the monitor along with it's icc profile. Loaded that in, loaded the same profile for the printer, working on the theory of both using the same profiles so both will output the same colours....... Not quite. The print version was still very dark and over saturated.

I then found a guide on calibrating the monitor using Adobe Gamma supplied with Photoshop (CS2 etc). Walking through the wizard was simple enough and a new colour profile was generated. Using this profile for both the printer and monitor improved the situation somewhat but it is still not perfect.

Where from here........

Well I am looking at a new printer, maybe some calibration software but at £150 or so for the Spyder2 and then maybe another £150 for printer calibration software is a hefty investment.

I also have no guarantee that doing the calibration will produce prints from somewhere like photobox that look like they do on the screen but then they should be a lot closer.

RB

[RimBlock]

Ok, so back to the topic.

After a lot of stuff about going away and taking pics here is some more information for the more technical among you who want to improve rather than look at some blokes holiday pics :grin: .

Being new to the camera and only having a rough idea of aperture and shutter speed and how it relates to the overall shot (I knew about ISO from the days for using film cameras) I have found that a lot of the shots taken are not as clear as I would have hoped. Camera shake was a major problem even with the IS lens system and doubly so when zoomed. Why was this...... too slow a shutter speed.

I seem to recall using a shutter speed between 30/s and 60/s and an aperture as wide as possible to let as much light in as possible with the polarizer on the lens. I really didn't want to ramp up the ISO due to noise issues but I understand that usually up to IOS400 on the EOS350D is generally fine.

So speeding up the shutter to give sharper images at the cost of ISO is a pretty good tradeoffs' if it can be kept below ISO400.

Carrying around a DSLR with a big(ish) zoom and hood and not being in my 50's or wearing a raincoat seemed to get a little respect but also promoted a little arrogance with the "what's with that toy that you are using" type attitude....... yeah and me with all of 3 weeks experience at the time. The cab driver in Singapore even asked if I was a photo journalist as I was snapping away. I told the truth and said no but it highlighted an interesting option for the future based on preconceived ideas of people :devil: .

The automatic setting produce very good results. Sometimes these setting produce better pictures than me on manual did although I generally used manual to 'train' myself to improve.

Carrying around a tripod on holiday makes me feel like a bit of a dic*. I am there for a holiday and don't want to be lugging around a tripod. If that means I will miss that perfect shot then so be it. Going out and experiencing the world is more important than taking a photograph of it.

My portrait work is better than my landscape work. I like doing both but the results seem to me to be better with portraits which I am happy with as things could be worse than photographing beautiful women, I could be stuck up a hill in the freezing cold wind and rain. I do admire all those people who do it for the sake of art though :hiya: .

Fear of theft was unfounded as I have never seen a problem in the two occasions I have visited although most of my time has been spent in touristy areas. I did however get household insurance to cover the camera equipment when away just in case. My mother was pleased as she has been on at me for years to do so.

RB

[RimBlock]

Well it had to happen and it usually does getting out of the office for lunch..... Walking along the Barbican high walks a thought came to me......

If I want to see a picture on my monitor based on what my camera has shot then surely I need to base my monitor and printer profile on the camera's icc profile as supplied with the canon software.

If I load this profile into Adobe Gamma then I should be able to tweak it for my monitor and then what comes from the camera will be displayed the same on the monitor. Taking this profile and calibrating the printer using it as the base should then produce the same tones, colours etc.

Hey I may be completely wrong here and if I am then please someone correct me.

Livin' and learning........ slowely

RB

[kenlynch]

If I want to see a picture on my monitor based on what my camera has shot then surely I need to base my monitor and printer profile on the camera's icc profile as supplied with the canon software.

If I load this profile into Adobe Gamma then I should be able to tweak it for my monitor and then what comes from the camera will be displayed the same on the monitor. Taking this profile and calibrating the printer using it as the base should then produce the same tones, colours etc.

Hey I may be completely wrong here and if I am then please someone correct me.


Yes, Completely wrong mate. You have one profile for your monitor, one for your camera and generally several for your printer, each one calibrated for different paper/ink combinations.

The colour management software then uses the camera profile to convert the picture to the monitor's profile and to the printer's profile when printing. Otherwise colour management would be easy.

Don't base your monitor's profile on your camera's, use the profile that came with the monitor and profile the monitor using colour profiling software or hardware.

[RimBlock]

Thanks Ken,

That is what I have done. I have mostly solved my problem as well although it cost me just over £300 :eek: . Yep I think I mentioned impulse buying ... got myself a Canon IP8500 printer and it is wonderful. The pictures are much closer to what I see on the screen although they are still a little darker. i believe this is an issue with my (all?) LCD monitor (Dell 2405) which is currently on the least brightness.

Only thing with the printer is that there are 4 or 5 colour profiles and no information as to what they are for. Nothing in the manual or help file :thumbsdow . Will have to do a bit of searching on the net I think.

Here is a link to a review of the printer. (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/canon_ip8500.html)
Regards
RB

[RimBlock]

Now I have been threatening to do a write-up on this for a while so I guess I better get to it before I forget. :thumbsup:

As I am doing this from work there will be no pics added but there are a few in previous parts and I may add some more when I get home. The pics will of course be limited to wholesome family material as per the forum rules.

Well the call came that the model I had been talking to was at the station so off I went to go and meet her. This was the first time we had worked together and, hell, it was the first time I had worked with a model let alone a fetish model and one that I was going to be shooting at some point in an art nude context. Oh well, deep end, both feet.....

We met when I contacted her from an advert she had placed on one of the modelling website and we agreed to meet one Sunday. After negotiations over a chaperone it was agreed that a female chaperone was ok for the last hour of the shoot but not before. My reasons were that for one I work better one-on-one, if the chaperone was a bloke then seeing you taking pics of their friend / girlfriend in the nude will cause a number of looks if not open hostility which is not the best for a productive working environment and if they were in another room then the fact that I have two strangers in my home and can only watch one at a time would take some of my concentration. I relented to one female chaperone as I believe there would not be so much of the 'bad vibes'.

Well on arriving at the station I was able to meet a lovely lady with a wheelie case. I usually do the 15 min walk to the station and back again rather than get a cab and felt doing it with this lady would be a good chance for us to have a quick chat and just get a first impression for each other.

Now most common advice when doing a shoot is to know what you want and work out ways to get it. Have some poses sketched and some ideas jotted down. I don't work like that as I found that the better shots I seem to get are more candid and not posed to a particular goal. I have a number of books on nude photography and was able to highlight some of the pictures that I found depicted what I was looking for.

The whole overall direction for the shoot and this project is 'The beauty of women'. Everything from the smile to the eyes to the curve of the figure..... An investigation in to what make a woman beautiful to me. Why do I feel one woman is beautiful and another is not. Is it the stance and body language. Is it the facial features or attitude. The only thing I know from the start was that I wanted to work with models I found attractive from their portfolio pics and work from there. As I have mentioned before, this is a hobby and not commercial. As such I have made it clear that the shots will not be sold but will only be used for critique and my portfolio. As such it was decided not to use a model release. I would suggest that if anyone is going to use their pictures for any commercial purpose then a model release is essential. Lots of examples are available on the internet and make sure the model brings some id and you have a way of making a copy whether it be via a multifunction printer or by just photographing the id.

I had made a booking for 4 hours as I wanted time to relax and not to feel rushed. Unfortunately as you all know, when you are having fun time flies so

Top Tip One:
Don't keep looking at a clock but make sure you are aware of time and allot so much time to each shot. If you keep glancing at the clock or your watch the model will get nervous thinking you are bored or that your not happy with her for some reason. Putting a clock in your easy eye line would help.

We arrived and had a sit down, had a drink and chatted about what sort of things I would like and she was able to see examples in the books I had. None of the subjects concerned her and it gave her something to think about and a goal to move towards. She then showed me the clothes she had brought so we could agree what would be best suited to the theme. An idea of clothing she was to bring had been sent to her prior to the shoot.

Top Tip Two:
If you don't specify it then you are unlikely to get it.

She will not know to bring a long skirt if she is not told, or a business suit. It would be a shame to not be able to shoot what you want because you forgot to ask her to bring something unless you have a stocked woman's wardrobe no hand and asking a model to wear your wives / girlfriends clothes I just think is wrong. I am not even going to get into the 'woman's clothing and you are a single guy' side of it although I heard of one guy who had a full underwear set of a model when she went for a shoot. By all means if she hasn't got what you want and is willing to buy it then arrange to meet up with her so you get some influence in what she is to get but don't buy it for her when she is not here as she is not your girlfriend / wife and the chances are that it will not fit as well as if she bought it herself.

Top Tip Three:

She is a model and not an escort. Models are not a source of cheap thrills. One other thing to remember is that her work is not just to do the shoot but to generate more work if she feels happy working with you. Never take friendliness for anything other than that. Most models will have a boyfriend and if they don't then there is usually a reason for it. I am sure there are some models who do / have gone out with photographers but not on a first shoot.

Top Tip Four:

Provide a private area for the model to get changed. Make sure there is a mirror, shelf, good lighting, somewhere to sit and enough space to get changed in. Just because she may be doing glamour or nude work it doesn't mean that she wants to strip down in front of you. She will want to get herself prepared both physically and mentally to be naked in front of a stranger and to let him take pictures of her. Give her the space and time (within reason) to do this and the results will be much better.

As a photographer I can understand how pressure for deadlines or needing a specific shot can cause focus to be centred on getting the image. The ladies I have worked with have said that they have very much enjoyed the shoot as it was fun. The difference for me is that I am not under deadlines short of the booking length and I concentrated on the model and then capture the image. By this I mean that I talk to, laugh with and just generally have fun interacting with the model (on a spoken level). If you get on then she will be relaxed and animated. Find something she is passionate about and be a good listener. The only problem with this technique is focusing. If she is not still then it is hard to lock focus and keep it locked. I have a number of lovely pictures that are just out of focus and unfortunately no amount of sharpening will bring it back. I love to get shots of candid laughter. For me there is very little more attractive in a woman's face that an open mouthed genuine laugh. All is laid bare for you and the camera to see. Capturing this in focus is difficult as a full laugh causes the head and face to move. Using a tripod and remote release makes it even more difficult but the images will generally be much sharper.

Top Tip Five:

It has been said all over the board...... use a tripod. Spend a bit of money on one. You spent a lot on the camera so spend some on holding it still. Also get a remote release, either wired or cableless. I like the wired one I use but I can see an advantage of using a wireless one. If you are using a fast shutter speed then mirror lockup should not be needed (i.e. when using studio flash). Feel free to use it for completeness but I find I do not need it and prefer to be able to see the model in the viewfinder to capture that candid moment.

Other equipment;

I have mentioned in another section that I purchased a Zigview. I will go into more detail why and my observations after working with it now.

Bottom line..... I like it. The screen is not crystal clear and can be a little grainy at times.

The unit attaches to the cameras viewfinder and acts like a right angle viewer but the screen can also be rotated so you can look from the side or below.

The concept is simple. The bit that clips over the viewfinder contains a small camera and it piped what it sees to the small fairly low res lcd screen. The execution is good and for me it allows me to look at the model while glancing at the screen rather than having my face stuck to the back of the camera. Essentially it allows me to distract the model from the camera as she is interacting with a person and not the end of a camera lens. Much more favourable results can be gained when the model can see your eyes.

Top Tip Six:

Review the shots with the model. A number of people say only show the model the good shots. I disagree. Make sure the model is experienced enough to know that a large number of shots are going to be throwaway. That was she will know that if she sees a bad shot that this is normal. Being digital she knows that the pictures can be destroyed easily and by showing her the shots you especially like and telling her why you like them allows her to fine tune what she is doing. I have the computer in the photo studio. I am able during a clothing or genre change to just whip out the memory card, copy the files to the PC and fire up Rawshooter to browse the pictures. When she is changed or has had a drink she can wander back in and review the shots with you. If there is one you particularly like but it is just out of focus you can instantly try again.

During the shoot we had 'costume' changes. Offer the model a drink. Let he sit down for a few moments. My offers for a break were refused as the shoot was not to taxing. She did make use of the time to call in and assure her boyfriend that everything was fine. Something I have no problem with during the breaks.

Well time flew and before I knew it we had over run the 1hr portrait slot by 30mins so we moved on to the fetish / glamour slot. Well some of the outfits she brought were fantastic. Be aware though that corsets and rubber can take a little while to get in and out of and you need to be able to factor this into your booking time sooo.....

Top Tip Seven:
Include costume changing time in the booking time with a model. Booking time is not just shooting time.

She had a good number of poses that looked great, erotic but not too revealing. Due to her height and my lack of space I decided to make a full length shot of her by using the panorama approach. Multiple pics stitched together. Ok the concept was sound but alas the execution was flawed :suicide: .

Top Tip Eight:
Changing the angle of the lens with relation to the object changes a pictures perspective of that object........

So yes I had two shots. Top half and bottom half but come time to stitch them together and the flaw was spotted...... the edges of the models figure did not meet where they should as the lens was tilted rather than the whole camera being raised or moved sideways. Now I have a good deal of shots which are of no use....... unless......

CS2 to the rescue. Now I am not sure if there is an easier way but one of the options under image (I think) is perspective and then warp. Using this tool to do a freehand warp of the image has allowed me to salvage one image and will probably allow me to recover the rest but this is a long process to get the whole picture to match up when the two halves don't meet correctly. Learn from this big mistake as it cost me half the shoot and at least 3 hours per picture to recover.

Learn from my stupid mistake as it is so obvious.......

Damn, looking at my watch I could see that we had over run again so now 3 hours had gone with just one remaining and two genre's to get through. Ok well the last one would have to be shelved..... we only now had time for the art nude. Now my definition or understanding of art nude is nude or semi-nude but not fully on display in a pornographic nature. To this end the model was asked to keep some clothing on to add contrast to the skin. Now this is where we were both learning. She had very little experience with nude work and having a lady all but naked asking how I wanted her to pose created an interesting environment. Contrary to expectations there was no erotic charge in the air. Everything seemed very natural which to be honest is exactly how I hoped it would be. Like walking along a beach in Spain where lots of ladies may be sunbathing topless. To me this does not seem erotic but just natural.

Now it was my turn to be a little shy and on reflection I should have been a bit bolder and said just what I wanted. It is a job for her and sort of for me and should be treated as such. If she was not happy with the suggestion then she would have told me.

Top Tip Nine:
Don't be thrown by having a naked lady asking you where you want her :devil: . Treat it like the job that it is. This is not your girlfriend and she is being paid to pose as requested. Do not be shy about requesting the poses you want.

So we finished the shoot on time. The chaperone was not booked it turned out so it was just myself and the model and she was pretty relaxed all the way through. She also said that she had no problem working with me again which is always nice to hear.

Last but by no means least.....

Top Tip 10:
Touching....... A number of books or articles I have read say never touch the model. I disagree with this. Some times it just is not possible to get over the pose you want to a model. This is more prominent if the model doesn't speak English as their native language. I prefer to work with Asian (Oriental) models and this can sometimes be an issue. After so much sign language and speaking very slowly it becomes obvious that the concept is not getting translated. It is at this point that you may need to touch the model. But, and this is very important, never without her permission.....

Asking her if you can move her arm or head before doing it. Don't just make a grab for her. Never, ever touch her intimately even if she is posting nude or even doing adult work it does not mean she is happy for anyone to prod and probe her. Treat her with respect but remember she is an employee. You owe her nothing but the agreed money and she owes you nothing but working within the set limits for the agreed amount of time. Never read anything more than that in to it.

Ok, well this has turned in to a long section and there is the shoot number 2 to come with the beautiful Japanese lady yet. By the time I have that written up I may have just done shoot 3 with a Mongolian / Serbian mixed model. Just arranging that one this weekend :smashin: .

RB

[RimBlock]

Just a quickie.

For those who were not aware, Microsoft do a RAW plugin for Windows Explorer and preview (Microsoft RAW image viewer). They also do a system colour organiser. I am not sure it will let you calibrate your monitor as I used Adobe Gamma but it lets you manage all those pesky ICM profiles.

Both are available as part of XP Power toys here. (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx)

Cheers
RB

[RimBlock]

Right well impuse buying has hit again and now I am the proud owner of a Canon 5D.

Thank God I am not yet married or I may find myself waking up without some important parts.......... like the credit cards

It is much heaver and bulkier and I can now see what people are saying about the 350D being small in the hand. The tips of my fingers were find with the 350D but from the first knuckle onwards my hand was not touching the camera until my palm made contact again. Coming from compact cameras I was happy with what I had :-).

I will post up a comparison when I get a chance. Maybe some pics too with the 350D and the 5D side by side. Is it worth the £2,000 it cost just for the body. Don't know yet. I don have concerns about the X-sync speed as reported elsewhere but I will test tomorrow. The 350D has gone onto ebay.

And now I have had a little chat with Steve and the pics have been ok'd for here, a pic from last Sundays shoot.

Still to do;
Pics from first model shoot,
Report from second shoot,
Pics from second shoot,
Report from third shoot,
Pics from third shoot,
Report on the new 5D.

Enjoy :-)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Kim/IMG_1487-Border.jpg

RB

[RimBlock]

Ok, so I was a little tired to have a bit of a rant last night but here goes.

After buying the 5D I looked at getting the new remote shutter release. bearing in mind that the same item for the 350D was £25. £50. Double the price. Ok so more expensive camera usually equals more expensive accessories but double the price for a button....... I have yet to find out what is twice as good about it. I am sure there are third party vendors who could sell me their versions and if I shopped around I could get it cheaper but both items from the same shop and a doubling in price.

That is not the worse though. The 5D is able to use Canons new Wifi transmitter. Fantastic. I can take a shot and hopefully have it transferred straight to the pc without having to hook up the usb cable or take the card out. When I looked this item up in the same place as before I had a little bit of a shock. £800 worth of shock. What can possibly justify £800 for a usb to Wifi device. I can get a Usb Wifi dongle for £20 and while there is a bit more to this device than that, £780 worth of more. I can buy a pretty good laptop for that price and hook it up directly.

I think the remote release and an extra battery is all I will get for now.

Oh on a side note, I saw a second user Canon macro ring light in Jacobs Digital at New Oxford Street for £1XX a little while ago. Considering the price new for these it seemed a steal. Not having a macro lens I passed but someone else may be interested.

...... and what's up with the price of beer these days.......... :suicide:

RB

[RimBlock]

Well it is early days yet but on first impressions......

The camera is quite a bit heavier and really makes the 350D look more like a toy. The viewfinder is larger and I have to look around it to find the camera information bar at the bottom. On the 350D it was just in my line of sight. I think I prefer the bigger viewfinder so I can see more of what I am trying to take a picture of.

Sync speed....... I read on dpreview that people were having problems with the flash sync speed on this camera and this worried me. As most of the work I do is in my home studio I use the portaflash strobes. These are already providing too much light in some cases and requiring me to use an x4 ND filter. Reports of the camera not being able to sync with strobes a 1/200th would make the problem even worse.

Well I am happy to report that I can sync at 1/200. 1/250 causes a very small amount of the curtain to become visible but with a little bit of light cropping on the bottom this can be compensated for. 1/320 and a third of the picture has gone. Bottom line is that I can still sync the same as with the 350D so I am pretty happy with that.

The 2.5" screen is really a joy. The 1.8" on the 350D I found too small for any useful reviewing. Whilst I cannot see form the offset if the picture is in sharp focus I believe I will have a much better chance when zoomed in.

The hold is much better but then it needs to be with the added weight. I do find it difficult to hold with one hand and use my thumb for the back command dial. Maybe a hand strap will help with this along with practice.

Learning how to access the functions with the command dial is something I am now getting to grips with. I do miss not having the buttons on the top right back of the camera where I could use my thumb to select an option. They are not on the top edge of the camera and I find some of them quite difficult to reach easily.

The next shoot I do will be with this camera so it will be interesting to see the quality of pictures compared to the shots from the 350D.

More info as it is discovered.
Cheers
RB

[RimBlock]

Well it has been a busy week.

I have found a source of models and it is overflowing. After placing an advert in a college / university on-line job board for portrait models (it is a fashion college) I have had around 50+ responses.

Trying to maintain 50 conversations, arranging meetings and shoots whilst managing your normal work is a nightmare. My normal work also started getting very busy and then I ended up with a nasty cold that seems to be going around here in London.

The good bit is that I manages to do 5 two hour shoots and a meeting this weekend. Yes it was hard work but the chance to play with the 5D was just two great.

Here are a couple of pics from a wonderful lady I worked with.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Melissa/IMG_1607.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Melissa/IMG_1606.jpg

Both pictures have just been resized using the bicubic sharpener and then saved for web at 80%.

The original 16 bit TIF files were around 75MB each. My memory cards are running out quite quickly but I now have 4* 1GB cards as it was more economical than getting a couple of 2GB ones.

One concern I had especially on Sunday was the fact I was shooting on one battery for 10 hours. The Jessops on my way home from work couldn't get any more batteries for the 5D within a few days and then the cold hit in full force and I really didn't feel like traipsing around Tottenham Court Road to try and find any. I needn't have worried as it lasted and then some.

I am really coming to love my 85mm f1.8 prime. I have been tending to use that most of the time to get tighter close in shots that seem to be a little more intimate to me.

I am also playing around with maybe doing portraits of couples. Trying to capture the emotion between the two people. I think it may keep 'er in doors' a little happier than just inviting ladies to my apartment to take pictures :devil: .

Oh and I managed to sell the 350D for a quite nice £565.

Feel free to comment. This is not really meant to be a monologue :smashin:

[pukkita]

RimBlock, what an impressive thread. Having the patience of writing down all the process and sharing your experience... that shows you're very generous!!!

I also shoot as a hobby, I'm also in IT also but my real profession was AV Postproduction.

I agree with you regarding you're somewhat impulsive, my jaws dropped when saw you swapped for the 5D!!!

The difference from the first to the latest (Asian lady and these two protraits) shots is abysmal...

I only can offer this advice: hardware calibration is a must. Get a "spyder" and calibrate your display often. It's not just contrast and brightness, but about color casts.

The second is for best results to get prints from a Lab, and use a profile for the specific machine you'll print to. Most use Fuji Frontier minilabs, for best results, a superb pointer for this specific task: http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Frontier/using_printer_profiles.htm . For the daunting task of color matching prints (and color management in general): Max Lyon's http://www.computer-darkroom.com/

[RimBlock]

Thanks Pukkita,

I am a little confused as to what you meant whith the following statement.....

The difference from the first to the latest (Asian lady and these two protraits) shots is abysmal...

Did you mean;
1. The first is good and the last are noticable worse
2. The last are much better than the first.
3. They are all really bad.

The monitor I use at home while not ideal being a LCD produces results that look the same, all be it a little brighter, as the prints fromt he Cannon 8500 in A4.

In essence what I see on my screen is what I get out the printer and both are fairly close to what I see at work although the monitors aren't calibrated as they are not used for photo work. I was under the impression that this is what I should be after... what I see is what I print. Oh the printer has not been calibrated or tweeked.

Personally I think the shots looked fantastic especially at the 12MP size which are resized heavily for the thread before being jpeg'd at 80% 'for web'.

I would hate to think what I am seeing is not what others with reasonably calibrated monitors are seeing. On the plus side, I still have all the RAW files from the shoots :-).

As a side note, a right royal P.I.T.A. now is the fact that the RAW format for the 5D is not the same as for the 350D. The Microsoft RAW powertool plugin does not support it and neither does the free version of Rawshooter. Adobe have the v3.3 beta plugin that does for CS2 etc and then there is the Canon suplied software which also works. Now the problem is that in Windows Explorer if you select a CS2 file the it tries to thumbnail it but can't as the format has changed but keeps trying even when you select another file. If you then try to move or delete the file you get a 'used by another process' error and the only solution I know of is to reboot the machine.

There are no evil effects other than not being able to delete or move (re-organise) the cr2 files that you have clicked on. You can move or rename the folders etc as long as you have not clicked on the contents since your last reboot.

I have uninstalled the RAW powertoy by Microsoft until they release an update which includes the 5D's RAW format standard. I have yet to see if removal has fixed the 'process in use...' issue though.

Cheers
RB

[RimBlock]

Having had a quick brouse over this thread I have just noticed that there are a number of pictures missing that I thought I had put up here.

The one of the Japanese lady was in a seperate thread as I was working through editing it with some advice from more experienced people that me.

Here is the more or less finished result;

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Nana/IMG_1252-Finished.jpg

Still have to border it and sign it but that is more or less it.

Still to be worked on...... some body shots.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Melissa/IMG_1895.jpg

and

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Melissa/IMG_1887.jpg

Hope you like.

RB

[pukkita]

Thanks Pukkita,

I am a little confused as to what you meant whith the following statement.....



Did you mean;
1. The first is good and the last are noticable worse
2. The last are much better than the first.
3. They are all really bad.



Ouch, sorry... I meant point 2.

The first ones look noticeably underexposed on a properly calibrated monitor.


I would hate to think what I am seeing is not what others with reasonably calibrated monitors are seeing. On the plus side, I still have all the RAW files from the shoots :-).


You're on the track... properly calibrated displays is the only way to:

1.- Assure what you see is what others will see provided they have calibrated displays. For those who haven't they won't see the same, but at least you're showing something "neutral".

2.- Assure while you're editing that you're achieving what you see.

3.- Assure you'll get the same results no matter the output device (provided they're calibrated too, or you have a profile for them) you use.


As a side note, a right royal P.I.T.A. now is the fact that the RAW format for the 5D is not the same as for the 350D. The Microsoft RAW powertool plugin does not support it and neither does the free version of Rawshooter. Adobe have the v3.3 beta plugin that does for CS2 etc and then there is the Canon suplied software which also works. Now the problem is that in Windows Explorer if you select a CS2 file the it tries to thumbnail it but can't as the format has changed but keeps trying even when you select another file. If you then try to move or delete the file you get a 'used by another process' error and the only solution I know of is to reboot the machine.

There are no evil effects other than not being able to delete or move (re-organise) the cr2 files that you have clicked on. You can move or rename the folders etc as long as you have not clicked on the contents since your last reboot.

I have uninstalled the RAW powertoy by Microsoft until they release an update which includes the 5D's RAW format standard. I have yet to see if removal has fixed the 'process in use...' issue though.

Cheers
RB

Try dcraw, you may end surprised :)

I provide windows and macintosh binaries on www.insflug.org/raw, you can see a couple usage strategies on http://www.aim-dtp.net/aim/digicam/dcraw/ the most neutral startegy is to use the -m parameter, then on the PS action to finish the photos assign a generic linear color space, see http://www.panotools.info/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dcraw for more details.

One of the areas I see this combo excels (dcraw/PS) is on skin tones, something you'll surely appreciate given your area of interest, although your latest shots tones are spot on.

[RimBlock]

Pukkita,

Thanks for the kind words. I hoped that was what you meant.

Yes the first few pictures were underexposed when tweaked as the monitor was not calibrated at the time. Going over the pictures yesterday they looked pretty rough.

Now I am finally calibrated the newer shots should be looking pretty good to all viewing them with a calibrated monitor.

I will have a look at dcraw although I do like a front end gui so I can see the changes as I make them and as I usually swap between the 85mm f1.8 and the 28-135mm f4.5-5.6 IS (for freehand) lenses the shots also require individual tweaking depending on aperture with the 85mm letting in a lot more light and generally over exposing even with an ND x4 filter on the front. I really should go out and get the x8. Depending on the aperture I usual have to adjust between .5 and 1.5 stops in the raw software with the 85mm lens shots although I must admit it is pretty consistent. The 28-135mm lens is usually spot on with exposure using the studio flash.

I have my GF visiting for Christmas from New York this Thursday so I am not sure how much time I will get to put up some more shots although I will try between doing some washing and making the place look not so bachelor like :grin:

Cheers
RB

[cdrider]

What a fantastic thread. I've just ordered a new camera after outgrowing my Olympus and most of the technical things in this thread are beyond me but very interesting all the same.

My favourite photo is the lady with the white top and jeans. Such a beautiful woman and a wonderful contrast of the skin tones against the white background. I like the slightly blurred bookcase(?) in the background. It seems to add some warmth to the picture. Probably not making sense but I rarely do ;)

[RimBlock]

Thanks CDRider.

I only started with an SLR for portraits in October learning so anything is possible with a bit of time and a lot of reading.

As all of you have been so paitent...... here are some more shots I did a week or two before Christmas.

Enjoy....
RB

[RimBlock]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Kae/IMG_2091.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Kae/IMG_2080.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Kae/IMG_2078.jpg

[RimBlock]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Jira/IMG_2028.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Jira/IMG_1999.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Jira/IMG_2027.jpg

[RimBlock]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Xiang/Img_1795.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Xiang/Img_1794.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/Xiang/Img_1793.jpg

[RimBlock]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/June/IMG_1721_1.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/June/IMG_1697.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/June/IMG_1722.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/June/IMG_1698.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/June/IMG_1701.jpg

[RimBlock]

Last but not least.

My better half........

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/ShuFen/IMG_2192.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/ShuFen/IMG_2196.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/RimBlock/ShuFen/IMG_2159.jpg

Most pics are just resized and converted to jpg. A couple have been cropped but none have been edited more than that.

Regards
RB

[SSB]

Your exposures vary wildly from shot to shot - if anything I think you need to focus on getting consistent results, which shouldn't be too difficult given that you're shooting in the same place all the time.

[RimBlock]

I would tend to dissagree excluding the 3rd shot of June where the exposure is fairly well off but then all the pics were loaded from RAW into Adobe CS2 and were auto setup with it's RAW plugin.

Also bear in mind that there were usually two lenses in play with different min aperture settings, one requiring an ND filter. Although the shots were generally taken in the same place the lighting is usually moved around between shots which also has an effect.

I would be interested to know which shots you are seeing as being 'wildly' different in exposure though (excluding the one mentioned above) as I don't see it from here at work.

Maybe I will take a bit more time after the shots and just put up edited versions rather than out of the camera pics but then I was hoping to show the camera / lens combos results rather than my editing skills (or lack of).

Oh and any tips on getting the same exposure on all shots given the same room but different lighting setups and the lens differences would be most welcome SBB.

RB

[SSB]

Well the three of Kae all have a very different look to them. The third is OK, but the first is underexposed and the second is overexposed (or overlit). I can't offer specific guidance for your set-up, but I'd suggest that:

An ND filter shouldn't be needed if you control your lighting and your lens is up to the job

Post-processing is important and that's where you can iron out differences in the appearance of shots from the same shoot, and between shoots. Although the auto options in programmes like CS2 are OK, there's no substitute for user intervention. A separate RAW processing program like Raw Shooter Essentials / Premium or Capture One LE / Pro might give you a better RAW workflow solution than CS2 alone can offer.

I hope this is helpful.

[Radiohead]

Am I right in thinking that you bought a 350D on impulse on 02/11/05, then a full lighting rig and peripherals on 03/11/05 and now have a 5D?

What glass are you using for the 5D?

[RimBlock]

Radiohead,

Err sorta. Bought the 350D as a tester into the waters of D-SLR and as I was going to Thailand it seemed to be the best time just before.

After coming back from Thailand I realised that tend to be better at people shots rather than landscapes (IMHO) and since I have no beaches and palm trees (and little sun) here in London I decided that I would have to shoot indoors for most of the year so I invested in some lighting. After using that for a while the thing that became obvious was that I couldn't get full length portraits with the 1.6x crop factor of the 350D so went out and got a 5D whilst selling the 350D. i am now pretty happy and short of getting a bigger soft box and umbrella or replacing the lighting for better models which I think is unlikely (so next week I will probably report that I have done just that), there is not much I need. I am not sure that I am happy to go up to 'L' series glass at the moment as I don't really like the ranges of the zoom lenses with IS and they don't complement my current setup at the moment. I also don't see any 'L' primes to take the place of my 50 or 85mm lenses although I have heard that the ones I have are very, very good even if they are not 'L' glass (hence buying them).

I am tending to use the 85mm 1.8 Prime for tripod work and the 28mm-135mm f4.5-5.6 for freehand work. The darker shots are more likely the zoom lens.

Cheers
RB

[Radiohead]

Radiohead,

Err sorta. Bought the 350D as a tester into the waters of D-SLR and as I was going to Thailand it seemed to be the best time just before.

After coming back from Thailand I realised that tend to be better at people shots rather than landscapes (IMHO) and since I have no beaches and palm trees (and little sun) here in London I decided that I would have to shoot indoors for most of the year so I invested in some lighting. After using that for a while the thing that became obvious was that I couldn't get full length portraits with the 1.6x crop factor of the 350D so went out and got a 5D whilst selling the 350D. i am now pretty happy and short of getting a bigger soft box and umbrella or replacing the lighting for better models which I think is unlikely (so next week I will probably report that I have done just that), there is not much I need. I am not sure that I am happy to go up to 'L' series glass at the moment as I don't really like the ranges of the zoom lenses with IS and they don't complement my current setup at the moment. I also don't see any 'L' primes to take the place of my 50 or 85mm lenses although I have heard that the ones I have are very, very good even if they are not 'L' glass (hence buying them).

I am tending to use the 85mm 1.8 Prime for tripod work and the 28mm-135mm f4.5-5.6 for freehand work. The darker shots are more likely the zoom lens.

Cheers
RB

The one comment I would make is that the 5D is very demanding of glass and needs quality to really shine. I'm a Nikon man myself so don't know Canon glass in detail, but I do know that the 5D sensor easily out-resolves consumer glass.

[RimBlock]

SBB,

Thanks, yep I agree that the first one of Kae is def underexposed. That would be with the 28mm-135mm lens (no filter). The other two are almost certainly with the 85mm 1.8 prime plus the 2stop ND filter. I really don't seem much exposure difference between 2 & 3. Both look pretty good to me. Can you point out areas which highlight the over exposure on two to you. I see no blown out highlights so it may help me fine tune what to look for now I tend not to get detail loss from over / under exposure.

I do agree with your comment on using an ND filter and it would be nice if I didn't have to but as explained else where in the thread, due to the limitation of the working area and the limitation of the lights and their settings I find I have to use it as the lights are still too strong on the lowest settings. Yes I could get better lights with more control but then I could get a wide format camera with a digital back and professional models in a dedicated studio. The question for me is to say where to stop pumping money at this and take some time to settle into knowing how to use what I have before moving on to something better. So for me at the moment the ND filter is the way to go.

Yep couldn't agree more that the post processing is important for finished images but as I mentioned when I posted them, they are straight out of the camera with no processing. If I had to process them then they would be put up even more slowly due to work commitments, free time and wanting to do something more than sitting in front of a PC for hours manipulating pixels (currently installing a dishwasher and laying some flooring at the moment).

I will tweak the exposure on the first Kae and third June shot as they were all done (loaded, resized, saved for web, uploaded to photobucket and posted) just before going to bed and so more or less as quickly as possible.

One thing that is quite noticeable and I hoped would come out is the full frame sensor showing up the differences in the top corners due to the lens (look at Kae 2 & 3).

Cheers
RB

[RimBlock]

The one comment I would make is that the 5D is very demanding of glass and needs quality to really shine. I'm a Nikon man myself so don't know Canon glass in detail, but I do know that the 5D sensor easily out-resolves consumer glass.

I have not had a chance to try any 'L' glass on it and I think the question for me is whether spending another £1,000 + for one lens is going to make £1,000 worth of difference. If I was doing this professionally or looking for it to be more than a hobby and making money from it then maybe it would be but I have come to the point where I can see the limitations of my senses and know that spending £4,000 on HiFi will not give me £3,500 worth of better results above my £500 HiFi setup. I just cannot hear that much of a difference (yes there is a difference but for me just not £3,500's worth).

I now and then check ebay to see if anything takes my fancy with the lenses on offer but the 'L' glass generally goes for pretty good prices for the sellers.

Cheers
RB

[Radiohead]

Pic 2 of Kae looks a little "hot" to my eyes to be honest (tip of the nose has a hotspot, and the chin looks hot), less so with pic 3. You can see the vingetting in both as you mention.

[RimBlock]

SBB,

One other thing was that Rawshooter also did not support the %D's RAW format in the standard version. I am really cautious in buying the Pro version as I understand a number of the better features are also then plugins that cost more on top. Adobe Raw works well enough although the auto settings are not always the best as can be seen in some of the shots posted.

I have noted that Microsoft have now released their raw explorer plugin which can read the 5D's new format. I will download it and give it a try soon.

Regards
RB

[SSB]

Come on, you can't complain about post-processing taking up time when you've spent so much on your kit and have gone to such lengths to kidnap all those girls?! ;) I reckon people would be interested to see the processed files / finished product as it's your best shot (as it were).

As for the light fall off on the full frame sensor of the 5D, it's been picked up quite a bit in reviews. The FF sensor demands much better lenses - particularly if you are going to use them wide open - than the 1.6x crop-sensor of the 20D, 350D etc. Unfortunately that's the game you play, as radiohead says - you get a decent body and then you need decent lenses. Maybe some of the money you spent on lighting etc might have been better invested in better glass.

As for the raw processing, I'd definitely recommend trying out Capture One LE from www.phaseone.com - they support the 5D already. Raw Shooter won't be far behind in supporting the 5D, so worth keeping an eye out on www.pixmantec.com for news to that effect. Microsoft's raw viewer is I believe just that, a viewer. It won't make your workflow any easier, although it might make finding individual raw files on your HDD easier.

[RimBlock]

Pic 2 of Kae looks a little "hot" to my eyes to be honest (tip of the nose has a hotspot, and the chin looks hot), less so with pic 3. You can see the vingetting in both as you mention.

Yes agreed but it seems to me that the effects are minimal to the point of me not even noticing them with out have a good look at the pictures. The lighting position would make for some of the difference as the camera settings would be the same between shots. Getting from bad / poor / beginner shots to a reasonable / good level is not to hard but getting from that to something better is much more difficult as the differences in things like exposure are pretty subtle and in some cases also subjective.

Cheers
RB

[Radiohead]

Yes agreed but it seems to me that the effects are minimal to the point of me not even noticing them with out have a good look at the pictures.

Agreed, but the web is merciless for picture critique, particularly when you're using such high-end kit. As a fellow photographer it's the sort of thing I would look for in my own pics, so I tend to do the same with others. Like you I'm a recent convert to SLR's (April 2005) and spent about £3k on kit last year, plus the D200 just before Xmas, but it's all paid for itself already.

People are my favourite subject, but I lean towards candid/reportage neatly avoiding the large investment required for studio work. :)

[RimBlock]

Come on, you can't complain about post-processing taking up time when you've spent so much on your kit and have gone to such lengths to kidnap all those girls?! ;)

It is getting rid of the bodies that takes the time :devil:

I reckon people would be interested to see the processed files / finished product as it's your best shot (as it were).

Nice to know but as there seems to be minimal to no interaction with people reading this thread, until today, it is hard to know.

As for the light fall off on the full frame sensor of the 5D, it's been picked up quite a bit in reviews. The FF sensor demands much better lenses - particularly if you are going to use them wide open - than the 1.6x crop-sensor of the 20D, 350D etc. Unfortunately that's the game you play, as radiohead says - you get a decent body and then you need decent lenses.

But what decent lenses are there out there that are better than the 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.8 canon primes ?. Ok yes I realise that there are probably a number of lenses that are better than the 28mm-135mm but I don't see any that cover the full range with IS. Any suggestions ....... Anyone :grin: .

Maybe some of the money you spent on lighting etc might have been better invested in better glass.

I find that unlikely as I need the lighting to shoot indoors and as the 'kit' I got was one of the cheapest and I got it cheaper from ebay........

As for the raw processing, I'd definitely recommend trying out Capture One LE from www.phaseone.com - they support the 5D already. Raw Shooter won't be far behind in supporting the 5D, so worth keeping an eye out on www.pixmantec.com for news to that effect. Microsoft's raw viewer is I believe just that, a