If you want a taller pano - flip your camera into portrait and take double the amount of shots. Don't forget: set one exposure for all shots in any series, or you may end up with stripes. Use your tripod...and shutter release.

have a great time.

Look at Digital Photography step by step by Tom Ang.
isbn 978-1-4053-9103-0 printed and bound by Star Standard Singapore ( WWW.DK.Com) great guides plus suggested further reading via internet. lots of other authors and sites cited. and huge list of useful web sites. chapter on scene modes which will get people moving right up to post processing. first published 2011 so pretty much in date...cost about £20 UK..

Tell them "if you take pictures of ugly minded people...that's what the camera sees." Its all to do with the light..if there is no light in their life then they are dooooomed.

Tomorrow is a better day. you can go out and find happy people to photograph just to prove the point... Then DUCK !!!

I don't own NIKON cameras, My cameras give me different aspect ratio's - which is different to cropping I think. when i look at the size of my pictures in PSE my little point and shoot produces pictures about 40cm wide! or more reasonably at 8 x 10 inches or 5X4 They all end up marginally the same same picture. Its not really about cropping its more about print quality in sizing.

I could be wrong - I don't have your camera. best thing to do is pput your camera on a tripod and take a run of pictures and see

Will surely do that - well if i can find a lens that allows me to get down f45.

Now I know its purely depth of field and will probably come out fuzzy or blind myself shooting into the sun (what sun: this is the UK) the pressure is off.

If it wasn't for the EXIF data I could get away with sending loads from my 'back catalogue' of pictures awaiting PP

:)

Thank you for your replies.I now understand why back focusing is a preferred method of increasing the depth of field rather than using a higher f stop. just when you think you understand it seems that the physics kicks in to send you off in another tangent. One Day.....

My sony A230 goes down to f22 which I've seen used in a few pictures - usually landscapes.

my Canon EOS 450D goes down to f29 . I don't think I have ever seen a picture at that setting. Does that mean that I have a greater field of focus / can take pics in extremely harsh light or what?

better the camera more f stop ?

I know I should try it out...but at what? took shots of the moon at f11 so not going to see anything in a landscape that far. Macro with close lit subject? Extension tubes...?

is it all down to the lens?

I've got
a point and shoot - it has manual gives me a choice of two apertures and 3 point + - it has lots of 'situation settings' plus HDr using flash and not in one shot. it is very limited in what quality shot it can produce.

Sony A230 has manual but no preview to let me ascertain lighting pre-shot. (well I haven't found it yet) it has less 'situation settings' so needs more thought however I use it.

Canon 450D EOS/REBEL whatever..has a button that shows approx light level so can go + /- without wasting a shot. has even less 'situation settings' so needs even more thought.

bottom line is: If you think too much - you can miss the shot. If you think too little you get a shot that you might not like or others may not rate . If you rely on the camera thinking for you you might as well buy your pictures and save a hell of a lot of money.

I think its the state of things nowerdays. In the past you had choice of retailers but less needs. You bought local without really knowing how prices compared (there was always the clever clogs who bought one cheaper)You also probably bought an item and used it till it broke.

Once supermarkets competed, you realised that you can get things cheaper. multi store retail brought down prices, but you lost the personal advice from knowledgeable staff.

now you have virtual stores - no advice and have to rely on peer review by people selling magazines or 'customer' review by people with questionable skills or knowledge. Few keep things till they break and most are happy to resell or simply dump what they no longer want or find useful. everyone has bought a bargain or now knows what bargain they need.


Very soon computers we will send us items because we showed an interest in totally non-similar items in the past year. Our credit card will be deducted if we do not return said item within 30 days with a ten page 'reason' for declining.

we will no longer have to think about what or why we want something - simply wait for the postman.

Its called progress. Its supposed to be good.

Remember when you had a phone on the wall - you could call anyone anywhere in the world - now you have to be in a specific place in the world to call anyone yet everyone seems to be able to call you.

you used to have a big box computer...and a radio..and a tv...and a camera....now you've got a phone.. your need is greater,but your ability to buy quality is less.

shopping was a chore now its therapy. Manufacturers build only what the masses think they want. trouble is there are a lot of stupid people in the world that you have to contend with.

On a happier note - we now have less professionals to show us what we're missing therefore we can be happy doing what we do do. (wasn't that a bird that went extinct)

I didn't buy canon, couldnt afford it. YN560 is manual, Change out of £50 and works. Better/worse no idea I'm just learning. it will fire from pop up flash, you can get a cable for about £9 or wireless. They do a Sony hotshoe...which most don't. whats to hate. oh and if you stood under a fountain or out in the rain most electronics fail...

If you can afford that camera - you can surely afford to try it and try trading it in if not happy..

I have a book by Tom Ang 'digital photography step by step'dk press isbn978-1-4053-9103-0
he suggests Neue Sachlichkeit, John Blakemore, Peter Dombrovskis,Per Bak Jensen, Michael Kenna, Shinzo maeda, Paul Raphaelson, Brett Weston, - also cites Fay Godwin

these are for Ideas for landscapes, possible to use their photographs to compare /contrast with media shots and mobile phone shots. I've got a degree in Geog and Env Science didn't really use a lot of photography 'names' in that but pulling quotes gives kudos.

also look up local tv websites for their news pictures, they should be attributed to the photographers - google their name and see what pops...

good luck

You can't really see it, but the background is my mushroom coloured kitchen wall.Natural light from the glass door out of shot (R) is graduated R-L. this was one of the good remarks made about it. Equally our current lot of judges seem to be pretty harsh on simple white /black backgrounds. (that will all change again as fashion does)
capturing the flower to change the background is really difficult in PSE. one reason I altered levels to get a whitish background from a grey starting point. So far people prefer the darker image---so must remember that in future.

Thanks for the comments - will try to post bigger pics in future

lovely photo's

'Timber' looks a bit like lorelie (?) copenhagen statue of nude sitting on a rock in the river...will it blow up?

I took this photo in natural light indoors using a white card reflector to reduce shadow using RAW.Picture 1 was my post processed thoughts as a romantic picture for my wife (who grew the flower) picture 2 is how she preferred it. having already had another flower picture 'judged' low in my local club for being on a white background picture 2 went in almost as an 'up yours'. it came 2nd against what i thought was strong competition. shows what I know... which do you prefer (its the same picture) wife's choice hangs on the wall - mine hangs out on the hard-drive.

picture 1


picture 2

Wow Taximom, aint there some negative *****!!! out there. With advice like some of this its a wonder there are so many 'proffessionals'.
rule one of being in business: you are the boss and it works how you want it, when you want it for as long as you want it. period - otherwise you would work for someone else true?

rule two - if works for you..do it!then try to stop everyone else from doing it too - hey guess where the negativity came from....!

Rule three - you pay for your mistakes ---so they are yours use them....don't let others use them against you THEY didn't pay for them.

rule 4 - don't re-invent the wheel, don't fix what aint broke and use what ever shortcuts work for you.

Rule 5 - when you asked for a hand up any more than five rules is finger pointing....:-)

don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something YOUR way. Quote genetics we are all unique..