New Camera

[nepenthes_ak]

So I got a new Camera for my birthday (Thursday)

A Cannon Digital Rebel XTi DSLR, with 10.1 MP!

Today I went to a street fair in a local town, (Dave Chapelles Home Town)
I went to a street fair, I'm still new to my camera so I figured I would go out and play around with it. I didn't get to many good photos cause im using a different lens than what came out the box, allot of them a good portion of the people are missing (just enough to make the photo to be unbalanced), lightings off, or its not in focus.

1-http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1271/538126771_c57e6f8d90_b.jpg
2-http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1405/538126765_a9d6ecd9f3_b.jpg
3-http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/538126757_5058686c58_b.jpg

I ended up hanging out with my friends at their house afterwards, we ended up jammin.

4-http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/alaskaheadbanger/b6ff236b.jpg
5-http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/alaskaheadbanger/26b89124.jpg
6-http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/alaskaheadbanger/a9ea40c3.jpg

I might have one more, just need her permision. Suggestions welcomed!

 

[NeciFiX]

That's cool. It's always been a dream of mine to own a camera, can't afford it .

Not very good lighting in the first few. But, good photo quality overall.

 

[Est]

Nice! I've been taking a peek at cameras in that range but I've yet to take the plunge. I figure I'll wait at least a few months of work before looking too seriously (unless I find an offer that I can't refuse. )

Getting critique is good, giving critique is possibly better as you learn to define what you do and don't like and how you can apply it to your own photography/art. But I suppose that's just my opinion.

A bit tired for any sort of serious critique, but HOT DANG colours show up nice on that camera.

 

[Zero]

nep ak, I have been looking at that same camera for months. I have been waiting for a price drop.
did the xti run you around $800?

 

[herenorthere]

People wanting digital SLRs should also consider looking for an older one. My old Canon digital SLR is only ~3 MP but takes better photos than cameras with many more pixels because I put good lenses on it. Unless you're hoping to put a photo on the cover of National Geographic, an older camera will do everything you need and the amount you save will buy a nice lens. Be careful when selecting lenses, by the way. Even companies like Canon & Nikon are putting out a lot of crap. A Google search will turn up plenty of reviews.

 

[Not a Number]

With contrasty shots like the outdoors photos using fill-flash, spot-metering, exposure compensation or a different program mode would help. The indoor shots are fine, maybe a touch dark - either you're at the limit of the built-in flash (get closer or use a more powerful flash) or a different program mode might help.

A quick pass through Photoshop to lighten the mid-tones works wonders (click on thumbs):




Spot-metering on the faces (if that's the important part of the shot), exposure compensation or fill-flash would have brought the midtones up at the expensive of the highlights. Not always possible with candids though (takes too long to spot meter, flash to obtrusive).

* hope you don't mind me hijacking your shots for this demo. I'll delete them if you wish.

 

[nepenthes_ak]

Its OK, I don't mind you touching up the pictures. I don't have photo shop so I cant touch any thing up really.

I got mine on Amazon for almost 700
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000I1ZWRW/photonet

I have some more photos, I do wanna get a hot shoe flash, Once I get used to the camera and make money, I will buy a Spot meter, back drop, lights, some reflectors, and play around with those, I had taken a bunch more, but I was with a friend who felt awkward with me taking the pictures at random so I didn't get to take as many as I wanted. But I had my friend come along so I wouldn't feel awkward as well lol! I have trouble just walking up to a stranger and taking pictures when they aren't preforming or something of the sort.

Hear are some more (only 1 person one, even then not really personish)
1- http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1075/537183514_57fa71b0be.jpg?v=0
2- http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1180/536843182_e9831ba3f4.jpg?v=0
3- http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1302/537224466_c157bcba2e.jpg?v=0
4- http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1350/536843162_cc8c41a0c9.jpg?v=0
5- http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1033/536843156_43ab9f03f0.jpg?v=0

 

[Not a Number]

The camera should have a spot metering mode built-in - no need to buy a hand-held. Those can be expensive for a good one - almost as much as the camera!

Yes, it does feel awkward taking photos of strangers. A telephoto helps. One of my photo instructors told us one assignment he gave a class was to take photos of something they were afraid of. One of the students had an old woman that lived in his neighborhood that all the kids were scared of. So the first photos were of the house far away, the woman just a speck. Then eventually closer and closer until some really fine close-up portraits. You, guessed it, she was the sweetest lady you could imagine. All the kids were afraid of her because she was and old woman living alone in a slightly run-down house. So a camera could actually help you overcome your fears.

Good composition in your shots by the way.

 

[nepenthes_ak]

Is spot metering the Little Arrow thing that goes back and forth when i change the time priority, till it hits the center Or is that the ISO? Are you a Photographer?

 

[Not a Number]

Normally modern cameras will measure light across the entire image, broken up into areas. The areas will have more priority depending on the metering program/mode you pick. So a scenic might place more emphasis on the bottom 2/3ds of the image, portrait mode more towards the center of the image etc. Spot metering puts all the sensitivity in a small area of the image and allows you to take meter readings of selected areas. You can to some extent do the same by getting close to the subject and taking selected readings but this isn't always practical.

What you described sounds like manual metering mode.

I've spent quite a bit of money on photographic equipment in my time and taken a few classes but that doesn't make me a photographer

 

[nepenthes_ak]

Found another photo that was ok,
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1021/540658965_147b1bc0f0.jpg?v=0


Ah, Cause I'm learning all this stuff now, and plan on going to go to college for it (the reason for the camera). Now that I think about it I think I have a metering like setting, I can put it in automatic, and it has a kind of Rectangle with 9 dots in a Diamond shape, I can select which one and it will focus on what ever it finds in that area. But It could be the manual metering mode, I need to do more reading!

Thanks for your help

 

[Not a Number]

That's spot-metering mode. It probably can be switched between manual or automatic.