Check out pics, tell me what you think! please

geekyrocketguy · 03-10-2007, 08:13 PM

The others have offered compositional tips, I'll add some technical stuff.

Put your camera in AV mode. Set your aperture as large as possible (low fstop). Set your ISO to 100 or 200. This will help you to capture action better.

You may also want to consider a better camera. A used DSLR with a decent lens would run ~$800, I'm assuming this is probably too expensive. You may want to consider a Fuji Finepix s5200 or Canon S2IS or S3IS. The S2IS is an older model that can be bought for dirt cheap these days. These cameras are "prosumer" superzoom models that take pretty good photos.

If you buy a new camera, don't pay more for more megapixels. You don't need more than 5-8 megapixels.

Mr.jon · 03-10-2007, 08:34 PM

no-one will steal your pics.

minikillersam · 03-10-2007, 09:14 PM

i think ryan takes good pictures for just starting out not long ago and with the equipment he owns. i think he will progress if he sticks with it and eventually learns more about the camera

1ryan1 · 03-10-2007, 09:17 PM

geekyrocketguy- alright thanks. ill look into changing the settings and mess with it tomorrow at the field. i am considering a new camera but im not really sure if i can drop 800. but i will look for something in my price range then consult with you guys, since you obviously know more, just to make sure its worth the money

Mr.jon- i didnt mean steal. but i want to have some type of media logo/symbol so people know who took the photo whether it be good or bad.

minikillersam- thanks sammy, glad you appreciate it.

all the people who put the pictures down and dont actually give help/advice like i asked for, please post pictures that you take, i would like to see them.

tonybhall · 03-10-2007, 09:25 PM

Ryan,

most everyone else here has said just about all that can be said here... some of your pics have promise but you have a LOT of room to improve and a lot of work ahead to get there.

Here are the biggest issues I see.. stop taking pics of peoples backs. That only works for line-of-site shots which # 2 could have been if the guy in the snake had been shooting. Otherwise it just looks like your out of place.

2. see rule of thirds. Get your subjects out of the center of the pic. Either do it when you take the pic, or crop it later. Either way, subject in center is boring.

3. Your photos don't POP. most of them look washed out with no contrast and dull color. You can fix this in camera with better exposure settings or in PS later. Best to learn how to get the proper exposure on your camera. But, you have to get out of manual to do that. I shoot paintball in AV (apeture priority).

4. be careful about cutting off players feet, arms, guns ect... Unless you are framing really tight and mean to do so. Otherwise it's just poor framing.

Get in front of the players, frame your subject off center, zoom in and get tight shots, stop shooting in manual.

Oh, and someone earlier said ISO 100 or 200. Not a good idea for action. You might pull off 200 if the lighting is AWSOME. Otherwise, ISO 400 for action. At 100 and 200 moving subjects WILL be blurry.

check out lots of paintball photography and see how the pros do it. I'm not saying copy other peoples styles, but it's a good idea to study what good photos look like.

hope that helps

geekyrocketguy · 03-10-2007, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonybhall

Oh, and someone earlier said ISO 100 or 200. Not a good idea for action. You might pull off 200 if the lighting is AWSOME. Otherwise, ISO 400 for action. At 100 and 200 moving subjects WILL be blurry.

It really depends on lighting. On a sunny day, you can easily get shutter speeds of 1/1000 or faster at ISO 100 F2.8. This will freeze most action...

I said ISO 100 or 200 because he's using a PnS. The exif information for the photos that I checked said he was using ISO 80. ISO 400 with a PnS is going to be fairly noisy. Any brightening in photoshop will result in an unacceptable level of noise.

Obviously, if you've got a DSLR that handles noise very well, you can use ISO 400 or 800 with next to no loss of quality. He does not have this option.

tonybhall · 03-10-2007, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geekyrocketguy

Obviously, if you've got a DSLR that handles noise very well, you can use ISO 400 or 800 with next to no loss of quality. He does not have this option.

good point.

Drex17 · 03-10-2007, 10:51 PM

you can get plenty fast shutter speeds at ISO 100.

This is the exif from a shot I took over the summer. On a sunny day 100 would be fine.

Image Date: 2006:08:22 17:49:07
Focal Length: 200.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.0005 s (1/2000)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 100

bannedbi slaughter · 03-10-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [702] NO$EY

No, you sit on a throne of lies.

no i seriosly like them, good pb pics are hard to beat.

[702] NO$EY · 03-10-2007, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1ryan1

all the people who put the pictures down and dont actually give help/advice like i asked for, please post pictures that you take, i would like to see them.

Sure, no problem.

bannedbi slaughter · 03-10-2007, 11:14 PM

Nosey, i think you have really good pics.

but i dont think anyone should flame on ryan, they are pretty good amature pics, an atleast its an attempt.

[702] NO$EY · 03-10-2007, 11:16 PM

Not flaming, just telling him what's up. Huge difference.

dm5n6 · 03-10-2007, 11:27 PM

ryan takes pictures at my local field. i think they are somewhat decent. could be better but like he said hes just starting out. he has the right idea just needs to focus more on it.

for ryan

1ryan1 · 03-10-2007, 11:30 PM

yea it just seems like the vibe your givin off is negative. i dont know who you are. but btw nice pics. and yea theres a huge difference. you have been doing this probably for a while now. im just starting out somewhat. but i know what im doing. i think i have the right idea on good pictures. and im really not sure why you said dont blame it on equipment. you have a very nice, expensive camera, i dont. but the gun doesnt make the player... but it helps.

anyways nice pics and i appreciate everyones help. ill try getting something tomorrow and post it and see what you guys think. tips and comment still welcome

dmn6- thanks chris.

Crises of Perception · 03-10-2007, 11:33 PM

Edite: reread your first post.

tonybhall · 03-10-2007, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drex17

you can get plenty fast shutter speeds at ISO 100.

I guess I don't use ISO 100 because when i shoot tournies I am usually shooting from very early in the morning till late in the afternoon and in ever changing lighting situations due to placement of differnet fields at an event. My canon does well enough at 200 and 400 ISO so it's just one less adjustment I have to keep making.

gigante · 03-11-2007, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1ryan1

im just starting out somewhat. but i know what im doing. i think i have the right idea on good pictures.

i think this is the problem. i don't want to sound like a dick, but the only way to say this is that you have a long way to go. you say you have the right idea on good pictures, but what you have posted, while a fine place to start, got the correct reaction. 'the right idea' isn't mostly the backs of players in the same old poses. 'the right idea' isn't chopping off only the very tip of the barrel. if you were looking for someone to tell you your pictures are amazing, apparently your local field is the place to go. i understand this may sound harsh, but if you don't change your attitude, you may not learn anything.

edit: you said you wanted pictures, so here's a thread of mine from a bit ago: https://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=2029264

streetspirit · 03-11-2007, 11:53 AM

I think the main point in "blaming your equipment" is mastering what you have at the moment. I don’t see how you can say a better camera will help you take better pictures if you don't even know how to use the PNS to it's fullest potential yet.

Once you've mastered your PNS, get a DSLR. It'll make a difference, sure, but not if you don't know how to work it.

Also, if you really want to make a career out of this, I'd advise actually learning all of the camera talk because you will encounter plenty of situations where your picture would be ruined otherwise.

cowkid90 · 03-11-2007, 04:04 PM

While most of the pictures weren't great, I think a big thing contributing to that is the lack of processing. Film pictures need development, and digital is no different.

Here's a quick comparison:
Without:

and just a few minutes of PP:

Mini Saget · 03-11-2007, 05:56 PM

Back.Shots.Are.Boring.

Get in front of the action.

elTwitcho · 03-11-2007, 05:58 PM

I don't know that hyper saturated reds really help the image. Some parts are oversaturated and the bunkers shouldn't be the thing your attention focusses on.

I tried a very quick and very simple curves adjustment and got really nice results, it only took me 20 seconds and the photo was alot better as a result. Postprocessing is definately something you'll need to add to your repertoire