hello all,
this is really getting to me now, ive been a member for a while, but have never posted pictures of my work!
it makes me feel bad sometimes commenting on other peoples models when ive never put any pics of mine on the site.

ive tried loads of times to photograph my models to no avail, ive had some really helpful advise from people here(AJlafleche in particular) about taking pictures of my models, but it never seems to work!

ive now wasted my 5th full roll of film, trying to take pictures, that always turn out crap!
ive tried with a digital camera but that didnt work either,
my dad uses one for work and let me borrow it, but the pics were too blurred.

i have a pretty good camera, so its obviously technique,
but after trying loads of different tips out it never seems to work.
and im getting pretty fed up now

some tips,
Try a Macro set, tripod,adj shutter speed, flash, 200ASA film, and the canon book photography for beginers.
I know how you feel, I had the same problem. GOOD LUCK w/ your endeavours.

You might also try a cable release, as it reduces camera shake.
In terms of lighting you might be better off without a flash, as a flash can make the shading look different than it really is. Use converging lights of the same strength, i.e. two 60 watt light bulbs, one on the left and one at the right pointed so that they converge in the center and elminate any shadow that the light casts. You will need a tripod for this.

They cant be as bad as mine use the digital.go for it,the more you do the better you will get and you wont run out of film :-)

I have to agree with Dhepee, don't use a flash, make sure there is enough light for the camera to focus. If it still doesn't work, try to manually focus the image (if possible of course).

Kris

If all else fails see if you can find a mate who does photography. With the way digital cameras are spreading in popularity I'm sure sombody you know does it. Ask them to take some for you, see how they do it, and practice, practice, practice.

Like many of the guys here said it comes down to practice. I used to use an SLR camera sat on a box to take close up pics and found closing the aperture with a slow shutter speed and using the timer the best way. If you focus about 2/3 of the way back from the front of the model it usually gets everything in focus.
Since I got a digi camera it is so much easier, not only does the macro setting help but I can tweak the pics to sharpen them up and allow for poor lighting. Also if you can try to take the pics outside, daylight is the best form of lighting as it doesn't seem too harsh.

A tripod will make a better support for a camera than a box and you can adjust the position of the camera in relation to the model much easier. If you're using daylight to light the model, try and do your photography on an overcast day as this will ease the contrast between the highlights and the shadows on the model. If it still looks a bit "contrasty" try filling in the shadows by using white card or paper as reflectors. Stop the lens down as far as you can to get as much as possible in focus and use a cable release for the shutter.

Hope this helps

ive now got some pictures that arnt too bad, the lightings rather harsh but they are better than my previous attempts.

what format do they have to be to display them on the site?
they are jpg images, will that work?

can some one give me advise on how to post them?

cheers

joe

The find a friend that shoots photos is a good one...heck, ima photographer and have yet to post a pic of a kit 'im working on...Intimidation factors in quite hard with this bunch of pros...or...you could xerox them...

glack

Yes, jpegs will work. Go to the bottom of your post and click on the "My Gallery" button. The main page will open up. Find the link to "upload photos" in the upper right corner. Click on this you'll see a dialogue box that has 5 boxes for addresses and a box that says "browse" Click "browse" and locate your picture on your computer or disk and double click it. You can upload up to 5 pics at a time. When you're ready click the "upload/submit" button and sit back and wait. You'll get a message, "processing photos" or something like that, then one that says continue or completed. You can now proceed to your gallery and see your pics.

Next step, double click on the thumbnail to get a full image. Right click your mouse on the picture and you'll get another dialogue box. Go to the "properties" and click that. You'lll see and "address" you can copy that and place it in your post by clicking the IMG button and replace "http://put.url.here" with the address. Make sure you leave the "/image.file" so the picture links properly into your post.

Looking forward to seeing your results.

I have a really crappy digi camera as well i use a tripod to keep it steady.. i also use lots of light. they aren't the best pics but good enough to get decent comments!

you will get satisfying photos sooner or later and we will be here waiting for them...

OUTSTANDING! Is this new? I've never seen this before. This is the easiest way to post pictures here I've seen. I've been putting them on my MSN groups page then using it to "host" them then post to here. This is great.

Its better to use the digital camera, cause you can take loads of photos, till youre some satisfied, and you dont pay for them to develop. it might be wise to try take some pictures out in daylight where is more physical than the artificial bulb lighting that is making some ugly shades. Begin by posting some that you thing are good enough and you ll get all the help you need from everybody here .Its not so difficult and the more u try the better you ll be in no time . Good luck

why doesnt the picture appear?

i followed your instructions AJ, the pictures are in my gallery, but i just get one of those boxes with a cross in it.
what am i doing wrong?

cheers

joe

Joe, almost certainly you aren't getting the entire URL when you are posting it. When you go to properties only part of the URL is shown. You have to drag your mouse to the right and down all the way until the entire thing is shown. I think only two of the lines are shown, while there may be three of four lines in the whole thing. If you don't you get the dreaded red X. Try it and see if it works.

Ok,the adress he was using said "thumb" init.Once you have a picture in your galery sucessfully,open the picture to full size.
Then rt click
then choose properties
then highlight the http stuff.
Then choose copy
then open post a reply here
then type [ img]
then immeadiately after,paste the stuff you copied.
then immeadiately type [/img]

thanks for that,

like i said, the pictures arent great, but certainly an improvement.
im still not happy with them though, the lighting is too harsh.
a mixture of low winter sun and camera flash, it makes the colour seem different, and the weathering is less visible

cheers

joe

Try diffusing the light by putting a net curtain in the window or waiting for an overcast day. Bright sunlight tends to overwhelm the film's contrast range which is why your highlights are all bleached out. Try shooting with different exposures too, going one shutter speed up and one shutter speed down till you get a result you like.