DA Photo Contest Forum / Photography / Ask Questions

Lighten faces.....

bissy1 — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:42:35 GMT

On an image (people or portrait) that has faces that are dark compared to the clothing that is light, how do you correct the face without further lighting the clothing. I have tried fill flash, fade correction, color correction. All have left the subjects with off colored skin or the colthing was to light compared to the skin. I get one corrected but screw up the other part. I have photoshop 6. photoshop CR2 and corel PSPP X2. Any help is greatly appreciated....Thank you....Sandy

Green grass brightness....

bissy1 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:26:26 GMT

When taking pictures outdoors on a nice sunny day, how do you eliminate the brightness of the grass with out changing the rest of the image? It seems like the grass or trees take over the image with such brightness. Thanks for any suggestions......Sandy

Blur

Tonka — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:11:13 GMT

Umm,

Is there a difference between blurry, out of focus and focus is too soft?

if so can you show me what the difference between the three is?

Or are they basically all the same thing..or maybe two are the same and one is different?

thanks for your help, thoughts, and opinions.

Still Life?

jill028 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:06:49 GMT

Am I just being wrong about this or are people considered still life? So far today I have seen at least ten photos of people (live people) in the still life category, marked them wrong category but I feel that commenting wrong category on every picture from the same photographer is overdoing it. Some of them are great photos but it is rather a blatant wrong category. Also some of them are definitely digital art.

photographer

Tonka — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:54:52 GMT

Hey guys/girls..

What is a "Scientific Photographer"?

thanks :)

Camera's AF points

Nc16 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:47:07 GMT

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Hey everyone, I hope everyone is enjoying their photography.

I would like to ask if anyone has ever wiped their viewfinder mirror which is where the reflection mirror flips up to when a shot is begin exposed?

I wiped that with a micro fiber cloth and now when I press to change the AF points on my 350D/rebel XT, some of the points don't show up very clearly as a point or very faint compared to before.
Please help.

Thanks all,
Nelson;)

Help-First DSLR camera

Flowergirl — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:15:29 GMT

Hi everyone.

I just purchased my first DSLR camera with two kit lenses. I did a lot of research and the Olympus E-510, a 10mp camera, got very good ratings at a very good price. My old camera is an Olympus C-765 ultra zoom 4 mp and I really get good quality pictures from it. I have been reading the manual and experimenting with taking bird pictures on a tripod with the 40-150mm lens. I am just not getting the clarity that I know I should be getting when I enlarge the pictures.

I am getting frustrated and I would really appreciate any help that I can get. I know that it takes time to get used to a new camera and I know this is a good one. Yesterday I went to the website of a UN photographer named John Isaac. He uses the same camera and takes fantastic pictures. He emailed me just before he took off to India on assignment and briefly said that he shoots mainly on Aperature setting and that the kit lenses are very good. There must be something that I am not doing correctly. Thanks in advance for your input.

Diane

Should I be capturing in RAW?

Jackie — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:38:12 GMT

My camera has several options as to how I can capture my images, I always use TIFF, but should I be using RAW? I must admit I know next to nothing about RAW, is there some great advantage to it? Does anyone know of any good websites or books I can visit/read to help me gain some understanding of RAW? Thanks-Jackie

Black and White Photography

Jackie — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:45:10 GMT

I was wondering if it is better to take a photo using the black and white setting on the camera or to take the photo in color and then convert it to black and white with an editing program, such as photoshop or paint shop pro?

double image

Tonka — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:54:57 GMT

Alrighty, I need a lesson..:)

Can someone in detail, instruct me on how to use PS to put two images side by side for one whole image?

Thanks I appreciate it in advance;)

Shooting the moon

Jackie — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:25:25 GMT

I have seen someamazin g shots of the moon, how do you do it? I am not expecting to get some great shot the first time out, I would be so happy with one that didn't have the moon blown out. I heard I needed at least a 200mm lens, so I went and got a 70-300mm, I am using a Olympus E-500, I have tried the shots using different settings on the camera, I always have it on the tripod, of course. But everytime I take the shot I am sadly disappointed. Can anyone give this stumped girl so advise? Thanks!

What am I lookin at?

Tonka — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:34:18 GMT

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what I am looking at when I see this:

I check out an image in full size..the vote size is nice, I think "hmm maybe this is even better big"...well the image comes up in full size and it looks like lots of parts are like..ummm...

smudged...

is this like an effect? is it editing? done purposely or no? or is this something that a certain brand of camera is known for?

I am clueless and just hoped someone could educate me..

I don't think I like it when I see it in the larger image. and I am not sure if this is something that should not be happening as in a flaw?

Anyone?

Spanks..;)

Macro shot with very good magnification and sharpness - How?

robinsmidsrod — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:09:37 GMT

What kind of equipment do you use to allow for such large magnification?

When I try to get close to the insects I never get close enough, even with a Sigma 105mm macro lens (f2.8) on a Canon EOS 350D body.

I've seen some amazing photos of flies and such. How do you get them so sharp?

Obviously you must use a fast shutter, but to get the necessary depth of field the aperture must be quite high (number-wise) too. And all of this means that you need a lot of light to get anywhere. Am I wrong here, or is there another way around this?

Could any of you macro geniuses share some hard numbers, techniques and equipment suggestions.

And for these small beings that are fast, what about tripods and other support mechanisms, do you need them? If not, how do you get things done?

Macro still life is a walk in the park compared to insects, that's for sure...

Best subcompact point and shoot

Flowergirl — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:57:17 GMT

Hi everyone,

My husband wants a subcompact point and shoot camera(fits in pocket) of good quality. He will mainly take it on fishing trips to take pictures of the guys and their fish. Ha! It should be sharp image quality, 7 or more mp, easy to use, less than $250, and has image stabilization. Also I am sure he would appreciate an LCD size of 2.5 or larger. If you have one you really like or know of one that is good please leave your suggestions. Thank you very much.

Diane:)

Flash Compatibility!

Jorge — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:16:35 GMT

I have a very old flash Minolta Auto 220 X manual flash. I have tried it in my Nikon D80 and it seems to work fine, but the last time I used it in daylight, the display on the camera switched continously from one value to another, like if it couldn't decide exactly where to stop; still, the flash fired and the picture was taken fine. My worry is if I can damage my camera by using this flash in it which is at least 15 yrs. old (but in perfect condition). Thanks for your advice. Jorge

Hard Drive Help

lil_nitelite — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:05:16 GMT

OK the worst of my fears have come true. Yesterday I plugged in my external drive and the internal plug snapped. The disc itself is fine but it of course wont power up or plug into my computer. I live in germany and have no prob shipping it to someone that can retrieve the info but I have no idea where to go or to whom. Im at a total loss here as this is my entire portfolio (wow please dont tell me how dumb this is I already know!) I have a new external and am backing everything up threefold now but I need to retrieve the photos from the old disc. Im more than willing to pay whatever labor out there is fair but again, being stationed overseas have no idea where to go. HELP!

Digital Art

lil_nitelite — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:42:59 GMT

I was curious, what exactly is the definition here of digital art. I read the category description and it seemed like anything with heavy manipulation OR created on the computer but when I submitted a "digital painting" made only from my mouse and my hand I got some nasty remarks that this "didnt include a photo". I did put it in my description that this was digital art created on the computer by hand but maybe I misunderstood the category definitions?

Where to sell your landscape photos?

robinsmidsrod — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 04:44:09 GMT

I'm one of those amatuer photographers that likes to take pictures of landscapes and things that are a little bit odd.

I've gotten a good amount of positive feedback on my landscapes, and I was thinking about how to get them sold.

I've tried some stock agencies, but from what I can understand, most of them are interested in pictures with people in them, or isolated still life photography.

I tried to publish some of my pictures at [url]http://www.artistrising.com/galleries/robinsmidsrod[/url], but a few months into that it doesn't seem to work either.

Are there stock agencies that work with landscape photography, or do you have suggestions for other outlets that will work? I'm a web developer by profession, so naturally my preference is the web-related alternatives in marketing.

In some of the stores in my city I see artwork printed in big frames that are ready to be hung on the wall. What do you do to get your work into the collection of distributors like this? Do they only handle work from professionals, or do amatuers also have somewhere to go with their artwork?

I hope some of you have had success with selling your landscape photos, and I'm eager to hear how you did it.

Sensor Cleaning!

Jorge — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:20:36 GMT

I almost faint when I discovered two smudges at the blue sky area of one of my pictures, and it repeated itself in other pictures exactly at the same spot. My camera is new, no more than 1,000 pictures taken. I had reference of dust or dirt in the sensor (actually in the low pass filter in front of it), but you never think it can happen to you until it is there. Anyway, I have read articles about it, and many mention that no matter how cautious you are, eventually you will face this problem; also, most of them warn you it is better not to try and clean it yourself. My question is if in your experience this is really such a common issue? If it has happened to you and what do you do about it? Should I attempt to clean it? Should I take it to an authorized repairshop? Or, if if the imperfections are not so evident as not to annoy you too much —as many articles suggest— simply use photoshop to get rid of them and avoid tampering with the mechanisms of the camera (specially the sensor)? Another person suggested just to avoid shooting at above (below) f11 and the problem will not be seen (I understand this has to do with light refraction). Anyway, I would appreciate very much your suggestions; to know how you deal with the problem, what the best solution might be and if it is true that this is a very common issue. Thank you, Jorge

Help with poor color after posting

hollarsb — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:21:28 GMT

I posted once before this same question but thought I might get a fresh idea. I am having washed out and flat colors when posting to this forum. I don't know how to fix it. I shoot and edit in adobe 1998 then before posting to the web I convert profile to srgb. It looks fine on my monitor, however, after posting it's lost color saturation and clarity. I know this costs points on my image. I have also tried save for web option and same results occur. Any ideas at all would be great. Thanks.

CS2 and RAW Files. Help!

Stefon Linton — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:52:10 GMT

I just tried downloading some RAW images from a new camera, a Canon 1D mk III. When I attempted to open these files using CS2, I get an error message saying, "Could not complete your request because it is not the right kind of document". Any ideas?? Thx, Stefon

Photoshop help needed

aurock — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:02:59 GMT

A friend of mine just lost her dog quite suddenly :( She had previously shared a picture of her precious Jack and I wanted to fix it up and frame it for her. The problem is it's a very tiny file (only 55KB) so now I'm thinking the best I can do with it is have wallet size pics made that she & her husband could have with them all the time. I'm also having problems cause I don't know how to fix the 'blue' snow. So far all I've done to it is some 'healing brush' fixes to get rid of some smaller distractions. I'd also like to get rid of the house & drainpipe distractions in the background but not sure the most effecient way to clone out that much ... I can handle cloning minor stuff but not sure how is best to handle this much. Any help/suggestions would be very greatly appreciated! : ) Thanks!

Here's the picture

How to avoid reflection?

LAC — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:47:08 GMT

When taking a photo of, let's say a glass of wine, how do you avoid getting reflections.........mainly of yourself? I've tried doing it with one of those photo cubes, but still see the slit with the camera poking thru. *

Thanks~

Shadows on the corners???

Jorge — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:04:08 GMT

Does anybody know why shadows —well not exactly shadows but darker light exactly at the corners of the picture— appear? It has happened basically when shooting at the sky on a sunny day. The sky appears blue and at the corners the blue is darker than the rest. I think is has something to do with the the "sun cap or sunlight protector" (sorry, I don't know the right term) I use for the lens... maybe the filter, although it is a plain skylight, so I don't believe it might be this. if anybody knows, I would appreciate your comments. Also, is not that it bothers me, the effect looks nice, but if I don´t want it I have to keep cropping the picture, and sincerely, I wouldn't like it to be a deffect of the equipment.

thank you Jorge

Poor color saturation after posting image

hollarsb — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:10:40 GMT

I have posted several images lately and some of the have posted with less saturation and vibrant colors. The photos were shot and edited in Adobe 1998 rgb, however, before posting them I converted the profile to SRGB. This worked fine and they look great on my monitor and computer, however, after posting to DA I notice the change. I don't think this is an issue with the conversion to SRGB as after the conversion the images look good, and after resizing the images they look good. Im at a loss. I feel like some of the images have lost their pop and it is reflected in the votes. Any advice would be helpful, I'm sure this has happened to others.

Thanks,

Brian

EXIF information on displayed pictures?

Jorge — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:53:09 GMT

Is there any way to see the exif information of the pictures displayed when voting? Thanks for your help.

Question for someone who knows uses photoshop for digital and graphic arts

SkyBlueRose — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:22:03 GMT

My question has to do with a project I'm trying to complete for school. The part I'm having trouble with isn't the part that is from a photo but using gradients. Sorry if I shouldn't be asking this but I couldn't find a more appropriate topic on the forum and I didn't have luck finding a tutorial by googling. I am making a promotional fan like you see at outdoor fairs and festivals for a nonprofit organization. I'm doing mine for sheltie rescue and I made an outline drawing with a sharpie and scanned it. Each area has a gradient that I made to the selections and then did a gradient as an adjustment layer. I want to know the best most efficient way to adjust the gradients and blend where each color changes in the gradient to look more natural. Like for the face and head selection I used a radial gradient to make the ears and mane dark and then gradual get lighter and more sable colored on the face. The radial actually works pretty good but I need to make some adjustment so it is not totaling circular.
I'm suppose to show my instructor it completed and printed tomorrow morning and she will make suggestions if changes are needed and then I have a week to do the final during Spring break. If no one knows how to do that do you know a good website or forum to go to find an answer?

Thanks,

Linda

Eyes & Selective Color

Wacky Jacky — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:43:17 GMT

Anyone ever experienced problems with light blue eyes and selective coloring!:P

Close ups of wildlife

freeflower — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:34:38 GMT

OK, I've seen numerous really fantastic shots of birds and other small animals lately. They are very bright and extremely well focused. How are these images captured? Is there a tripod involved? How can you use a tripod and try to focus on a tiny bird at the same time? If you're hand holding the camera what settings are being used? I'm really baffled by the excellence of these images. Birds and animals don't usually sit still for a portrait.

Narrow dof

Tonka — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 10:10:13 GMT

Okay so no one wanted to contribute to my last question,,point taken ..:P I am over it..:D...

On to my next question,,Narrow DOF...

A general conversation might help me here...on the merits of narrow dof in competing images..

Sometimes I want to have and show depth by using narrow dof with things in the foreground blurred and having the subject further back in sharp focus..and then items farther back again in blur.. This is narrow dof correct?...The subject framed showing position in it's atmosphere or element....

tell me if I got that wrong please..:),

Now when people vote on images like this , when are they most likely to recognize narrow dof VS. "distractions" in the foreground?...or would you all say that generally narrow dof is not given merit as it should..or easily/quickly recognized...or moreso by those with much experience?

ARe there elements which are important to have stressed in such images,,any for sure no no's? or all a matter of personal taste only?..

Any thoughts or answers would be highly regarded and appreciated...thank you. :)

RAW

Sunnyside Sandy — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:32:44 GMT

Nine Months after getting my Camera I've just taken my first RAW Shots.

I've never so much as experimented with them or the software I got with the Camera. So, I've just had a look - the software is [i]Silkypix Developer Studio[/i] and I'm expecting a steep learning curve and I'm a little daunted by it.:blink:

Has anyone used this software? Any tips?

Is there better software out there? What would you recommend?

Is it worth the hassle when you don't print your photos or submit anywhere else?

I'd really appreciate any advice and input.

Voting

wishmyr — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:50:59 GMT

I have noticed that when I give a vote of 5 or 4, I get emails wanting to know why I gave that level of vote when everyone else has voted it much higher. I responed and pretty much get told off when I explain why. I have taught photography for over 15 years. I look for a number of things when giving my vote and have learned being honest dose not pay here. Everyone wants a high vote and if you give a vote under 6 i get hit with a lot of email. I believe I will pull my self from this site.

Portraits

Tonka — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:35:03 GMT

Okay, hold on to your hats everyone...For I would like to try something, seriously, other than FLOWERS
ugh that was even hard to say,,umm..write..

I would like to know about portraits like Juliana's or Caroline's...you know . with unusual bkrnds or effects..

Is software used for those, with these ideas already there for you to manipulate/change according to your tastes...as in digital art effects..Is there a specific program that caters particularly to portraits..or where do you find these effects/ like say a bkrnd with buildings from India or fantasy bkrnds..? Is it difficult to learn these edit techniques ?

Any info would be kindly appreciated..Afterall , I have 4 kids and I would like to do some neat stuff for them as it is not often I can afford to have their portraits done , nor should I have someone else do them if I am qualified with my camera..LOL...

guys? am I qualified with my camera????:P

Critque comment translation

LAC — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:42:20 GMT

What does the term 'underexposed' supposed to mean?

Thanks!

Should scoring B&W vs.colour photographs be uder the same terms?

Jorge — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:20:05 GMT

I came a cross a discussion where someone asked what required higher photographic skills, black and white or colour photography? I do not intend to put this under a debate, but in my mind came the thought of whether when scoring a b&w photograph we should or not do it under the same terms of colour photographs. In any case, I believe the skills required are different; why? Because in b&w photography there is a handicap that has to be compensated: colour. In the discussion it was mentioned that when selecting the proper white balance in the digital camera, colour is the easiest thing to capture; it is there, it belongs to us. It was mentioned that a flower can be pleasing to the eye simply because it is colourful (genetical reasons maybe); and it was asked to imagine if the easiest element was taken away! The emphasis would lie on light and shadows basically and that it demanded more skills on other photographic elements to make a b&w picture compete against a colour picture. So my question, which of course I understand there can be no rules to since it has a strong subjective weight, is if we should stand on a different analytical angle when scoring a b&w image, and not just commenting lightly because we find no colour in it... Maybe someone with much more knowledge and experience could state better elements to this point. Regards to all.

How To Achieve Black Backgrounds.

big steve — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:08:34 GMT

I'm very new to still photography and I'm trying to learn as much as possible. This forum and the DA site have been wonderful for expanding my limited knowledge. Question: How do you shoot a subject close-up (flower for example) and have a pitch black background? I see this fairly often, mainly with flowers and/or still lifes. Is the background simply painted black in Photoshop (which I don't have) or is it more often achieved through the actual shot settings when snapping the picture? I'd like to learn more about this. Again, I'm a newbie with a lower-end-than-most camera (Canon Powershot SX 100) but I'm in love with photography and anxious to learn much more. Thanks.

Steve Fandel

exposure

Tonka — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:09:50 GMT

Ummm,

Hey there all..:),,,I was wondering if I could ask about one of the challenge ideas?

here is where my ignorance will show..:(..

2 second exposure...
how do you set for that and what is it about 2 second exposure that is the challenge?
what types of things would you specifically shoot with that...what goal would you be aiming for?

Thanks, um I know I asked more than one question..lol..:D

appreciate the info in advance.
I maybe wanted to work on something since I am out of piccies to vote on..
though I do need to finish my philosophy paper..:hehe:

Digital Effects

LAC — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:20:57 GMT

I need some help. Am already working on next year's Holiday card..... am not very good with Photoshop...........I need to know how to add that lighting effect that makes a star shape glow. It's a nighttime photo of my house, candles in the windows..........would look nice with this effect.

Thanks!

~Linda

Wrong Category Images

trvlgurl65 — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 18:16:11 GMT

With the new site, if you post a photo in the wrong category, I don't see where you can fix that. When I go to edit the image, it does not allow me to change the category. I know that there were issues with people doing this before the site was changed, so can we no longer change the category for an image?

Taking snow pictures

aurock — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:34:59 GMT

This past weekend we got some snow (& ice) and my dog loves playing in it ... it's always a challenge for me taking good pictures with the snowy background. Does anyone have some helpful tips they'd like to share? :D

Thanks!