Taking Good Photographs

[K7VZ]

Having a good time while out on the trail is usually a given, but getting home and seeing awesome photographs of you on that obstacle flexing your rig to the max with breathtaking scenery in the background helps you relive that day and make friends and family that didn't go envious. There are many challenges to taking good photographs. Having a high dollar fancy camera is a bonus, but most point and shoot digital cameras on the market can also take excellent pictures. From the 4 wheeling perspective, things like sun glare can easily turn a good photograph bad along with many other outdoor features. For those of you more advanced photographers, please share your tips and tricks about taking good photographs.

Here's an example to get things started. Rule of Thirds. http://www.digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds


The “Rule of Thirds” one of the first things that budding digital photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.

http://digital-photography-school.com/wp-content/200604301314.jpg

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.

Example:
http://digital-photography-school.com/wp-content/200604301255.jpg

[steveh552]

The key is lighting and composition. Noon time light sucks, early morning or late afternoon/evening is best. Flash really does not help if you have proper lighting. Just like shooting a firearm, know your target and what is beyond, when taking photos it really sucks to have that telephone pole growing out of the subjects head. Make sure you have the right Fstop for the right shutter speed, that will affect the whole shot, and when making sure you are shooting, dont shoot slow shutter speeds w/o a tripod. Slow is anything 1/60th of a second and slower.

[WB7X]

Some info:

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-tips-for-beginners

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_121/994304_Intro_to_Photography_and_Photoshop____Resou rce_Guide.html

[K7NNT]

Great stuff guys, I learned a lot.

[steveh552]

I had a small photo studio for a bit and took classes from my college in photography. Its been a long time since I have done anything other than with a cell phone but its a fun hobby.

[W6SDM]

One of the reasons that I got into off road was because I wanted to shoot nature. There are lots of opportunities when you get away from the pavement to get shots like the ones you see in National Geographic or Arizona Highways.

http://steve-miller.smugmug.com/Photography/Photography/sedona-3/1022202197_UQ8g7-L.jpg

http://steve-miller.smugmug.com/Photography/Photography/saguaros-s/231429237_z3hjx-M.jpg

The trick is to know how to set your camera and have it ready. You don't need to be a pro - modern digital cameras make a lot of the basic decisions for you. Mine stays on full auto all the time so that it's ready to grab and shoot. If I need to adjust for a certain shot or effect, then I take my time and set up for the shot. Usually, closeups like this require one to spend time and take a lot of shots "bracketing" the settings to get the right effect.

http://steve-miller.smugmug.com/Photography/Photography/seagull-portrait-sm/772464370_maafd-M.jpg

And you can't live in Arizona without photographing sunrise and sunset.

http://steve-miller.smugmug.com/Other/July-2009-Summer-Fun-Contest/sunrise-2/607528356_ayaz4-M.jpg

http://steve-miller.smugmug.com/Photography/Photography/Sonoran-Sunrise/163839190_n97DS-O.jpg

[KE7GRM]

Has anyone bought one of the next generation digital cameras?

[WB7X]

Which next generation? If a camera is more than 15 minutes old, it's already outdated.

The Nikon D800 is the newest "generation" but it's now on pre-order for April.

I bought a D90 when the D7000 was released. Haven't really heard much about the 7000 since.

[N5MUD]

I bought a Fuji X100 last fall and it's replaced my Nikon D90 for 95% of my shooting, but the model is already almost a year old and there's probably some even better micro 4/3 cameras out by now.

[N5MUD]

Back on the original topic of the thread, I like to try and FART when I take a photo:

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm

[K7VZ]

Back on the original topic of the thread, I like to try and FART when I take a photo:

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm

Awesome, I love the acronym. Great advise!