What kind of equipment I use and how I take them....
....So I thought that a "photography" post might interest you guys!
The clouds act almost like a giant diffuser in an enormous open-air studio and you won't get any harsh contrast lines, as you would if you'd take a pic in direct sunlight!
A tripod: This one is a light one for travels. My "good" one is at home... it is quite a heavy and sturdy thing - and it should be one, since I don't want my camera to be blown away while I strike a pose!
My camera of course: A Nikon D5000. I have it for 6 years now and it has never let me down...
I am very happy with it, although the lenses are much more important than a camera body, so try to invest in a good lens and buy a basic camera body (that's my motto, anyway).
The remote: Very important piece of equipment! How do you think that I get my photos taken, if not with a remote control (some of you might have noticed that in most pics I hide a small, mysterious, black device in my hand)... Without it I would need to wait around until somebody would be kind enough to snap some (probably unflattering) pictures of me and I would feel bad to ask them to take lots more (you can never take enough pics, by the way: I take around 100-150 photos and then I choose the best 10-15 at most). Nobody would have the patience to take that many pictures whenever you (and the weather) want them too... so a remote is the best way to go! Another bonus point is that you can get as goofy as you want, since there won't be any witnesses out there, after all bad pics have been deleted!
And the white balance lens cap: That's the latest of my babies! It's a very handy little tool that doubles as a lens cap but is essentially an integrated grey-card. With this little disc you can measure the white balance right before you shoot a picture and save it as a preset. Mine is a cheap version I bought on Amazon and it does a very decent job, but there are a lot of them in quite a large price range out there...
I prefer a 35mm lens for my camera, which means that I have to move forward and backwards much - since there is no such thing as a "zoom" with a fixed range lens. But boy! The light sensitivity is so much better with this one and I get a nice bokeh effect, too (especially if my settings are on Aperture)! It is worthwhile to invest in one, in my opinion - I am rarely using my other lenses anymore since this little (and light!) friend is always producing the crispest and clearest pics! |
The pictures of my camera above were taken with an iPhone 5S, by the way... and I have to say that it does have quite a nice resolution! For a phone-camera!!! I am editing the phone pictures with different Apps for the iPad or the iPhone. The ones I am using more often lately are: Snapseed, VSCOcam, PhotoToaster, LensFlare and AfterPhoto. And then you need a model of course... like the crumpled up top on the right! (ha ha... teaser warning!) |
One can get so much information on the internet about photography (yes... the net can be used for stuff besides knitting!). There are lots of boards on pinterest with technical information and tips, that you can browse while procrastrinating in a productive way.
Here is mine for example (although I definitely need to add some more pins).
And probably the most important thing about photography is to get out there, get inspired and have lots of fun!!!! This usually is the best method to achieve anything anyway!
I never feel like I know enough... especially when it comes to photography!