Did you take any courses or are you self taught with an eye for photography? Either way are there any courses you would recommend? I am just a hobbyist but would like to learn more. I have read a number of books and have done the tutorials where applicable. If I take enough photos I can usually get a few good ones..but I'd like to get a lot of good ones with a few bad ones...maybe I just need to practice more.
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I've never taken any classes, and only ever bought one book. The day after I got my camera I picked up Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.
He has some very helpful videos on youtube and his own channel that is pretty helpful. For me just getting out there and shooting is the best way to learn but Peterson is always got some good videos and his excitement about photography is fun. When I think of a real photographer I think of this guy. Someone creative who sees shots in fun interesting places, not baby photography.
I have an Olympus E-510, which is a four thirds sensor camera. I'm looking at getting a new lens for shooting real estate shots. Anyone have any thoughts on how wide I need to go to get a whole room nicely? Especially interested in comments from the person upthread who shoots architecture.
I would prefer not to get a new body, because I already have a few telephoto lenses for this camera that I bought when I went on safari...
Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with four thirds sensor cameras, so I can't really comment on that front. I would lean towards replacing it with an SLR though. I don't personally know anyone who shoots real estate on four thirds.
As far as width, if you are shooting with a cropped sensor, I'd recommend 11mm at the widest end, with the caveat that you should always shoot as tight as possible. 10mm starts to look goofy. 11mm comes in handy, but you have to be careful in your comps.
If you're interested in getting into real estate photography, I can try to answer any questions you might have.
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Did you take any courses or are you self taught with an eye for photography? Either way are there any courses you would recommend? I am just a hobbyist but would like to learn more. I have read a number of books and have done the tutorials where applicable. If I take enough photos I can usually get a few good ones..but I'd like to get a lot of good ones with a few bad ones...maybe I just need to practice more.
When I caught the bug, I took a couple night classes at SAIT. One was Wedding Photography and the other was How to make Money with your Camera. I didn't really learn as much as I was hoping, but it definitely gave me motivation, which made it worth it. Since then I have taken numerous workshops with some of the top wedding photographers in the world. People who truly inspire me!
Practice makes perfect. There are many workshops out there for people with specific interests. Workshops are great, but it will totally depend on who's hosting it. There are some hacks out there that teach when they shouldn't.
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100 ISO in bright daylight is still grainy. One lens I have seems worse for it, but they all do to some degree. Same as SebC mentioned. Tough to find a point that doesn't look over-sharpened or soft. Whereas the jpg version (I have the camera set up in raw + jpeg mode) doesn't look grainy.
Here's an example:
JPEG:
RAW: (Default sharpening/noise reduction settings, Photoshop CS5)
(blues and vibrant greens seem to be the worst culprits)
If I crank up the noise reduction (luminance) it helps, but at sacrifice of clarity.
I'm honestly baffled as to why you'd have grainy photos at 100 ISO. It makes no sense. I don't know where the problem is stemming from.
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I bought a Nikon d3000 with the 2 lens kit (55-200mm and 18-55mm).
I mainly only want to use it to take pictures at hockey. I want to upgrade the lens in the future to one that provides better pictures.
Any suggestions for a mid-range lens?
Unfortunately, you won't be able to shoot hockey in any rink with your setup. Hockey rinks are a tricky place to try. First you have fast moving subjects, second your available light is actually pretty dim and third you have limitations on your gear.
Have you guys every noticed at the Dome, that there's a really bright flash that goes off during the plays? It's quite bright, and sometimes not even noticeable. I am pretty sure those are the newspaper guys. Take a look at any stock Flames photo. The players are strobed!
Do you have traditional darkroom experience working with film and enlargers?
My only darkroom experience was in jr. high. I remember liking it because I took a crap load of photos and it was so cool to develop them. There's still a good sized group out there that are holding on and still developing film. Kudos to them. It's a lost art. My darkroom is digital and I love what I can do with it.
Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with four thirds sensor cameras, so I can't really comment on that front. I would lean towards replacing it with an SLR though. I don't personally know anyone who shoots real estate on four thirds.
As far as width, if you are shooting with a cropped sensor, I'd recommend 11mm at the widest end, with the caveat that you should always shoot as tight as possible. 10mm starts to look goofy. 11mm comes in handy, but you have to be careful in your comps.
If you're interested in getting into real estate photography, I can try to answer any questions you might have.
Thanks! I'm mainly interested in getting shots that show the full space in rental properties. Any tips on where to shoot from in a (usually vacant) room to show what size it is?
Also, could you explain what you mean by "shoot as tight as possible?"
Finally, I've never been satisfied with the photos I have of galley style kitchens in condos, basically either the perspective seems wrong or I can only shoot one side. Any tips?
I've shot a few open houses and I found that the Nikkor 20mm (D800 FX) was perfectly wide, without looking all fish eye with horribly stretched and distorted images.
Also, a few of my outdoor architectural shots have been published and those were with a D90 and Tokina 11-16mm.
I would look at the widest Olympus lens (minus fish eye) and maybe rent it from the camera store (or your local shop).
Is renting something they (or other places in Calgary) do? I'd love to rent one of those for a day, since I'm not thrilled about spending $1900 on something I'm likely to use ~1 per year.
Is renting something they (or other places in Calgary) do? I'd love to rent one of those for a day, since I'm not thrilled about spending $1900 on something I'm likely to use ~1 per year.
I don't see too many Olympus lenses on the camera store's rental list.
Canon and Nikon mostly.
Thanks! I'm mainly interested in getting shots that show the full space in rental properties. Any tips on where to shoot from in a (usually vacant) room to show what size it is?
Also, could you explain what you mean by "shoot as tight as possible?"
Finally, I've never been satisfied with the photos I have of galley style kitchens in condos, basically either the perspective seems wrong or I can only shoot one side. Any tips?
I think the goal with real estate is to present the space as being large and open? I would consider sticking to the lower end of the mm spectrum, for instance, the 10-22 EF-S lens can be quite fun, in-fact, it's the only reason my wife keeps a non full-frame camera onhand, she pretty much leaves the 10-22 on it. The only caveat with this type of lens is the edge distortion. Don't have anything on the edge of the frame that looks bad when stretched (e.g. women tend not to like this!)
