Photography: How it's done

[kobafett]

Not sure if this is the right place for this, if it's not mods please move.

There seems to be a number of posters here that are interested in photography and it gave me this idea for this thread. What I'm thinking is a place where questions can be asked and examples could be posted how you do different things. These could be anything related to photography (lighting, exposure, composition tips, photoshop techniques, hdr).

Any level of experience in photography is welcomed so don't be afraid to ask a question. I know a few people listed that they wanted to become better at photography in their resolutions so here is your chance.

[kobafett]

I'll get it started with a sample product shot on a white background and mirror for reflection.

Photo #1



Photo #2



Setup photo



(1) Black form core paper, this creates the black reflection in the edge of glass that gives it defination and keeps the edge of blending into the white.

(2) Mirror for the reflection on the glass

(3) White seamless paper

(4) Nikon flash and lastolite softbox. This is shot against the background to make it bright white.

(5) Nikon flash with small snoot to direct the light. This is shot against the white form core paper (6) in the front to bounce some light back towards the glass to light the oranges.

In Photo #2 I had my wife drop an orange into the glass to create the splash.

The only work after that was done in photoshop was to clean up some of the splashed water off of the mirror.

[flylock shox]

I'm by no means a photographer, and in fact don't have any aspirations to be. But I think even I'm going to find this thread really interesting. I've always wondered how some of these effects are achieved.

[Table 5]

Well I guess if this is a general photo thread, maybe i can be of help in a small way. I'm not a photographer professionally, but ive been the Art Director for two magazines the last few years, so if anyone has any questions about getting your work published, feel free to ask. Ive worked with a crapload of photographers, and know what the industry is like.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by fotze

My wife has a friend who works in manhattan, his job is pretty much an agent for photographers, sort of like Don Meehan, who woulda thunk that job existed. Not me.

Oh yeah, there's tons of them. The problem with creative people is they often lack business skills and are poor at marketing themselves on a business level. They might take the nicest photos in the world, but don't know how to go about getting a job. For a lot of people, an agent can be pretty important.

The only problem is that an agent takes about 30-40% of your income! It's a pretty sweet gig actually. Through agencies is how a lot of photographers get their advertising gigs.....and those tend to pay in the tens of thousands per day, so to a lot of people the high agent fee is worth it.

[kobafett]

Here is a quick retouch before and after I did for flickr a while ago. Click on it to see it much bigger so you can make out the photoshop layers. I don't necessarily always use these techniques but I thought it might be interesting to some people to see it.

[HotHotHeat]

I'm having trouble finding a quality 'basics of' photography book...Can anyone suggest a particular title (or store)? I've finally got the equipment, and I'm excited to get into it. Great idea for a thread.

[BlackArcher101]

How many megapixels do I need to get photos like yours kobafett?

[kobafett]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

I'm having trouble finding a quality 'basics of' photography book...Can anyone suggest a particular title (or store)? I've finally got the equipment, and I'm excited to get into it. Great idea for a thread.

Understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson is a really good book.
The digital photography book by Scott Kelby volumes 1 and 2 are also pretty good.

[kobafett]

Originally Posted by blackarcher101

how many megapixels do i need to get photos like yours kobafett?

12

[Tron_fdc]

I have a question. I'm trying to email Raw files to the girl I take my lessons from, but even after I zipped 6 photos it's still 70MB. Is there an easier way to send photos?

[BlackArcher101]

Try http://www.yousendit.com/ if you need to send them as RAW. Otherwise you can just convert them to jpg and reduce the size.

[Russic]

Great thread idea kobafett ... those orange pics are awesome! I'm a wannabe kobafett.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by kobafett

The digital photography book by Scott Kelby volumes 1 and 2 are also pretty good.

Good book indeed. I have number 1 and it's a good place to start. I'll have to pick up number 2 one of these days.