Question to Photographers
 

Hi, I'm Mark... Been on these forums for quite some time... but not a big post-whore as you can tell haha.

Well, aside from that, here's what I really wanted to ask about.

My wife and I are sort of getting in to Photography/Modeling, and I just wanted to get some input from the people that know what they're talking about.

I was thinking the Rebel XSi would be a good camera, read some reviews, but again, doesn't hurt to hear more input.

Another thing I was thinking about was guides to shoots... I know some basics, and I'm sure she knows some basics, but Pose Books and stuff about lighting, and setting up the area overall. Perhaps there are some online I can find, but I would like some hard-copy stuff if it's out there. But so far I have found few items that look to be very good.

Alright, thanks a lot guys. If this helps, maybe one of my next posts will be a hot shoot in Hawaii (where I'm Stationed) or Florida (Where my house is). Gotta have dreams right? haha.

Good camera, but don't go with the standard kit lens. I would also buy a vertical shooting grip with an extra battery with a home/car charger.

http://bmimages.jr.com/productimages...LT=67&CVT=jpeg

Dump the stock lens, its too slow. Have a look at a decent strobe lighting kit, wireless transmitters wouldnt hurt either.

I got my start with the Rebel. Even got published in Playboy with a photo from my first Rebel 300D.

Precisely.

The camera is not as important as the lighting.

Good camera + bad lighting = "Amateur"
Good lighting + bad camera = "Pro"

Just a rough guide.

ya dont skimp on the lights, get you some good strobes, I use speedotron strobes and a profoto ring light.. plus take some classes with a local photographer to learn the basics of the lights. Once you learn the basics, then just fine tune how you use them untill you get the style that you like.

If you skimp on the lights (and a light meter) you will regret it later.

You guys got any more specific brands/kits of the items you suggest?

What's a better/faster lens? Good place to shop for lights etc...
I see speedotron strobes and a profoto ring light, so that should be easy to look up.

oh, and one other thing I haven't seen any responses on yet, pose books and actually working with the model. I saw a thread a long time ago from a photographer on here, but I couldn't find it. But it talked about these things.

Anything else guys/gals?

I'm sure this will be an interesting read with lots of tricks: http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html this one will be useful for sure

:) best of luck!

EDIT: Also, don't underestimate sunlight ;)

also, the world of light meters is quite confusing for me. I might need some assistance in that area as well. haha.

How's the D60 compared to the Rebel?

Forget all this nonsense about what camera, you are getting suggestions mostly from people who dont have a clue about photography.

First get a name brand DSLR with interchangeable lenses, it doesnt have to be expensive but it does have to work in MANUAL mode.

If you ever want to learn photography and lighting you have to learn to shoot in manual mode, otherwise you are just another idiot who thinks he is a photographer because he can point and shoot.

If you have a decent DSLR the lens is going to have a bigger eefect on the quality of your photos than the camera and the nut that holds the shutter button has the biggest effect of all.

Unless you are going to shoot for publication a Low End Nikon or Canon or other name brand is perfectly fine and even at that a D40 for instance is a fine camera for shooting for most magazines. The extra you pay for cameras is in functionality that is worthless unless you understand what you are doing with it

YMMV

I prefer the Polaroid Land Camera I purchased in 1970. It's a little awkward and hard to find film for, but you have a printed out 3x5 in 3 minutes. On the plus side, you don't need one of them computers. On the downside, I only manage to get one cartridge of 8 shots off per 40 minute scene. So the cost per pic is fairly high.

Funny you say that, back in 1998 before I had my first digital camera, I made a lot of cash selling Polaroid bondage photos on ebay:winkwink: I would run an auction and upsell the winner to buy a set every month.

well I've heard this several times, but not much more than "don't worry about the camera as much as the lighting".

But what I need at this point is a decent suggestion, so a D60 would be fine, that's good to hear. What about better lenses? and where do I find the lighting stuff I need, is there a good site online you recommend? is there any good publications on keeping the model working, poses etc. I'm looking at sites and stuff that have been suggested on how to use the lighting and stuff, but what should I get as a hobbyist until I decide if I'm going to try to do this more seriously.

Maybe for now, just an umbrella, a good strobe(any suggestions on that for a D60?) I don't know really. I want to take quality shots, without investing in an entire studio at this point. I'm looking for help in all facets of this, not just with the camera.

the digital rebel is a great camera for the $ based on the samples i see.

however, the market for run of the mill smut pix is pretty saturated so to get anything
to convert you must think outside the box.

so i would suggest you forget about fancy lighting setups and go very basic gonzo style shooting high quality images in avail light with a good camera body and a good fast lens.

so i would suggest if you are looking at entry level canon due to low price point you go to ebay and buy a used canon 5d with the fastest prime you can buy for it within your budget, ie f/1.4 50mm.

many will pooh pooh this idea, however IF you shoot ONLY in avail light with this hardware combination changing your camera position and capturing interesting gonzo style visuals shooting nearly wide open this hardware will give you a visual "style" which is different, and beautiful and can be very erotic because the limited DOF will allow you to selectively blur out extraneous image areas to allow you to edit in camera which will increase workflow speed and you can produce high quality imagery very easy that will look different and surfers WILL click on...and your workflow will be fast, virtually no post production you will basically edit in camera because your exposures will always be spot on because you are not fumbling around with the learning curve of strobes which require lots of flash testing.

some of your most beautiful and best converting shots will be very extemporaneous---the type you do not get when fussing around with posing books and stock lighting setups.

that type of shit stopped converting about 1998.

and you will be starting with pro level hardware, the 5d can actually produce good images at 800-1600 iso and up, so you can really capture the beautiful moody images that quality erotica requires.

and when you trade up you can easily dump the hardware on ebay and get 85% of what you paid because the 5d has a cult following and used lenses (L series) hold their value well.

good luck.

:2 cents:

the digital rebel is a great camera for the $ based on the samples i see.

however, the market for run of the mill smut pix is pretty saturated so to get anything
to convert you must think outside the box.

so i would suggest you forget about fancy lighting setups and go very basic gonzo style shooting high quality images in avail light with a good camera body and a good fast lens.

so i would suggest if you are looking at entry level canon due to low price point you go to ebay and buy a used canon 5d with the fastest prime you can buy for it within your budget, ie f/1.4 50mm.

many will pooh pooh this idea, however IF you shoot ONLY in avail light with this hardware combination changing your camera position and capturing interesting gonzo style visuals shooting nearly wide open this hardware will give you a visual "style" which is different, and beautiful and can be very erotic because the limited DOF will allow you to selectively blur out extraneous image areas to allow you to edit in camera which will increase workflow speed and you can produce high quality imagery very easy that will look different and surfers WILL click on...and your workflow will be fast, virtually no post production you will basically edit in camera because your exposures will always be spot on because you are not fumbling around with the learning curve of strobes which require lots of flash testing.

some of your most beautiful and best converting shots will be very extemporaneous---the type you do not get when fussing around with posing books and stock lighting setups.

that type of shit stopped converting about 1998.

and you will be starting with pro level hardware, the 5d can actually produce good images at 800-1600 iso and up, so you can really capture the beautiful moody images that quality erotica requires.

and when you trade up you can easily dump the hardware on ebay and get 85% of what you paid because the 5d has a cult following and used lenses (L series) hold their value well.

good luck.

:2 cents:

i've decided on the d60, and I'm thinking about getting the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D AF with it. and an extra battery, until I can find a handle like for the rebel.

I'm looking for a decent speedlight still, the SB-400 should suffice? Still open to any criticism.

The camera and lighting is nothing without the eye! I have seen photographers get amazing photos through 200 dollar cameras (yashica T4 super, old point & shoot 35mm) Don't rely on the newest & best to create a quality image (although it helps)

Its just a fact that the more you shoot the better you get. If ya dont do it very often (unless you Irving Penn) then its gonna be a long learning curve.

Practice study, develop a style;)

style comes after you've exhausted everything and decide to stick with one. You gotta play :thumbsup That's the fun part. The cool thing about digital is that the learning curve is so much steeper that with film. It's instant gratification. There is something I do miss though about going to the lab, seeing everyone there, being excited to see the job, it was like Christmas every time I went to the lab.

Any bozo can take pictures these days and they not turn out half bad. Infact numerous guys on this board that have shit for brains holding a camara do fine.

It's not hard nor even remotly rocket science like many photographers play to ward off new guys from starting.

Listen folks anyone can shoot great content these days, fuck you do not even need a killer light set. If you want to take above par photos get a kit and study and practice but over all it's not hard. Todays Prosumer camara's are kick ass and far beyond what they were in the past. I reccomend Canons Rebel XT's series any of those do great for the first camara. Its cheap, does great photos and still operates as an SLR. Ya do not know SLR entirelly put the bitch in auto and ya can do well.

I bought all my shit light kit and camara, HD camara's and just started shooting. I was shooting awsome shit in less than two shoots with models. Sure it could have always gottin better but thats how you develop an edge and look.

Just get to know your camara and practice alot with different setting different lights a little before your first shoot.

Also another thing to help when you first start shooting a model is well before hand get a scrap book of other photos people have made composed of poses that ya like. Often during a shoot you may forget what poses ya want to do or run out of idea's. Having a scrap book of photos around is a good idea. Ya show it to the model so it's easier for her to take up the pose verse waisting time trying to describe and looking like a dork.

Belive me, shooting girls is fucking easy and it is easy money for the shooter and the model.

Oh also, besure to get extra batteries for charging and an extra memory stick to transfer while you are shooting. No waiting. TIme is money during a shoot. Do what you can the most efficient way possible. Time is quick, even like 6 hours fly's by so the more streamlined your process is in getting the most out of a shoot the better.

The more time ya fuck around finding poses is a waste have a clear idea of what ya want before hand and plan the shoot, more time swapping memory cards or worse having to wait while a card empties is bad very bad.

Shit bro, I want everyone to shoot, it just makes my worth go up! I was stating some very basic facts, the better your equipment, yes your quality will be better but you dont have to buy the best, its more important to have an eye. I'm from the school of buy the best equipment for the application and you'll only be buying it once. I still have my 1st piece of equipment I bought, a gitzo studio tripod & a linhoff ball head. I spent almost 1300 on the setup but it still works perfectly! That was 16 years ago, get the point.

It's not just about shooting now though, its also the application, how you deliver the pictures, being efficient with client deadlines, having back ups encase yours goes down, on set workflow, ect. Much more than just shooting your pics.

Thats cool mano I guess was just ranting in general ( not you ) about the popular bandy that most photographers give around here. Most of them want newer guys to not be around so make up some shit about photography being hard:)

Truth can be said that if anyone wants to shoot like Dean Capture they got a lifetimes work ahead of them but thats what photography is about;)

Paul Markham kind of right!

I would recommend you Canon EOS 40D

Anything with a live preview. That function kicks so much ass!

Hey thanks a lot guys. We're picking up the D60 today, with just a few accessories. Basically an extra battery, and a speedlight and tripod. to get the feel for it. We're gonna see how we like the current lens and then do some research and decide on a better one.

But just because I found the camera doesn't mean the thread has to halt, I am really enjoying reading about the shoots in general. I'm taking in what I can and trying to build off of that.

Thanks again guys.

If you have the camera, start shooting. Learn what happens when you shoot with a really large aperture, and then what happens when you shoot with a small one. That's going to blow your mind ;)

Learn how to shoot on manual, setting the aperture and shutter speeds yourself. Get good at that, responding to the light meter. You want this to come naturally so you aren't fiddling around while a model is waiting with a great pose.

Forget your camera came with an on board flash. Tape that sucker closed! Learn how to shoot in available light first. You can't do anything with light until you learn how to really see it. You need to recognize when there is enough light. Learn when there are shadows on certain parts of the face. Learn when there are things showing up in the frame that you don't want to show up.

Lighting is honestly really tricky business. All you can do is work with it. Practice in all different kinds of lighting. Sunlight, shadow, cloud, candles, lamps, fluorescent (blech).

I've seen plenty of self taught photographers make it in this biz... and plenty of different types of photographers. There is room for everything from very amateur to very touched up pro.

And you know, a lot of very successful photographers would get torn apart if you took their work to a photography college and put it up in a critique because they honestly aren't quite getting the lighting just so.... but the real important issue is, are they shooting something that is appealing to their audience? Is it sexy to them?

The best kept secret about photography is you dont have to go to school to learn it. Anyone who has a degree in photography must love flushing money down the drain. If there is one piece of advice I can give anyone really wanting to get into photography seriously it's these 2 things:

1. Pick up a camera and shoot. Nothing teaches like doing.

2. Assist someone. There are so many things to know that are all helpful. I assisted for quite a bit as I was shooting. I learned sooo much from other people. Simple things like the correct way to set up a c-stand. So if the arm happens to loosen it will tighten as it falls and not hit your subject in the head. Stupid little things like if you are shooting on location and want to minimize the amount of sandbags you are bringing buy a super clamp with a J hook and use your strobe power packs as the weights for you stands. Simple little tricks that make all of the difference in the world. When to use nets vs scrims.

I gave myself a mental note saying I would quit assisting when the day arrived that I walked away from a shoot not learning anything. I still remember the shoot, great feeling.

There is no time line for success.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...4f93ea43_o.gif

lol... wtf?

Lots of good tips in this thread, so I thought I would bump it to the top once more :thumbsup

how does this function enable you?
i shoot with d2x which does not have live preview but i guess the newer d3 does have it.
have to admit i am kinda opposed to live preview, it kinda reminds me of a feature only being used by amateurs so i am just wondering how this feature can be used by a professional? i am not saying it can not be used by professionals just i have no experience with it and would love to hear a professional inform more how this function works for them..