Some of these are to light, some are too dark. I think maybe one may be okay. I do know that I need more practice.
My goal is to take photos without the need of editing. I do shoot in JPEG and RAW, this gives me two photos, one in RAW and one in JPEG. When I shoot in b/w the RAW photo will turn to color. This is a neat feature.
Photo by: Mandy HaynesPhoto by: Mandy Haynes
The black and white photo was not edited, but the color one was. I think I could do better. Will be the same with the following photos.
I think there is room for improvement, as always. In all of these photos I see where the feet or bottom of the photo is blurred, this was not my intent. These were all shoot with the 75-300mm lens.
I do prefer to shoot outside, but I do see an indoor shoot coming up soon.
One thing I have learned is that if you want to be something, hang out with people who want the something. My dearest friend loves photography, and she is better than me. We go out on outings, graveyards, campgrounds, or train tracks we go together. I have learned so much from her.
I bought my camera because she let me borrow hers. Actually, it was three cameras that she let me borrow. I got to try out different cameras, a Sony, a Nikon, and a canon, I liked the canon and that is what I bought.
Hanging out with people of want and like the same things helps me to stay focused on what I want. That is to be a good photographer. One that does not need to edit her photos.
Another thing that is dear to me, my grandson wanted to take photos as well, and at times went out with us to take random photos. I can say he is pretty good. I bought him a point and shoot camera, the one in the photo, and he is wanting one like mine. That will come in time.
We get our new camera and wonder what can I take a photo of? Flowers and trees there everywhere. So, that is just what I did. I must have hundreds of photos of flowers and trees. They are good objects to practice on. This flower is one that I did edit, and I think I did a good job. Something I learned was when saving photos from a scan disk make sure you have the raw image.
photo by: Mandy Haynesphoto by: Mandy Haynes
Roses, everyone loves roses. I took these the other day, and I always want to learn.
The Yellow rose – ISO-320, F-stop F 7.1, Aperture 1/500.
Red rose – ISO-800. F-stop F7.1, Aperture 1/400
Photo by: Mandy HaynesPhoto by: Mandy Haynes
I just keep clicking along, taking random photos of flowers and trees. But even with flowers and trees I do love the black and white photos. A black and white photo I think brings a sense of feelings. You are able to look beyond the color and see the true image in its unaltered form.
Trees, if you listen, they are talking to you. The first photo of the tree I used a macro lens. What a different perspective it gives. Trees and flowers I think is one of the best objects to practice on.
I will keep on keeping on. The more I use my camera the better I will get. Learning hands on I think is the best way to learn.
Camera bagCanon cameraKit lens 75-300 mmKt lens 18-55 mmBought 50 mmLens hoodBought 500mmExtra batteriesHood lensBarrery chargerScan dizkCamera bag
One thing I found out is that you need a good camera bag. A good bag to hold your lenses and camera when you are out shooting. I found this one on amazon, and I just love it. Lenses and camera not included.
Kit lens 75-300 mmKt lens 18-55 mmBought 50 mm
Let’s talk kit lenses. They are not the best of quality, but they will do when you have nothing else. Believe it or not my favorite lens is the kit lens 75-300mm. I love the zoom it has on it, and I think that it takes surprisingly good photos. I use this one the most. If you are just starting out, the kit is all that you will need. Use these to practice till you are ready to go with the big boys. The ones that cost over $1000. At the moment that is out of my price range.
Bought 50 mm
If I could get the 24-50mm, I believe that it would be a better lens. .
This lens is supposed to be for portraits, but I found the 75-300mm lens better for the range I can get.
This is my wish list. These two are nice lenses, or as photographers say, “nice glass.” I have been wanting to get a picture of the moon, and I do believe that either of these would do the trick. One of these days I will be able to get one of these lenses.
Bought 500mm
When buying lenses don’t just buy the cheap one because that’s all you can afford, wait till you can get the one you want. The 500mm lenses was a cheap lens, they came with an adaptor that would take it to 1000mm. sounds nice, but not. These lenses do take okay photos, but they do not have any stabilization built into them. When it comes to lenses, I would suggest that you save and wait to get the lens that you want.
500 mm
You can see that this lens does not give the best quality photo.
Scan dizk
Scan disk. Don’t just get any old one, you want one with lots of gigabytes. The more gigabytes the more photos. I have some scan disk that have 8,000 plus photos on them and still can put more on them, I also have some that only have a little over 4,000 and cannot add any more. They may cost a little more, but it is worth it.
I like you began your photography journey taking photos of your loved ones. I started with a point and shoot camera, really not understanding the way it worked. I thought, I am smart I can learn this fast, 1,2,3, go. Not so fast.
You can see that I do not have Aperture, f/stops, or iso listed on any of these photos, which is because I was way new at this and did not understand them. Now I do some, and this is what I am working on with my photography journey. All this will come it time.
It was to my surprise that it is more than just point and shoot, even with a point and shoot camera. Manual mode, Aperture, exposure, ISO, the list goes on. But I am a trooper, and I started.
I believe that people are so much fun to shoot if you can capture the emotion with them. My journey began with much editing, something I do not like to do. There’s lightroom, Photoshop, and so many other programs that you can use.
My goal is to take a photo without the need to edit or minimal editing.
I found out by trial and error that it can be done.
From then to now, I have made improvements, but I am not where I want to be. I do not do photoshoots for money; I do not have the confidence to do that yet. I enjoy taking photos for the fun of doing it. It is not because I want to make a lot of money, (all though that would be nice) I need to get myself to that spot. For now, it is a learning journey.
From them to now, images are unedited, but still nowhere where I want them to be. I did find out that I really love the black and white photos. I can get the best of both world by shooting in JPEG/ RAW on my camera.
From what I have learned so far on my journey is that it takes time. Go outside and just take photos of anything and everything. Watch your setting on your camera, take notes. Lens’s, what lens did you use for your photo? These believe it or not could make or break a good photo.
Lenses is something I will cover in a different blog. My wants and my haves.
It is more than just getting the perfect shot once, it is having the ability to do it over and over again. I am looking forward to sharing my journey with you and hopefully sharing in yours as well.
Little Walk By Faith 