Photos vs. Cameras

Sigh... I have to admit that I wish for something more on this fine board than the many threads about which camera to buy or which camera is better. I love it when we talk about photos more than when we talk about cameras.

Here's a thought... and I'm just brainstorming here... why don't we start a weekly self assignment activity so that we can practice and improve togther between vacations. We could agree on a schedule of assignments, loosely or tightly defined, and then anyone who is interested can upload a photo for discussion and constructive critique. There are plenty of sites that do this sort of thing, so why don't we? Examples of weekly assignments could range from the specific (my pet, flowers, self-portrait), category-oriented (landscape, action, portrait, macro), conceptual (love, mystery, joy), technique-oriented (wide-angle, black & white, flash, night shot, strong diagonals, rule of thirds), wacky... We're all busy, so we would have to make sure that the assignments could be done with just about any camera without going anywhere special or buying anything new.

Is there anyone else thinks this might be worthwhile and would participate?

Sigh... I have to admit that I wish for something more on this fine board than the many threads about which camera to buy or which camera is better. I love it when we talk about photos more than when we talk about cameras.

 

Here's a thought... and I'm just brainstorming here... why don't we start a weekly self assignment activity so that we can practice and improve togther between vacations. We could agree on a schedule of assignments, loosely or tightly defined, and then anyone who is interested can upload a photo for discussion and constructive critique. There are plenty of sites that do this sort of thing, so why don't we? Examples of weekly assignments could range from the specific (my pet, flowers, self-portrait), category-oriented (landscape, action, portrait, macro), conceptual (love, mystery, joy), technique-oriented (wide-angle, black & white, flash, night shot, strong diagonals, rule of thirds), wacky... We're all busy, so we would have to make sure that the assignments could be done with just about any camera without going anywhere special or buying anything new.

 

Is there anyone else thinks this might be worthwhile and would participate?

I would participate with the caveat that I am not always sure where I'll be working in a given week.

I think it would be fun.

Will you be the mistress of critique?

Dave

This would be a great learning opportunity. I'm interested.

I'd be interested as well. I may not have time to participate every week, but I'd love to contribute when I can!!

Deborah

Will you be the mistress of critique?

 

Dave

Oh no, no, no! My thought is that we all chip in our ideas. Participating in the discussion is part of the learning process.

I don't even want to be in charge. I figure a subset of the more experienced photographers can come up with a structure. I'm not really the main guru around here with a great professorial ability. I don't want to mention any names but it rhymes with Pierces.

I'm wondering if there is a book that teaches basic techniques and then gives assignments that we can work from. I'm just brainstorming here...

I would like to participate. I know my camera can do so much more and I would like to practice. This would make me find the time - LOL. It is a Canon Powershot A620. It takes great pictures but I would like to learn more about it. I am on another message board where we do a photo challenge 3 days a week - not so much for learning about our cameras but just to have fun. I think it is a great idea, Photodoodle!! Travelgirl

Oh no, no, no! My thought is that we all chip in our ideas. Participating in the discussion is part of the learning process.

 

I don't even want to be in charge. I figure a subset of the more experienced photographers can come up with a structure. I'm not really the main guru around here with a great professorial ability. I don't want to mention any names but it rhymes with Pierces.

 

I'm wondering if there is a book that teaches basic techniques and then gives assignments that we can work from. I'm just brainstorming here...

Why not adopt the "Picture This!" self-assignments from Shutterbug magazine, or something similar? They have had "Color Me Red", "High Contrast" and "The City at Night" as recent subjects.

We could limit it to a maximum of three submissions in a single post per username per assignment and they would have to be linked images so they can be properly displayed (maybe a standard 800x600 size to even the field).

As a side project/benefit we could collaborate with some of the veterans on the board and compile a comprehensive "how-to" for re-sizing, posting and linking. A lot of people here seem to have issues with the various sites and restrictions on linking. Folks have a lot of nice pics that would be better shared with friends and family if they were able to post them online rather than e-mail a few here and there. Besides, a linked photo is a lot easier to see here than the squinty uploaded ones. Perhaps Laura S or Host Sheila would put the How-To or at least a link to it (I could host the page(s) on my PPTPhoto site) as a sticky for reference.

Just storming my brain. Any ideas are more than welcome.

I still vote Jackie as the Dean of Assignments! :D

Dave

I found a website with some good basic tutorials about composition:

http://photoinf.com/General/KODAK/guidelines_for_better_photographic_composition_introduction.html

Maybe we could start with composition basics and come up with some assignments that help us practice things like rule of thirds, strong diagonals, simplicity, etc...

Count me in...I'm in need of some serious learning.

I would be interested, though not sure I can participate weekly. I've always been a point and shoot kinda gal. With the birth of my my grandchildren..........I've had a bit of practice in the last 2-3 years and gotten what I THOUGHT was fairly good at taking pictures.

It's funny how this planning this trip to Alaska has opened my eyes! I don't think I have ever seen such breathtaking pictures in my life! One of the docs where I work told me not to even think about taking pictures while there. He said there is just no way to do the vastness justice. Well, I'm here to tell ya...........I'm gonna do my darnedest!

I'll be my first to admit that I am confused as all get out about the manuel settings, but I can honestly say........I'm ready to learn!

Sounds like a great idea. I feel like I could use advice on composition, especially with landscapes. Thanks for suggesting!

deviantART has user written tutorials on hundreds of subjects including photography. Here is the link to that section. http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/tutorials/photography/?order=9&alltime=yes

Some are very professionally written while others are ...well, maybe not so much, but this link sorts them by popularity which means the better ones will be at the top. You can also learn a lot while looking at some beautiful images like the ones I have in my own collection of favorites. http://e-cj.deviantart.com/favourites/ There are examples of a lot of amazing photographers images there.

What a great idea. Would definitely participate as often as possible.

Good ideas, folks. I can put a sticky on this forum that includes the 'how-to' info. One caution would be to start with simple assignments that would not be intimidating to newbies or those without the stellar equipment that many describe. Just provide me with the information to post and I'm happy to do my part. Go forth and be productive :)

Great idea.

What an awesome idea. I love taking pictures, but am having a hard time wrapping my head around all of the technical stuff.

This would be great if it includes opportunities for both point and shoot as well as DSLRs (don't yet have the budget for a DSLR ;))

MAC

What an awesome idea. I love taking pictures, but am having a hard time wrapping my head around all of the technical stuff.

 

This would be great if it includes opportunities for both point and shoot as well as DSLRs (don't yet have the budget for a DSLR ;))

 

MAC

I agree. Though the "Lions at the Zoo" assignment might involve some fence-hopping and running by the P&S crowd...:D :D

Seriously, I think that should be a prime consideration in the choice of assignments. They should be accommodating to anyone with a camera, regardless of what type.

As Jackie mentioned earlier, it might be good to base an assignment on a new photographic concept with immediate application and practice with the same concept via the assignment. Sticks in the head a bit better that way!

I 'm prepping a few newbie-friendly how-to articles on things like panoramas, portrait lighting, motion panning and long exposures...all of which will be do-able with a P&S.

I see fun on the horizon!

Dave

This is exactly what I've been looking for as well!!

I'll participate!

Bill

In preparation, should we make the first assignment to post an 800x600 image via a link?

Those who can resize, load to a sharing service like PicasaWeb or another free site can help those who aren't up to speed as yet.

After all, if we are going to share the results, we have to be able to see them!

To make it easy for those new to the process and cost-free for the veterans, perhaps those who don't already have one could sign up for a GMail account and use Picasa and the associated free storage on PicasaWeb for uploading and picture linking. By standardizing on Picasa as the method of choice to re-size, post and link, it would be easy to guide first-time posters through the process without having to test and document a dozen different methods. Folks new to picture editing can use the simple but effective editing tools built into Picasa to practice and get a grasp on digital editing. Assignments could include those tools to convert to B&W or learn how to crop effectively.

Oh, and it's all free! Nobody has to cough up $$$s to get an editor or pay extra if they already have an online storage/sharing account.

More inclement brain-weather. Please chip in!

Dave

In preparation, should we make the first assignment to post an 800x600 image via a link?

 

Those who can resize, load to a sharing service like PicasaWeb or another free site can help those who aren't up to speed as yet.

 

After all, if we are going to share the results, we have to be able to see them!

 

To make it easy for those new to the process and cost-free for the veterans, perhaps those who don't already have one could sign up for a GMail account and use Picasa and the associated free storage on PicasaWeb for uploading and picture linking. By standardizing on Picasa as the method of choice to re-size, post and link, it would be easy to guide first-time posters through the process without having to test and document a dozen different methods. Folks new to picture editing can use the simple but effective editing tools built into Picasa to practice and get a grasp on digital editing. Assignments could include those tools to convert to B&W or learn how to crop effectively.

 

Oh, and it's all free! Nobody has to cough up $$$s to get an editor or pay extra if they already have an online storage/sharing account.

 

More inclement brain-weather. Please chip in!

 

Dave

A lot of good ideas here so far. I agree that:

1. We ought to make this primarily for point and shoot users.

(I'm going to try to use my new p&s which I hardly know how to use, to do most of the assignments. This will be useful to me!)

2. The first goal will be to enhance our skills to improve our vacation and family photos.

3. Using Google's Picassa web is a good way to get people started uploading and hosting images.

Do you think the first exercise ought to be simply posting any picture? Or should we combine that with the first photo concept?

I'm thinking that the first assignments we ought to try should emphasize composition. Generally speaking, most of today's p&s cameras get pretty good exposures, and it's composition which would have the most intial impact on people's vacation shots. And composition doesn't really have much to do with learning settings, which can be daunting. Then we could do a section on exposure issues, then more advanced things like depth of field, action, blur, etc...

I was thinking we could post links to some on line discussions of the 'rule of thirds' and make the first assignment "Welcome to My World": Take a photograph at home or work that tells us a little bit about you that demonstrates 'rule of thirds' composition. Can we do this (or something else if people prefer) as the first assignment in addition to learning how to post and link, or would that be too much?

On more practical matters. Would each assignment be a thread starting with a description of the assignment and links to tutorial material? Then people could begin posting photos to the thread as soon as they have them. Maybe we should do assignments every other week? Theoretically, threads/lessons would never die and that's ok. New people could start at the beginning and still post and receive feedback.

I agree that we ought to standardize on a size. Not necessairly exactly 800x600, because some will use different aspect ratios. How about we say that the largest dimension should be 800 pixels. That way we allow for different proportions and also don't end up with photos that are either too large or too small.

Those are my recent thoughts. Comments?

PicasaWeb works for me, but....we need to figure out a way to organize these ideas, assignments and instructions or folks will spend most of their time scrolling rather than learning and practicing. Suggest using the same format for posting assignments with clear names and, perhaps, numbers? I haven't thought this through so don't have a concrete format - just want newcomers to the new thread to feel included and able to catch on quickly rather than feel confused or not part of the group. Ideas??

Great idea! I would love to see more action on this board. I frequently lurk, and once in a while participate on the DISboard photography forum. It is extremely active. They have many contest and assignment threads. Take a gander over there www dot disboards dot com. Scroll almost down to the bottom for photography. The contests take A LOT of time, and I for one wouldn't want to head one up. The assignments would have to ake significantly less time. But at least a quarter year's worth of ideas scheduled weekly would be great. I'll stay tuned to see what you come up with!!:)

I agree. Though the "Lions at the Zoo" assignment might involve some fence-hopping and running by the P&S crowd...:D :D

 

Seriously, I think that should be a prime consideration in the choice of assignments. They should be accommodating to anyone with a camera, regardless of what type.

 

As Jackie mentioned earlier, it might be good to base an assignment on a new photographic concept with immediate application and practice with the same concept via the assignment. Sticks in the head a bit better that way!

 

I 'm prepping a few newbie-friendly how-to articles on things like panoramas, portrait lighting, motion panning and long exposures...all of which will be do-able with a P&S.

 

I see fun on the horizon!

 

Dave

Funny that you mention lions, I was just at the NC Zoo this weekend and took pics of lions, BUT used my 12x and didn't have to do any running!

MAC

1. We ought to make this primarily for point and shoot users.

(I'm going to try to use my new p&s which I hardly know how to use, to do most of the assignments. This will be useful to me!)

If you restrict this to point & shoot users, you're prohibiting a lot of other people from participating. Don't think that DSLR users automatically take better pictures than point and shoot cameras. I compete with a Sony H5 at my camera club and frequently win over more experienced DSLR owners. While there are certain circumstances where a DSLR can take pictures that a point & shoot couldn't, for general purposes, when posting a 800 x 600 pixel image you can't tell which kind of camera took it. Also, with the advent of cheaper DSLRs, a lot of beginners are jumping right up to the DSLRs without knowing a lot about photographic terms or techniques, and would probably benefit from participating.

Secondly, by excluding DSLRs, the more experienced members with vast knowledge aren't going to be able to participate and probably won't be inclined to comment much either. While we learn from our mistakes, we can also learn from good examples.

2. The first goal will be to enhance our skills to improve our vacation and family photos.

3. Using Google's Picassa web is a good way to get people started uploading and hosting images.

Do you think the first exercise ought to be simply posting any picture? Or should we combine that with the first photo concept?

I'm thinking that the first assignments we ought to try should emphasize composition. Generally speaking, most of today's p&s cameras get pretty good exposures, and it's composition which would have the most intial impact on people's vacation shots. And composition doesn't really have much to do with learning settings, which can be daunting. Then we could do a section on exposure issues, then more advanced things like depth of field, action, blur, etc...

I was thinking we could post links to some on line discussions of the 'rule of thirds' and make the first assignment "Welcome to My World": Take a photograph at home or work that tells us a little bit about you that demonstrates 'rule of thirds' composition. Can we do this (or something else if people prefer) as the first assignment in addition to learning how to post and link, or would that be too much?

I don't know how experienced in posting pictures and editing for the web the people posting here are, but maybe for the first one, a simple assignment like just posting "your favorite shot" or "something green" would invite more people to join in.

On more practical matters. Would each assignment be a thread starting with a description of the assignment and links to tutorial material? Then people could begin posting photos to the thread as soon as they have them. Maybe we should do assignments every other week? Theoretically, threads/lessons would never die and that's ok. New people could start at the beginning and still post and receive feedback.

Oddly enough, while I have an opinion on EVERYTHING:D , I don't seem to have any ideas about this!

I agree that we ought to standardize on a size. Not necessairly exactly 800x600, because some will use different aspect ratios. How about we say that the largest dimension should be 800 pixels. That way we allow for different proportions and also don't end up with photos that are either too large or too small.

From what I've read on other forums, if the height dimension is 800, you would have to scroll to see the whole picture, because monitors are wider than tall.

Well, I was trying to quote you, but somehow I messed it up.:confused: Sorry! Anyway, a few of my thoughts on the topic.

Hey, Mac,

I took those lion pix as well...when the triplets were quite small...they must be adolescence now :) But my pictures weren't very good - the little ones didn't cooperate - somehow wanted to either sleep out of range or tumble in the grass out of sight!