Taking Good Photos

[PSW]

Hello everyone,

  I have extremely amazed at how some Aircraft Photographers are taking their photos, they look excellent. Could anyone please tell me what the fundamentals are, angles, etc...

Thanks !
James

[Hagar]

Hi James. It really depends on your camera, how good you are at using it & being in the right place at the right time. I don't claim to be a fantastic photographer. My photos are more snapshots than serious works of art. What I lack in skill I make up for with quantity.

This is where a digital camera comes in handy, even if it's a simple cheapo automatic like mine. It's small enough to carry almost anywhere & I must have taken literally 1,000s of photos in the year since I bought it. This is considerably more than I've taken in my whole lifetime. If you spend enough time & take enough shots some are bound to come out OK & practice makes perfect - doesn't it.

You really need to ask someone like Mr.Bones or Rifleman who know what they're doing. I'm just an amateur.

[swanny338]

in my view as a photographer.... all photographers are noobs  ;)

[Rifleman]

For the uninformed, can you explain "noobs"....

Bolstering or Derogatory ?

[Stormtropper]

My advice, just snap away Even the Stg. and the 2nd Lt. can take a few good ones...........once in a long while

Here is 2 things that I find the most important:

1.) Clarity
2.) Uniqueness.................like instead of taking picutures of people all the time, take a picuture of a dead bird for once

Jeff

P.S. I also find picutres that get the viewer thinking very intresting....................Like instead of having the viewer like "Oh that is a so-and-so," pump up the viewer's imagenation, so the viewer is like "Why is that thing like that?"

[N556EP]

IN my opnion the best tip is panning. follow the aircraft dont wait for it to enter the view finder. Also when panning and you snap the picture dont stop the camera which you depress the shutter button keep the camera moving. or else it becomes blurred.  Now if your using a digital camera, you can skip this tip.

if you are using a film camera, keep this in mind. the faster the film the more sensitive to light it is.  Which means in low light conditions it will not come out dark theatrically. Also the faster the film the you can freeze an object compared to a blurred or blurry image. Hope this is not to complicated. just trying to help out.  

[PSW]

Hi everyone,

    Thank you very much for all of your tips and suggestions, I appreciate them a lot !  ;D  As for cameras, I have a Sony DSCT-1 Digital, the one where it is really flat and fits in your plam. On the contrary, I have a 35MM Film as well, I forgot what brand it was but I never use it too much, at least not for aircraft photography because 114 MM can do MUCH better than 35 MM.

Thanks and if you have any more tips, I'd love to hear them !

James

[Hagar]

I have a Sony DSCT-1 Digital, the one where it is really flat and fits in your plam.

I looked up the DSCT-1 & it appears very similar to my Fuji 401. At 5.1 megapixels it should be capable of over double the image quality of mine but the x3 zoom is the same. Yours doesn't seem to have a standard viewfinder which might be a disadvantage with shots of moving aircraft.

The main advantage with this type of camera is that you can slip it in your pocket & take it almost anywhere. They're ideal for taking static shots of almost anything including aircraft. You must appreciate its limitations or you will be disappointed. Don't bother with aerial shots unless you can get really close to the subject. The x3 zoom is just not man enough. (Don't bother with digital zoom.) It would obviously depend on the size of the aircraft & you wouldn't need to get as close to a 747 as a microlight. Check out some of my topics in this forum to see what results to expect. I've had it for 1 year & I'm really pleased with some of my recent "over the fence" shots. This is my favourite shot so far, taken on full automatic. http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/da-airb62.jpg
It's slightly out of focus & I would have preferred the wings to be angled towards me but the light was perfect & you can't have everything. I estimate that the aircraft was less than 200 feet away from me.

My best advice would be to make a habit of carrying it with you. Get a decent sized memory card & shoot at anything that moves. I find that birds are great for practice. Very difficult to anticipate where they're going. The more photos you take, the better you should get. Good luck.

[Craig.]

it depends on what you call a good photo? I have seen many very high quality photos that are in my opinion just poor photos. And the opposite i have seen many low quality photos that are really good. I consider a photo good when it is of something of interest. My advice is to take your time shooting a photo when possible. Think about whether or not you really want to look at it again and think about if others may find it interesting to view. Make sure you ty to frame the photo correctly and if you dont want a photo in the centre, make sure its selfexplanitory why the main subject isnt centred. Like Doug said get a large memory card always take the camera with you, to catch the unique moments. And practise practise practise.
That would be my advice, some may agree others may not:)

[Hagar]

My advice is to take your time shooting a photo when possible. Think about whether or not you really want to look at it again and think about if others may find it interesting to view. Make sure you ty to frame the photo correctly and if you dont want a photo in the centre, make sure its selfexplanitory why the main subject isnt centred. ........

That would be my advice, some may agree others may not:)

Sorry Craig. I would have to disagree. This is the old film camera philosophy it took me a long time to break. The beauty of a digital camera is that you can take as many shots as you like & dump the ones that are no good. No worries about running out of film & the only limitation is the memory & batteries. I often take 150 shots or so every time I visit Shoreham only to kick myself when I get home for not taking a few more.

Don't take just one shot of a subject, take half a dozen from different angles - or a dozen if you wish. It really doesn't matter. Experiment with the settings & get used to what it can & cannot do. I'll never make a proper photographer but my shots have improved several 100% in the short time I've had my digital camera.

[Craig.]

thats where the, "where possible", side comes into play. I dont see any harm in taking your time taking a photo, even if your taking 5 or 6 of the same thing. You are correct that the advantage of digital means you dont have to be as strict with how you take your photos, but i also still use alot of film so i try not to let bad habits form with the digital images. I am not saying you should only take 1 shot but try to take at least 1 what i like to call "keeper". The one shot you spend a little more time on from a specific angle. Then again every photographer has a specific style that suits them most, which is what you really need to find out for youself, which style suits you best.
Cheers Doug

P.S. One key thing, have fun when taking your photos, the more fun you have, the more effort you put in, and the better the photo.

[Hagar]

thats where the, "where possible", side comes into play. I dont see any harm in taking your time taking a photo, even if your taking 5 or 6 of the same thing. You are correct that the advantage of digital means you dont have to be as strict with how you take your photos, but i also still use alot of film so i try not to let bad habits form with the digital images. I am not saying you should only take 1 shot but try to take at least 1 what i like to call "keeper". The one shot you spend a little more time on from a specific angle.

I think it depends on the subject. I don't claim to be an expert. You've seen enough of my shots by now to know what they're like. I'm talking as your average amateur here. By all means take your time with a static aircraft or whatever. When the darned thing is coming towards you at 300 mph or more there's no time to set up the shot. Just press the button as many times as possible & hope for the best. Sometimes you get a classic shot but more often you don't.

It's also possible to make a poorly framed shot look better by cropping it. Some of my best shots were disappointing when I first saw how they came out.

[Rifleman]

I don't even know where to start.......thats why I have no input so far..........first, learn your camera while sitting inside and make sure you understand its limitations of operation.......if you don't understand some terms, look them up on the net or ask someone who may know........find out how much exposure control your camera will allow you to deal with, then see how this control can be applied to different types of shooting.
Bright sunlight and cloudy bright days may require different settings in the camera, and very low light shots may not a good thing if you need a flash. Don't forget that the tiny flash on the front of most cameras will only reach forward about 15-20 ft at the max and thats it. You can't light up a stadium with it, all you'll get is a perfectly exposed image of the back of the heads in the next 8 rows in front of yourself. Get a tripod for those shots, turn off the flash, and be advised that you will have blurs from any motion in your viewfinder but you will have a nice shot if the camera will shoot a long enough exposure.

Once you are comfortable with how your camera works, go out and practice composing still shots and moving subjects on the same day, so you can shoot by reaction to whatever you have come in your face......Composition is what makes a good shot, if you get it close you can crop it later, but get the best you can, and if you are not sure, shoot the shot with varying points of view.

Lastly, yes everyone is right, you're no longer paying for film, so shoot, shoot and shoot more....all you need to worry about is batteries and memory space.....for my 2 megapixel camera I have two sets of NiMH 2000+ batteries and a set of Lithium non-rechargeables. they have great life....I have enough memory to shoot 800 images without dumping any, so I feel I am good for a full day out........

Practice everything you find out about, close-ups scenics, portraits, action. See what your camera is capable of, then utilize it to the max with your own input....everyones eyes see things differently.

Always remember, a camera is only capable of capturing a moment in time for later viewing.........any moment lost is gone forever and can't be retrieved, so hold back nothing, and don't leave the scene till you are satisfied that you can't see another angle to try !

[N556EP]

i forgot the most important rule/tip.



                "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

[Hagar]

Two comments stand out in this thread for me.

Always remember, a camera is only capable of capturing a moment in time for later viewing.........any moment lost is gone forever and can't be retrieved

Excellent advice. A unique moment in time captured for ever. Hesitate or fumble for one second & the opportunity might be gone.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

My thoughts exactly. Not everyone likes the same thing. It's all very well trying to impress others but in the end you have to please yourself. If you can do that you have succeeded. I'm perfectly aware of my shortcomings & my own severest critic.