Photography Q & A- The Answers

Stacie had some great questions and as promised here are my answers.

I can't seem to get out of auto mode on my camera.... how long did it take for you to "master" the manual feature on yours?

I owned my camera for about 2 years ,before I even attempted to try manual. I had used all of the "creative" features on it, but the thought of going manual scared the crap out of me.

I highly recommend the book Understand Exposure by Bryan Peterson. He explains the ins and outs of exposure in a very clear, easy to understand way. Along with his explanations he gives you little exercises to try out on your own to better help you understand when your reading.

Even though I'm a lot more comfortable with using manual now, I still sometimes set my camera on Auto or P. For those "once in a lifetime" shots I almost always set my camera on Auto. Why risk missing a great shot worrying if I set it all correctly when my camera can do all the "thinking" for me.

What editing software do you prefer?

First off I want to say when editing photos ALWAYS make a copy of the photo first and do all the editing on the copy. Because once you do the editing and save it you can not got back to the original way it looked. I learned this the hard way many years ago, so trust me ALWAYS make a copy first.

I use Photoshop CS2 for all of my editing. While I would love to have CS4 I'm happy with having the older version and it works great for me.

I would like to add here that for almost all of my photos, that I edit, I use Actions to help me edit them. When editing photos it can take 5 or more steps to achieve the look I'm after, which if you edit a lot of photos the same way it can take a long time to finish processing them. So an Action is a "recording" of all the steps you take. Then all you do is press "play" and it does all the work for you. You may have to do a little tweaking along the way, but they more or less do all the work for you. I use some that I got free here and some I bought here and here.

What equipment *giggle* do you have, lenses? Extra flash thing? What kind of camera?

I use a Canon Rebel XTi , it was a Mother's Day present when the camera first came out. So I got it like 5 years ago. While I would like to upgrade to a newer one, I'm very happy with it and don't see the need for a newer SLR right now.

Lenses- I have several to choose from

The "kit lens" that came with the camera- 18-55 mm

A factory refurbished 28-90 mm

A factory refurbished 75- 300 mm

A 50 mm

My favorite and almost always on my camera- Tamron 28- 300 mm

All of my lenses all either have a UV or Polarizer filter on them. Better to scratch a filter then the lens itself..... so much cheaper to replace a filter.

I would also like to add that I also rent lenses from here once in a while. Renting them is a great way to try out a new lens your looking at before you spend the money. Plus if you have a dream lens and can't afford it, renting lets you play with it without having to come up with a ton of cash.

External Flash- Canon Speedlite 430EX

I think everyone who owns an SLR type camera should have a Speedlite, because your on board flash just doesn't have the range that a Speedlite does.

I took this photo with just my on board flash and went back the next day and took this one with my Speedlite. You can really tell the difference between the two.

For my Speedlite I also have this attachment- it's like having an entire set of studio lights without the cost or having to store them. I'm amazed at what that thing can do!

Tripods-

I have this one that I use at home mostly

This monopod that I use when I'm out of the house

And I just bought this small one for my "purse camera" but it will hold the weight of my XTi with my light weight lenses attached.

A few other odds and ends that I own-

I have several of these camera straps. I just love having a more girly camera strap

I use this Grey Card to set my White Balance

This camera bag when I want to carry all my gear and this bag when I need to travel light.

I hope that answers your questions Stacie. If you have anymore just post them here and I will answer them for you.

I've also been thinking about doing a little photography class/lesson here on my blog. If you or anyone else reading would be interested in that just let me know.