Picture help

exx1976 · 06-30-2008, 01:46 PM

Couple questions for all the "serious" photographers out there.. I have a "decent" dSLR, a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, with an 18w-55 lens and a 75-300.. The lenses are just consumer-grade lenses, no image stabilization, but they are both Canon, not off-brand ones. I also have a decent tripod, but I much prefer free-hand shooting.

Yesterday I took a bunch of shots of some cars with a professional model, and some of them came out SO good that I think I want to start getting a little more serious about this. So far, I've been following the formula of "Take ****loads of pictures, and at least a couple are bound to turn out well". So, as a result, I go home with 1500-2000 shots from any given event, sort through them, and when I'm done, I MIGHT have like 200 shots that are nice. Even within those, though, there are certain things I'd like to be able to retouch, like removing reflections from glass, or altering the lighting, things like that.

So, my question is this: Given the equipment I have, what software should I pool to purchase to make my pictures really stand out from the crowd? Photoshop? Which one? There's like a million of them.. LightRoom, CS3, blah blah.. I really don't know much of anything about any of it. Can someone point me in the right direction??

Thanks a million!!!

Doctor Dean · 07-03-2008, 07:40 AM

If you want to get serious, consider using Photoshop CS2 - choice of the pros. The program is pricey andcomplex, but offers the widest range possibilities and options. To avoid frustration, also consider formal instruction to get started. Depending upon the size of your city, some large camera stores offer classes in Photoshop,as do mostcommunity colleges. If nothing else, there are some good on-line and video classes to buy.

I started with Photoshop elements v.2 and upgraded a couple of years ago to v.4. While Elements (now in v.6)is relatively easy to learn and considerably cheaper, I soon found from other users that the full Photoshop programs performed batch processing with a lot less effort. I now use CS2, but Elements remains a good choice if budget is a concern.

I havetwo other suggestions. While your approach of taking lots of photos does increase the chances of a picture with good composition and exposure, the more you learn about those principles, the easier it becomes to plan ahead and 'see' good photos in your mind, then make them happen. I recommend the soft-cover book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Petersen.Its a very understandable read that will allow you to get so much more from your camera.

The second suggestion is to invest in a good image-stabilized lens. The Canon 17-85mm IS lens will allow you to shoot your preferred hand-held techniquewith much greater sharpness in a wide variety of conditions. Street cost is about $500.

Doctor Dean
2008 GT convertible
Canon 40D with 17-85 IS, 70-300 IS and 60mm macro

ARdoller · 07-03-2008, 12:59 PM

you can get Photoshop CS2 fairly cheap now that CS3 is out. CS2 is diverse and complex enough for most people to not need CS3. of course they probably added more features, and about 20 more ways to do every possible thing, but for the price youre gonna save getting CS2, its not worth forking out the money for CS3. at least thats my opinion.