Just got a new Cannon 7D for Christmas? Never owned a DSLR before. Any photofags got any pointers?

Just got a new Cannon 7D for Christmas? Never owned a DSLR before. Any photofags got any pointers?

What are your goals for it or what are you planning to shoot?

>Cannon 7D
Canon spelled wrong
>Never owned a DSLR before
Kek

not trolling here, but I got it to primarily shoot bikini modeling type stuff. Both in studio and out. Live in SoFlo so it works.

>never owned a DSLR
>plans on working in a studio
wow

GoPro is better you hide it in the bathroom at the beach

have my own space. I know it will take a while to learn good lighting and such, but I figure you learn best by doing.

not that kind of shit user. trying to do some legit shots.

I'm guessing we are talking professional quality stuff here:

for the most part lighting is more important than camera here. low iso when possible, 100 when outside

shoot in RAW

use a fixed lens. meaning don't use the lens that have a range ie 28-100. use a fixed 50 or 55. lowers distortion

I'll keep adding the more i think on it

I know RAW allows to play with the image setting afterwards, but i was told by photographers mixed signals about this.

Ohh didn't know the one about the fixed lens, thanks for the heads up user. is it really that noticable? I have an 18-55 that does what I need it to, though planning on picking up a macro lens, love those super close up pics of like dragonflies with water on em

always do raw. or some cameras allow you to do raw+large. idk if that affects anything or if it just gives you one of each. not like you'll just up even a 4gb sd card doing that if you move shit to your pc after each photo session

>use a fixed lens. meaning don't use the lens that have a range ie 28-100
so my 24-70 f/2.8 is no good? :(

Think of RAW like a digital negative. It gives you more range to correct in post. Its not necessary but if you want top quailty for you images, images you have digitally push to make look top notch, edit some with Camera RAW then move to photoshop. if you are lighting well, have a good workflow and are shooting larger than you need, no RAW is fine

Do exactly this.

its ok just need to adjust the distortion in Photoshop. fixed just removes the process and will be a pinch sharper

Trips of truth has spoken. Return that ship OP, you dont deserve it.

This may sound stupid, but if you want an easy way to learn the fundamentals of photography from a technical stand point , but the book "read this if you want to take great photographs" it's a great little handbook for like 15 bucks on amazon, and it will send you in the right direction homie

Anyone who told you not to shoot in RAW is wrong. 30 minutes of research will answer this.

Shoot RAW or use an iphone.

>low ISO
>smaller aperture for sharper images with lots of background detail, but darker
>larger aperture for blurry backgrounds, is lighter
>fast shutter to freeze images, but darker
>slow shutter for motion in images, but lighter and not as sharp
the basics

how do you get any decent models without a model based port though. I guess I could shot some nature shit, but it not really what I wanna do.

iPhones CAN shoot raw now friend

do not bother with gear at all until you figure out how to manually set your exposure.
you don't need that expensive lens, you don't need filters or fancy accessories. the most important thing right now is to understand how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO works all together and how they work in different settings/situations.
Find out your shooting style and what you really want to capture.
forget about "by the book" shit like rule of thirds, there's no such thing as composition rules, create your own interesting composition for every individual shot/situation

tl;dr go out and shoot

Memorize this.

thank you!

Here's the easiest trick in the book: move away from your subject and then zoom in with your lens to create a nice bokeh blur of the background. This also 'sucks in' distant backgrounds and can really make subjects pop.

But most important in MOAR & BETTER LIGHT

this picture is a little misleading but the general ideal is right

thought of more:

body language is important when shooting to make the model more comfortable. stand to the side of the camera when you have the angle set. gives it a more one on one feel and distracts for the camera a bit.

use tripod when you can.

Never use HDR. only appropriate for shooting house for a realtor

how is it misleading?

Models make money because photographers will pay to take photos of them.

If you want to shoot models pay a model to let you shoot them.

Then Sell calanders of all the hot girls

Professional photographer

Step one: Research settings. Know when and how to shoot them. Easy way, learn to shoot manual (M). Start perfecting that. When you're good at eyeballing the settings, shoot Aperture or Shutter priority when necessary. But M is going to get you the art stuff. Priority modes are good for instances that involve fast shooting when your settings will continuously change.

Step two: Get good glass (lens). You kit lens is not very good. If you're on a budget, get the 50mm 1.8 STM and start saving for "L" lens (top of the line, stands for Luxury). Figure out what you're shooting. Landscapes, reality ads, certain sports... Wide angle (anything less than 50mm). Portraiture and journalism, usually a mid range 35mm to 100mm. Nature, sports, some portraiture, weddings, go for telephoto 100mm to 400mm.

Most can be covered by Canon 16-35 2.8 L (wide), 24-70 2.8 L, 70-200 2.8 L.

Primes are good too, just not as versatile.


Raw is good if you or whoever edits knows what they're doing. There's a setting on Canons that allows you to shoot both RAW and JPEG. good for figuring it all out.

Get some flashes. Speedlites and Studio strobes. Plus wireless remotes.

Lastly, use Youtube and other protogs and learn the art. Never stop learning

the graininess of the iso depends on the camera sensor's range

the amount of blur from the shutter speed varies based of the object's speed

Go to fucking /p/ you fucking shit head

Ever been there? It's slow and very unhelpful

but isn't this tread random? isn't Sup Forums a catch all? isn't it your bedtime?

I agree and disagree.

I agree in the sense of, the more you shoot, the more you learn.

There are rules, though. Learning the art aspect of posing, composition, etc is essential to be taken seriously. You can take "unique" photo and people will like it because of the detail DSLRs give. But any professional can spot bullshit.

But manual settings teach you the fundamentals.

When recruiting models, target party/low-tier colleges and particularly junior colleges. You'll avoid high school jail bait and and junior colleges have an abundance of aimless grils.

Very true. Local Theatre too. "Free headshots"

Hey - I'm shooting a 7D. What kind of lenses you using?

What were you using before?

The biggest issue I've found with my 7D is the image sensor is really outdated. I get tons of noise even at like 500 ISO.

It is great for studio, and also daytime where you can shoot 100-400 without problems. Indoors without lighting sucks. my iphone takes better shots in those conditions.

>this

Not true at all, zooms and telophotos are used in photography all the time. Good ones like a canon 70-200 2.8. Primes aren't necessarely better, especially for something simpler like bikini photography . PS OP you're gonna have to build a reel and reputation before you're taking scantily clad photos of girls or you're gonna come off as a creep with a shit product

One option is flash. Amazon has YN600ex-rt for a good price.

Bounce light indoors. Or use the light sphere by Gary Fong