Bro got a new camera

[370zproject]

he came into town with a new Nikon d5100 just a kit lens for now
he hasn't had it to long so here are some shot he took with it be nice.. any tips or lens suggestions are welcome also if you want to suggest good software to use go for it. enjoy











we really like this one












we had a fun day messing around

[GaleForce]

Cool photos

[370zproject]

thanks he did a good job

[Kenny]

You should buy your bro a tripod..

Some of those pics look like Michael J. Fox snapped them.

Also the picture that you really liked kinda sucks. Why did he focus on the keyring?

The day pics don't look bad, but the cropping looks weird though.

[Cmike2780]

Nice work. The first one's are a bit out of focus/blurry. Night shots are always a bit tricky, but once you know the basics, it's a lot of fun. Here's what you need:

-Get Tripod
-Set your ISO to the lowest it will go. I think it's ISO 100 for the Nikon
-Get a remote trigger or use the timer
-Set the camera to 'M' Manual mode
-Depending on how much you want in focus and the lens, set your aperture (f-stop). This will control your depth of field along with the focal length and distance. A higher number, like f11 or f22, will have more of the background in focus.
-Next, adjust the shutter speed to control the overall scene. Longer exposures will allow more light in.
-Last but not least...and probably most important is lighting the scene. Be mindful of how light hits whatever you're shooting. That 3rd shot looks remarkably better than the first two for example.
-Keep on experimenting. You're off to a great start.

In that last pic, it would be more interesting if the background was slightly blurred for example. Try this in that same setup...set the camera to aperture priority. Since the kit lens is probably an 18-55mm, zoom it all the way to 55mm. Set the aperture to the lowest f-stop, probably f/5 @ 55mm. Now just move forward or away from the car to compose the shot, bringing the car into focus.

As far as lenses, the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.8 are relatively inexpensive, but really, really great lenses. It's a 'prime' or fixed as oppose to a zoom. It's great because of the large aperture which gives you the bokeh or blurred background look easier.

If you want to shoot up close, invest in a dedicated Macro/Micro lens. The least expensive Nikon Micro is the 40mm. The difference between a dedicated Micro and a regular lens is the ability to magnify and a really close focal lengths.

There are a few affordable programs out there. Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture are probably the easiest and most popular.

[TreeSemdyZee]

Originally Posted by Kenny

You should buy your bro a tripod..

Some of those pics look like Michael J. Fox snapped them.

Also the picture that you really liked kinda sucks. Why did he focus on the keyring?

The day pics don't look bad, but the cropping looks weird though.

[370zproject]

Originally Posted by Kenny

You should buy your bro a tripod..

Some of those pics look like Michael J. Fox snapped them.

Also the picture that you really liked kinda sucks. Why did he focus on the keyring?

The day pics don't look bad, but the cropping looks weird though.

a tripod is on our list of things to get
as far as the key ring we were playing with it to me it looked cool thanks for the input :P

Originally Posted by Cmike2780

Nice work. The first one's are a bit out of focus/blurry. Night shots are always a bit tricky, but once you know the basics, it's a lot of fun. Here's what you need:

-Get Tripod
-Set your ISO to the lowest it will go. I think it's ISO 100 for the Nikon
-Get a remote trigger or use the timer
-Set the camera to 'M' Manual mode
-Depending on how much you want in focus and the lens, set your aperture (f-stop). This will control your depth of field along with the focal length and distance. A higher number, like f11 or f22, will have more of the background in focus.
-Next, adjust the shutter speed to control the overall scene. Longer exposures will allow more light in.
-Last but not least...and probably most important is lighting the scene. Be mindful of how light hits whatever you're shooting. That 3rd shot looks remarkably better than the first two for example.
-Keep on experimenting. You're off to a great start.

In that last pic, it would be more interesting if the background was slightly blurred for example. Try this in that same setup...set the camera to aperture priority. Since the kit lens is probably an 18-55mm, zoom it all the way to 55mm. Set the aperture to the lowest f-stop, probably f/5 @ 55mm. Now just move forward or away from the car to compose the shot, bringing the car into focus.

As far as lenses, the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.8 are relatively inexpensive, but really, really great lenses. It's a 'prime' or fixed as oppose to a zoom. It's great because of the large aperture which gives you the bokeh or blurred background look easier.

If you want to shoot up close, invest in a dedicated Macro/Micro lens. The least expensive Nikon Micro is the 40mm. The difference between a dedicated Micro and a regular lens is the ability to magnify and a really close focal lengths.

There are a few affordable programs out there. Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture are probably the easiest and most popular.

my brother thanks you sir for you input

[Cmike2780]

No prob. Lightroom and I believe Aperture also, have full version free trials before you buy it. It last for about a month, so I would suggest your bro try it out before spending $100-150.

[Shadezz]

Nice shots my friend!! Keep them coming!!

[MacCool]

I would recommend shooting in NEF and using Nikon Capture for adjusting sizing, resolution, sharpening, and exposure.

[Cmike2780]

I think he should learn the basics before shooting in RAW. It's great, especially in post, but for someone starting out, I'd stick to jpeg. Often times they come out just as good.

[k20z3]

I like the colors

[LakeShow]

Nice shots! I really like the one on the RPM gauge.

[370zproject]

thanks guys i think hes reading these comments im sure he will be back to visit me one day :P

[MacCool]

Originally Posted by Cmike2780

I think he should learn the basics before shooting in RAW. It's great, especially in post, but for someone starting out, I'd stick to jpeg. Often times they come out just as good.

RAW format allows much more flexibility in editing with much better results possible. Editing in JPEG is always a compromise. There's nothing arcane about RAW. It's actually easier to manage than typical JPEG editing, but you're right...it helps to understand the rudiments of photography (exposure, color balance, ISO, etc) if one hopes to go beyond just taking snapshots of their cat.