Looking to learn how to use the settings to the advantage of my photography. Does anyone know any techniques they can tell me to try.

Please but clear instructions.

Thanks.

The most important thing, above anything else is light. If you don’t get this right, the photo just isn’t going to work. What you want to do us create gentle shadows which emphasise the features of the face, almost invariable this requires use directional light, and make sure the light isn’t too harsh, it doesn’t matter if it’s natural light or artificial light, but as a general rule try to avoid mixing different types of light until you’re a little more experienced. Sometimes you will find light that’s comes from unconventional places, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciao_chao/5381814201/in/photostream I shot this outside a shop which sells lampshades and chandeliers. Though my favourite is light that late afternoon sunlight, it’s nice and low, making it soft, and also warm. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciao_chao/5688004653/in/photostream

Sometimes you may want to just give available light a boost, by all means you can "fill in" with flash, even from your pop-up, but you want to dial it down, usually -1.7 or -1.3EV on FEC should be fine.

Most portraits are shot at focal lengths of longer than 50mm. When inside full body, 50mm, upper body, 85mm, head shots, 100mm+. With more space you can often use longer focal lengths to isolate your subject.

Control of depth of field is important if you’re shooting documentary photos, you need a moderate amount of depth of field just to place the subject in an environment, but it needs to be shallow enough to isolate the subjects. Apertures of f2-2.8 at 50mm and 5.6 at 100mm+ would be suitable. This is the type of environmental shot I often like http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciao_chao/4952167185/in/photostream I generally will shoot in Av mode, and ISO of 100.

Now in the studio, you aperture depends on the background you’re working with, but invariably will depend on the lighting. Shooting on white, it doesn’t matter too much as long as you use the light to smooth out the background. Shooting on black is the opposite, and involves trying to prevent the light spilling out. With a patterned background, you may need to use a larger aperture, to provide a nice smooth but interesting background.

I am currently doing A level photography and for my exam project I need three or four techniques to try. Preferably easy ones of which I can find an already existing example to use for inspiration (as I’m now running out of time) please please help!

Long exposure

Light painting/off camera flash

Time lapse

Depth of field practice

what type of techniques does Polixeni Papapetrou employ in her photography?

I’m not sure if it is the relationship between history, contemporary culture, identity and performance.

Thankyou!

Polixeni uses a Hassleblad camera, with Kodak Portra 160 ASA NC film. She uses reflectors and flash.
Polixeni doesn’t believe in using Photoshop to create her pictures but rather to enhance them. Her main interest is the representation of childhood both from a historical and contemporary perspective. She is interested in dress-ups, performance and staged photography. She photographs her two children and sometimes their friends.
Her photographs are all made in Australia, where she lives and works. Prior to working in the landscape, she worked in the studio and used hand-painted scenic backdrops measuring 3×3 metres to set the scene.

Is there any other cool things to do with a dSLR camera that looks "Photo-shopped" besides light graffiti?

You can do custom bokeh like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobrakarin/5218776356/in/faves-vangorkumphotography/ ( http://www.diyphotography.net/diy_create_your_own_bokeh )

Or macro shots where the reflection in the waterdrop is of the background, like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12708811@N07/2471065618/in/faves-vangorkumphotography/

You can also do a long exposure at night, and get an effect known as "startrails" http://www.flickr.com/photos/drsoup/4886343833/in/faves-vangorkumphotography/

Or shoot through a glass ball: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianharris/89066148/in/faves-vangorkumphotography/

Specifically, the pasting of large scale images on the side of a building. Wouldn’t having these printed in such a huge way as to paste them be extremely expensive? Is there a low cost way to do a project like this?

You need to be more specific and provide an artist name, or a link to examples of what you are talking about.
Anymore, many images are photoshopped, and it is easy to do that digitally, but it’s not real.

In the real world, artists often pay billboard companies to print the large sheets that they put on building sides. And yes, it is expensive. But they have people who pay for it, or pay them to do it, or pay for a portion of it.

There is no "low cost" way to do such a project, as the cost of materials for any project that is large, start to add up.

I just want to improve my photography and people say the best way is use a fill flash. I just bought one, and wanted to know different was to use it. Im not really sure, I just used the flash in general and i dont really see a difference. So im not sure if im using it right. Any advice is good advice! Thank you

i dont understand the "best way is use a fill flash" statement, its a very general statement

learn off camera flash and your images wil go from zero to hero, thats all i will add

Hundreds, be more specific in your question.

something that isn’t a long program -
wonderful idea ~

well, i asked this Q about 30 years ago… and apart from some well meant advice, i decided to learn. i went to the local church and registry office, and i watched… and then i asked questions of the photographers… ( I already had my own 35mm kit, and a Mamiya C330s)

then, i did a few freebies for my friends… and it all went from there…

nowadays i still shoot weddings, i shoot on a 11mp Olympus E, (raw only) i dont do prints, just DVD’s and i point them towards my printer, who does a great job, and saves me HOURS if not days, of work… it keeps the couples costs down… and, before anyone mentions reprints and copyright… im charging 100pounds an hour, plus 15ph for post prod. an average wedding is 8 hours, (i specialise in reportage) plus maybe 20 hours Post.. it would appear churlish to restrict their useage… theyre wedding photos, who else wants to use them?

i teach, and this is my pocket money job… and, in 30years ive never advertised, its all been word of mouth… and ive done parents weddings and 20years later ive been back to shoot their kids weddings…

technical skills can be learned easily enough… its teh people skills which let so many down… basically you work the crowd, walk the floor, and engage with the customers… ive heard of so many photographers who arent asked back simply because the client didnt like their attitude… to them, its the most important day in their life… to you, its just another job… but never ever mention that… make them feel special, make them feel like rock stars on a red carpet… you make thier day… because, in all truth, after teh couple and the vicar… its all down to you, teh photographer…

you can’t afford for ANYTHING to go wrong, and if it does, go to plan B immediately… double your kit, 2 bodies, lenses, off camera flash heads batteries and around 32 gig of memory cards… (i get around 900 shots on 16 gigs. and then… theres photoshop…and autopanogiga2 and portrait pro 9…

and, on piratebay theres a wealth of how to video’s and books…

taking the photo is only part 1 of the process… each shot needs to be colour matched, cropped, rotated, and have teh levels balanced… this takes skill, and time. and occasionally, esp in teh closeups you need to remove blemishes and spots, and cover the occasional tattoo!

after a shoot i can do around 300 images a day in post.. *this is reportage, they get everything

i use autopano to stitch large group shots, where you def dont want the distortion of a wide lens…

but, you can teach yourself… theres no right way, or wrong way to do it… its the end result were after… perfectly exposed, crisp shots…

i need a really good helpful site, anyone have any?

Google "digital photography school" They have new articles every day and tons of old ones to read. Fantastic site especially for a beginner.

Best books to teach you photography techniques and basics. Ideas?

Their are so many good books out there. It really depends on what you are looking for. I enjoyed Tom Ang’s books when I was starting with photography but now I enjoy books that do discuss technique but in the context of a specific image.

In particular, Joe McNally’s books (if someone was going to try and list the greatest living photographers, Joe would make the list) are amazing, as is David Ziser’s book, Captured by the Light (he is a wedding photographer, but the techniques he describes are fairly universal).

For straight up photography learning (what shutter speed, aperture and ISO are and how they relate etc.), there are so many, the fundamentals have not changed and you might be able to pick up a good one used for cheap.

But I find now that so much information is available online. The Strobist blog is the best place anywhere to learn how to light, for example. Other amazing blogs are Chase Jarvis’s, Zack Arias’, Joe McNally’s and Scott Kelby’s.

That said, a good library of books you enjoy returning to as a reference or for inspiration is invaluable. One amazing resource is peach pit press. They publish many books online that, for a reasonable fee, you can access. You can review hundreds of books and then decide which ones you would want to purchase (I have no affiliation).

Best of luck and keep reading and learning!