# Biggest eye openers?!



## DGMPhotography (Jan 27, 2017)

Hey folks! I'm curious what have been your biggest eye opener techniques that you've discovered/learned? Whether in shooting or editing. Things that you look back on and you're like, "duh, why wasn't I doing this before?" 

For shooting, one of my biggest eye openers to date has been to use single-point focus. Simple, but crucial. 

For editing, I'd say frequency separation, masking, and high pass sharpening in Photoshop.


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## Samuel.z (Jan 30, 2017)

Manual mode - When i started out i only shot with TV, AV, P modes. I was afraid of using manual since i didn't want to miss the moment.

Long Exposure - When i discovered long exposure it changed my way of shooting. Since i am awake at night (Working night shifts) i keept my night sleep rythm and shot mostly at night. at first i was cranking that ISO up.

Single-point focus - As you mentioned. I did not know that it would make such a difference.

Histogram - Not that big of an eye opener to me but i think it still affected my way of shooting.

Tripod - Using a tripod was not in my mind when i got my first camera. Now i can't shoot without it. 90% of my shots are from a tripod. Sadly i also limit myself using it to much.

Good clothes - Some good outdoor clothes help you to stay outside and reach those places. Also when you want to get low you don't want to get dirt on your everyday clothes.

These are the ones that came up in my head instantly.


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## SquarePeg (Jan 30, 2017)

Soft light - as a total novice I was surprised to learn that mid day prime time sunshine was not the best for taking landscape photos.  D'oh!!!  Of course it makes sense now but you really don't think about the quality of the light until you realize that is what was drawing you to the photos you were trying to emulate in the first place.  

Editing - Unsharp mask!  Thanks Traveler!  I'm still a beginner at editing.

Equipment - UV filters are a waste of money


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## greybeard (Jan 30, 2017)

Back button focus for Nikon.  Simple camera adjustment that makes life easier


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## adamhiram (Jan 30, 2017)

Continuous focus AF-area modes - single point, D25, group, 3D.  When I was shooting a D5100, I was limited to 11 focus points and only 1 cross-type, so I was basically limited to single-point (center) AF when shooting in continuous focus mode, everything else was pretty useless.  Now with a D500, I can actually track a moving subject and nail focus almost every time.  I am still learning the nuances of each mode for different scenarios to increase my keeper rate, but having a better AF system has opened up a world of possibilities.


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## jcdeboever (Jan 30, 2017)

Don't take pics of oil refinery's, unless your into cavity search's.... very wide eye openers....


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## DGMPhotography (Jan 30, 2017)

greybeard said:


> Back button focus for Nikon.  Simple camera adjustment that makes life easier



I've been meaning to look into back button focus, myself.


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## Trever1t (Jan 30, 2017)

I've never had a great revelation but rather have learned a technique and moved up a level. It's a continual process


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## table1349 (Jan 30, 2017)

Probably when I was 16 0r 17 and my boss/mentor/teacher stuck me behind the view finder of the Pentax 6X7.  We were shooting a fashion set for an international entity and he turned the camera and shoot over to me.   I quickly learned what pressure was as well as learning how important it was that I had paid attention to details up to that point.  I was slower than he was but he and the company were satisfied with my work.  From then on I had lots of behind the finder time.  I still did the grunt work, but I also was a photographer at that point.


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## smoke665 (Jan 30, 2017)

The newness of the ability to edit photos wore off, and I realized it was more fun taking pictures then editing them, so my concentration has been on getting it right in camera. I also took the advise of  @Derrel and @Ysarex and learned to use LR. Last month's trip accumulated over 700 images, processed in no time thanks to their advice. I still think PS has a place and purpose, and still use it, but not as much now.


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## DGMPhotography (Jan 31, 2017)

greybeard said:


> DGMPhotography said:
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Yeah, I did some reading on it and now I definitely want to use it!


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## greybeard (Jan 31, 2017)

DGMPhotography said:


> greybeard said:
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This video, explains Back Button Focus.  Nikon's are easy to setup.  I even was able to setup my Sony A6000 for back button as well.


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## phogan2292 (Jan 31, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> I realized it was more fun taking pictures then editing them



I'd echo this. I enjoy post-processing to some extent, but I never feel totally satisfied with an edit and have much more fun getting out and taking the photos.

Also, bringing myself to print photos even if I'm not 100% satisfied with my LR work. I'm much more pleased with having a "finished" product than a bunch of projects constantly in flux.


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## smoke665 (Jan 31, 2017)

phogan2292 said:


> I'm much more pleased with having a "finished" product than a bunch of projects constantly in flux.



So true!!!!! I find once I print an image I rarely go back to it, but if I haven't I'm always tempted to "improve" on it.


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## jtran76 (Jan 31, 2017)

For me learning how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO control the amount of light going into the lens of the camera and not be afraid using full manual mode of my camera just to see what each individual setting does and how they effect picture quality.


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## john.margetts (Jan 31, 2017)

My biggest eye-opener was realising that you do not need sunshine for photography. I still love shooting in thick fog.


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## DGMPhotography (Jan 31, 2017)

john.margetts said:


> My biggest eye-opener was realising that you do not need sunshine for photography. I still love shooting in thick fog.



Do you have any advice for planning for, and shooting in fog? I never have my camera with me when it's foggy


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## table1349 (Jan 31, 2017)

DGMPhotography said:


> john.margetts said:
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> > My biggest eye-opener was realising that you do not need sunshine for photography. I still love shooting in thick fog.
> ...


First step for shooting in fog,  HAVE A CAMERA WITH YOU.


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## DGMPhotography (Jan 31, 2017)

gryphonslair99 said:


> DGMPhotography said:
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Lol... fair enough


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## DanOstergren (Feb 1, 2017)

I know I sound like a broken record here because I suggest it all the time, but one of the biggest eye openers for me was when I realized the correlation between the makeup technique "contouring and highlighting" and lighting for portraits. The makeup technique is used to sculpt and highlight certain facial features to make someone look their best, and applying the idea to the way I use light does the same thing, simultaneously reducing the amount of retouching needed in post, which to me is a huge deal because I hate spending too much time editing one photo.

The other major eye opener for me was discovering just how amazing and versatile the dodge and burn tool in photoshop is. If I could only use one editing function in photoshop and nothing else, it would that, and I would still be very happy about it. Hell, I'd still subscribe to CC if all it came with was a dodge and burn tool because of how incredible of a skin retouching and sculpting tool it is. I feel that every portrait photographer should learn how to effectively dodge and burn.


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## DanOstergren (Feb 1, 2017)

john.margetts said:


> My biggest eye-opener was realising that you do not need sunshine for photography. I still love shooting in thick fog.


This was a big one for me too. You can use practically ANY light source and still get amazing results.


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## DanOstergren (Feb 1, 2017)

DGMPhotography said:


> john.margetts said:
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> > My biggest eye-opener was realising that you do not need sunshine for photography. I still love shooting in thick fog.
> ...


Bring a reflector!


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## dasmith232 (Feb 1, 2017)

Flash. When I started, I had one of those obligatory black boxes of awful light. I never liked the results, but owned a flash because "you're supposed to." Finally, I got serious about flash (digital made that a whole lot easier). Ultimately, for me, it's the _direction and quality of light_ that is most important. Once I started paying attention to that, my entire approach to capturing an image changed.


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## john.margetts (Feb 1, 2017)

DGMPhotography said:


> john.margetts said:
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> > My biggest eye-opener was realising that you do not need sunshine for photography. I still love shooting in thick fog.
> ...


I go for a walk every day, regardless of weather, and always take at the least my pocket Panasonic. That means I am out when it is foggy. It is worth mentioning that fog is very mobile and can get inside cameras so I keep mine under my coat when not actually shooting. My body heat dries out the camera before the damp penetrates too far.


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## droaingsong (Feb 4, 2017)

Exploring HDR's was biggest eye opener for me.


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## DGMPhotography (Feb 4, 2017)

droaingsong said:


> Exploring HDR's was biggest eye opener for me.



Those were dark times for me lol.


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## Peeb (Feb 4, 2017)

Shooting:  the dark is your friend.  Night photography is very rewarding.

Processing:  the raw camera filter in Photoshop is awesome.


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## chuasam (Feb 4, 2017)

Editing:
Using dodge and burn on channel masks and created channel masks one section of the image at at time. 
Finally understanding the Photoshop Pen Tool and the Bezier control points

Lighting:
White Nylon and Speedlights make a far more portable and still usable light source than the full softbox/monolight kit.

Image Capture:
Unless you plan to do heavy retouching, grain/noise is acceptable in an image.


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## cauzimme (Feb 4, 2017)

Being in front of a camera was a game changer for me. 
I hate it so much that I told myself I would never subject someone to my experience, I would guide them step by step so they would know how to pose.


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## cauzimme (Feb 4, 2017)

cauzimme said:


> Being in front of a camera was a game changer for me.
> I hate it so much that I told myself I would never subject someone to my experience, I would guide them step by step so they would know how to pose.




And yes I chose a great photographer, well her reputation was good, the best back then... 
700$ for 1hrs and 4 edited photos... 
It was ****!


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## andrewdoeshair (Mar 27, 2017)

Oh man, so many moments...

Here's one: I had always thought that flash was used when it was too dark out and you needed to make the image brighter. My brain nearly exploded when I learned that flash can be used to make an image darker (background compared to the subject) when it's too bright out.

A huge moment for me was when I stopped defaulting to wide apertures. I used to shoot everything wide open and only adjust my shutter speed when needed (not just because I thought bokeh made my pictures look super professional, ha, but because I was afraid to put my ISO up and get noise) but one time I forced myself to stay between F8 and F11 for a day at Disneyland and I found the joy of having backgrounds in my images. Now I rarely shoot any wider than F4 unless light is an issue or I specifically want to isolate a subject from an unfortunate background.

Another "ah ha!" moment was when I stopped thinking of zooming as a replacement for walking, and started thinking of it as "how much background or context and how much compression do I want around the subject?" Aside from shooting nature that I can't get close to, I've mostly stopped zooming as a way to avoid walking, and started zooming to gain or lose the amount of background and compression I'd get in a image (and then I walk after getting the look I want).

The biggest moments I've had with editing were to straighten my horizons (nobody told me! It took me like 2 years to figure it out) and then to get everything close enough on camera that editing isn't even necessary. It's a lot more fun to edit a photo that barely needs it than it is to try to perform a miracle in LR. If I neeeed to fix an image I usually don't even want to.


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## TCampbell (Mar 28, 2017)

ugg... there are a lot of "eye openers" over the years.  Can you narrow it down to a category?

Lighting... (I'll just stick to this area).

I was always frustrated with the term "soft" lighting because the word is... unhelpful.  What you REALLY want is gentle transitions from highlights to shadows.   And to get that you want light that appears to come from a broad area rather than from a pinpoint source.  That's "soft" lighting.  Diffusers don't soften the light if the diffuser is tiny.  The diffuser needs to be physically large.

Quite a few of the things that have helped me are related to the math of photography (how f-stops really work... how the inverse square law works, etc.) 

When shooting outdoors in the sun, always use a flash.  It doesn't matter if your subject is in the sun (in which case you need the flash to help reduce the extreme nature of the shadows) or if the subject is in full shade with a sunny area in the background (in which case the background will appear horribly over-exposed unless you use a flash. )

Something else my old boss told me (when I started apprenticing at a very young age)... anytime you see a photo you like... STUDY IT.  Figure out WHY you like it.  Is it the modeling and posing?  What about the lighting?  How many lights do you think they used?  Where do you think they are positioned?  What sort of lighting modifiers does it look like they used?   What focal length and f-stop do you imagine they may have used?   Constantly having to think about such things really helped me learn what each piece of gear (and how it's used) is doing for the shot.

In general, lighting can do far more for your photography than camera or lens could ever possibly do.  You can completely control the viewers perception and emotion of a shot with lighting.  If used correctly, it really can contribute heavily toward conveying a specific mood.

There are many many more eye openers and lessons learned over the years.  Some of them aren't so meaningful anymore (we don't so much need to worry about how we feed the leader onto the take-up spool to make sure the film really does advance when we wind the camera.  But at one point in my life that was an important lesson.)


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