JTred

I am by no means a photographer, I wouldn't even call myself and amateur. However, my girlfriend taught me a few little tricks to make most of your pictures better. I don't know how many of you already know these things but there were new to me. Some don't really apply to action photos, but if you're real good you could probably still do it.

1. Off Center Subject
This is simple, don't put your subject in the middle of the picture. Try to balance it out by trying to fit something smaller in the background on the other side. Also psychological research has shown that people prefer a subject that is on the left, "looking" to the right, however, "looking" toward the center of the picture is always preferable.


2. Natural Framing
This is where the objects in the picture itself create a "frame". For us the most obvious things would be trees, logs, clouds etc. It's really easy to do for still pictures and it makes a difference.


3. Panning
I haven't tried this yet, but it seems simple enough. Basically you follow a moving object with the camera, continuing to follow it even after you pushed the button (just like when shooting claybirds). This makes the subject clear and everything else blurry. Again I haven't tried it, but she said it works.

4.Messing with brightness, contrast, and saturation
This is one that's probably pretty well known, and there are probably more ways to do this, but this is the one I know. Basically in Photoshop, you turn the brightness down a bit, then the contrast up a bit. This looks nice by itself, but you can also turn the saturation up as well. There's generally a very distinct point at which the saturation goes from nice, to very, very 1980's. If you play with all three of these you can get some nice results, and it takes like 2 minutes to do.







Like I said, I wouldn't even consider myself and amateur, I just like looking at my own pictures, so if you know more than I do, please add any of your own tips.

Dheorl

Make sure you don't over do it on the adjusting, it will just end up looking totally unatural sometimes.

vik 

Here are some photo tips I posted a while back.

If you have a digital camera I would definitely take as many photos as you can. Especially the same scene with different composition and settings to see what you like and what you don't enjoy.

You don't need an expensive camera to take nice photos, but for the same $$$ you can often get quite different results between cameras so do a little research if you are buying. I've been quite happy with the Canon point and shoot cameras.

Cyclist30907654

The first point that you made is called the rule of thirds.

JTred

Agreed. The last one may be a bit overdone, I guess I could say I did it to show the effect. Vik, that's a great site. I like it because its simple enough for even me to understand. My main point is that all of my pictures were taken (relatively) boring woods SW Pennsylvania, yet I think the pictures came out pretty nice and the photoshopping makes them pop just a little more.

zeo_max

So does this work with a cell phone ? It's the only camera I have and take out to the trails..........

DaJMasta

To my eyes, all of those reworked ones look overdone. While you can sometimes get that kind of contrast, it's hard to believe that it would be so dramatic in those lighting conditions, and the colors do look nicer enhanced, but wouldn't be that bright. Taking the third pic as an example, you would never see that kind of color brightness and contrast on such an overcast day. On a clear day maybe, but you still have to keep some of the dreariness to keep it believable.


I'd also say that while not centering your subject can be useful, sometimes a centered subject can be better for what you're trying to show. If you're emphasizing the background or the subject in the midst of the environment, it can be very useful, but if you are simply showing your subject or are showing a specific perspective, it's not always a good idea.

mtnbiker66

If I want good riding pics I go riding with Highrevs.

Dheorl

It is possible though to greatly enhance a pic without overdoing it.

joshburnett

Consider:

"I am by no means a decent bike mechanic, I wouldn't even call myself and[isc] amateur. However, my girlfriend taught me a few little tricks to make most of your bike parts work better. I don't know how many of you already know these things but there[sic] were new to me. Some don't really apply to some bikes, but if you're real good you could probably still do it."

etc., etc.

If someone is truly interested in photography tips, they are much better off with this link:

https://tinyurl.com/af3xxm

JTred

I see what you're saying, but can't someone who doesn't know much about fixing bikes still offer simple tricks? For example, putting Teflon tape under clamps to help prevent broken levers. Also, while a high percentage of people on this site know a lot about bikes and fixing them, probably a lower (albeit still probably relatively high compared to other subjects) percentage know about photography. Granted, most probably know more than me, I was just sharing a bit of info that could help the sub-amateurs like me.

P.S. I'm kind of embarrassed about the grammar errors you pointed out, they really kind of undermine any kind of coherent message someone is trying to make e.g. "I wouldn't even call myself and[isc][sic](ironic eh?) amateur." "I don't know how many of you already know these things but there[sic] were new to me". Firefox usually gets them, but re-editing sometimes leaves leftover words that it doesn't recognize as wrong.

MyMonkey

JTred, great little piece of insight. Thanks for that. Great riding spot too by the way. I have been into Photography for many years and I still appreciate your post.

joshburnett

Typo vs. incorrect usage = a considerable difference = not ironic.

Signed,

Teflon-free ever since I stopped using:

JTred

You having typo while pointing out my typo is ironic. Irony is when the opposite of what is expected happens. It is expected that someone who is pointing out the mistakes of someone else would be mindful to not make the same mistakes. I'm not trying to pick an e-fight, I want to get along with everyone. I'm sorry if my trying to make light of our similar mistakes offended you. I'd rather have no ill feelings towards anyone on this board, we're all united by a passion for bikes.

joshburnett

No, no, no.

I am not offended.

I just continue to laugh at you.

"the same mistakes"

Please see:

"Typo vs. incorrect usage = a considerable difference = not ironic."

Your initial mistake was not a typo.

If you are still struggling with the difference, I can make a flow chart/power point/flip chart/mural/mosaic/line drawing using virgin goat blood that will illustrate the difference to normal people.

My suggestion:

Stick to ride posts. Your foray into "photography" was not very useful. It was funny though.

JTred

Adding a "d" to the word "an" is still a typo. Just because "and" also happens to be a word doesn't make it incorrect usage. When I used the word "there" it was a leftover from editing before I originally posted it. Excuse me for trying to add something constructive instead of laughing at people for a mistake which you yourself made. Its that simple, we both had a typing error, but apparently that is enough for you to try to cut me down. Whatever this is all pointless.

-_RebelRidin'_-

Flamer much?

paul emick

Don't feed the troll.

JTred

Good call, a quick look at a few of his other posts confirms it. I should have seen it sooner.

paul emick

Additionally, misspelling "[sic]" IS ironic.

-_RebelRidin'_-

^ You just gone an dumped a gallon of kerosene on the fire

paul emick

-_RebelRidin'_-

I'll grab the fire extinguisher...

cryptid01

works for me

lofnsjoke

i miss his photos.