A beginner’s attempt on explaining photography

Helloooo! It's been a while!! And I'm finally not that busy anymore! And it's christmas season already!! Wow man time is so fast! And here's a little something for photography enthusiasts(like me), amateur photographers and newbies! 
WARNING: AN UTTERLY BORING POST FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNINTERESTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY 


Moving on:


I can see a lot of people becoming interested in photography lately. Hmmm that’s nice :D. Also a lot of people already own a dslr! Like one time I went to a mall here and saw many people with dslr hanging on their necks and bags. And what do you think about kids who hang a DSLR camera around their neck, walking around “exclusive malls”? IRRITATING. Basically they're just showing that their parents got money. Real photographers only takes out their camera when they want to instead of showing it off 24/7. Ok I don’t have something against dslr owners. I just think people who use them just to show off is a Definite eyesore. Quit showing it off you just look like a whore with an ebola -_-

 Camera timeline: 2 years ago I bought my first baby, Kimochi, which is a Canon EOS 450D. Actually I first started with a nifty Canon film camera during my childhood days, after which  my uncle gave me his Canon EOS 350D(Which is my first ever dslr, and also my first ever DIGITAL camera) I also own a Ricoh digital camera(Forgot the lameshit name), Canon Ixus 870is and a powershot sx200is( I don’t look like a canon lover ne?) which I always bring around coz DSLRs are just way too big, heavy, bulky and most of all, a holdaper's eye candy(WTF) 


Yuhan is such a show off!! He brags alot about his cameras!!! You think so???? Well Fuck you! Hahahaha! I love my cameras! Weeeeeeeeeee!

They are BIG, DANGEROUS AND BLACK. ok now I sound like a racist or something O_O

I fell in love with photography from the very first time I handled a camera. I’ve been posting a lot of my photography works in some websites in the past few years.

I’m not a beginner at all XD. And I'm also not a "professional" meme or something. Just ignore the title ok? Hahaha

So first thing's first, CHOOSE THE RIGHT CAMERA.

Invest on a GOOD camera. If you're planning to be quite serious in photography then might as well get a semi-pro(which is what I'm craving for as of now).

Never buy cheap compact cameras. NEVER

Don't be seduced/deceived/tricked by overpriced cameras that looks stunning. And adding the touchscreen function. You'll regret it forever.

Semi-pros are like mini-DSLRs because they also have awesome aperture lens and they have this manual control functions which is really comparable to a dslr! AND I REALLY REALLY REALLY want one because I'm too sick of my huge, goddamn heavy, bulky and holdaper-prone dslr but at the same time I also don't like the poor image quality that my ixus and powershot has. But WTF Yuhan isn't the powershot sx200is a semi pro? NO IT ISN'T. It also actually works as a basic digital camera but with a super awesome long-ass zoom. And you can also do manual focus like the semi-pros but the lens and the aperture of the camera = HUGE TURNOFF. I also don't like the fact that it's always blurry when shot indoors without flash. 

edited some random picture from some random party last year.  

A good example of a semi-pro is the Panasonic Lumix LX3/LX5. The F2.0 lens is a BIG ADVANTAGE. Later on I'll explain why.

Many popular bloggers also use this because it works almost exactly like a dslr! Only the lens is not interchangeable.

There are many other semi-pros out there. You can choose from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Ricoh, Panasonic, Olympus and the likes. However there's this new breed of DSLRs! It's ridiculously smaller, not that heavy, not bulky and obviously more portable than SLRs! They are called mirror-less interchangeable camera a.k.a. "mirrorless DSLR"! FTW!

MY GOODNESS FORGET ABOUT THE LX3/LX5! I WANT THIS!! WAAAAANT!

And when all else fails you can choose the "normal" DSLR(yes the "normal" DSLR) you know the big black bulky ones which are a bit pricey than anything else because they have mirrors for viewfinder, more powerful, bigger sensors and processors(?), interchangeable lens and you can have the full manual control in taking pictures which is good especially for pros. and artistic people, like me. HAHA! Basically all the endless possibilities!

Choosing the right DSLR is so damn stressful and difficult especially when you're on a budget and when you are choosy(DUH?). I mean they all look the same and words like iso3200, F1.8, 4X 28mm ultra-wide angle lens might scare other people to death. So basically when you don't have enough budget to buy those really annoyingly luxurious and expensive high-range DSLRs with HD video recording capabilities and awesome fps then go for the budget-SLRs or the entry level ones. Please do buy the cheapest body and buy AWESOME AND ARTISTIC EXPENSIVE LENS for it and you'll get the best photos in town! Confirmed!

For example:

You buy a Sony A290L, apparently Sony's cheapest DSLR, for PHP32,000(with 18-55mm lens already!)

But assuming you have LOADS of extra money(LOL) you can buy this uber kewl lens:

The Planar T* 85mm from ZEISS for around PHP73,000-75,000(I KNOW CRAZY EXPENSIVE! BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS!)

And you get pics like this:

credits to TienDung09 for the HOT pic! lol

Buy fisheye lens for around PHP43,000-46,000 and you get pics like this:

Distorted pics. But hey that's what you call art :D

IKR? Super kewl! So this means it doesn't matter how expensive your slr is! IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LENS BAYBEH!

Remember to also consider buying high performance computer(mac or pc whatever) so that you can organize and edit your large photos with ease :D

Next thing you SHOULD know is the LIGHTING

ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THE LIGHTING IS REALLY IMPORTANT MAX! (and not to be mistaken as lightning like what happened when I first stumbled upon this word). I don't want my photos to be dark ok. So it's either I photoshop them or use some kind of lighting setup so that I can get photos with good lighting.


Take this camwhore photo for example:

Uhm, not that one leh. Here:

A really sophisticated and expensive lighting set-up was used here. LOL KIDDING. I just used some kind of floodlight and reflectors(ALUMINUM FOIL ALSO CAN!) here.

And if you want to get photos like these:

WTF Seriously you should go and hire a photographer and go to a studio where they'll provide you with awesome lighting set-up O_O

And talking about lighting you shouldn't forget about the ISO settings of your camera which you can adjust depends on what kind of photo you like. Lower Iso gets darker pictures with less noise while higher Iso gets brighter pictures but a lot of noise. Also the exposure which you can also adjust from darker to brighter(lol)

WTF IS APERTURE?!?!? ARRRR!

Everytime you buy a camera you ALWAYS see embedded random numbers and letters on the lens, on the camera box, in the manual and on the camera itself. 

The random numbers after the 20.0mm. They indicate what you camera's aperture is.

So WHAT is aperture?

Here's a chart to briefly discuss to you what aperture does:

GET IT??? Bigger Apperture means more light for your photo!

shot at f/2.8 in iso 800

AND not only that! With aperture, you can control the DEPTH OF FIELD. 

The Depth of field is simply how large the focused area in a photo actually is. It actually helps alot to create emphasis in your photos.

Bigger aperture(The smaller F-number) means unfocused background or it's completely blurred away and the only thing that's focused is the focused subject itself. While smaller aperture(bigger F-number) gives a complete sharp image from the focused subject itself to the background. So basically you will have to own a dslr or a semi-pro so that you can have manual focusing. Or you can always depend on your basic digital camera's face detection. It's a little helpful you know :D

This function is really helpful when there's a cluttered or rather distracting background. 

Still don't get it? Damn you. Here's the pics:

Shot at F/2 aperture. The only focused subject here is Reilley. And the background is quite blurred.

 This pic is just too nostalgic. Haha. Shot at f/2 aperture

F/2.8. And btw this is Kai, my blockmate in UST :D

shot at f/2

LOL Run Joene Run. And ohh I almost forgot, you should also know about the shutter speed. Fast shutter speed is good when you are into sports photography. While Slow shutter speed allows you to be more artistic. 

Lastly and the most efficient one, LEARN HOW TO PHOTOSHOP! You need to practice, practice and practice! And that's all. Haha

I'm actually planning to add Photoshop tips and tutorials here. But this post would end up having the record of one of my longest blog entry. Hahaha! Maybe sometime next year I'll post one :)

Remember, DON'T JUST USE THE FREAKING AUTO MODE OF YOUR CAMERA. TRY USING THE MANUAL OR THE PROGRAM MODE. TRY IT. JUST TRY OK!

So I guess that concludes this blog entry. Some infos here MIGHT be wrong. Duh! I'm not an encyclopedia ok? Don't judge me! Or else I'll fucking stalk you on facebook and make your life miserable! Hahahahahahaha! LOL Kidding. KKBYE!