[kred]

Hello everyone. I follow this Photography thread often and try to take pointers and tips to make my pictures better. I understand the importance of post processing and especially lighting, but having a college student budget I am not able to afford external lights/flashes and nice lenses. I am open for tips, suggestions, whatever, to help me create better photos. Here are some I took tonight..feel free to critique!

Canon T2i with kit lens. Edited with iPhoto.

[kamek]

Try to get yourself better software. Editing in Lightroom will make a world of a difference.

[BicycleHEAD26]

WB Looks really off, probably due to the tungsten lighting *cringes

Try shooting some where that the background is a little less distracting.

[kred]

Originally Posted by BicycleHEAD26

WB Looks really off, probably due to the tungsten lighting *cringes

Try shooting some where that the background is a little less distracting.

I had to turn the temperature down a lot because of the light available. Can this be changed from in-camera settings?

[immiketoo]

Your shots are very linear. Try experimenting with more angles. And the white balance as mentioned.

[immiketoo]

Originally Posted by kred

I had to turn the temperature down a lot because of the light available. Can this be changed from in-camera settings?

Yes. Most cameras have a custom white balance feature and you can use a white card or the back of you hand to sample it.

[M_Six]

If you're a college student, you should be able to find Photoshop for short money. Check with your college bookstore or check Amazon for the student/teacher version. It's a great investment.

[kred]

Originally Posted by M_Six

If you're a college student, you should be able to find Photoshop for short money. Check with your college bookstore or check Amazon for the student/teacher version. It's a great investment.

Yeah I actually found out last night that they sell Lightroom 3 Student Edition for $80 currently. Thanks for the info

[typemoon]

White balance

[typemoon]

Btw check out magic lantern

[The1]

Lightroom is a great investment.

I personally recommend getting lower down to your subject, you want to shoot at about the same height as a subject. If you're tall, this is a pain in the ass and people think the perspective is weird (even though it's how you see it) So get low.

[Chewy734]

I recommend LR3. You could even use the Auto buttons in LR3 for the WB and Exposure settings, and then learn from what the program did to improve those photos. You can also adjust your in-camera settings accordingly that way.

[kred]

Haha yes I am tall so I see why that can be a problem. And for this mini-shoot the tungsten light was the only lighting available which did not make it very easy! I think I'm going to wait out for LR4

[The1]

Originally Posted by kred

Haha yes I am tall so I see why that can be a problem. And for this mini-shoot the tungsten light was the only lighting available which did not make it very easy! I think I'm going to wait out for LR4

I was taking pictures of friends horses for them and they didn't realize how small their horses were untill they saw pictures of them from my perspective. It's a weird view for more vertically challenged people.