Re: better photographer

J.H. wrote:
i'm a hobbyist.....you know, nothing fantastic, but i want to be better. so i'm wondering if there are any places you guys could direct me online to groups or sites that have photo challenges or ways to learn different techniques, etc. not contests and competitions, but good sites for people who just want to improve.

thanks

J.H.:
What areas of your photography would you like to improve? One of my photographic goals was to do studio-style portrait photography. That can be quite expensive investment in strobes/hot lights, backdrops, light stands, etc. However, I came across the strobist.com website that provides lighting 101 and 201 instruction in how to do good off camera lighting using hot flash strobes. Cost is less and if you are handy with a pair of scissor or craft knife, you can find DIY projects to make light modifiers, like light boxes and beauty dishes. David Hobby, the author of the strobist.com site provides a list of "assignments" to let you practice what you have learned. We post our images on flickr.com in the strobist.com group for people to comment on.

I'm sure that there are other areas of exploring that you can find. Do you use photoshop elements or gimp to manipulate your images in post production? There are many sites dedicated to these tools that provide free instruction and challenges.

Good luck,
Elessar (on flickr.com)
http://flickr.com/photos/maddog78
.

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