New digital camera and a few snaps (Novice -so be nice)

[mgm121499]

My outlaws gifted me a new digital camera for my 37th birthday to replace my circa 1999 3.1MP Olympus model.

The new camera is a Cannon PowerShot A700.

I’m very impressed with the improvements in digital cameras (overall -all models).

On my model, I noticed:
The set-up & menu is very user friendly, latency between shots is MUCH improved, ISO range is decent, the memory cards read faster, you have USB 2.0 interface, etc….
The overall quality is a lot better. It’s almost like trading in a 1990’s car for a 2000’s model (LOL).

Here are a few shots of my STS in Auto Mode: Feel free to offer up any photography tips/advice (considering that I’m a novice, and have no aspirations of being a pro photographer).

Before the shots, I gave my STS a quick wash & dry.

Abbreviated Process:
-Wash: Z7 (paint, wheels, wells)
-I used a blower to dry -90%.
- Z5Pro/Z8 mix by hand using a damp MF applicator
(paint, glass, wheels, jams, lighting).
-QD wipe down using Z6 (paint, glass, lighting).
-The tires were dressed with Z16

[JohnnyDaJackal]

Nice camera you got there John
and I'll agree digital cameras have come a long way.

Since you say you don't want to get to crazy in photography, which is a wise decision financially I'll give you a couple tips/pointers.

-Learn the camera and controls well. I'd get familiar with the "scene" modes as they work pretty good on P+Ss.

-I'd also recommend a tripod. You can get one at any local electronics store for $15-20.

-Try to setup your subject(the car) in a more uniform way. For example in your first shot your lower bumper is darker due to the shadow from your roof, whereas the rest of the car is in sun. I think it would look better if you backed your car up a bit to get it all in the sun. That way it's all equally lit up and the blacktop is uniform.

Little things like that can make an image look better. There are also a couple basic PS things to do to also make your picture look better such as rotating the image to make the car look level and cropping out any unwanted distractions, granted it's not in your subject's way.

Let me know if I can help you at any more; I'm still a n00b, and still learning; although my wallet is a lot lighter these days

[mgm121499]

Thanks for the tips -the more the better

I typically take pics in my driveway at similiar angles, and they are getting boring!

[G35stilez]

Looks great, John.


I agree with Johnny.

To add, pick sun or shade for the shots. The bumper in the shade, rest in the sun is a little distracting.

Set the levels to minimum ISO, large photo, superfine, and vivid. Resize in P-shop or a similar program to 800x600. I prefer borders to finish off the shot, but not needed.

I fully agree on cropping the subject in. Worst comes to worst, you take it from further out (zoomed out) and just crop it in your editing stage to what you want.

[martinager]

those rims need some more shining

Nice camera. Taking good pictures really just needs time for you to play around with it.