1. I'd like to know several unique ways to set up a large group shot.
Honestly, I’m not really a “group” photographer. I usually just shoot children and small families, but I have done a couple group photos. My biggest tip would be to make sure that your aperture setting is set to at least f/7.0 or higher (I try to get about f/11.0). Also, the same basic rules of photography apply to group shots: watch for visual triangles (don’t put people in a straight line), vary the angle, etc.
2.I need the basics of using lens. What do those numbers mean? Which one do I use for which type of pictures?
Good question. Lenses can get confusing. I had to do a lot of research before I found which lenses worked for me. Every lens “name” is going to give you at least three bits of information: the range (distance) it shoots at, the widest aperture the lens opens to (the “f-stop” or “depth of field”) and the series, or type, of lens that it is. For example, if I have a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens, this means that I can shoot in a range of 24-70 millimeters, the widest the aperture will go is 2.8 and it is an “L” series lens, which is a series of lenses made by Canon. There may also be other bits of information such as “USM” (ultrasonic motor) or “IS” (image stabilizer). For many of my portrait shots, I like to use a prime lens, which means that you can't zoom in and out. If you want to get closer, you have to actually move your feet! A good prime lens is the 85mm f/1.8 lens.
3. I'm curious about what photo-editing software you use... and how you get the watermark to appear on the photo. I'm guessing Photoshop magic .
Yes, you’re right—it’s totally Photoshop magic. I currently use Photoshop CS3, which is the full-blown version of Photoshop. However, I can’t say enough good things about Photoshop Elements 5.0, which is A LOT less expensive and is AWESOME for doing basic photo editing. In fact, they’ve got a lot of automatic features built right in to make it a breeze to edit any photo. I also just got Photoshop Lightroom, which is so far fantastic. It helps you organize your photos and edit them in conjunction with Photoshop. As far as the watermark, you need to create a customized brush in Photoshop. It’s super easy to do: use the type tool to type out your copyright information (such as “copyright 2007 elisha snow photography”), draw a selection around your text using the rectangular marquee tool, go to the Edit menu and choose “Define Brush Preset.” Name your brush then click OK. You’re done! All you need to do now is select the brush and “stamp” it on your photo (changing it from black to white or any other color you want so that it looks good).
Lots of good questions! I’m trying to answer these as best I can, and realizing that everyone is on a completely different photography level. Some have point and shoot cameras and some have digital SLR cameras. It makes it very difficult to address a general audience that way, so let me know if there’s something you don’t understand and I’ll try to explain it better! I’ll answer a few more questions tomorrow and then on Friday I’ll give you a whole list of wonderful books and resources for learning more about photography!
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