Yesterday was a taste of the warmer weather coming; almost to the above freezing mark! Beautiful and sunny was good enough for a visit to Shayla while Ted visited his dad.
It was mostly a visit about photography, as she has a new camera to figure out- Canon TR7. So off we went to see the horses!
Gussie recognized my voice and came over to visit me and get her scratches.
Dolly looks more like a sorrel than palomino at this time of year! She is due end of April.
I'm getting to know the draft mares by name now. This one is Kate:
She has the longest mane of them all! There is one mare I like the most, a 3 yr. old that looks like a blue roan but may go grey. Eva! She is so friendly and huge!
Afterwards we spent some time exploring photo editing; Lightroom. It was interesting! Can sure do a lot to clean up a photo.
What programs do you, my photographer friends, use and what would you recommend? Ease of use, efficacy and budget are the needs.
I love my telephoto lens, as I shoot mostly outdoors, but what lens do you think is best for, say, outdoor wedding portraits, horse photos both action and still, for Shayla's Canon TR7? She already has the 50 mm portrait lens and is exploring how to use it; the above photo was taken with it.
6 comments:
Oh goodness!
I loved my nifty 50mm. Canon makes a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II which is a great overall lens that can adapt to a lot of situations.
But in a wedding situation it is hard to say what lens is the best. The last wedding I did, I hired a second photographer to assist so we could be in more places and use different lenses. I did 5 weddings before I decided it wasn't for my forte.
I use ON1 for all my photos. I find it easier than Photoshop and a lot less expensive. They don't make you rent the program monthly but you could if you wished.
There are a ton of options out there. I also use DxO Photolabs which is a pretty nice program too.
Photoshop and Lightroom have been standards forever. I learned on Photoshop 7.0 and loved learning about layers and editing. I can do the same quickly in ON1 or even PaintShop Pro.
So many choices!
Congrats to Shayla for getting the TR7, that is a sweet camera!
Yay sunshine! You’re going to have an exciting spring! Babies!! Wow about Kate’s mane, and Eva’s. Is Kate bred, too. Draft horses always seem so calm and smart. I don’t know why I’ve never had one. They seem especially well-suited for trails.
aww! 💜
Poor Belle. Carrying extra baby weight doesn't help a bum knee. Hopefully it doesn't become too problematic. Sweet that Gussie came over for some lovin' from you.
I love drafts! Rode one regularly back in my lesson days. Usually twice weekly for several years. I turned down buying Dolly & she got sold. I was so sad, loved that horse. I hope you'll consider sharing more about Shayla's drafts, they are gorgeous!
As for your photography questions, here is my two cents for outdoor shooting anything: Buy the best lens you can afford. One that lets in a lot of light (ex. f/2.8 you'll regret the limitations of one that only opens to f/4) with image stabilization (IS) and is weather resistant.
I do shoot Canon, but have no idea what pairs best with that model camera. I know it's a crop sensor, so make sure whichever lens works with that mount. It is well worth the time to go to a brick & mortar store and try a prospective lens out.
The best Canon lenses are L-series. They are expensive, but worth every penny. My fav most versatile Canon lens is the EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS ii.
There are other good less expensive brands of lenses, like Tamron & Sigma. Quality varies greatly among lenses with ALL manufacturers. I did a lot of online reference reading.
The best camera advice I ever got was "learn to shoot well with whatever equipment you've got".
As for software, I am old school Photoshop (since college). It has a learning curve & monthly fee. Lightroom and Photoshop Elements are the standard and very common. I used Lightroom when I was shooting Portraits for catalog purposes.
I used to have Lightroom, now they charge for it monthly or yearly previously it was by CD. I did like that program but found it difficult to use. My Camera is a Canon t4i rebel I have EFS 18-55 mm and then a efs 55-250 and i have a macro lens that I hardly ever use. Jen has a lens that she has used for Weddings in low light an 85 she says. My I Mac computer has an ok photo editing program for just simple stuff exposure and cropping...I should really learn more about it. The horses are all looking great!! What a fun day for you!
I love my 85mm for portrait situations, but I pack a heavy 70-200 for field shots because I like the option to zoom or not to better tell a "story".
Photoshop...I have a 10 year old computer still running Windows 7 and PS CS4 and even though I have a nearly brand new computer up in the shop, I frequently go back to this good old hardworking configuration when the bloated and slow running, now by subscription only PS and "improved" operating system makes me so crazy I want to do an Office Space maneuver on it.
I always love your photos and the great stories they tell!
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