do everyones pictures turn out perfect?

[pradafan1]

Hi! Ive wondered something for quite some time, maybe someone will know.... Ive always noticed that when Im on vacation, or wherever, and I see a good photo opportunity, I pull out the camera, turn it on, quickly double-check a few settings, carefully steady the camera, and click a few frames off. BUT meanwhile, some other guy has pulled out his camera, taken a few shots, put the camera back, and he's already gone. And this is common, its not just once every so often...

So my question is... these people, are their pictures actually turning out? Like color-correct, centered, in focus, and what-not? I can't see how, maybe they just have a more-expensive camera, and it's just that good? Or maybe theyre so good at taking pictures, they can just do it that fast? Like the guy who pulls out his camera at the Atlantis resort aquarium, whips out the camera, holding it in one hand while walking, and starts taking pics with the flash on. I just don't get it.

And meanwhile, the worst part, is Im with my family, and then they look at me like I'm the crazy one, and I get comments, like 'you should get a camera like that guy'!

So really whats the deal, either theres a lot of people with some really poor quality vacation pics, or do I just need a better camera?

[snowbird1]

Hi! Ive wondered something for quite some time, maybe someone will know.... Ive always noticed that when Im on vacation, or wherever, and I see a good photo opportunity, I pull out the camera, turn it on, quickly double-check a few settings, carefully steady the camera, and click a few frames off. BUT meanwhile, some other guy has pulled out his camera, taken a few shots, put the camera back, and he's already gone. And this is common, its not just once every so often...

So my question is... these people, are their pictures actually turning out? Like color-correct, centered, in focus, and what-not? I can't see how, maybe they just have a more-expensive camera, and it's just that good? Or maybe theyre so good at taking pictures, they can just do it that fast? Like the guy who pulls out his camera at the Atlantis resort aquarium, whips out the camera, holding it in one hand while walking, and starts taking pics with the flash on. I just don't get it.

And meanwhile, the worst part, is Im with my family, and then they look at me like I'm the crazy one, and I get comments, like 'you should get a camera like that guy'!

So really whats the deal, either theres a lot of people with some really poor quality vacation pics, or do I just need a better camera?

 

 

Honestly in the digital camera world today, a lot of people take the picture quickly and if it look pretty good that is good enough. Then there are others like me that take the picture and look at it especially the lighting and decide what I can do to make it better. Basically to each his own and perhaps I waste a lot of time occasionally. There are time if I am in a hurry that I just take it and hope it is ok or repairable in Photo Shop. The great thing about digital is you can immediately get some idea if the picture is even going to look half way decent. In the old film days you never new for sure until they were developed.

[websailor]

LOL, I don't think they've invented the camera that is THAT good yet!

 

I take a lot of pictures on my vacations (as you can tell from the links in my signature). I'm NOT what you'd call a "serious" photographer - they take far better pictures and take the necessary time (including waking up before the sun rises) to get those wonderful shots. I take snapshots....

 

One thing I do though, after every vacation, is try to delete at least (absolute minimum) half of all the pictures I take. That makes my overall "album" look a lot better.

 

Sometimes I'll leave ones in that are clearly bad photos because they go along with telling the story of my vacation. That's life...

 

Sometimes I'm not totally worried if they are centered (actually you should think in thirds as one generality of picture taking), color correct, whatever.... they are for my memories.

[choclitsnda]

There are some times that I take pics on-the-fly(just whip out the camera & snap), then there are some times that I take the time to set things up correctly.

I'm an over-the-road truck driver & I have a very thick cusioned pad on my dash that I keep my camera or camcorder on so that I can snap pics at a drop of a dime or use the remote control to fire up the video...b/c things happen so quickly while moving I don't always have time to adjust settings or focus every time, so I just start shooting & go back thru later to see what I end up with.(it's always a surprise when I get a perfect shot of something that I didn't even know was there.)

Due to the negative press about truckers & the guilty until proven innocent syndrome that goes on against truckers by some law enforcement agencies, I have a different camcorder on a small tripod mounted on my dash that is usually rolling whenever I'm driving.(this way if a car darts in front of me, slams brakes & gets hit...I'll have proof that it was NOT my fault.)

In the past 18yrs that I've been trucking I've noticed the number of truckers with mounted camcorders has increased drastically.(we have to do all we can to C.O.A.) I've seen some real doozies on YouTube.

[choclitsnda]

Last yr while in Progresso, I took a tour with my family & during that tour I had the camera working overtime, taking pics of EVERYTHING in sight.

Later Mom told me that there was a young couple behind me that couldn't believe how many pics I was taking & the lady said to her husband....Look at her honey, she's just clicking away & not even taking the time to focus or anything...I wonder if any of her pictures will turn out?

I can honestly say that at least 98% of those pics DID turn out good.

ahhh, the joy of the Digital Cameras, especially DSLRs .(fast & no wasted film) ;)

[bakechef]

I would say that the percentage of better pictures has increased since digital has become so popular. These same people just randomly snapping were also doing it with film cameras, and let me tell you they were bad (I worked in a photo lab).

 

I am like you, I usually like to take time to set up a shot, but every now and then, I just do a few quick random shots.

 

MAC

[Lsimon]

I think its a combination of having a camera with well designed controls, knowing how they work, and maybe not being so picky about the photos.

 

I take lots of photos, and consider myself a snap-shooter rather than a photographer. Most of my pictures don't have the lighting and composition that a carefully planned photo by a good photographer can come up with, but they aren't horrible either and they serve their purpose. And I take quite a few so I always end up with more than a few great shots from a trip.

 

I recently got a Canon SD800 camera. For me, the controls on this camera seem very well designed and easy to use - at least in comparison to a couple of other digital cameras I've had in the past. Not that the others were bad, but I just seem to be able to change settings much more quickly on this camera. I suspect that the controls on mine are laid out similarly to other Canon Point & Shoot cameras some of which are pretty inexpensive.

[sondrad]

No. Everyones pictures don't turn out perfect. Many people leave their digital cameras on auto, and point-and-shoot. With current cameras, that's sufficient for most people. As a very amateur photographer, I take the time to try to compose some shots and other times I'm satisfied with a quick snapshot. Either way, I do editing with Photoshop afterward.

 

Just spend the time to get the pictures you like. Put up with your family's groans - they'll thank you in years to come for those great shots :D

[Dr_DNA]

Have you ever seen people's pictures? The majority are not very good, so I would say "No, not eveyone's photos turn out perfect." They might get an occasional good shot every now and then, but overall, it takes time and effort to set up the great ones (as many photographers already know).

[GORDONCHICK]

Not everyone expects perfect or even really good photos. Some people have a natural eye for composition, while others will get what they can. Sometimes the scenery is just too beautiful to screw up. Just depends.

[cruisinbuddy]

If you have a simple point and shot camera, a fun thing to do is, just take a picture without looking in the view finder. I did this a couple times in Grenada while in a taxi. I just opened the window, and held the camera just above the roof. I got a couple great shots of a very steep street we were going up. The great thing about digital is, you can delete the pics if they're crappy.

[MarsCS]

A professional photographers may be able to whip out their camera shoot a few shots and move on. In this case they probably have preset most of their camera settings, and have an extreme familiarity with their camera. They still would probably not get perfect shots very often (even they take time to compose a 'good' shot). For the rest of us if all you want is memories point and shoot is OK (sometimes).

 

The camera is not an issue. I've seen people with very high end cameras, professionals and amatuers, spend a lot of time on a specific shot. If you want a good shot you have to work for it and that takes time. Being very familiar with your camera, along with presetting some of the functions is very important.

 

The guy snapping off shots at the aquarium with a flash most likely did not get a single usable shot. Aquariums can be the biggest pain when it comes to taking photos. I have gotten excelent pictures at the Denver Aquarium using an SLR with a flash while pressing the lens against the glass to avoid reflections or shooting available light. A point and shoot, depending on lens design, may be stuck with available light or reflections.

 

All in all, when my wife or friends complain about the time I take to get a picture, I just smile, tell them to get their own d### camera and try to do better.

[mountainhouse]

Certainly not all good. The better photographers never show the bad ones. :rolleyes: When I do get a good shot, I hate when people compliment my by saying that I have a good camera.

 

Being in a hurry is going to produce good stuff less of the time.

[bakechef]

Certainly not all good. The better photographers never show the bad ones. :rolleyes: When I do get a good shot, I hate when people compliment my by saying that I have a good camera.

 

Being in a hurry is going to produce good stuff less of the time.

 

Oh that bugs me too, heck I have accomplished good shots with a disposable camera.:D

 

MAC