Quote: (07-13-2016 03:51 AM)almast Wrote:  

Phones have such good quality cameras these days that that's all you need really.

Quote: (07-13-2016 12:12 AM)N°6 Wrote:  

Can anyone recommend a camera which would at least help to produce 'semi-pro' pictures.

I am going sailing for two weeks next month so I won't have a professional photographer onboard to take 'action' pictures so can anyone recommend a decent camera I could buy for the trip?

True, equipment wise that's all you need, but you do need a photographer to operate it not just someone to take the picture.

You can get a 5d mk i with a prime lens for less than $500.

Good kit for photos is like having good looks is for game. If you are elite level it mostly helps, but if you are struggling it is night and day.

Quote: (07-16-2016 06:49 AM)Ringo Wrote:  

Quote: (07-16-2016 03:41 AM)Centurion Wrote:  

Hey this is only slightly on topic.

I'm really bad at taking pictures and am really unphotogenic. When I look in the mirror I feel I can really "vibe" or "connect" with myself, I'm vibrant, and the visual feels really striking. I press the camera button and I look dull and lifeless in the photo. This is at the *exact same time* when I saw myself in the mirror and saw such a strong, striking impression. What's wrong?

Trusted members who want to know more may PM me for my photo

As a hobbyist photographer, this doesn't seem to be a photogenic/unphotogenic issue. It seems more like a perception issue. It's similar to having your voice recorded - it sounds different in your head then it does when you play it back.

Some guys look in the mirror and see a confident 10, but they are a soft 7. Or sometimes charisma and vibe account for a lot of their attractiveness, but they don't translate well to photographs. You're not the only guy to have this kind of issue: thread-23529.html

From your post I take it you're using mirror selfies for your online profile?

What you need for a great portrait is: #1 a great "story", #2 good lightning.

In general #1 trumps #2. We are more forgiving of the "how" when we have a great "why".

If you just want a picture that you look good in, you can be more forgiving of #1 and focus on #2. Sebastião Salgado has a great quote on his documentary "The Salt of the Earth": "Photographing is drawing with light".

Thanks for the reply. It seems the camera just doesn't capture my vibe.

Sorry but what are the pictures meant to say? I don't understand.

A +1 on this thread, truly a game changing resource for online gaming.

Quote: (07-13-2016 03:51 AM)almast Wrote:  

Phones have such good quality cameras these days that that's all you need really.

Quote: (07-13-2016 12:12 AM)N°6 Wrote:  

Can anyone recommend a camera which would at least help to produce 'semi-pro' pictures.

I am going sailing for two weeks next month so I won't have a professional photographer onboard to take 'action' pictures so can anyone recommend a decent camera I could buy for the trip?

Going to disagree hard with this. An advanced phone camera will take passable photos, but not ones that could or should compete with the professional or even "pro-sumer" level editorial style photos this thread is about. In order to do this you will need full control of the exposure and aperture at a minimum. This means a DSLR body, I still have a Canon 30D and a fixed prime lens with a fast aperture such as Canon's renowned Nifty Fifty 50mm f/1.8 (B&H Photo). If buying used I highly recommend using a reputable vendor like B&H or Adorama or Cameraland NY. You could have a used setup for a few hundred bucks. Once you learn how to use it, its an easy jump to get girls to get undressed for a "photoshoot".

I cant stress the fast prime lens enough for those wanting to try their hand at portraiture. With a fast aperture, you have the subject in focus with the rest of the shot blurred which makes the subject pop from the background, or your face/eyes pop from your body, etc. Its that singular perspective that gives people tunnel vision and draws them into your literal and figurative frame.

Edit: if a DSLR is too much, take a look at the new 4/3 cameras. They have a large sensor with high megapixel count as well as a high level of control. I have a Sony DSC RX-100 for traveling light and it is pretty feature packed yet still fits in a pocket.

Great info! Would you care posting few photo samples to demonstrate this?

Quote: (07-17-2016 12:39 AM)Adonis Wrote:  

A +1 on this thread, truly a game changing resource for online gaming.

Quote: (07-13-2016 03:51 AM)almast Wrote:  

Phones have such good quality cameras these days that that's all you need really.

Quote: (07-13-2016 12:12 AM)N°6 Wrote:  

Can anyone recommend a camera which would at least help to produce 'semi-pro' pictures.

I am going sailing for two weeks next month so I won't have a professional photographer onboard to take 'action' pictures so can anyone recommend a decent camera I could buy for the trip?

Going to disagree hard with this. An advanced phone camera will take passable photos, but not ones that could or should compete with the professional or even "pro-sumer" level editorial style photos this thread is about. In order to do this you will need full control of the exposure and aperture at a minimum. This means a DSLR body, I still have a Canon 30D and a fixed prime lens with a fast aperture such as Canon's renowned Nifty Fifty 50mm f/1.8 (B&H Photo). If buying used I highly recommend using a reputable vendor like B&H or Adorama or Cameraland NY. You could have a used setup for a few hundred bucks. Once you learn how to use it, its an easy jump to get girls to get undressed for a "photoshoot".

I cant stress the fast prime lens enough for those wanting to try their hand at portraiture. With a fast aperture, you have the subject in focus with the rest of the shot blurred which makes the subject pop from the background, or your face/eyes pop from your body, etc. Its that singular perspective that gives people tunnel vision and draws them into your literal and figurative frame.

Edit: if a DSLR is too much, take a look at the new 4/3 cameras. They have a large sensor with high megapixel count as well as a high level of control. I have a Sony DSC RX-100 for traveling light and it is pretty feature packed yet still fits in a pocket.

Quote:Quote:

Going to disagree hard with this. An advanced phone camera will take passable photos, but not ones that could or should compete with the professional or even "pro-sumer" level editorial style photos this thread is about. In order to do this you will need full control of the exposure and aperture at a minimum. This means a DSLR body, I still have a Canon 30D and a fixed prime lens with a fast aperture such as Canon's renowned Nifty Fifty 50mm f/1.8 (B&H Photo). If buying used I highly recommend using a reputable vendor like B&H or Adorama or Cameraland NY. You could have a used setup for a few hundred bucks. Once you learn how to use it, its an easy jump to get girls to get undressed for a "photoshoot".

I cant stress the fast prime lens enough for those wanting to try their hand at portraiture. With a fast aperture, you have the subject in focus with the rest of the shot blurred which makes the subject pop from the background, or your face/eyes pop from your body, etc. Its that singular perspective that gives people tunnel vision and draws them into your literal and figurative frame.

Edit: if a DSLR is too much, take a look at the new 4/3 cameras. They have a large sensor with high megapixel count as well as a high level of control. I have a Sony DSC RX-100 for traveling light and it is pretty feature packed yet still fits in a pocket.

Be careful though - you don't want it to look too professional like you hired a pro photographer to take your pics. You want it to look like your friend with a really good eye just snapped a quick shot of you while you were sailing. This first thing a girl is going to think when she sees a hyper professional shot is "this dork doesn't have any friends and had to hire a pro photographer to go sailing with him and take his pic". Obviously you want the pic to show you in the best possible light, but blurring the background crosses the line into too professionalized IMO.

Quote: (07-17-2016 09:07 AM)almast Wrote:  

Great info! Would you care posting few photo samples to demonstrate this?
<snip>

At the risk of derailing this fine thread, Ive made a basic data sheet for photography with some sample photos to demonstrate the effects.
Photography 101 Datasheet

Quote: (07-17-2016 11:33 AM)delineator Wrote:  

<snip>
Be careful though - you don't want it to look too professional like you hired a pro photographer to take your pics. You want it to look like your friend with a really good eye just snapped a quick shot of you while you were sailing. This first thing a girl is going to think when she sees a hyper professional shot is "this dork doesn't have any friends and had to hire a pro photographer to go sailing with him and take his pic". Obviously you want the pic to show you in the best possible light, but blurring the background crosses the line into too professionalized IMO.

I think a small 4/3 mirrorless would be the way to go here. A profile full of professional quality photos would be a little over the top. The OP outlines a good ratio so I will not duplicate his efforts here. Take into account the activity at hand. Sailing is a serious sport, with fair resources applied in its pursuit. As such sailing photos should be of somewhat higher quality than say pictures from a bar or gym but not studio quality. Unless you work for Nautica or Ralph Loren that is. What Ive done is to buy a small $10 cell phone tripod and I use the self timer judiciously to take a "pro selfie", or if an action shot is desired I take a movie then freeze frame and take a picture from that. Its worked well so far.

Quote: (07-06-2016 10:25 PM)LINUX Wrote:  

Quote: (07-06-2016 06:54 PM)Fortis Wrote:  

But seriously, what happened to this guy? I always enjoyed BlurredSevens' positive take on the game. Threads like this are a testament to his mindset and beliefs.

if you're reading this, please come back. You are missed, Blurred.

BlurredSevens won't be back here. His ideologies are very different from the forum, so he decided to call it quits. I grab a beer and cigar with him every now and again, and I'll tell you, he's got a hot as hell girlfriend-- that I assume he met online doing his photography game -- and they're really happy, traveling the world together, and he's doing a job he loves.

I'll tell him you said hello Fortis.

I can understand that, In my opinion the information in this thread makes it the #1 thread on the forum.

I'm biting the bullet and hiring a student photographer to take pics of me. Can anyone here give me advice on what I should tell the photographer? How do I go about it so that I can get great Tinder pics? I don't want any confusion on the photographers part so I want to come prepared.

Reckon I'm going to take the plunge and get this done. Thanks for the info BlurredSevens and the others who have since commented.

B&W v Colour photos. What do people reckon? Maybe 2-3 colour + 1 B&W?

Quote: (10-09-2016 04:32 PM)mcgooie Wrote:  

B&W v Colour photos. What do people reckon? Maybe 2-3 colour + 1 B&W?

My gut reaction is that you come across as hiding something or trying too hard if you do anything to your photos besides unnoticeable fixes like color or lighting balance.

I have never, and would never do any B&W photos for an online dating profile.

my friend who is a professional photographer says everything in B&W looks good. try it out.

Having a decent BW picture as a third or fourth picture, not a first one. That would look try hard.

But almost any male portrait looks better in BW, it has that mystery aura to it. You can also play more with the contrast and exposure to accentuate traits you want (increase shadows to make muscles look more defined, or jaw more masculine, or skin more shiny) in a manner that would look way more photoshoped on a color picture.

Wrong thread

I am good looking dude but i get no matches on Tinder. You know why? Because im using single photo which i took in front of mirror. I will definetely try professional grade photos soon.

Quote: (10-09-2016 05:33 PM)Mushroom Wrote:  

Quote: (10-09-2016 04:32 PM)mcgooie Wrote:  

B&W v Colour photos. What do people reckon? Maybe 2-3 colour + 1 B&W?

My gut reaction is that you come across as hiding something or trying too hard if you do anything to your photos besides unnoticeable fixes like color or lighting balance.

I have never, and would never do any B&W photos for an online dating profile.

I used a black and white photo as my main picture. Before tinder throttled users I was getting about 50-100 matches a week. I was smiling and it made a nice contrast of my skin to my pearly whites. I'd probably have received more matches if I used a color photo. I think the brighter the color schemes that mesh well together the better the photo is perceived.

-CD

Quote: (10-09-2016 05:33 PM)Mushroom Wrote:  

I have never, and would never do any B&W photos for an online dating profile.

IMO grayscale pics tend to make pictures look much older than they actually are. Just like when you see colorized photos (or actual color photos from way back when), they look like they were from a few years (or decades) later.

Sorta funny going back into this thread and reading all the comments with dudes trying to cut corners on just hiring a photographer. You'd go see a doctor if you had an endocrine problem and shell out cash for expert treatment, so why not just shell out the cash for good photos and not worry about it? Thinking you can take photos on a level of a professional with your cellphone is a lot like when guys who have been in the game for one week wonder why they're not pulling 10s all day. Experience matters.

I suppose this is near and dear to my heart since a big part of my job is writing. Clients are always trying to take shortcuts, and think they can write as well as I do and I just laugh. I imagine photographers have similar feelings.

Quote: (10-23-2016 07:11 AM)Fortis Wrote:  

Sorta funny going back into this thread and reading all the comments with dudes trying to cut corners on just hiring a photographer. You'd go see a doctor if you had an endocrine problem and shell out cash for expert treatment, so why not just shell out the cash for good photos and not worry about it? Thinking you can take photos on a level of a professional with your cellphone is a lot like when guys who have been in the game for one week wonder why they're not pulling 10s all day. Experience matters.

I suppose this is near and dear to my heart since a big part of my job is writing. Clients are always trying to take shortcuts, and think they can write as well as I do and I just laugh. I imagine photographers have similar feelings.

I hear you, but in the case of photography I feel that you can pull it off if you have an eye. Pics of myself I have on IG look professional level. When I tell chicks how I took all these shots, they go fucking crazy thinking I had a photoshoot or something.

But would agree, for you guys seriously trying to get some good shots, just hire a photographer. It's actually helpful, especially for professional pictures (job interviews, internships, etc).

-CD

Sure, but not everyone has an eye for me. I fully admit I'm autistic when it comes to photos. I just let someone else handle the visual shit in my life. Can't be amazing at everything.

Quote: (07-13-2016 12:12 AM)N°6 Wrote:  

Can anyone recommend a camera which would at least help to produce 'semi-pro' pictures.

I am going sailing for two weeks next month so I won't have a professional photographer onboard to take 'action' pictures so can anyone recommend a decent camera I could buy for the trip?

I'm a 'tog, and hear this a lot. 'Fraid you've totally missed the point: You don't need a new camera, you need someone who knows about lighting, composition, posing, and post.

But hell, Google's probably got one of those out next year as well.

Buy a dirt cheap tripod like this https://www.amazon.com/Octopus-Portable-...eap+tripod. Combine it with a free app that takes photos at intervals that you chose, like Lapse It https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai...seIt&hl=en. Then take dozens of pictures from different angles with different lighting. You will create a few stunning photos and narrow down the poses you look best in. This shouldn't take more than an hour.

Just messaged a photographer. Its time to get some lays from Tinder/Bumble.

Okay guys, the only photographer I could find in a reasonable amount of time can do it for $450 (second tier city) and no outfit change in one location for one hour. Is this worth my money/time? I think it may be a bit weird to have a tinder profile with a set of photos with one outfit .