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Author Topic: Digital Camera & Photoshop tips  (Read 293008 times)
murdoc
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Reply #770 on: January 31, 2013, 09:57:48 AM

I suggest giving yourself 6 months and go and shoot with th 18-55.  See where your interest lie. The 18-55 is still a nice lense and you'll still get good photos from it.  Then take the plunge and find a lens that suits your need.  I'd also suggest doing some shooting and setting your lens to a single focal length (24, 28, 35, or 50 are common lengths) for the day.

This is really good advice - not sure I can wait 6 months as I'm impatient, but I'll definitely take some more time with the 18-55.


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Warneld
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Reply #771 on: February 11, 2013, 10:13:25 PM

I suggest giving yourself 6 months and go and shoot with th 18-55.  See where your interest lie. The 18-55 is still a nice lense and you'll still get good photos from it.  Then take the plunge and find a lens that suits your need.  I'd also suggest doing some shooting and setting your led bulb lens to a single focal length (24, 28, 35, or 50 are common lengths) for the day.

This is really good advice - not sure I can wait 6 months as I'm impatient, but I'll definitely take some more time with the 18-55.



I like your thoughts. I am planning to have a photoshoot in near future and will love to have your guidance.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2013, 11:19:46 PM by Warneld »
Draegan
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Reply #772 on: March 18, 2013, 07:31:44 PM

Can anyone help me navigate through the mirrorless camera options out there? I don't want to spend the cash on a DSLR and the mirrorless models have pretty decent specs.  I'm looking to pick up something decent that will allow me to do some post processing with it.  I was bench marking on a NEX5 from Sony, so I've been looking for used ones at around 300-500 or so.

Can anyone give me any hints or link a website thats good for camera comparisons?
apocrypha
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Reply #773 on: March 19, 2013, 12:08:01 AM

I still find http://www.dpreview.com/ the best overall review site for cameras. It's important to have an idea of what you want from a camera before reading their reviews though, but it sounds like you already do.

I don't know enough about the mirrorless cameras to comment directly.

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tgr
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Reply #774 on: March 19, 2013, 03:13:22 AM

A friend of mine is absolutely loving his canon eos m, and he seems to be producing surprisingly good results with it. He also has an adapter thingy to use his old lenses, although the super teles would look decidedly odd compared to a proper DSLR why so serious?

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Reply #775 on: March 19, 2013, 06:16:18 AM

I always find snapsort to be a really great website for raw camera comparisons and simple recommendations. I'd second DPReview for the more in-depth analyses.

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Draegan
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Reply #776 on: March 19, 2013, 06:39:15 AM

I always find snapsort to be a really great website for raw camera comparisons and simple recommendations. I'd second DPReview for the more in-depth analyses.

Oh this site is great thank you.  I had found dprreview from this thread, and it's a great site to get into details, but I needed something better to give me a quick glance at things.

Their #1 mirrorless camera isn't even sold anywhere.  Heh.

Edit:
Anyone know anything about the Nikon V1 or J1
« Last Edit: March 19, 2013, 07:58:09 AM by Draegan »
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Reply #777 on: April 16, 2013, 07:58:00 AM

Learn how to shoot a Canon using manual settings

This is a really nice website that shows what the different settings do. I'd love to see an expanded version of this that teaches how things like flash compensation and exposure compensation, and all the other settings work. I don't even have a Canon but it seemed handy.

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Khaldun
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Reply #778 on: April 16, 2013, 08:04:50 PM

Trying to decide what the next step for me is:

1) wide or ultra-wide angle lens
2) genuine macro lens
3) specialized portrait lens (my 70-300 can shoot them ok, but can't go more open than 4.5, which leaves me with the 50mm prime lens, which also isn't totally ideal).
4) better Nikon camera body than a Nikon d3100.

Problem on 1-3 is that I've been shooting all three kinds of shots and I'm interested in all three (landscape, macros, portraits) and it's not like this is a career for me or anything, just something I like to do. Just have to figure out which of those kinds of shots I'd like to do better.

Better camera body is a more expensive step, probably. I see some shots and I think, "Ok, I can't match that on my best day with my best technique with this camera." On the other hand, it's not that often that I'm at pristine mountain lakes in the Dolomites or whatever. It would be nice not to use the hack techniques I've been using to have wireless control over my speedlight flash, though.
apocrypha
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Reply #779 on: April 16, 2013, 11:30:00 PM

It would be nice not to use the hack techniques I've been using to have wireless control over my speedlight flash, though.

What flash and how are you triggering it?

PocketWizard have just released a new, really cheap trigger, the PlusX. $99 each in the US, which for the gold standard of flash triggers is awesome.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Merusk
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Reply #780 on: April 17, 2013, 05:08:33 AM

I made the step-up from my D60 to my D7000 and don't regret anything except for being unable to afford the full-frame FX models instead of the DX models.  (Well that and if I'd waited a year I could have had a D7100, but c'est la vie) I've been buying DX lenses as well so I'm rather stuck in that format now.   

If you're not ready to jump to the D7000 ($1,000 now) or better, I wouldn't make the leap on the body.  Personal opinion, though. The 5100 just didn't seem to have that many additional features compared to the 3100 when I was shopping and didn't seem worth the money.   Tho I forgot the 5200 was out and those specs look solid.  I prefer to have 2SD slots and the focus motor on the camera, though, so I still wouldn't get it despite having more MP.

Lenses, though, carry across forever if you invest in them and are ok marrying to one camera manufacturer.

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murdoc
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Reply #781 on: April 17, 2013, 07:17:56 AM

I picked up a used Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM Zoom Lens from a woman who ran a pet photography business. Found it's a great general purpose lens that was a huge step up from the kit lens my camera came with.

I would love a macro lens - I think I would get more use out of it than anything else right now, but my priority is to get an external flash.

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Khaldun
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Reply #782 on: April 17, 2013, 07:51:56 AM

It would be nice not to use the hack techniques I've been using to have wireless control over my speedlight flash, though.

What flash and how are you triggering it?

PocketWizard have just released a new, really cheap trigger, the PlusX. $99 each in the US, which for the gold standard of flash triggers is awesome.

Using a YongNuo speedlite--equivalent of the SB-700. Have two wireless triggers, one goes on the 3100 hot shoe. Works well enough but apparently if I wanted to have a second it's quite a mess--one of the off-camera flashes has to be the commander because the camera body can't be, and lots of people say it's really fluky and difficult even if you're using the SBs themselves.
Khaldun
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Reply #783 on: April 17, 2013, 07:54:35 AM

I picked up a used Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM Zoom Lens from a woman who ran a pet photography business. Found it's a great general purpose lens that was a huge step up from the kit lens my camera came with.

I would love a macro lens - I think I would get more use out of it than anything else right now, but my priority is to get an external flash.

I'm leaning this way. I think the macro would let me do some more experimental portrait work--extreme close-ups, etc. and to do some of the other studio stuff I'm thinking about, *plus* let me shoot insects etc. Though then comes another headache as there are really three different Micro-Nikkors to consider, and they all tend to be specialized for different things--the cheaper one doesn't do so hot with insects/small things, for example.
apocrypha
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Reply #784 on: April 17, 2013, 08:38:59 AM

Using a YongNuo speedlite--equivalent of the SB-700. Have two wireless triggers, one goes on the 3100 hot shoe. Works well enough but apparently if I wanted to have a second it's quite a mess--one of the off-camera flashes has to be the commander because the camera body can't be, and lots of people say it's really fluky and difficult even if you're using the SBs themselves.

Ah, I've read very bad things about some of the YN flashes, particularly the 560 and 565. The assorted cheap triggers are terrible too - especially pure infra-red ones. I've used some of them before and ended up giving up in frustration because they were so unreliable.

For a cheap off-camera flash I always recommend the LP-160. They're costlier than the YN's but much, much more reliable and are great little flashes. I've got 4 of them and I love them utterly. They've got a standard 1/8" jack and a really sensitive optical slave, which is what I usually trigger them with.

And decent triggers are a total revelation when you start using them. Once you get used to them and learn to check your sync cables carefully and how to maximise radio transmission you get upwards of 95% firing rates at a guess.

But I'm sure I've said all this before in this thread - at the end of the day if off camera flashes don't work properly and fire reliably they're worse than useless most of the time. If I was starting from scratch again now I'd put decent flashes and decent triggers top of my gear list.

Edit: Shit, the LP-160 is out of stock and discontinued. That sucks balls.  Heartbreak  I don't have a cheap strobe I can recommend right now then, sorry. I'll keep my eyes open and hope LumoPro come up with something new soon.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2013, 08:40:38 AM by apocrypha »

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Khaldun
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Reply #785 on: April 23, 2013, 06:31:51 PM

So far actually my YN is doing beautifully. It can't handle a fast shutter but generally I shouldn't be shooting in a dark studio environment with an off-camera flash that's on a fast shutter, I think. :) But yeah, it's clear that it would not stand up to anything tough or difficult, but in some sense neither will the d3100 camera body, a limitation that you can't really understand in advance of getting good enough to see what you'd like to do that the camera body can't do. Buying more camera than you know what to do with before you know what to do with it is a mistake--but then, figuring out how to pay for the next camera and gear is a trick too unless you're really wealthy or it's your only major hobby. It's starting to drift in the latter direction for me, so who knows what comes next...
apocrypha
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Reply #786 on: April 24, 2013, 12:32:10 AM

Nice one, glad it's doing OK! From what I gather it's a QC issue YN have so lots of their gear is fine, just the ones that defects aren't picked up before shipping.

Your max sync speed with a flash is determined by the camera, which for the D3100 is 1/200th second.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
apocrypha
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Reply #787 on: July 08, 2013, 09:43:03 AM

I seem to remember saying I'd post again here when there was an alternative to the LP160 flash.

Well, now there is, the LumoPro LP180. Just like the LP160 it's a manual strobe with 4 different ways to sync it. It's $199 and apparently built like a brick shit-house, and comes with a 2 year warranty to back that up. I will most certainly be getting a couple of these the minute any of my SB800s or LP160s finally bite the dust. Given that I've been shooting with my current SB800s for about 5 years now I'm expecting that to happen fairly soon...

There's a David Hobby (Strobist) write-up here.

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Reply #788 on: July 09, 2013, 10:52:11 AM

I'm looking to upgrade my camera body at last, from my dutiful but dated Nikon D40. I'm fairly committed to photography (not as much as apoc, but getting there), and the choice I'm weighing up at the moment is between the D600 and the D7100.

Both of these seem like great cameras that could last me at least the next four years, much like my D40 has lasted me four years so far. Key areas where I am looking for better performance are better autofocus, a more sensitive/less-noisy sensor, and a better burst fire. Other gubbins like better burst fire, auto-exposure bracketing, and video are all a plus, but not priorities.

On the face of it all, the D600 is the better camera, but I'm wondering if it is good enough to justify the extra £400 or so. I have never used a full frame camera, and while I have a rudimentary understanding of why I might want one, I'm not sure if it is worth the jump. So, any opinions would be welcome.

Cheers.

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Trippy
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Reply #789 on: July 09, 2013, 11:17:08 AM

Unless you have the budget for top quality lenses I would stick with a non-full frame sensor. A full frame sensor is better in low light conditions (larger surface area to collect light) and will make better use of wide angle lenses since the "zoom" factor (aka "crop factor") with non-full frame sensors is not present (good for architecture and landscapes). However the full frame sensor will likely reveal flaws in lens designs (typically seen in the corners), especially in wide angle lenses, that you might not see with a non-full frame sensor. The non-full frame sensor is nice for sports and wildlife photography since you get a built in zoom effect on your lenses.
apocrypha
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Reply #790 on: July 09, 2013, 11:36:41 AM

Yep, I agree completely with Trippy.

Full-frame sensors are great if you've got good glass. A huge proportion of my shooting now is restricted to a very narrow range of apertures since I need to eke out every ounce of sharpness from my lenses for the kind of product photography that I earn most of my money from. I have decent FX lenses that cost me upwards of £1000 each and I still try to stick as close to f5.6 as I can, all the time, because that's where I get the least vignetting and the most sharpness.

However, if you're a lighting photographer then larger sensors are the way forward. The larger your individual pixels are on your sensor then the more powerful your flashes etc are in comparison. It's the main reason I haven't moved up to a D800 from my D700 - much higher MP on the same size sensor means much smaller pixels and much weaker flashes as a result.

If I had the money I'd move to a medium format setup, with a Phase One back, but that shit is seriously expensive :/

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apocrypha
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Reply #791 on: July 23, 2013, 01:27:54 AM

I know I regularly link to this guy, but this is a great post on how to light 1,300 people in a sports hall:

http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/qa-lighting-1300-person-group-shot.html

It's not the kind of thing m/any of us are likely to ever need to do, but it's a very interesting read to see how a pro would approach this. As an indication of the work involved he suggests asking a fee of $15-20k.  ACK!

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Reply #792 on: July 26, 2013, 07:06:05 AM


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apocrypha
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Reply #793 on: July 26, 2013, 08:06:29 AM

Haha yeah I saw that  awesome, for real

I haven't got the strength to carry that thing, and tbh I don't think the pics he gets with it are all that interesting in terms of light. Both of those lights are quite close on-axis and it looks like he fires them both at the same power, which gives a really flat, even light, similar to a ring flash - which would be about 100 times cheaper and weigh half a kilo!  why so serious?

Edit: The self-portrait, however, is great:


"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Merusk
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Reply #794 on: July 26, 2013, 09:42:34 AM

Except he's not trying to do anything interesting with the light is he?   I gather the point is to illuminate so he can document moments, not do anything fantastic.  He's taking photos outside, in the dark or in bars where lighting is sub-optimal for even the naked eye, much less a camera.

I thought ring-flashes were for smaller subjects and macro photography.  How many of those shots at his Flicker would you be able to get with a large-aperture lens in a bar with 3-5 FC of illumination and a ring flash? 

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apocrypha
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Reply #795 on: July 26, 2013, 02:07:01 PM

I hadn't actually clicked through to his Flickr set, there's some much better ones there than on the PetaPixel article.

A ring flash does give a different light, but it's similar. You can get things the Orbis very cheaply. His backpack thing has 2 SB600's in, which isn't a huge amount of light, and with the umbrellas or softboxes he uses it's even less light. A ringflash like the Orbis will be more concentrated, but powered by only one flash head, so at a guess I'd say they come out roughly even in terms of power. His diffused strobes will be much softer, but being completely around the lens axis hides a lot of the hardness of a ring. Swings & roundabouts.

That strobe pack thing is fun looking, sure, and it's got him on PetaPixel, and if you'd gone to all the trouble to make it then you'd find a use for it, for sure, but it's not something I have the slightest interest in building myself. The benefits of it over a single flash bounced behind you or off a wall or channeled through a ring seem pretty marginal for a large amount of effort carrying it, not to mention serious problems with doorways, alleys, any tight spaces etc. I bet he smacks people in the head with his softboxes all the time :p

Kudos to him for making the effort, and he's got some cool shots on his stream, but they're more about the place, the people & his general photography skills than they are about the backpack lights.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Khaldun
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Reply #796 on: July 26, 2013, 07:43:20 PM

Off-camera light is the other big thing I really need to learn how to work with in a more relaxed way. I tend to shoot for images that are slightly underexposed--it's just a look I prefer for many subjects. But there are times where I'd really like to get the soft light of a bounce flash with some fill off a reflector or some other way without too much fuss or set up. I also really need to move back into my little basement studio space and see what I can do in it this winter.

apocrypha
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Reply #797 on: July 26, 2013, 10:04:27 PM

It's really easy to experiment with. Digital cameras have turned what used to be a highly technical, time-consuming, hit & miss technique into "try it, look at LCD, adjust".  awesome, for real

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Khaldun
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Reply #798 on: July 27, 2013, 07:46:08 PM

I am a 100% chimp.
Sky
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Reply #799 on: November 25, 2013, 10:25:22 PM

So the old lady said she was thinking of getting me a camera for xmas and to jump on anything I wanted that turned up in a black friday deal. I told her I hadn't asked because it would be too expensive for an xmas gift and she told me $300. When I stopped laughing, I told her that would make an excellent donation to the cause and get me into a better camera than I had planned on buying in January.

THAT SAID.

I mostly photograph minis, a quick tour through my blog (linked in my sig) will show what I'm doing with my old 2005 Canon Powershot 4MP p&s. The current pic is a good example of the kind of thing I'm struggling with, lots of depth of color I can't capture. I have issues besides the camera (the light on the shadows), but one thing at a time).

I would also like to get back into nature photography, hiking pics, mountain tops and waterfalls, etc. So a basic lens (the one that comes with hopefully, since I can probably only afford one general purpose) with a slight edge to the studio miniatures stuff (which is very different than lighting and shooting stuff for product pics!).

Looking at the image comparisons on the dpreview, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 mirrorless looks pretty nifty, I'm not old school so losing the optical viewfinder that I ignore anyway isn't a big deal. (Ok I am old school enough that I have spent plenty of time in a dark room from when I was a kid until college...but I forgot everything).  It seems to come with a 12-50mm lens kit. But man, that's a lot of dough :)

I'd be much more comfortable spending what she budgeted, but I'd rather not sacrifice quality since I can get by with the crappy pics I've been taking (though it's getting old fast). What are the chances of a solid Black Friday deal (and where?), say sub-$1k with lens and some accessories? Or should I just wait until the budget is in better shape?
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Reply #800 on: November 25, 2013, 10:48:37 PM

The Lumix DMC-LX7 supposedly takes nice macro pictures and is ~$300. If you want a DSLR with interchangeable lenses I'm sure there will be deals though Canon and Nixon usually don't allow deep discounts. Amazon has been running some discounts on Canon DSLRs for a few weeks now and it's possible one or more of those cameras will be offered for even less on Black Friday.
Sky
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Reply #801 on: November 26, 2013, 07:57:48 AM

Ugh, a girl at work has a Canon T2i and Amazon is running a small lens deal for the Canons...and I've been using the Canon p&s for years now and I'm familiar with their layout/menus. Hmm. So maybe the T5i would be a better choice than the Olympus?

I looked at that Lumix, and while it's an improvement over what I have now, it still seems to struggle with detail which is pretty key for my 'studio' work. Though maybe exposing all the flaws isn't the best idea :p
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Reply #802 on: November 26, 2013, 12:55:55 PM

Those minis look awesome.

In terms of photography a dslr is going to give you a real lift in photo quality mainly from better control over white balance and better  ISO performance and control over depth of field.  Even a base model camera will get you this far.  To get a real pop from the photo you'll also end to look at post production which will give you more control over shadows, colour, and sharpness.  In terms of lenses you need a lense you can still focus while filling the frame with the mini and while not obscuring your lighting.  A kit lense could work here but you'll need to experiment. I played around shooting a hair clip on the kitchen counter and 50mm worked ok but I was casting a shadow.  A tripod or stand or even a sandbag

The other thing you might try is building your own light box.  I'm sure there are blogs around giving ideas.

Unfortunately, macro shooting and landscape are pretty much mutually exclusive from a specialist lense point of view. So I'd recommend something like an 18-55.
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Reply #803 on: November 26, 2013, 02:44:55 PM

Thanks, Dan. I do have a tripod and I've built a light box that services small models pretty well, though I do need to get around to lining it to remove the brown/orange cast (which I've set my white balance to compensate for, but still...). I'm still more or less using this setup:


I have since removed the top light for most things. I fiddle and tweak it every now and again, and I'm hoping a camera upgrade will help improve some of the detail and contrast. Just looking at that comparison tool at dpreview is quite enlightening.

There is also a promo for Lightroom, should I nab a copy? I can crop and resize fine with GIMP, but I suck at tweaking anything more than brightness/contrast or 'auto white balance'.
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Reply #804 on: November 26, 2013, 03:57:00 PM

There is also a promo for Lightroom, should I nab a copy? I can crop and resize fine with GIMP, but I suck at tweaking anything more than brightness/contrast or 'auto white balance'.

Yes.  Lightroom is amazing for tweaking images and archiving/ cataloging. If you're hesitant, pick up a monthly sub for it and Photoshop from Adobe's site and pay $10 for a month to try it out.

The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
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