r/photography • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago

Questions Thread Official Question Thread! Ask /r/photography anything you want to know! October 16, 2026

This is the place to ask any questions you may have about photography. No question is too small, nor too stupid.

Info for Newbies and FAQ!

First and foremost, check out our extensive FAQ. Chances are, you'll find your answer there, or at least a starting point in order to ask more informed questions.

Need buying advice?

Many people come here for recommendations on what equipment to buy. Our FAQ has several extensive sections to help you determine what best fits your needs and your budget. Please see the following sections of the FAQ to get started:

If after reviewing this information you have any specific questions, please feel free to post a comment below. (Remember, when asking for purchase advice please be specific about how much you can spend. See here for guidelines.)

Schedule of community threads:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
52 Weeks Share Anything Goes Album Share & Feedback Edit My Raw Follow Friday Salty Saturday Self-Promotion Sunday

Finally a friendly reminder to share your work with our community in r/photographs!

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

1

u/sexytamilfriend 3h ago

I was shooting an event where a band was performing. At the end, I took a photo of the band on stage with the audience behind them. I only focused on the band and shot from a low angle, so the audience isn't clearly visible.
I've shot so many events and I don't know how I messed this one up. Is there anything that can be done? I tried Google Gemini by uploading the band photo and a separate audience photo, but it keeps changing the faces of the people.
I'm feeling really low about this one mistake. Please help. :(

•

u/maniku 1h ago

Sorry that this happened to you, but did you mean to include the photo? Since you didn't include it and didn't describe what exactly is wrong with the picture, it's impossible to comment.

1

u/magic_man_91 6h ago

Hi all - I recently started a business selling high-quality framed/unframed art prints. Since I release things slowly in series, I've realized photo content of the prints will likely be my biggest expense after marketing.

So I've decided to set up a small home photo studio. I have a room in a finished basement open, very little natural light, so I just need the basics (light, tripod, backdrop). I know this has likely been answered many times - the reason I'm doing a new post is because this "studio" will be used ONLY for photographing framed and unframed prints in various positions. Never people, never other products. I don't plan on doing literally anything else with it, nor will I ever upgrade anything. I just want consistent, high-quality shots without spending hundreds of dollars every time I release something new.

I have a DSLR already and believe I can get basic high-quality shots on my own. If the business takes off, I'll pay professionals. Until then, I'm looking for the most inexpensive home studio that will get me the best results for the shots I need.

•

u/anonymoooooooose 2h ago

You'll need a sturdy tripod, I'd start watching Craigslist etc. for an old aluminum Manfrotto.

Are you already familiar with all the intricacies of getting accurate digital colour? Monitor calibration, colour checker cards etc?

The usual lighting setup for art repro is called 'copy stand lighting' here's a discussion with a good diagram and an example setup.

1

u/sunshineandbeaches1 12h ago

Does anyone have any ideas for editing out a little dot on someone’s face? It’s because I should have adjusted my angle when shooting toward the sun but otherwise would have been a nice picture. I’m using Lightroom to edit. Thanks!

1

u/Ill_Currency3647 16h ago edited 16h ago

Long story short, I started taking photography seriously in April, in July due to some personal circumstances I became homeless and documented it in a project that has started going well, photos and writing from the project have been published nationally and internationally and I have exhibitions planned and am being asked to speak at events which is all really great.

Problem is I'm fresh out of homelessness and many of these things are costing more than they are paying with the exception of freelance writing which isnt consistent and that potentially leaves me vulnerable.

The real question is how do I get from this point with some decent credibility to a practice that can actually contribute to the bills?

1

u/Boredomis_real 1d ago

Help! I have a full CFExpress type A card that I need to offload of my A7V. My IPad doesn’t have the space nor my phone for 123 GB of raw images. What can I do? I don’t have a computer near buy or funds for a new CFExpress card or V90 SDXC Card.

1

u/Rush410 11h ago

You don't need the space on the iPad. If it has a USB-C port, it can copy straight from the card to an external drive:

  1. Get a USB-C hub, a CFexpress Type A reader (a normal SD reader won't take that card) and any external drive with 128GB or more free. A cheap portable hard drive or a big USB stick costs a lot less than another CFexpress card, or borrow one.
  2. Plug the reader and the drive into the hub, open the Files app, select the folders on the card and copy them to the drive. Copy, don't move.
  3. Open a few of the RAW files from the drive before you format anything. Only format the card in the camera once you know the copies are good.

If you just need to keep shooting until you get to a computer, check whether your camera's slots also take SD cards - many recent Sony bodies do - and you don't need a V90 card for most stills.

2

u/SoloSeasoned 1d ago

Are laptop questions allowed? I need to upgrade from my 6 year old, 8GB laptop that just can’t handle processing RAW files anymore. Recommendations? Screen size/resolution is not critical because I have monitors that I usually use.

1

u/boredmessiah 7h ago

any reasonably modern macbook with 16gb or more ram will do photo editing like butter, even the air. on the windows side you need to ensure you have a decent sized ssd and a powerful GPU and avoid the budget range CPUs.

1

u/maniku 21h ago

notebookcheck.com

1

u/Low_Advertising5052 1d ago

Are teleconverters worth it? I have a 7DII with a Sigma 150-500 which I use for high altitude plane photography. I heard about teleconverters and it just seems like trading aperture for focal length. So I searched on sahibinden (Turkish ebay basically) and found a Sigma 1.4x APO EX teleconverter for a reasonable price. My question is, is it worth it? The loss of aperture and AF don't bother me that much since it's pretty bright when shooting conditions are reasonable and I use manual focus anyways. The only thing I'm worried about is the image quality. Will it be worse than just cropping and post-processing?
Thanks in advance!

1

u/anonymoooooooose 15h ago

That teleconverter gets good reviews.

If you get a good deal on it, worst case you can resell it for what you paid for it.

Props to you for manually focusing long lenses btw.

1

u/Murky_Inspector_7452 1d ago

Hi everyone,

So I’m using the XT-30iii with a 13-33mm and a 35mmf2 lens as daily for travel etc.

Now through circumstances I got my hands on a Sony Alpha 7Sii with a 24-240mm lens.

And honestly I’m a bit in a pickle about when to switch to the Sony.
The Fuji clearly has the better AF and Geotagging and portability.
I just can’t wrap my head around which scenarios the 7Sii would be the right tool to choose over the Fuji.

Not looking for someone that has specifically these cameras, just some seasoned photographers owning 2+ very different cameras who might give their expertise on when they would use which camera.

Example what I currently do:
1. for travelling around the world always Fuji because I can’t stand the 1.5 kg
2. for shots at home I usually grab the Sony because it’s more flexible as telephoto and indoors

What I struggle is in between 1. and 2., where to draw the line. For example a one-day trip into nature, which one to take? If I go for a city trip, which one to take etc.

1

u/boredmessiah 7h ago

the a7s range is a fairly specialised series of cameras, intended for high-end video work and extremely low light shooting. that's also why it has a comparatively low resolution, although if you're not cropping it's likely okay for a lot of purposes still. still, i'm sure it excels in regular applications as well.

having said that, a slow zoom is doing that kind of camera no favours. if you want to really take advantage of it, you should ideally invest in a fast prime or two and essentially pick it whenever you're working in less than ideal light. primes are also far lighter than zooms, so that's another reason to get one. if you're confident with manual focus you can get some very cheap, fast, and fairly decent manual focussing primes these days.

on the other hand if you want to do video/are doing video then that would be the natural application for the sony, with whichever lens.

1

u/DeFYent1 1d ago

Anyone got a favorite upscaling tool? I have a few photos that I'm very happy with the composition/lighting etc of, but they're older and not high enough resolution to print a large copy that would look good. Does anyone have a suggestion for software that can turn a low-res photo into a hi-res one that looks the same? I normally try my best to avoid AI in all its forms, but I realize that may be the best (or only) way to achieve this.

2

u/TravelingChick 1d ago

Topaz gigapixel. I’m not sure how much ai is involved or if they have a free trial.

1

u/GroundAfraid2286 1d ago

Can the captured photos be sold? And if yes, please tell me how.

2

u/maniku 1d ago

In theory yes. In practice it's very difficult. There's no real market for most subjects that hobby photographers shoot. The only way to effectively monetize your photography is shooting for paying clients: portraits, weddings, events etc.

0

u/Evening-Focus3876 1d ago

Open shade is the trick with a shiny black lab. Midday sun on an a6000 is basically pick one: his face or the yard. Put him on the shady side of the house with something light bouncing into his face (white wall, a sheet, even the side of a car) and expose for the dog, not the grass. Get down at eye level so there's a catchlight, that's what keeps the face from turning into a hole. Shoot raw. Skip direct flash, it just slaps a white hotspot on the coat.

2

u/asukivampluv 1d ago

any tips for photographing a black dog that doesn't look like a dog-shaped void? mine's a shiny black lab and either his face disappears or the background blows out. shooting on a sony a6000, mostly outdoors in the yard.