planning upgrading from t3i

[iphonemaster93]

Hey guys!

So I've had my t3i for a while and I think I'm hitting the limitations in the t3i in terms of what I'm doing now. I've had the camera for about 1-2 years (was given to me as a xmas gift) and up until now, I've done automotive photography, nature photography, as well as portrait photography. I thought that the T3i was already a good enough camera for me to suit my needs but I realized I might need more now but I'm not sure. One night, I was doing rolling shots with a few buddies of mine and noticed in post processing, that there was a ton of grain in most of the pictures if I turned up the shadows (was shooting in betwen 1/10-1/20th of a second at F8.0 at 3200ISO. What are the benefits of upgrading from a T3i or do I just need a better lens? I was thinking of going to either a T4i or a T5i but at the same time, I want to go for a full frame sensored camera but I don't know if the types of photography I'm doing right now require such an advanced camera such as the 5D MkII  or if the t4i/t5i will be good enough. Also, do the lenses for the T3i work for the 5D MKII or do I have to purchase new lenses for it? I'm guessing the lenses for the T3i are compatible with the T4i and the T5i. Thanks!  

[iphonemaster93]

I have CC 2014. I took a course at my local community college for each Lightroom and Photoshop but I actually learned a lot more from some fellow car enthusiasts and through YouTube believe it or not haha. Reason being is because I didn't do very well in those classes and because those fellow car enthusiasts edit their photos similar to the style that I edit mine in so the advice and tips that they gave me led me closer to what I wanted to achieve, in comparison to what the teacher taught us. 

For instance, this was something that I was trying to go for: Ferrari F12 Berlinetta (not my photo, a buddy of mine took this) Sort of like a picture you'd capture in say Forza, Gran Turismo, or some sort of racing video game.

But instead, I got this (please see attached):

This was also another effect that I wanted to have in my photos shooting at this particular mall but I just cannot figure out how he's doing it (C63 AMG). We went to the same event and I just decided that for all the photos where you can see the background/the sky, I'm just going to give them all that summer look, like what I did with this Ferrari F12 but to me personally, the picture overall still looks too hard in general. 

Another example would be like this i8. You can easily tell that the background is somewhat desaturated and the highlights were brought down significantly. I know he's using a combination of layers but other than a bunch of layers, I can't figure out how he's adding that gaming effect to his pictures.

[iphonemaster93]

I'm still learning hehe 😄 I was going to purchase colored filters but then after I got CPL and and the slide in ND filter, I realized that the colored filters weren't neccessary, and that it was possible through PS but just like you said, I'm just not anywhere near that skill level yet. I just recently got into heavy editing with PS and LR and I still have a lot of types of photos I want to achieve in shooting. I did succeed in finding the Light Effects under render with my photo being in 8 bit mode but I'm unable to use it in 16 bit or 32 bit mode. 

[ebiggs1]

"I'm unable to use it in 16 bit or 32 bit mode."

That is correct as of CS6 which I have.  I do not have CC so there may be some slight differences there.

[ebiggs1]

I don't know exactly what you are after but here is a sample of something that might be close.  It is very rough because I was just turning out a sample not a finished product.

Is that close?

[ebiggs1]

Once you get there, you can do all sorts of refinements.  There is almost no limit. 

[iphonemaster93]

---

@ebiggs1 wrote:

I don't know exactly what you are after but here is a sample of something that might be close.  It is very rough because I was just turning out a sample not a finished product.

Is that close?

---

I'm going for the kind of feeling you get from his picture. Notice how in mine, the overall feeling and mood you get is still sort of harsh, even though I did a warm filter through photo filters in photoshop. His is all soft throughout and somehow he still retains full color of the Ferrari but it lightly fades in the top half of the picture. It's as if he just slapped a fall season preset over his original picture or something.

[iphonemaster93]

Here's another example: S550 Mustang. When I look at this one, it seems like he just put a preset over the original picture and toned down the highlights of the sky with a graduated filter or something.

[ebiggs1]

That effect is simple in LR.  Use the gradualed filter.

In PS, you can make any effect graduated.  Light to dark or blur to sharp.  Color can fade to another gradually.

[iphonemaster93]

---

@ebiggs1 wrote:

That effect is simple in LR.  Use the gradualed filter.

In PS, you can make any effect graduated.  Light to dark or blur to sharp.  Color can fade to another gradually.

---

I'm guessing LR is easier to learn compared to PS? haha. I know how to use LR more than PS (and i've used PS more all my life) and I'm a very simple person so I'm guessing that that's the case haha. PS is just complicated for me at times, it's frustrating actually.

[ebiggs1]

Any software that is as versitle as PS is going to be complicated.  The more a program does, the mnore difficult it will be to use.  The less it does, like LR, the less complicated by its nature.  If you did nothing except what LR can do, PS is no more difficult.