How do I get crisp clean photos like this?

[bgvotaw]

I have been playing around with my lighting, but this camera is super new to me. I would like to get really vivid colors and a crisp, clean look like this; any advice? I have a Nikon d200. I am sure I will need to do some in photoshop as well. The first photo is what I want mine to look like, and the second is what mine does look like.

http://www.suzieseagraves.com/blogpics/092608_0022.jpg

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...43a6ae76a2.jpg

[0lBaldy]

The second address (myspace) is bad....

this is a duplicate post...

see http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/pho...otos-like.html

[seattle-light]

Dear bgvotaw...

Get to know your camera really well. Shoot a lot and get to know how the ISO affects image quality. Then start with working lighting and framing composition. Then focus on capturing the moment and the emotional performance. Then you can work on adjustments and retouching to further accentuate the color and drama in the shot.

Hope you are doing well. Take care. Alan.

[slash-5]

Nothing magic here. This is a very simple natural light photo with a reasonably fast lens. So rent a lens that goes to an F-Stop of 2.8, put your camera in AP (Aperture Priority), and fire away. As far as the coloring. It's just a simple action.

[MiningArt]

Using a tripod and timer is probably the most important.

[jschro]

Originally Posted by MiningArt

Using a tripod and timer is probably the most important.

I'm fairly certain that a tripod and timer were not used in the linked image... Hard to capture the moment with a timer! Shoot at F 2.8 and set your ISO to get the speed to freeze the action. The colors in those pictures are post work. You do have settings in your camera to bump saturation and sharpness, but I prefer to do that on the computer.