100 yards 290 Pictures too picky

[Lost Nikon User]

So i went and did some walking around a local pond and took my new toy with me. As the title says, i only walked 100 yards and took damn near 290 pictures, only a few made the cut. Seeing my photography skills are still at the beginner level, this means my editing skills are non-existent. So all these pictures are straight from the camera to y'all Enjoy.

The photos were taken in Manual mode, all i messed with was F.Stop and Shutter Speed. No iso adjustments were made ISO 100

 

[Didereaux]

The sculpture needs a different angle (the background is a mess). The swans are pretty close....maybe a little (just a little) post shadow reduction. What is you new 'toy?

 

[Designer]

.. my editing skills are non-existent.

Don't worry about that. I think you will be better informed if you simply become more discerning in deciding what to photograph. In only 100 yards, you might have made 10 decent photographs, so the other 280 are just taking up memory on the SD card. Plenty of time yet to learn editing. Get some photographs that you want to spend some time on first.

 

[sm4him]

Well, it's great that you are excited enough about photography to see that much you want to take a picture of. But you might be better advised to slow down a little. Instead of taking pictures of anything and everything, take the time to really LOOK at each potential subject and ask yourself how you could make it into a compelling photo.
Some suggestions based on the two you've posted:

Photo 1: Why did you pick this angle? As someone else mentioned, a different eagle, with the sculpture turned a bit more toward the camera, might have held more interest to the viewer. And did you NOTICE the background? Don't worry, most people don't when they are starting out, but it's one of the quickest ways to improve a photo. Start paying attention to what ELSE is going to be in your photo. See that house? The fountain? It all detracts from your subject; especially the fountain, because it's lighter than the subject, and the eye tends to be drawn to the lightest part of a photo.

Photo 2: Again, what attracted YOU about this photo? What were you trying to show the viewer? For me, I don't see much compelling about this, because we can't even see the birds' heads. A bird shot tends to be MUCH more interesting if the bird is either DOING something interesting, or if we can at least see their eyes.

Both photos are also a little underexposed, in my opinion.

But you've got a good start. One of my favorite quotes pertains to how to write a quality article. The quote is this: "Write something."
Once you've written something, no better how bad, you can THEN start the process of improving it--starting is ALWAYS the hard part. The same is true with photography.
So, you've now done the hardest part!

 

[Lost Nikon User]

The sculpture needs a different angle (the background is a mess). The swans are pretty close....maybe a little (just a little) post shadow reduction. What is you new 'toy?

The new toy is a Nikon D7000

Well, it's great that you are excited enough about photography to see that much you want to take a picture of. But you might be better advised to slow down a little. Instead of taking pictures of anything and everything, take the time to really LOOK at each potential subject and ask yourself how you could make it into a compelling photo.
Some suggestions based on the two you've posted:

Photo 1: Why did you pick this angle? As someone else mentioned, a different eagle, with the sculpture turned a bit more toward the camera, might have held more interest to the viewer. And did you NOTICE the background? Don't worry, most people don't when they are starting out, but it's one of the quickest ways to improve a photo. Start paying attention to what ELSE is going to be in your photo. See that house? The fountain? It all detracts from your subject; especially the fountain, because it's lighter than the subject, and the eye tends to be drawn to the lightest part of a photo.

Photo 2: Again, what attracted YOU about this photo? What were you trying to show the viewer? For me, I don't see much compelling about this, because we can't even see the birds' heads. A bird shot tends to be MUCH more interesting if the bird is either DOING something interesting, or if we can at least see their eyes.

Both photos are also a little underexposed, in my opinion.

But you've got a good start. One of my favorite quotes pertains to how to write a quality article. The quote is this: "Write something."
Once you've written something, no better how bad, you can THEN start the process of improving it--starting is ALWAYS the hard part. The same is true with photography.
So, you've now done the hardest part!

Thank you for the input, im still very new to all this and i was out walking that 100 yards for about 3 hours. I see the picture in my head, and i try to make it come to life. As any good photographer would do. I see the underexposed now that you mention it. Love the Quote btw. Write something. I have to start somewhere. Check out the ones i posted in the nature gallery. Im all ears and aim for greatness!


As for th eangle of the sculpture, im next to two big buildings, i was trying to keep them out of the shot and still got the one on the left some.

 

[Didereaux]

The sculpture needs a different angle (the background is a mess). The swans are pretty close....maybe a little (just a little) post shadow reduction. What is you new 'toy?

The new toy is a Nikon D7000

Well, it's great that you are excited enough about photography to see that much you want to take a picture of. But you might be better advised to slow down a little. Instead of taking pictures of anything and everything, take the time to really LOOK at each potential subject and ask yourself how you could make it into a compelling photo.
Some suggestions based on the two you've posted:

Photo 1: Why did you pick this angle? As someone else mentioned, a different eagle, with the sculpture turned a bit more toward the camera, might have held more interest to the viewer. And did you NOTICE the background? Don't worry, most people don't when they are starting out, but it's one of the quickest ways to improve a photo. Start paying attention to what ELSE is going to be in your photo. See that house? The fountain? It all detracts from your subject; especially the fountain, because it's lighter than the subject, and the eye tends to be drawn to the lightest part of a photo.

Photo 2: Again, what attracted YOU about this photo? What were you trying to show the viewer? For me, I don't see much compelling about this, because we can't even see the birds' heads. A bird shot tends to be MUCH more interesting if the bird is either DOING something interesting, or if we can at least see their eyes.

Both photos are also a little underexposed, in my opinion.

But you've got a good start. One of my favorite quotes pertains to how to write a quality article. The quote is this: "Write something."
Once you've written something, no better how bad, you can THEN start the process of improving it--starting is ALWAYS the hard part. The same is true with photography.
So, you've now done the hardest part!

Thank you for the input, im still very new to all this and i was out walking that 100 yards for about 3 hours. I see the picture in my head, and i try to make it come to life. As any good photographer would do. I see the underexposed now that you mention it. Love the Quote btw. Write something. I have to start somewhere. Check out the ones i posted in the nature gallery. Im all ears and aim for greatness!


As for th eangle of the sculpture, im next to two big buildings, i was trying to keep them out of the shot and still got the one on the left some.

When you get in a spot like that think vertical movement. You could probably have gotten down low and shot upwards. Never stop at the 'eye level' view. In fact that probably should be your last resort.

 

[pgriz]

Much of the time, we photograph for ourselves, to take images recording people, places, times, events, etc. Snapshots. These are for ourselves and those close to us who know the context, recognize the people in the images, and know the photographer. That shared context allows these viewers to interpret the photo and appreciate its contents.

Then there are images we think would be of interest to strangers, where the image itself becomes more important than the knowledge of who, what, where, and when. Now the characteristics of the image and the inclusion of visual clues allow strangers to view the image and derive some sort of meaning from it. There are conventions for arrangement of these visual clues (sometimes known as rules or guidelines of photography), and there are some common themes that get photographed often - some would even call these clichés.

Add to this certain human preferences (we tend to like to see face, eyes), and the mind's desire to find meaning and a pattern, and you'll see why people react to the images they see the way they do.

Sharon (sm4him) gave you a very good critique. She brings up several very salient points in talking about the angle of view and appearance of the background. When WE see something, our mind prioritizes what it feels is important, and ignores or minimizes the rest. The camera, on the other hand, sees everything in front of it, and as photographers, we need to select our angles, perspectives and exposure settings to bring to a viewer a sense of what was important to us when we saw the image. As we learn, we also become much more aware of light (source, direction, strength, harshness/softness), form (balance, form, texture) and the story (often an important part in street or urban or people photography). What you choose to show in an image gives us the visual clues which we can then use to interpret your intent.

In my signature, I quote Lew Lorton, a photographer who often posts in this forum, for he put into three sentences an entire photography course. They summarize succinctly one very good approach to photography.

 

[bribrius]

shoot shoot shoot until using your camera becomes second nature.

 

[Lost Nikon User]

The sculpture needs a different angle (the background is a mess). The swans are pretty close....maybe a little (just a little) post shadow reduction. What is you new 'toy?

The new toy is a Nikon D7000

Well, it's great that you are excited enough about photography to see that much you want to take a picture of. But you might be better advised to slow down a little. Instead of taking pictures of anything and everything, take the time to really LOOK at each potential subject and ask yourself how you could make it into a compelling photo.
Some suggestions based on the two you've posted:

Photo 1: Why did you pick this angle? As someone else mentioned, a different eagle, with the sculpture turned a bit more toward the camera, might have held more interest to the viewer. And did you NOTICE the background? Don't worry, most people don't when they are starting out, but it's one of the quickest ways to improve a photo. Start paying attention to what ELSE is going to be in your photo. See that house? The fountain? It all detracts from your subject; especially the fountain, because it's lighter than the subject, and the eye tends to be drawn to the lightest part of a photo.

Photo 2: Again, what attracted YOU about this photo? What were you trying to show the viewer? For me, I don't see much compelling about this, because we can't even see the birds' heads. A bird shot tends to be MUCH more interesting if the bird is either DOING something interesting, or if we can at least see their eyes.

Both photos are also a little underexposed, in my opinion.

But you've got a good start. One of my favorite quotes pertains to how to write a quality article. The quote is this: "Write something."
Once you've written something, no better how bad, you can THEN start the process of improving it--starting is ALWAYS the hard part. The same is true with photography.
So, you've now done the hardest part!

Thank you for the input, im still very new to all this and i was out walking that 100 yards for about 3 hours. I see the picture in my head, and i try to make it come to life. As any good photographer would do. I see the underexposed now that you mention it. Love the Quote btw. Write something. I have to start somewhere. Check out the ones i posted in the nature gallery. Im all ears and aim for greatness!


As for the angle of the sculpture, im next to two big buildings, i was trying to keep them out of the shot and still got the one on the left some.

When you get in a spot like that think vertical movement. You could probably have gotten down low and shot upwards. Never stop at the 'eye level' view. In fact that probably should be your last resort.

Its funny you say vertical movement, shooting from the bottom or topside or something other than eye level, i posted some pictures in the nature gallery that 90% of those photos was me on my stomach, or sitting on the ground, or under a tree. I understand the whole dont see eye level thing. Everyone already sees eye level.

Much of the time, we photograph for ourselves, to take images recording people, places, times, events, etc. Snapshots. These are for ourselves and those close to us who know the context, recognize the people in the images, and know the photographer. That shared context allows these viewers to interpret the photo and appreciate its contents.

Then there are images we think would be of interest to strangers, where the image itself becomes more important than the knowledge of who, what, where, and when. Now the characteristics of the image and the inclusion of visual clues allow strangers to view the image and derive some sort of meaning from it. There are conventions for arrangement of these visual clues (sometimes know as rules or guidelines of photography), and there are some common themes that get photographed often - some would even call these chichés.

Add to this certain human preferences (we tend to like to see face, eyes), and the mind's desire to find meaning and a pattern, and you'll see why people react to the images they see the way they do.

Sharon (sm4him) gave you a very good critique. She brings up several very salient points in talking about the angle of view and appearance of the background. When WE see something, our mind prioritizes what it feels is important, and ignores or minimizes the rest. The camera, on the other hand, sees everything in front of it, and as photographers, we need to select our angles, perspectives and exposure settings to bring to a viewer a sense of what was important to us when we saw the image. As we learn, we also become much more aware of light (source, direction, strength, harshness/softness), form (balance, form, texture) and the story (often an important part in street or urban or people photography). What you choose to show in an image gives us the visual clues which we can then use to interpret your intent.

In my signature, I quote Lew Lorton, a photographer who often posts in this forum, for he put into three sentences an entire photography course. They summarize succinctly one very good approach to photography.

Thank you for the great read

shoot shoot shoot until using your camera becomes second nature.

Im going to shoot until my shutter button has my finger print embedded in it!!!!

 

[astroNikon]

You may want to peruse this website .. it's all about the d7000 ==> Everything D7000