Always had an interest, finally got on board

[jolayiv]

Hello, I have always had an interest in photography but never took the dive to get a good camera. I was still reluctant to get my D3000 the other day but decided if I didn't do it now it would never happen so..... here are a couple of shots that I have taken since I have had the camera. I'm sure they are not great but that's why I have joined up with you guys/gals to get a few tips.

 

[reznap]

The first one would have looked a lot better if you shot it with a smaller aperture (higher number than f5.6), maybe f9, f11... This would have given a larger depth of focus, but you might already know how that works.

Also it's a little bit overexposed. It's not bad though and could be fixed in photoshop or any other program with brightness adjustments.

The second one is ok, but when taking pics of animals or birds you want the eyes to stand out. Also, I'd crop this down a bit, keeping the bird out of the center of the frame.