Another Beginner New to this Forum

[SyldonDG]

Hey guys and gals. i am another beginner trying to get "a hold" of this hobby. i have only been serious about photography for a couple weeks now ever since picking up a Nikon D80 and a 50mm 1.8D lens. I did have a D40 prior and although it was a great little DSLR, the D80 is just a league on its own. i have taken thousands of shots i figured the only way i can get better is by constructive criticism, and alot of it. so please let me know what you think and i really do not mind harsh statements, it will only push me more.

thanks,
marcus

1.

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3.

4.

 

[Dubious Drewski]

Haha, you seem to know what you're doing. #3 and #4 look like they're even trying to tell stories(Even though I don't know what they are). Nice. Maybe I'd like to see more of the girls head in #2, and it could be a tad sharper. Also, maybe you could straighten out #3, because it's canted and this doesn't jive with the subject matter, but other than that, I dunno. Good photos. Good exposure.

 

[Socrates]

Hey guys and gals. i am another beginner trying to get "a hold" of this hobby. i have only been serious about photography for a couple weeks now ever since picking up a Nikon D80 and a 50mm 1.8D lens. I did have a D40 prior and although it was a great little DSLR, the D80 is just a league on its own. i have taken thousands of shots i figured the only way i can get better is by constructive criticism, and alot of it. so please let me know what you think and i really do not mind harsh statements, it will only push me more.

thanks,
marcus

#1 and #2 are the type of shots that I like a lot. However, I have a bit of criticism regarding #1. The wall is in focus as is some of the grass behind the subject. Perhaps a different pose or a tighter crop to eliminate it? One way or another, put more effort into isolating your subject from the surroundings.

I have the D80 and my two favorite lenses are the 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.8. I use the 50 as my "indoor portrait lens" and the 85 as my "outdoor portrait lens."

 

[SyldonDG]

thanks guys.

Dubious: i did straighten out the picture but along the wall. it seems to be that the pier was the one crooked and this did bug me. Maybe i should PS it...
And i do love the story telling element of photography and that is what i try to "show" in most of my photos.

Socrates: this was a really quick picture and i know that there are many distracting elements. is the wall distracting? and if i had her pose with her feet up would the wall still be in focus? i could see how a tighter crop would be effective. also, have you tried the Nikon Series E 100mm f/2.8 lens? i also want a lens for outdoor portraits but mostly candid pics and the 50mm does not have enough reach while the 85mm is out of my reach budget wise.

 

[The_Traveler]

You've submitted 4 pictures of different types and it's hard to give a fully coherent look at each but Ill try to summarize what strikes me. (Perhaps in the future you could submit them separately and the viewers could pick and choose)

#1 - well exposed snapshot but taken when the sun is relatively high and so the shadows are deep and not super flattering.

#2) almost terrific but hurt by the composition where both main centers of interest are too close to the edges and the DOF is too shallow. Why shoot at 1.8 and 500? Only a narrow band that runs through the boy's left ear is really in focus.

#3) Very nice picture. tells great story. I would straighten this so the obvious horizontal lines (bridge) are actually horizontal. If you are so inclined, you could also blur the farthest elements to emphasize the bridge and the boy.

#4) Although this is a really good idea, great focus, DOF and terrific conversion, the composition is a miss.

Most of the elements are horizontal,although the horizontals are off by a couple of degrees, yet is is cropped to a strange portrait aspect ratio. Non-standard crops draw attention to the dimensions and in this case, you have a lopsided vertical element and the top right side is completely empty.
This would have worked much, much better shot wider in landscape and including the entire light pole on the right, rather than clipping it off.

 

[Socrates]

Socrates: this was a really quick picture and i know that there are many distracting elements. is the wall distracting? and if i had her pose with her feet up would the wall still be in focus? i could see how a tighter crop would be effective. also, have you tried the Nikon Series E 100mm f/2.8 lens? i also want a lens for outdoor portraits but mostly candid pics and the 50mm does not have enough reach while the 85mm is out of my reach budget wise.

The wall would have been in focus regardless of what you do. I think that a tighter crop would have been your best bet. I did try to crop the shot just to see what it would look like but I had difficulty getting it into a 2:3 aspect ratio. This is probably something that should have been done when the shot was taken. However... The shot, as it is, is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of!

I know nothing about that lens. Can't help you there.

 

[SyldonDG]

Traveler: thanks for your comments on #4. i really wanted it to work but i see where i went wrong. i didn't realize that cropping has such an influence in a picture and that looking at the type of lines in the composition are really important also. i will make sure to consider these next time around.

 

[SBlanca]

that might be a quick and cheap solution to the horizontal problems..

nice photos, just a couple of things, i think in the first photo the background is too distracting but the best is ok, don't think the wall is a problem.

in the second photo the problem is the crop, just like someone said, the main focus is not 100% correct...

as for the other two, i think they're great, don't think the straightenning of the photos is such a big deal, especially if you ay you think the bridge was bent rather than ur photo..and as for the last one im with the traveler about the crop, although to a certain extent i dont think i wouldve noticed if not pointed out...

 

[The_Traveler]

i didn't realize that cropping has such an influence in a picture and that looking at the type of lines in the composition are really important also.

A picture, like any work of art, is a composition and every part of that composition that the viewer sees is important. That's why the camera or lens you used is irrelevant but the tonality, shapes and their relationships, the colors, even the shape within which the image sits - all these are important.

Grandmothers love even terrible pictures of their own grandchildren. The more sophisticated one gets as a viewer, the less important the actual subject is to the success of the picture.

In regards the slight off-horizontal tilt of the bridge, the same concept applies. The mind expects structures to 'be' in a certain way, and if they are not, if they are tilted or slanted, they attract attention. So a viewer wants to know, is is off because it means something to the picture or is it off because the photographer didn't take care? Off-tilt horizons, cut-off lampposts, trees growing out of heads, large empty areas - all attract the eye when they shouldn't.

The entire point of composing a picture is to direct attention to the things you think are important and to let the unimportant issues be ignored.


Lew