Complete newbie looking for C&C please

[agoodey]

Hi,

Went out yesterday for the first time with my new (second-hand) Nikon D40. I have never done any photography apart from point and shoot holiday snaps. I would be grateful for any comments about the few shots I have posted below. Any tips or guidance would be great!!

I think the last one is my favourite, I was impressed at the colours captured.

 

[bazooka]

Howdy! I would recommend reading up on some composition "rules", that would be a great place to start.

#1 would be much better if it wasn't centered. It's also a tough shot because of the high contrast between the background and the bird. The brightest areas of the photo attract more attention than dark areas...so you're background is taking away from the subject, not to mention making it difficult to expose properly.

I do like #2. Usually something like this would be too cluttered for me but I think the 3 birds that appear in focus are just enough to make me keep coming back to this one to let my eyes rest on it. Perhaps a shallower DOF would help here.

#3 has the same problem as one... the birds eye is centered and the bird is overwhelmed by the bright background, and is underexposed. Also, I don't like the perspective... maybe get down to the birds level to shoot. Try a different angle to get better lighting.

The last 2 are just uninteresting.

Good start! Next time you may want to post 3 or fewer pics to get more response.

 

[gsgary]

No 2 is the best, go down again and get as close to the birds as possible, shoot with a wider lens and try some slow shutter speed shots with lots of bird flying you can get some nice shots

 

[slash]

Howdy! I would recommend reading up on some composition "rules", that would be a great place to start.

#1 would be much better if it wasn't centered. It's also a tough shot because of the high contrast between the background and the bird. The brightest areas of the photo attract more attention than dark areas...so you're background is taking away from the subject, not to mention making it difficult to expose properly.

I do like #2. Usually something like this would be too cluttered for me but I think the 3 birds that appear in focus are just enough to make me keep coming back to this one to let my eyes rest on it. Perhaps a shallower DOF would help here.

#3 has the same problem as one... the birds eye is centered and the bird is overwhelmed by the bright background, and is underexposed. Also, I don't like the perspective... maybe get down to the birds level to shoot. Try a different angle to get better lighting.

The last 2 are just uninteresting.

Good start! Next time you may want to post 3 or fewer pics to get more response.

gotta disagree on 1 and 2, i especially love 2. For your first pics i think they are FANTASTIC! nice work!

 

[Felix0890]

You picked a great time to go shoot (I'm assuming sunrise or sunset). The lighting and shadows are magnificent. 2 and 3 are beatiful. I agree that 1 would be better off using the rule of thirds (google that and read all about it if you don't know what it is yet).

 

[agoodey]

Hi, thanks for the responses, all very helpful. Cheers.

It was actually the middle of the day when I was shooting (between 11 and 12) and the sun was low in the sky and very bright. I was having lots of trouble with over exposure so was quite pleased with the few that came out ok! I have plenty more that are completely washed with light.

I have read about the rule of thirds, as well as exposure, f-stops, aperture, DOF and many many more terms. I was trying to keep all these in mind when shooting but I guess I have to keep practicing until these things become second nature. As I said i'm a complete beginner so will keep reading and learning and constructive criticism on my actual shots is incredibly helpful on being able to improve what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks again for all the comments. Hopefully i'll be back soon with more (and improved) shots.