Feel like a beginner again. C&C

Jeni · Nov 30, 2009

I just got my Nikon D90 last week after only using my Canon P&S for the last couple years. And I definitely feel like a beginner again but in a different way. I'm slowly getting used to the changes.

I'm also kind of in love with the 50mm f/1.8 lens. I haven't shot much with the kit lens yet haha

Just hoping to get a few comments and constructive criticism on my first shots with my DSLR over Thanksgiving break. Most of them were me just testing the DOF limits of the lens.

1.

2.

3.

4. And a cute one of my couisn's boyfriend and their daughter. I definitely want to do more portrait/people photography

IgsEMT · Nov 30, 2009

nice

thebeatles · Nov 30, 2009

I like number 4 although I wish that green thing in the upper left wasn't there and that the other out of focus junk in the left foreground was a little more to the left or even not there to capture more of the subject. Number 1 is nice as well. I am making the same switch to DSLR this month and hope I get the hang of things too. Good luck.

lvcrtrs · Dec 1, 2009

No exif for some reason. Can you tell me if #4 was at default settings? Did you change anything when you took it? On this monitor (crap laptop) I like the rendition of the colors. They look true.

Layspeed · Dec 1, 2009

Looks like you're doing fine with the new camera :thumbup: So how much was that 50mm?

#1 is nicely focused on that post and it looks good in B&W.

#4 is good photo, but like thebeatles said, some of the stuff is a little distracting...but you were trying to capture that moment so I'm assuming you kind of snuck that picture in before they noticed.

Jeni · Dec 1, 2009

lvcrtrs, it was actually a little bit lighter when I originally took it. I edit all my photos in Lightroom, so I just darkened it and popped the color a bit.

the EXIF? Going from what its providing me, it was 1/320sec @ f/2. With my 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Layspeed, thanks! The 50mm f/1.8? It was $125. Not too bad. I'm really enjoying it.

And thanks for the comments =) I'll be sure to take them into consideration next time. And yea, the last one was sort of a candid shot, so I didn't want to walk around or anything and get spotted. Next time I'll pay more attention to the other aspects of the shot though. =)

Atlas77 · Dec 1, 2009

I agree, looks like your getting the hang of it quick! #2 is my favorite shot, the colours are great.

I really want a 50mm 1.8 but I just bought my Nikon D90 with my Nikon 18-70. Do you like the 50mm?

DScience · Dec 1, 2009

I think your PP is disrupting the quality of the shots. I see quite a bit of noise in some, and it looks as though some are over sharpened. (ie 1,2,3)

Jeni · Dec 1, 2009

Atlas77, thanks! I'm pretty fond of the 50mm right now. I always like messing with DOF so it's really nice in that respect. I've gotten so used to my ultra-zoom P&S, that it's quite interesting using a prime lens.

DScience, I'll be sure to watch and work on my PP in the future, do a step less than I do now.

And the noise is to be expected I guess, I had a pretty high ISO in some of them, because I kept forgetting to change it (when I was going from inside to outside). I'm getting better at checking it now. Getting the hang of the DSLR and all the buttons better.

Thanks for the comments!

fstop · Dec 1, 2009

I dont have a super critical eye, but the noise is more noticeable in the DOF out of focus areas (esp. #1) Defnitely not an expert here but I think that its exagerated by the sharpening.

With the D90, I've gotten in the habit of reseting the settings (two buttons on top) when I grab the camera and start fresh. This way it forces me to really look at and set everything for the lighting conditions. Only thing thats really annoying is that it then automatically sets the image quality to jpeg fine and I lose Raw. Need to play with it more, maybe there's a way to change this.

Nice work though!