First real Photos

[dslrchat]

Ok, These are my first real, thought out photos.
I drove around trying to find something good to shoot.
By the time I decided what to shoot and how to shoot is was pretty dark.

I am really really proud of these 2 photos, almost got a speeding ticket getting back here to upload for you to critique.

Yes, again I will say I am very proud of these 2 photos, but I know they are far from perfect so please do not hold back!!!
I want to learn so please be honest and tell me what I should have done to make them better.
First thing I know that takes away from photos is a piece of red garbage in tree, unfortunately my better half would not wade out and remove it lol.

No photoshop except for resize,

setting on first; (not sure what all the setting mean)

File Name IMG_0786.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Shooting Date/Time 5/17/08 7:00:22 PM
Shooting Mode Shutter-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 4
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.5
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 100
Lens 70.0 - 300.0 mm
Focal Length 133.0 mm
Image Size 3888x2592
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode One-Shot AF
Picture Style Standard
Sharpness 3
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB
Noise Reduction Off
File Size 8731 KB
Custom Function C.Fn:01-0
C.Fn:02-0
C.Fn:03-0
C.Fn:04-0
C.Fn:05-0
C.Fn:06-0
C.Fn:07-0
C.Fn:08-0
C.Fn:09-0
C.Fn:10-0
C.Fn:11-0
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation
Owner's Name unknown
Camera Body No. 0620318694

setting;

File Name IMG_0787.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Shooting Date/Time 5/17/08 7:01:32 PM
Shooting Mode Shutter-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 4
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 100
Lens 70.0 - 300.0 mm
Focal Length 190.0 mm
Image Size 3888x2592
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode One-Shot AF
Picture Style Standard
Sharpness 3
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB
Noise Reduction Off
File Size 8717 KB
Custom Function C.Fn:01-0
C.Fn:02-0
C.Fn:03-0
C.Fn:04-0
C.Fn:05-0
C.Fn:06-0
C.Fn:07-0
C.Fn:08-0
C.Fn:09-0
C.Fn:10-0
C.Fn:11-0
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation
Owner's Name unknown
Camera Body No. 0620318694

Please, give honest critique, I need to learn and get better.
Thanx for your comments.

 

[LeSueur24]

I really like the idea you're going for. In my opinion, they'd be better if you used a larger depth of field so more of the stream is in focus farther down. Also you could try getting lower to the water and zooming in more so those trees are on the edges of the frame to give it a different perspective.

EDIT: And I also just noticed the red thing in the tree on the left, which is very distracting. If you can, it would help a lot if you could take it out of the tree if you re-take this.

 

[dslrchat]

Thanx for the tips,
still learning about DOF and not quite sre how to change the settings yet (Canon XTI)

This was the best position I could find at the time, and I was lying on the gound and tripod at minimum (12" maybe)

Now I have found this spot, I will be sure to go back and try different position and change DOF.



"The Traveler" where are you? lol

 

[Rachelsne]

More haste less speed (in refference to the near miss with the ticket!)

What a beautiful spot, I prefer the composition of the first picture but think it would be better with out the duck and the red thing.

The water is nice and smooth, but I agree it would be better if more of it was focussed as apose to being bg.

Sorry thats all I can offer-Im still learning"

 

[Onion]

there are some very pretty elements in this shot. maybe bring them out more with curves, saturation and sharpening. little under exposed myabe.

 

[dslrchat]

TY onion, you really made that photo come to life!!
I have acouple versions of it now that I have photoshopped, but these 2 have no PS at all.
Looking to get a good photo first, then PS.

looking at the settings I used (it was almost dark) can you see what I might have done different?

I was using the TV (shutter) mode, I am having real problems using AV (aperture) mode, everything is blurry and under/over exposed.

 

[Onion]

a little underexposed is sometimes good for post processing. do not be afraid to use photoshop. it is your freind. consider going to full manual mode. you may like the results.

try setting white balance to cloudy. shooting raw you can readjust later. i know a couple pros that do so. use manual focus when light is like that. autofocus has trouble in low light.

use small aperature for full dof. .time goes way up so myabe use cable release. dof is better with short focal length to. do you have shorter lense? move closer rather than zoom. get wet. it is summer. buy cute shorts and cheep shoes.be careful though.

 

[dslrchat]

Full manual??? Lmao I have figured out AP yet (soon I hope)
Also not sure how to adjust White Balance (yet!!)
I am shooting Raw
I did use manual focus (I used auto focus, focused in on the area I wanted, the switch to manual focus and re aimed my shot) this is where I need to learn my DOF settings?
I still can't seem to get a handle on the aperture, so I use the TV setting with auto AP
My hands shake real bad, so I used the timer (10 seconds) so the camera was stablized by the time it took the Photo
Only have 2 lenses (for now) a 55-80 Canon and a 70-300 Sigma

 

[Onion]

should be a option in your menu for wb. set display mode to highlight and try using f16 and manual tv. highliht will blink at you if shot is overexposed.

focus manually. doing it the way you are is actually autofocus. it don't work so good in lowlight.

55-80 is better for landscapes. better dof. shoot a scnen the way you do now then try it manual. you can delete the bad ones until the manual is better than the auto. try it.

you do well. keep it up. read the book to.

 

[dslrchat]

Ty again, I will definately try manual mode till I get it right.

 

[dslrchat]

Was hoping to get back out today to try manual, however its pouring rain

 

[dslrchat]

Ok, been doing alot of reading today.
DOF was mentioned.
From what I gather, to get a wider DOF I should have used AV mode with a higher Aperture.
Is this correct?
(unfortunately everytime I use AV mode I get blurry photos)

 

[kellylindseyphotography]

That edit is very nice.

Be aware that PS is what will define an excellent picture versus one that is just ok. If you look through the professional gallery , one of elsaspet's post contained her before/after of her bridal shooting. You will see that the before's are just like any other photo or snapshot.. pretty incredible. PS is invaluable.

As for getting blur on AV mode.. I"m not positive but this is my best guess. Your seeting your aperature to a high number (fstop) such as 18 or 22. This lets in the least amount of light. Your camera then picks the shutter speed that is very slow to compensate for your choice of such a small aperature, and sets it at something like 1/25 or below.

Try setting your AV setting at something lke 5.6 and see how that goes. And always remember to shoot in good settings first and foremost.. not direct sunlight, overcast day, shadowed area etc.

These pics are pretty good, like I said the edited version is very nice. That red thing is distracting, but otherwise looks like you did well.

 

[Overread]

An f setting like 5.6 if fine if you are after shooting ducks and wildlife, but for a scenic shot I would think that a greater depth of field would be wanted (thus meaning that you want a higher f number which is a lower apature) so boosting up to f18 is needed.
As for the blurr - its definatly comming from the longer shutter speed to compansate for the smaller apature (remeber that means its a bigger f number).
To solve it I would go out and get a cheap (walmart) tripod - its not going to be all singing and dancing, but its going to be a lot more stable. Use the timer as well and you won't be having any shake from the camera at all.
A further way would be to also use mirror lock up mode which is where the camera will lock up the mirror (which lets the viewfinder see what the camera sensor is seeing) and then get you to press the shutter button again to get the sensor to take the shot. This means effectivly shooting blind for a split second - some people use this with wildlife shots, though I have not worked out how - but for this type of shot its another way to remove any shaking in the camera. (its in the custom functions section of the camera manual)

Good luck with the shooting!

 

[kellylindseyphotography]

to be clear, I didn't recommend 5.6 for shooting wildlife. She wanted to know why AV was blurring for her, so I offered what I thought was the explanation.