Im as green as they come

[dannydonahue]

Im super new to photography, i just bought a camera friday, here are some of the shots ive take so far. Feedback please no matter how harsh it is!!!

 

[Dominantly]

Good photos for being so new... I like the photo of the dog, good DOF and clarity.

What Camera did you purchase?

 

[dannydonahue]

Good photos for being so new... I like the photo of the dog, good DOF and clarity.

What Camera did you purchase?

Thank you, i bought the rebel xs as i have so many things to pay for like college and such. It was affordable and i really like it.

Do you have any tips for keeping horizons straight? I pics at the beach and i dont know if its the angle of the water but i cant seem to get em straight.

 

[Dominantly]

Tripod with level? If shooting by hand, you can level it using Photoshop (Elements even)... I mean unless you are really off, it's all easily fixable with a good program.

 

[Jeffro]

I like both of these! Have you taken courses or read any books on Photography? or just took these two shot?

 

[musicaleCA]

Your composition needs work. The dog is relatively okay centred (because the image seems to be about symmetry, where in such a case centring is totally okay) but the direct flash and subsequent fall-off wreaks havoc with the image's appeal. I would also have liked to see the dog's nose in focus, which can be solved by stopping down the aperture and focusing somewhere between the eyes and nose (since DoF always extends further back, away from the lens, than it does forward, from the focal plane). The first being centred makes the image look static, and frankly, boring. It also needs more DoF, as there is a petal on the right that's blatantly out of focus and I feel that detracts from the image as well.

Read up on the rule of thirds, and other compositional guidelines such as the golden ratio, golden spiral, triangles and diagonals. (Samanax, links? )

(And if anyone says I'm being too critical, I'll bop you. The OP said whatever critique, not matter how harsh.)

 

[dak1b]

#1 boring..try not to center shots

#2 is not bad..i like ur dog...lighting cud b better...seems a slightly out of focus as well

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Tripod with level? If shooting by hand, you can level it using Photoshop (Elements even)... I mean unless you are really off, it's all easily fixable with a good program.

Just to add to this, bear in mind that you'll then need to crop out the white areas of the image, so if the subject only just gets into the whole frame, you might be cutting some of it out.

As for the photos, they're pretty nice considering you're new. The first is, well, just a little ordinary. It looks good, don't get me wrong, but there are plenty in the world. Try to shake things up a little, possibly get down on the floor & take a photo side-on, or concentrate on those lovely petals, etc. I'm not saying it's bad, it's a lovely flower.

As for the second, I really like your idea with this, it's a simple animal portrait, and all the better for it. Apart from the eyes being slightly out of focus, I think it's a cracking shot!

 

[puzopia]

I'm no expert but I like them both. I actually like the way the dogs nose is a little out of focus. I feel it draws attention to his eyes a bit more.

 

[thenikonguy]

i like the dog shot, however, I would photoshop his eyes so you can see the flash in them.. its clear that you used the on camera flash, which is why everyone is saying the lighting looks harsh.. get a external flash, that way, you can bounce the flash, giving you a much nicer lighting look.

Heres my stab at the eyes:

 

[manaheim]

Never never never never never never use the built-in flash on a camera.

Ok, I suppose maybe in some dire emergency, but understand that even with SERIOUS expertise, it is going to ruin nearly ALL shots.

Turn up your ISO if you have to (another thing I HATE to do), but never use the flash.

Get a camera-mounted strobe that you can point at the ceiling and/or diffuse.

 

[Dagwood56]

The spot of catch light in the dogs eyes is fine - it prevents them from looking like black holes. It would have been nice if his nose was in focus though. The flower is out of focus, but considering you are green , I'd say you are off to a good start.

 

[dannydonahue]

Thank you for all the info so far keep it coming!
As for external flash i guess ill start saving cuz the camera pretty much wiped me out.

 

[dannydonahue]

I like both of these! Have you taken courses or read any books on Photography? or just took these two shot?

I just took these two shots no course but im thinking about buying a lighting book.

 

[Dagwood56]

Three excellent books for beginners are :

Understanding Exposure -Bryan Peterson
Learning to See Creatively - Bryan Peterson
Digital Photographers Handbook - Tom Ang