New to DSLR photography - first pic for critique

medic001918 · Dec 29, 2006

So I posted this in the people and animals forum, but then I realized that I probably should have posted it here. I can't figure out how to move it, so if an admin wants to remove the other thread, that's okay.

But here's the original post...

Hey everyone,
I'm new to DSLR photography. I'm starting to get into it some more. Until now I've always had point and shoot cameras that took good photographs, but I wanted something better. I'm presently shooting a Nikon D80 w/an SB-600 flash. My glass that I'm shooting with is the kit 18-55 Nikkor lens, a 50mm 1.8 and a tamron 70-300 Di lens. I've been trying to shoot in manual mode as much as I can so that I can truely understand how to take control of my photos.

So now on to the topic of the thread. This is a photo I took of my dog a few weeks ago. It has minimal post processing using the photo editor that came w/my D80 (I'm picking up photoshop this week hopefully). Please feel free to comment some thoughts on the photo. Hopefully over time I'll be able to learn enough and to produce the quality of photos that I see here and on other forums.

Thanks,
Shane

MichaelMcDoanld · Dec 29, 2006

I like, I like. the black and white was a good choice.

Sw1tchFX · Dec 30, 2006

It could be image compression from my dialup, but its eyes look out of focus. faces of anyone/anything need to have the eyes in focus.

LaFoto · Dec 30, 2006

To me it looks like you wanted to use the available light (in a room) for this photo, leaving the flash alone, which as such is a good choice, I say, but in order to get enough light, either you or your camera chose the widest open aperture possible giving you the shallowest possible DOF (depth of focus), and with this you only have to have a heartbeat or breathe in once and you might move slightly out of focus in the moment of taking the photo. And I think this is what happened here and why the eye is no longer entirely IN focus.

As to the composition, I feel (note that this is a personal thing) that I would wish to see both of his cute little ears. I find the frame a bit too close.

Alex_B · Dec 30, 2006

it is a bit out of focus (focus on the eye(s) next time)

and something about the composition appears odd to me.

funny expression on his/her face though

medic001918 · Dec 30, 2006

Thanks for the comments from everyone. They are all things that I'll keep in mind. Fortunately, she's a very photogenic dog that lets me take a lot of pictures of her so I have the chance to continue to refine some technique and ideas. I'll post some more photos as I find some that I like. If anyone else has any other comments or suggestions, feel free to add them. Like i said, I'm new to this and want to continue to learn.
Thanks,
Shane

parthiv91 · Jan 3, 2007

Hi,

a good shot. I think its out of focus. Either the dog has moved or the camera. Was the focus manual as well??

The DOF can be tricky to at this close up. At first I got a feeling that the focus point was the nose and due to the low dof f1.8 you don't even have the eyes in focus. What was the fstep and the shutter speed??

medic001918 · Jan 3, 2007

I think that the focus is probably the worst thing about this photo. I've learned since taking the shot that the eyes should commonly be the focal point of a photo. I'll definatly keep that in mind for the next time.

As far as the settings used, they were as follows:

f5.6
1/60
ISO400

I'm not totally positive, but I believe this was taken with an SB-600 flash on the camera as well.

I appreciate all of the comments as I get more into photography. Thanks for all the help.

Shane

MauraBanar · Jan 3, 2007

Your aperture needs to be opened up a bit. If its possible (not sure how patient she is,lol) you might want to use a tripod with a lower ISO and larger aperture to compensate for the lack of adequate natural light. Shes a gorgeous dog!! I have a black pug; not sure what yours is, almost looks like a brindle pug or pug mix?

medic001918 said:
I think that the focus is probably the worst thing about this photo. I've learned since taking the shot that the eyes should commonly be the focal point of a photo. I'll definatly keep that in mind for the next time.

As far as the settings used, they were as follows:

f5.6
1/60
ISO400

I'm not totally positive, but I believe this was taken with an SB-600 flash on the camera as well.

I appreciate all of the comments as I get more into photography. Thanks for all the help.

Shane

medic001918 · Jan 3, 2007

Thanks for the compliment on her. She is actually a "bug." A cross between a boston terrier and a pug. She's a great dog that's full of personality. She has moments that she'll be very patient and allow me to try different things with her. I just have to catch her when she doesn't want to play.

I'll try some different lighting (this should let me use a smaller aperature and a lower ISO), focus on her eyes more and see what I can come up with the next chance I get. Maybe the next time around will come out better.

Thanks,
Shane

The_Traveler · Jan 3, 2007

This advice may be out of place but let me say it anyway and you can ignore it at leisure. If you are learning to be a photographer, don't confine your picture taking to people or animals that you love or things, like flowers, that are beautiful inherently. With the loved ones, every image will have the emotional overlay of your own affection and you won't be objective about whether it is a good picture or not. With flowers, its the approximate same thing. It's hard to take a terrible picture of a beautiful object - altho I have succeeded time and time again.

Learn exposure, composition and post-processing and then start taking pictures of teh easy things like kids, pets and flowers.

Camera Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model: NIKON D80
Image Date: 2006:11:10 18:40:38
Flash Used: Yes (Manual, return light detected)
Focal Length: 300.0mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm)
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO equiv: 400
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix