New To Photography (what do you think???)

paulina152 · Jan 11, 2010

Well I'm pretty new to Photography with not the best camera. I'm really into shooting Nature shots. For a beginner what do you think? :lol:

If you have any tips on how to improve them please share!!!

Photography pictures by paulinam256 - Photobucket

BoblyBill · Jan 11, 2010

First of all... be proud of your shots! And don't be ashamed of the camera you are shooting with. A great camera in the hands of a terrible photographer will produce terrible photographs (unless he/she gets lucky), and the opposite is true as well a terrible camera in the hands of a great photographer will produce great shots. Will the great photographer be limited in what he/she can shoot with a terrible camera, sure, but he/she is a great photographer BECAUSE he/she knows the limitations of their camera and works around that handycap. I can see that you have an eye for photography and would to see you develope those talents more than I would like to see you get a better camera. OK... on to the pictures

1.
I feel like in order to have a good picture you have to have at least one of two things: an interesting forground object and a nice background that complements the forground, or a really nice background that has a forground that complements the background. This one doesn't have either in my opinion. The forground trees aren't interesting enough to hold my attention and the background is not expansive enough for it to be a really nice landscape shot.

Here's what I'm talking about:

Your picture would be the picture in the box. I think the trees make a compliment object to a bigger picture than the focus of the shot. I understand if there was not a shot like the one I drew as I was not there, but I think this is a good example of the consept that I trying to convey.

2.
THIS SHOT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HAVING A NICE INTERESTING FORGOUND (boat) AND A NICE BACKGROUND TO COMPLIMENT THE BOAT! Fantastic shot! Sure you could have worked on getting the exposure a little better as the sails and side of the boat are blownout (completely white), but great shot nonetheless.

3.
Nice exposure, good compositon. I like the X that is formed by the buildings. My only thing to nitpick at for me is: this has been done so many times that it can get old really quick. I understand the reasoning of taking this shot, either you saw this shot somewhere and wanted to copy (which is a great way of learning) or you haven't and you saw the shot and took it. Try to create something different next time. But I need to make sure you know... Overall this is a good shot. That was just a nitpick.

4.
This one has just a slightly crooked horizon, and the horizon is centered. This creates a dead and static composition. Your eye doesn't want to wonder around the picture but stay on the horizon. This is also an example of a shot with a nice landscape (background) but no complementing forground.

5.
This is a better example of a shot that has a nice background a complementing forground, but you have two objects in the forground that are competing for that spot. The duck and the tree branch are competing for forground interest.

6.
If you could have moved over a little more to the left and not covered up your object (which I assume is the guardtower) and framed it off center this shot would have a lot more potential.

7.
The flower is a little soft, and a lot of guys are against selective coloring probably because it's been very popular for a while but it has it's place in the photography realm I think.

Overall this is a nice series! I think #2 is by far the best shot in this series with an almost perfect composition! Great job and keep shooting! You really do have talent!

paulina152 · Jan 11, 2010

Wow. First of all thank you for the comment and the little speech at the beginning.. Made me feel better about my camera and of course my self as a photographer. That diagram was really nice of you to do and it really helped. I was trying to get more of a panormaic view on that picture but unfortunantly there were other tall trees and it didn't look good...plus there were people to the sides. Thanks for the tips about the backround and foreground. I'll really take that into consideration in the future.

Derrel · Jan 11, 2010

BoblyBill, you deserve a medal for your superb commentary, complete with illustration! One of the finest C&C's I've ever seen! I gave you a Thanks! because the post is of high merit,and worthy of being held up as an example of a useful, valuable post, which is what the Thanks! system is all about.

Kudos, BoblyBill.

BoblyBill · Jan 12, 2010

paulina152 said:
Wow. First of all thank you for the comment and the little speech at the beginning.. Made me feel better about my camera and of course my self as a photographer. That diagram was really nice of you to do and it really helped. I was trying to get more of a panormaic view on that picture but unfortunantly there were other tall trees and it didn't look good...plus there were people to the sides. Thanks for the tips about the backround and foreground. I'll really take that into consideration in the future.

You are welcome. I have a huge passion for photography, and I love it when others do as well. I hate teachers that pound you hard for what you have done wrong but don't give you advice on how to make it better. I would rather be told what I did wrong and be encouraged in the places that have signs of improvement. I try to treat people on this forum the same way. I would rather get joy from your excitement in photography and successes than blast you hard for your "ignorance" (sp?) just to get a boost in selfesteem. I think that turns people off to photography. There seems to be a lot of ppl on here that are just trying to boast there selfesteem than actually get anything out of the art of photography. I welcome suggestions on how make my photography, but I'm not to fond of the critiques that just seem to boost the image of the dude giving the critique cause he/she is so high and mighty.

Derrel said:
BoblyBill, you deserve a medal for your superb commentary, complete with illustration! One of the finest C&C's I've ever seen! I gave you a Thanks! because the post is of high merit,and worthy of being held up as an example of a useful, valuable post, which is what the Thanks! system is all about.

Kudos, BoblyBill.

Wow thanks! lol... I'm just trying to help a fellow photographer out thats all.

bazooka · Jan 12, 2010

I agree with Derrel, good CC. Can't add anything to that.

keith foster · Jan 12, 2010

Not to turn divert this thread from the OP but I also want to thank BobyBill for the excellent C&C. It was incredibly helpful not just for the OP but for all of us who are still learning.
Awesome job! Thank you.

To the OP...

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing and giving us all the chance to get better with your help.

Mulewings~ · Jan 12, 2010

I've learned a lot from this post, thank you everyone.

Einstein · Jan 12, 2010

Cool series and great C&C!

ocular · Jan 12, 2010

You know if your using auto focus ( for the boat pic ), some camera's have a hard time focusing on bright objects like the white boat. You should point your cross hairs on a darker object on the boat and then reposition your shot

paulina152 · Jan 12, 2010

ocular said:
You know if your using auto focus ( for the boat pic ), some camera's have a hard time focusing on bright objects like the white boat. You should point your cross hairs on a darker object on the boat and then reposition your shot

Hmmm... i didn't know that...but now I do =] thanks

The thing is that it was just a quck shot. I didn't really have time to set anything up cause the boat i was on was still moving and the top was cut off because if i went any higher i would have been in the water. :lol:

So far this site has been so supportive and helpful. I've learned alot of things already and just made my account yesterday.

HikinMike · Jan 12, 2010

Chris - I'm just going to 'thank' you for taking the time to show a diagram and to point out some helpful info for each picture. I couldn't have said it better myself! :thumbup:

To the OP....you've got a pretty good eye. Keep taking photos.....:mrgreen:

ZEPHYR · Jan 12, 2010

There ok, to be honest. Learn that composition, these shots really don't "pop" kinda boring. But you said your new so no big deal. If you said you've been shooting for years or are an accomplished photog, than I would suggest other professions.
Shoot, shoot, and shooting makes it second nature.

BoblyBill · Jan 14, 2010

ZEPHYR said:
There ok, to be honest. Learn that composition, these shots really don't "pop" kinda boring.

Care to expound on that, Zephyr?

ZEPHYR said:
But you said your new so no big deal. If you said you've been shooting for years or are an accomplished photog, than I would suggest other professions.
Shoot, shoot, and shooting makes it second nature.

Was it nesseccary to add that part? Seems to me just a bash to boost your own selfesteem.

UUilliam · Jan 14, 2010

very nice shots, better than any I have yet taken

I love your creative angle on the architecture shot
The exposure in most is bang on however sharpness I would say is your main problem but only slightly. You can add sharpness in after the shot using photoshop there is tons of tutorials if you search "Sharpening tutorial for (program you use)"