Wow, I really was a horrible photographer a year ago...

sabbath999

No longer a newbie, moving up!
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I've been ruthlessly culling my older images, and I am shocked at how bad many of them are compared to where I am today.

I know... I KNOW... that at this time next year, I will be saying the EXACT same thing... "man, in the summer of 2008, I really STUNK"...

A large percentage shots I was taking back then were not sharp (where they were supposed to be), well composed or well lighted. There were the occasional good ones, but by and large I have come a long way in the last year.

I still have a LONG way to go though... a LONG way... to get to a level where I think I need to be. I need to work on my lighting, my depth of field, my composition and my colors. I need to work on my post processing skills and exploring my creative artistic side more.

I can tell one thing though... and it is rather shocking. I began producing much better photographs the day my D300 arrived. The difference between the D300 and the D80 in overall image quality is startling... it is an order of magnitude improvement. Normally, I would say that "equipment just doesn't matter" but then I look at what I was doing in the two weeks before it came and the two weeks after, and the results are indisputable.

It is the only bit of kit that I have that I can say this with (although my super-cheapo 55-200 VR's images really stand out too... overall, they are better than those with the 70-200 VR which costs 8 times as much... that's a hard fact to deal with since I saved for a year to buy the 70-200 and I picked up the 55-200 on a lark, but it is what it is).

I still really struggle with some things that I need to get fixed. I know about them, I just need to work past them... the problems are right between my ears.

I am hoping that with enough work and practice that the proverbial light bulb will go off over my head and I can take some steps forward in what I am doing.

I would bet we all could look back over our work and see when and where we "got" something, and a flood of improved images started coming through.
 
I know what you mean, I remember when my images started taking a turn when I started learning the nuances of my equipment and exactly how it worked. I was able to get that critical focus, actually successfully shoot moving subjects, and through just shooting experience see better.
 
It was just over a year ago today I got real serious about my photography. I had had a Digital Rebel for a few years before, but I bought a 30D about a year ago and jumped into it and I went through old pictures last night and wow, what a difference from a shoot I did last weekend.
 
lol I sometimes look at my pics from my first camera (The P&S in my sig) from over 3 years ago. I always had the wrong settings on, moved alot, and I even used digital zoom sometimes!

I still use the same P&S on my unplanned days and now I can have some quality shots by the end of the day. I'm learning now to take my time unless I'm doing a candid shot.
 
lol c'mon I set it off so I could never use it again long ago.
 
This thread calls out for a "before & after" type thing. I can say the same thing week after week but the weird thing is, they're not really that much better than i think they are.
 
This thread calls out for a "before & after" type thing. I can say the same thing week after week but the weird thing is, they're not really that much better than i think they are.

I had the same thought...infact I want to retrieve some but figured I would hold off.
 
I need to work on ... exploring my creative artistic side more.

That is something I DEFINITELY have to STILL do a lot!
But a lot in bold script!

Sometimes I doubt I have one...

And hey, nice new, more "pro" equipment would be nice, but somehow life usually gobbles up all the extra money I make from selling prints that I MEAN TO put aside for something new, so I will be stuck with my 350D until it falls apart. And after that I'll be back to using the 500N and film...
 
Some of you guys have been around for not just years, but decades, and can appreciate the improvements over long periods of time, but I will wager everything I own that the biggest amount of learning comes that first year you sit down and start getting serious about it. For me, it will be one week before my 48th b-day in July that I hit the 1 year mark. Looking *almost* a year back, I am not just surprised at the differences, but shocked, and also like sabbath, I look forward and see that I have a wonderful and long trip ahead of me in this hobby.


I remember back to a year ago thinking that I *thought* I knew all about ISO, exposure, composition... and chuckle out loud. Nothing would make me happier than to revisit this post one year from now and crack up at my present level of naiivity... lol.

Sabbath... I think that this is a good thing and a sign that one is always climbing in the right direction... up. :)
 

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