5 Photos for C+C from hopefully almost not a newbie

[gsm275]

Going on 11 months since i started my photography and think I'm almost past the "beginner" stage. Love to get some feedback on how i'm doing and some constructive criticism.

1

2

3

4

5

 

[eilla05]

I am a newbie so...

#1
The background color and white balance seem off to me. Its almost blown in the left side of the picture and I think you could up the contrast a bit as well.

#2
I think you should not have cut off his head and hand.

# 3 My favorite
I love this one but it is dark and the darkness distracts from the beauty of the giraffes.

#4
I like this one

#5
Cute!

 

[kundalini]

I'm thinking the issue eilla05 sees is actually mist/haze from the waterfall. Location is gorgeous and composition is spot on. Well done. The only nit I have is the clone or content aware (CS5) the bird poop.

#2 - Another great comp, but I think the tilt is off slightly. Look at the building in the background.

The rest are good and definitely shows that you are progressing beyond the beginner stage.

Keep posting.

 

[Flash Harry]

WB is fine, there's nothing blown either, I'm on a new (3month) monitor, it hasn't been calibrated in the last month but I reckon its not too far off, all these shots are good to go as far as I'm concerned and with only a year under your belt you get the pat on the back. H

PS. EILLA05, this is just the sort of rubbish I alluded to in another thread, you'd be better informed reading through it, its here:
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/beyond-basics/217426-site-falling-apart-6.html

 

[reznap]

These are all really good, the weakest shot being #4 I think, but you got some nice reflection.

I like the alternative perspective in #5, and #2 for that matter. #1's pretty awesome - feel like if there's a gust of wind that guy's going over the edge backwards..

For #3 you pulled off a good exposure in a difficult scene - with the animals surely moving around and all that. Good stuff..

 

[Abby Rose]

Those giraffes are wonderful. I love the evening-or-early morning thing going on, and especially the composition with the heads!

The guy on the rock is my second favorite. Seems like something you'd see in national geographic...

Really, these are awesome! I know I'm not gonna be that good when I reach my 11th month of practicing. Kudos!

 

[Robin Usagani]

#1 is freaking awesome.. looks 3D!

 

[gsm275]

Appreciate all the great feedback and support! I'm not near as good as i want to be but getting there. The key for me right now is to take tonnes of shots and narrowing down the good one's. Photoshop/Lightroom skills are coming together fairly well also.

Didn't actually even notice the bird poop til you mentioned it kundlini. Maybe not a bad call. Working on my night shots, finding it a little tricky but getting there.

Keep the feedback coming! Really helpful!

 

[kundalini]

Didn't actually even notice the bird poop til you mentioned it kundlini.

Sometimes it takes a second pair of eyes to notice little things. We get emotionally attached with blinders on. Is #1 a self port? Is that a rifle in hand? Why is the guy on a precipice holding a rifle? The image is strong enough as is, just curious.

One bit of info to pass on is think about an external flash, if you haven't already. The weasel..... err, I mean ferret seems to suffer from built-in flash. Notice the beady little catch light dead center in the left eye, hot spots on the nose and lip. Until that time, consider using some tissue paper or a white business card to diffuse / bounce the built-in. Could make a difference.

 

[Geaux]

AMAZING shots, especially for someone with 11mnths under their belt. Alll of them are pretty strong, minus 4 and 5 imo.

 

[cjkriebel]

AMAZING shots, especially for someone with 11mnths under their belt. Alll of them are pretty strong, minus 4 and 5 imo.

Just wondering if you could explain why 4 and 5 are not good.

 

[gsm275]

The guy in #1 was the scout i had during some trekking in Ethiopia back in June through the Semien Mountains. He didn't speak any English and name was hard to pronounce so he quickly became known as "Tonto". It's mandatory when trekking through this area to hire a scout who travels with a rifle (not entirely sure why since it's not known for being dangerous in any way, best i can tell it's make-work). He just broke into the pose when we reached this lookout so had to take a shot.

No external flash yet, but probably a good idea. I'll have to learn how to use it properly.

Here's a handful more of my favorites from the past 11 months to share since you guys are rocking my photo confidence right now.

6

7

8

9

(i know this one is slightly blurry, but still love the catch)

10

 

[Geaux]

AMAZING shots, especially for someone with 11mnths under their belt. Alll of them are pretty strong, minus 4 and 5 imo.

Just wondering if you could explain why 4 and 5 are not good.

I never said they weren't 'good', I said they weren't as strong as 1-3.

But if you insist:
4. Not liking the yellow color cast on the image caused by the lighting or the noisy sky. Not sure if the focus isn't crisp, but the buildings look oof, it could also be the noise/compression that is causing it to look like that too.

5. Subject is funny/cute, but not liking the flash being used, nor the composition.

Again, they aren't BAD shots, it's just the first 3 blow them away imo.

 

[cjkriebel]

AMAZING shots, especially for someone with 11mnths under their belt. Alll of them are pretty strong, minus 4 and 5 imo.

Just wondering if you could explain why 4 and 5 are not good.

I never said they weren't 'good', I said they weren't as strong as 1-3.

But if you insist:
4. Not liking the yellow color cast on the image caused by the lighting or the noisy sky. Not sure if the focus isn't crisp, but the buildings look oof, it could also be the noise/compression that is causing it to look like that too.

5. Subject is funny/cute, but not liking the flash being used, nor the composition.

Again, they aren't BAD shots, it's just the first 3 blow them away imo.

I guess I should not have used that word. I just wondered why so I could go back and analyze them. thanks #5 the subject is very cute lol

 

[gsm275]

You're right on #4, the focus wasn't quiet as nice as i would have hoped. It was on a tripod but i think using a telephoto lens and a bit of wind caused movement to make the a slight bit of blur with the long exposure.

I kinda like the composition on #5 myself, I'm just a little bummed that it's a little blown out on the right of his face. This was taken back in the first month of my taking pictures so had a bit of problem getting my settings right. So used to looking at my pics in medium size that it's kinda interesting seeing them at large where flaws are more obvious.