A Day in St Louis: Noob Content

chitownDSLR

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I am new to the forum, started getting into photography a couple of years ago and finally upgraded my body to a Nikon D90, looking for some better lenses along the way, but was in STL over the summer and shot these pictures, the night shots are hand held, I wish I had my tripod there! Would have made for cleaner pictures.

I don't have any photo editing soft ware yet, so these are RAW and unedited.

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I like the first image, the sky, the arch and the people are really cool. I'm not digging the right hand side of the image though with the trees and the walkers. Would moving to your left to try and minimize the people and trees on the right, and maybe shoot a bit lower down (to make the arch look taller), work? The foreground also seems a bit under exposed, probably a result of exposing properly for the sky.

I like how you tried to play with the lines in the night shots, although they seem a bit fuzzy. Night usually means a slower shutter which means a tripod is necessary. Where you hand holding the camera? The last night shot is probably the best in the bunch as it has slightly less distractions and its easier for the viewer to see the lights and the lines.

The day shots seem fuzzy / out of focus and are a bit too composed in the center of the frame for my personal taste. People like to follow the "rule of thirds" in helping them compose images, maybe have a quick google on what it is and how it works.
 
I think the first photo would have been better from the left,,, but I was not there on a photo trip... So I was being dragged away, The night shots were hand held, forgot the Tripod for the night. Ill probably go back this summer to get it right and clear.

The day shots I posted from a trip to the STL zoo, and what is frustrating with these shot is that they don't look sharp. I think it might be an equipment issue as im using a Tamron, 18-250 lens and sometimes it really impresses me but most of the time it does not, I joined the forum to look for information on better lenses.
 
The problem with having a wide focal range in your lenses is the "jack of all trades, master of none". Prime lenses, while not having the zoom versatility, offer amazing sharpness at a somewhat more affordable price.

Thinking about what you photograph the most should be the main driver in deciding what lens to get.
Alot of far off zoo style photos? Look for a 70-200 f2-8 or f4
Alot of city scapes, urban shots? A good wide angle in the 10-22 range
Alot of portraits? something in the 50-105 range is key.

The goal is to get a good variety of lenses that will allow for sharp images. Most people dont have the budget to upgrade all lenses, so again, think of the one you would use the most.

As always, ensure you have good knowledge of photography and how these lenses work, the sharpest aperture and so on can have an impact
 
Looking back at the Photo Stats, the Penguine was shot with my 50mm Prime f1.8 lens and it is quite a bit clearer than the others.

Thanks for the tips, it is much appreciated. I looked at the Nikon Prime lenses, they are not cheap!!! Is this one of the Hobbies that you have to pay for greatness??
 
I would have liked to see those water jets at a ground level angle close up and extra points for having the arch in the BG even though that tree looks like it would be in the way.
 

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