All unedited, first time out with a DSLR

mwdoher · Sep 28, 2011

First of all, I need to mention that I was learning with the camera "on the job". I borrowed my Dad's 1st generation Rebel DSLR, and was using 1 old lens with a long focal range (75-300) and 1 new lens with a reasonably helpful focal range(guessing something like a 28-80, not sure of the aperture specifics on either one).

Any help or suggestions for the *technical* aspect (color, white balance, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. Any constructive criticism for the artistic or aesthetic properties is most certainly welcome, also!

Thanks in advance for the views and help.

Matt

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5.

WesternGuy · Sep 28, 2011

Welcome to the Forum. My comments...just remember that they are based on first impressions...

First comment - thanks you for numbering your images and keeping them down to a very manageable number.

#1. I like it, not sure why, but I do - conveys that "feeling" of nightfall and the street lights are just coming on with the slightly OOF church in the background - tells me where I am, but still has a main subject that is positioned following the rule of thirds...

#2. Too cluttered for me and there is no obvious story or feeling that I get from the image just a couple of parked bikes and an OOF car and licence plate - snapshot.

#3. Again does nothing for me - snapshot of a wine bottle label that is out of focus

#4. Not sure what this is and regardless, it is mostly OOF.

#5. Not bad, nice scenic image, unfortunately, it appears a little fuzzy, meaning you either moved the camera when taking the picture, or it is OOF again. It is also possible, that this is slightly overexposed for the areas where there is light.

You seem to have a problem with focus, or your exposures are so long that there is slight movement of the camera. I would opt for the focus problem, but only you know what the exposures are - remember to get a good image, the minimum shutter speed whould be 1/focal length. For example, if you are usng a 50mm lens, then the minimum shutter speed should be 1/50th of a second. If you are using a crop sensor, then it is best to use 1/focal length x crop factor, e.g., a 50mm lens on an APS-C sensor would require a minimum speed of 1/50x1.6 or 1/80th of a second. This rule of thumb works for things that are standing still. If, however, you were shooting moving objects, then a faster shutter speed, say 1/500 to 1/2000th of second would be in order, depending on how fast the object is moving. In low light conditions, you may have to use a slower speed, e.g., 1/30th, or even 1/10th of a second, in which case, a tripod would be de rigeur.

Because these are straight out of the camera, it is possible that some moderate editing with what ever package you are using could render the last image a bit sharper. If you shoot raw, then some sharpening is required as images 2 to 5 are "not sharp" at all HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

TiCoyote · Sep 28, 2011

#1 and #5 work the best for me. #1 has a clear subject and good light/dark contrast. #5 also has good contrast and colors, but it might be good to crop out some of the sky and water.

#2 and #4 do not have clear subjects and are too cluttered.

#3 is too dark and the subject does not stand out from the background. Also, the label is blurry.

mwdoher · Sep 28, 2011

Much appreciated! I think the biggest issue that I've got revolves around the light that was available for numbers 3 and 4. I intend to use the advice; thank you!

MD

tirediron · Sep 28, 2011

Why "unedited"? No image is ever as good as it can be straight out of the camera. Go through each image, ensure that it's level, WB is correct, exposure, contrast and saturation are adjusted as necessary, sharpen where required and crop. Then post for comment/critique. There's precious little point in discussing images when you've only done half the job.

GooniesNeverSayDie11 · Sep 28, 2011

The biggest problem is the focus. Try picking a specific autofocus point and use that to focus the part of the picture that has the subject in it. Also, google composition and "Rule of Thirds" to get ideas of where to place the focus of your shot. Also, not to split hairs, but when you shoot in JPEG, your photo is edited by the camera. Its just a "One Size Fits All" version of what people do in Photoshop with RAW files.

bennielou · Sep 28, 2011

I agree with the above crit, but I also want to say, "Good Eye".

cgipson1 · Sep 28, 2011

Exif data is in the photos..

#1 nice shot... nice balance of lighting on the two subjects. Shot in Program though.... so you didn't really have much control over what the camera did (so I am congratulating the camera, not you! lol!). (F5, 1/30 ss, 1600 ISO, 190mmFL, Program)

#2 ... just a jumble of subjects... lacks interest. (F5, 1/80 ss, 100 ISO,150mmFL, Aperture Priority)

#3 OOF - needed flash or faster ISO.. to slow for handheld. Centered.. still uninteresting... (F5.6, 1/3.3" ss, 800 ISO, 55mmFL, Manual)

#4 Coffee Maker? Uninteresting... no clear subject...

#5 Nice shot.. but over exposed on the highlights. Would have been nice with multiple exposure HDR. Need to get out of Program... shoot this probably around F8 at much lower ISO for better quality (F16, 8 seconds, 1600 ISO, 40mmFL, Program)

markv20 · Sep 28, 2011

# 1 Sky looks a little noisy in some spots but overall I like this

#2 Way too much going on here, no idea what Im supposed to be focusing on or what the intended subject is. My eyes are all over the place

#3 underexposed, out of focus, subject centered. Just a snapshot to me.

#4 Same as # 2

#5 Out of focus, exposure is off. I think you were headed in the right direction with this one as far as the subject and composition. It would have helped by cropping some of the water from the bottom

mwdoher · Sep 29, 2011

bennielou said:
I agree with the above crit, but I also want to say, "Good Eye".

Thank you

mwdoher · Sep 29, 2011

cgipson1 said:
Exif data is in the photos..

#1 nice shot... nice balance of lighting on the two subjects. Shot in Program though.... so you didn't really have much control over what the camera did (so I am congratulating the camera, not you! lol!). (F5, 1/30 ss, 1600 ISO, 190mmFL, Program)

#2 ... just a jumble of subjects... lacks interest. (F5, 1/80 ss, 100 ISO,150mmFL, Aperture Priority)

#3 OOF - needed flash or faster ISO.. to slow for handheld. Centered.. still uninteresting... (F5.6, 1/3.3" ss, 800 ISO, 55mmFL, Manual)

#4 Coffee Maker? Uninteresting... no clear subject...

#5 Nice shot.. but over exposed on the highlights. Would have been nice with multiple exposure HDR. Need to get out of Program... shoot this probably around F8 at much lower ISO for better quality (F16, 8 seconds, 1600 ISO, 40mmFL, Program)

For the 1st comment in feedback, I was on a "shade" white balance, and I rolled manual focus... Again, first time out; I don't think I took a single photo on my trip where the white balance wasn't a preset, but I did make an effort to focus and adjust shutter speed and aperture. I tried desperately to learn "on the job" (which was entirely recreational for my own photo album). I took my share of fully automatic photos like a typical tourist, but I *really* wanted to try my hand at as many "manual" elements as possible. I'm going to have to RTFM in order to learn manual white balance and to get away from anything that's "automatic".

Thank you for the feedback (really, to everyone)! I plan on purchasing a new camera very soon in the future, but I'll post that elsewhere. As you can probably tell by my naiveté, I'll need a bit of advice in making that decision as well.

I think it's time for me to literally stare at everyone else's photos and see what works and what doesn't. I'm also learning how to use the different effects in Aperture 3 and working on xfering my license of PSx CS4 from my old laptop to this one. Anyhow, thanks again for the honest and straightforward feedback. It's nice to know people are willing to critique and help!

MD

mwdoher · Sep 29, 2011

tirediron said:
Why "unedited"? No image is ever as good as it can be straight out of the camera. Go through each image, ensure that it's level, WB is correct, exposure, contrast and saturation are adjusted as necessary, sharpen where required and crop. Then post for comment/critique. There's precious little point in discussing images when you've only done half the job.

I'm going to do the "post" portion with a few different applications that I'm trial-ing. I've begun to adjust a couple in Aperture, and I'll begin some work in PS this weekend. Thanks for the advice. I'll post the "post" when I'm done with the 2-3 that are worth it above.

Best,

Matt

mwdoher · Nov 14, 2011

Well, I finally got around to this... After poking around with Aperture, I trialed lightroom and it changed the game. It's a bit *over*processed, but it definitely represents what I was going for. Ignore the others. The more I think about them and look at them, the more I get inspired to learn to shoot better!

C&C Welcome (ideally with a solution!)

IMG_9162.jpg by mtthwdhrty, on Flickr