Beginner visits India, general C&C please!

lrc3233 · Jan 5, 2012

So, I am several months in to learning about photography and my camera and have been taking pictures around India (New Delhi, Agra) where we are staying for the next few months. I think I have improved since my first post (here http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...8-another-beginner-c-c-please-porcupines.html) and I am often happy with many of the photos that come from my camera, but I know I can improve and the only people looking at my images are my husband and my parents. I have picked a few of what I think are the best (or more accurately, my favorite...maybe not the same) for here. So suggestions for improvements technically, compositionally, or otherwise would be most welcome.

All of these photos were shot with a Nikon D5100 with a Tamron 18-200mm lens mostly in Aperture Priority mode. Not the best lens, but I take what I can get.

Abstract shot of a mall ceiling.

Ruins in Delhi of Qutb Minar complex. I think all the different brick colors and color intensity in the foreground fading rapidly due to the heavy fog makes it look like a painting.

Shot straight up of the ceiling of a dome in the entrance gate to the Taj Mahal.

I just think it's an interesting photo.

Taj Mahal + People. Why is the tower tilted? Should I 'shop it straight?

Thanks for any constructive comments.

Also a couple of questions:
-Is it better to crop photos to adhere to a "standard" print size ratio (4:5, 2:3, 5:7) or it doesn't matter? Only if you're planning on printing them?
-After reading KenRockwell.com I have put my ISO on auto and it seems to work great, but is there a reason I shouldn't? I understand basically how ISO works but I wouldn't say i've gotten used to setting it well on my own. Is this auto setting detrimental?
-After uploading my edited photos to flickr, I noticed the color saturation was not the same as it looked in lightroom. After some research I found out that's because different browsers support different color profiles...is there any way around this? Does anyone have any advice about how they handle it? That is super frustrating.

Thanks again!

tirediron · Jan 5, 2012

C&C per req:

1. I sort of like this one, but I feel it might have been stronger if there were more of it. Was shooting at a shorter FL an option? I would also suggest trying to enhance the sky a little (with the burning tool, or your PP software's equivalent).

2. Very nice, love the golden light on the foreground. I could easitly spend a week in a scene like this. Again, I think a wider perspective would have helped. Do you have any from a more 'front on' prespective?

3. Another interesting abstract. This one is slightly over-exposed in the bright areas; notice how you have very little detail in the whtie areas? Watch your historgram and look for clipped highlights; if you see them, drop your exposure 1/3 - 1/2 stop. I would crop this one immediately below the line at the very top.

4. A very nice capture of the Taj, but WHY did you leave that ugly fence in there? That really takes away from the shot IMO. Crop at the green lawn just below the wall of the Taj and you have a MUCh better shot. Sometimes the 'beauty and the ugly' mix works, but not here.

5. I don't get a lot from this one; it lacks the interest of the earlier images, and even though it's the Taj, we really don't know that. The minaret appears crooked because of a comination of several things: Lens distortion, shooting position, and it's height. Don't simply straighten it, but if you have access to software with an equivalent of Photoshop's 'distortion' filter, use that.

If you know that you're not going to print the images, then no, you don't need to adhere to standard aspect ratios. I usually do just because you never know which shot will look good on your wall.

Take your camera out of auto-ISO NOW!!!!! This is a very bad thing, ESPECIALLY when shooting in an auto or semi-auto mode. The reason being because your cameara could "decide" based on a set of circumstances to raise the ISO to an extreme limit without you really noticing and that would be the image you want to print at 16x20, but can't now because of the all the induced noise from a very high ISO. How do you handle the colour differences? You live with them. Yep, that's what you do. I would suggest, when you have time, searching the term 'colour space' and reading up on Adobe RGB and sRGB.

You have some nice shots, and you're in my favorite part of the world... keep shooting, and keep posting!

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

cguron · Jan 5, 2012

If you are going to stay in Delhi and visit other places. Go back to Agra and also visit nearby town of Fatehpur Sikri, can be done in half a day, in March. You may find blue sky. To the best of my understanding exceptionally rarely, Taj is open for visits on full moon nights. Enquire and make a reservation. That scene is a feast for the eyes. Please post those pictures.

lrc3233 · Jan 6, 2012

Tirediron: Thanks for your comments!

1. It's interesting the different way people choose to crop things? Is there a "right" way? If you're interested, here is the full version of the first picture. I would be interested in seeing your crop

untitled-0014.jpg | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
2. Thanks for the nice words! Again with the crop. I guess I tend towards more towards tighter crops, I'll have to see if I can work out roomier ones. I have some other shots of the same complex here: untitled-0014.jpg | Flickr - Photo Sharing!, if you're interested, but this one was my favorite.
3. I'll definitely try to watch the histogram more in the future.
4. Sorry about the fence...I kind of like it

5. Hmm, your comments are interesting. Can you specify more why it is uninteresting?

Thanks also for your answers! I'll try to get off autoISO...

cguron: Yes, I did visit Fatepur Sikri, here are the photos from there: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72282173@N03/sets/72157628469543887/
It would be nice to see some blue skies but we'll be gone in March. Night at the Taj sounds great too, but with all the other places to see in India, we may not make it back soon. There will be lots of other places we'll visit though! More pictures soon!

longjon75 · Jan 6, 2012

hi
i go to India every year and its a fantastic place,im a beginner like you just learning as i go along i like the ruins,the dome and the one with the tower good shots!!!!!