C&C and advice both are appreciated! Thanks!

[cgipson1]

I never said I was pro,

Went to a senior photoshoot the other day, and got mediocre pictures. They are okay,

The 2nd quote implies that you are charging.. did you charge? Most people that shoot Senior Pictures DO charge! Hence my comment! If you got paid, you are a "PRO" whether you can take decent shots or not! (and NO.. THESE are NOT OK! You could do better with a Point and Shoot.. at least they would probably be sharp!)

Spending $500 on a lens doesn't mean crap if you don't know how to use it!

I am assuming you charged.. and are therefore a PRO! PRO's don't need help with BEGINNER questions or techniques!

 

[KenkelsImages]

She's my cousin, and I actually didn't charge. So take your PRO business somewhere else! Thanks.

 

[hw13]

You could have spent three times as much on a camera and lens, and it won't help you take better pictures until you understand things like the exposure triangle. Just sayin'...

That's a little unfair. A lot of people don't have thousands of dollars to drop on items that they don't even know how to use. The second part of your post I agree with.

I think a big part of the OP's issues are the fact that they had a MENTOR that never bothered to explain the exposure triangle to them. What kind of help is that?

 

[KenkelsImages]

I actually had a wonderful mentor. I look back at the stuff I did before and just laugh at myself. But I've noticed in the world of photography. There's so much information, he never could have told me everything. A lot of stuff you have to learn on your own. And a lot of stuff I have. I just feel blessed that I had someone who was KIND enough to take time out of his day to help me.
From the looks of it I never should have even signed up for this forum, as it seems people are just too darned rude. I dunno.

 

[cgipson1]

I actually had a wonderful mentor. I look back at the stuff I did before and just laugh at myself. But I've noticed in the world of photography. There's so much information, he never could have told me everything. A lot of stuff you have to learn on your own. And a lot of stuff I have. I just feel blessed that I had someone who was KIND enough to take time out of his day to help me.
From the looks of it I never should have even signed up for this forum, as it seems people are just too darned rude. I dunno.

Exposure Triangle is the most BASIC thing in photography! That is the first thing a beginner should learn!

If you aren't charging.. then I apologize! We just see so much of that!

All of the advice I gave you is pertinent.. stop shooting at 1.8 until you know what you are doing.... shoot at F4 minimum... focus on the eyes... spot focus preferred unless you know your body well enough to know how it focuses in other modes. Keep your shutter speed above 200.... use the ISO needed to achieve those things. I recommend any of the Nikon SB series from teh SB-600 up... but learn to shoot it in manual mode, not TTL! A cheap alternative is the manual only Vivitar 285 or the Yongnuo 560.

 

[hw13]

There's so much information, he never could have told me everything.

True, but he could have at least given you the basics. I took a weekend intro course and thats ALL they talked about. I've never touched the auto mode since and my pics are 100X better than they were (and I still have a LONG way to go)

Try not to let people run you off. It took me a long time to actually join this forum cuz a lot of the time people do come off rude, but you'll learn to realize that even though things can come across as harsh, a lot of it is 100% honesty. Give or take the odd jerk.

 

[cgipson1]

You could have spent three times as much on a camera and lens, and it won't help you take better pictures until you understand things like the exposure triangle. Just sayin'...

That's a little unfair. A lot of people don't have thousands of dollars to drop on items that they don't even know how to use. The second part of your post I agree with.

I think a big part of the OP's issues are the fact that they had a MENTOR that never bothered to explain the exposure triangle to them. What kind of help is that?

The point was.. is that someone who knows the exposure triangle and the basic rules, and functions of their camera, can turn out EXCELLENT images with a cheap, beginner entry level POS camera and a bad kit lens.

But if you DONT know the basics.. even having a TOP of the line $6000 PRO camera wont keep you from turning out crap!

 

[KenkelsImages]

I had pretty good images with my D60, knowing nothing about "exposure triangles." I guess I figured, switching cameras wouldn't HURT my images, like it obviously did.

 

[hw13]

The point was.. is that someone who knows the exposure triangle and the basic rules, and functions of their camera, can turn out EXCELLENT images with a cheap, beginner entry level POS camera and a bad kit lens.

But if you DONT know the basics.. even having a TOP of the line $6000 PRO camera wont keep you from turning out crap!

I apologize. I just finished working a night shift and somehow took that to mean you were saying SHOULD and not COULD. Sorry.

 

[KenkelsImages]

The point was.. is that someone who knows the exposure triangle and the basic rules, and functions of their camera, can turn out EXCELLENT images with a cheap, beginner entry level POS camera and a bad kit lens.

But if you DONT know the basics.. even having a TOP of the line $6000 PRO camera wont keep you from turning out crap!

I apologize. I just finished working a night shift and somehow took that to mean you were saying SHOULD and not COULD. Sorry.

?

 

[hw13]

With the first images, were you with your mentor when you took them? I'm interested to know how you decided what settings to use. Or did they set it for you?

 

[cgipson1]

I had pretty good images with my D60, knowing nothing about "exposure triangles." I guess I figured, switching cameras wouldn't HURT my images, like it obviously did.

The body is not the issue here... your aperture is! Shooting at 1.8 is why they are OOF! I am not addressing other problems.. just the focus. I feel that if focus is missed, the image should go to the trash bin, regardless of other issues or merit!

The D7000 is higher resolution than the older cameras were.. that also means that your technique needs to be better, as that higher resolution will show of any errors that you make. That is one reason a lot of people are going to hate the new D800... you have to be GOOD to get good images out of it!

 

[KenkelsImages]

With the first images, were you with your mentor when you took them? I'm interested to know how you decided what settings to use. Or did they set it for you?

No I was only with my mentor for maybe a month, and it was just a couple hours here and there. My original 2 photographs were all me. I knew my Nikon D60 and had done several shots in this location. I knew the lighting was great there. And it actually still is. But I knew what to put my ISO and my white balance on, and those were the images I took all by myself.

 

[cgipson1]

?

hahahha.. I think the OP ignored me.. so he doesn't know why you replied to me in that fashion. Oh, well.. I will quit wasting my time!

 

[KenkelsImages]

I had pretty good images with my D60, knowing nothing about "exposure triangles." I guess I figured, switching cameras wouldn't HURT my images, like it obviously did.

The body is not the issue here... your aperture is! Shooting at 1.8 is why they are OOF! I am not addressing other problems.. just the focus. I feel that if focus is missed, the image should go to the trash bin, regardless of other issues or merit!

The D7000 is higher resolution than the older cameras were.. that also means that your technique needs to be better, as that higher resolution will show of any errors that you make. That is one reason a lot of people are going to hate the new D800... you have to be GOOD to get good images out of it!

This was the kind of answer I was wanting, not to be belittled or degraded on a public forum. Thank you for letting me know I need to change my aperature. I will definately do that next time. And when I said I had good images from my Nikon D60 I was meaning I didn't know any of this stuff you are telling me, and I did just fine on my own with them. So I'm unsure how that will help me now. I will look into that thou, just because I really don't have many avenues to try. Thank you for being oh so kind.