c&c on my first pictures ever?

munchkinfu · Mar 1, 2010

This is my very first time ever visiting the site (as well as posting, obviously), and judging from the participation by other members, I think that this could be an excellent place for me to learn photography.

I bought my first camera just a few days ago (a Nikon D3000), and I'm trying to get the feel for it. I'm starting to get a feel for how everything works, but I have this terrible problem where I have no idea how my photos actually turn out. I'm incapable of comparing my work to other people's, for some reason or another. So I am humbly requesting that you assess the first 4 pictures I've ever bothered uploading, hopefully helping me establish the fundamentals of good photos.

Disclaimer: I'm not sure what's an acceptable size/format for my pictures, so enlightenment in that area would also be nice.

This is a ball with feathers on it.

This is a picture of my cat. I'm aware that it's not very well-focused, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

Here's another picture of my cat. I'm more pleased with it, but again, I don't know how good it actually is.

I was really just messing around with some blur effects and wondered how it looked. As you can (hopefully) see, it's a picture of a parking lot.

anm90 · Mar 1, 2010

The pictures are all pretty uninteresting and underexposed to me. In the last photo, although it is somewhat of a boring shot, you almost achieved an affect called tilt-shift on accident. It makes the scene look like a miniature diorama by narrowing the depth of field artificially. There are lenses that do this optically as well, but it can also be done with photoshop.

I would pick up the book called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It is a very informative book and will answer 99% of your questions that you would post here instead. You will learn a lot about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, light metering, and even some composition. This is the best way to learn about photography rather than taking random photos and not really putting a lot of thought into them.

As for uploading pictures, typically no larger than 800 pixels on the long side is the acceptable limit.

munchkinfu · Mar 1, 2010

Thanks for the insight. I find my problem has been just developing a taste for a "good picture." Hopefully the book will help me understand what a properly exposed picture looks like and such. Thanks again.

anm90 · Mar 1, 2010

You will learn what aspects of photos make them "good pictures" and then you will be able to apply those to your photography. There's another book by the same author that I haven't picked up yet myself but I've heard is good. I believe it is called "Learning to See Creatively." That one will be good to read after you have read Understanding Exposure.

Natural_Disaster · Mar 1, 2010

Even though you told us what the first one is, i still dont know what it is.
The third one is one i would have thought was a "nice shot" before i joined this group! LOL.
Keep clicking and changing those settings and you will eventually get one that will really open your eyes to what a "great shot" is. I have been working with my Nikon D5000 for about 4 weeks now and im just now getting a couple that give me that "photography feel"...
Usually i waste hours of time changing settings back and forth and still only end up with one that's "pretty good" but still not great...

burstintoflame81 · Mar 1, 2010

#1 is uninteresting to me because I have no clue what it is. Its also fuzzy which at first glance looked like you took a picture with a high ISO that came out noisy but I guess its just the object.

#2 is alright but the focus should have been on the eyes. The focus seems to be on the center just between the eyes. ( If using the center autofocus point, try pushing the button halfway down while aiming at the eyes so that autofocus engages, and then while keeping the button halfway down, aim the camera back the way you want it and fire the picture ( recompose the shot ). This is tricky with things that move alot so not sure how easy it would be with your cat.

#3 I think is the best but I don't like the cat ear touching the border of the shot. Would have been better with some space and maybe seeing what the cat is gazing at. Otherwise, crop in tight just on the cats face. If the background isn't important to the composition then its really just deadspace and a distaction to the subject.

#4 is cool because of the depth of field effect as mentioned, but not much to look at.

Try working on your composition and cropping and also get the book that everyone has mentioned. I went to my local library and just request tons of books. You will read so much that maybe %5 from each book will be retained, but you will slowly build an understanding and start to remember that stuff when shooting. Try to avoid the tendency to center your subject on every picture and to shoot really wide leaving things in the picture that are not needed. Think to yourself "If I take this away does the picture still have the same effect "

Hope this helps. Keep at it and good luck.

kundalini · Mar 1, 2010

First off, Congratz on the new toy and in particular.................... Welcome to the Dark Side....... bwuhahahaha

Eventually, self-censorship will kick in. These photos are typical of what all new users take. Mom & Dad will be over the moon about them, you will impress your self and eventually you post for C&C. That's when the schooling begins. Pay attention to the C&C of intellegent people on this forum. I automatically excuse myself.

One thing to crit is, unless absolutely necessary and the output controlled, the built-in flash can be a photo killer. Pretty obvious in #2 & 3.

munchkinfu · Mar 1, 2010

Yeah, that really helps out. I've started reading Peterson's book, and I think this will help out a lot with my fundamentals. Thanks for the input.

matfoster · Mar 1, 2010

these look like your first pictures ever ;-) the second one i like a lot. the close up of the cat. what a lovely cat! keep shooting!

sojourn · Mar 1, 2010

I like #3, pretty abyssinian kitty. I, also, tend to cut off kitty ears...it will take a bit of practice or you will have to learn to clone ears in a graphics program ;-)

Congratulations on your new toy! Of all my interests, my photography gives me the quickest return of enjoyment for my time spent.

Joves · Mar 1, 2010

I would like to add in number 3 you might want to edit out the red object. Dont know what you have for an editing program but it can be cloned out. The one ear touching the border doesnt bother me as much as the red whatever it is. Backround or errant objects can really detract from a photo so, learn to be mindful of what is in a shot.