Complete Beginner (Collared Dove)

Barry UK. · Jul 9, 2016

Please be gentle with me I am a total newbie, and just pointed my camera (ancient Nikon D100) and took the shot:

ZombiesniperJr · Jul 9, 2016

Nice shot

Dean_Gretsch · Jul 9, 2016

I am sure there will be some technical advice, but I say " Just have fun and keep plugging away"!

jcdeboever · Jul 9, 2016

Great start, nice shot.

weepete · Jul 9, 2016

It's a pretty good shot but next time include the tail

PropilotBW · Jul 9, 2016

Nice little dove, and good depth of field.

sashbar · Jul 10, 2016

Nice shot. Just watch if your subject is fully in frame. If not then there should be a clear idea why and where to cut. Cutting off half of the tail is probably not the best idea.

Barry UK. · Jul 10, 2016

Thanks sashbar, it does look a little odd with the tail missing.

bulldurham · Jul 10, 2016

Next time focus on the eye and not the shoulder...and don't cut off the tail.

zombiesniper · Jul 12, 2016

Nice first shot but agree with above.

Keep at it.

goooner · Jul 12, 2016

Welcome, and nice shot. Was this shot with a 300 prime? Otherwise if it was a 75-300 or something similar, zooming out a little would have helped here, not to cut of the tail.

Designer · Jul 12, 2016

Barry UK. said:
.. just pointed my camera and took the shot:

I do that sometimes, especially when there isn't time to get everything perfect. In some situations I would rather have gotten a bad shot than none at all.

In this case, your camera seems to have focused on the wing feathers or the feet or possibly the wooden structure. If the head would have been in focus, then you could salvage at least that much as a detail shot. But now, no.

My editing software will show me where the focus area or point is, and if you're curious as to exactly where it is, your camera should show you the focus area.

Barry UK. · Jul 12, 2016

goooner said:
Welcome, and nice shot. Was this shot with a 300 prime? Otherwise if it was a 75-300 or something similar, zooming out a little would have helped here, not to cut of the tail.

75-300 sigma.