Complete newbie, first photo.

[chrismisterx]

Well not really my first, the first 10 or so photos where either too dark, too light or had a little blur.

Just started at the weekend and only just starting to figure out some very basic things, I mean very basic, took a few hours just to get the camera to switch on lol.

1 by Christopher Telford, on Flickr

I tried to focus on the eye and make it pop, but didn't really get what I was after but its still a pleasing photo for me, big thanks to my wife Joanne for posing as she hates getting her photo taken.

I have another 3 Photos which I will post in the other sections for advice, thanks for looking and I look forward to some feedback on how to improve as a complete newbie.

 

[JacaRanda]

Hi again Christopher.

I really like this shot! I have been messing around with photography for about 4 years, and never thought of shooting a person this close at this angle. So very creative in my opinion. At first I thought it was someone getting ready to make a pool shot.

The only thing I would remove is the little white spec on the right lens.

Good job.

 

[Designer]

Since you have done me the courtesy of posting only one photo per thread, I will offer some C&C.

What we like:

I like the pose in that your subject appears to be concentrating on something. Also the light is working on two sides of her head, and the background is plain and evenly blurred.

What we don't like:

I don't like that large black band of her sweater cutting across the frame to distract the viewer. Also not crazy about seeing her nose but not any more of her face.

 

[chrismisterx]

Thank you for your feedback.

@JacaRanda

Thank you for your kind words, I too saw the little white dot but I am unsure how to go about removing it, I take it Photoshop is the best software for that kind of thing?

@Designer

The shot just kind of happened, she was looking at our dog, lying on the floor to try and keep the dogs eye contact and I was supposed to take a photo of it, but she just looked 100 times more interesting as a subject, so I asked her to stay still while I tried to get a better angle. I was very grateful to her as she hates getting her photo taken.

Thanks again for the feedback, its very helpful.

 

[sashbar]

Welcome. As JacaRands says, it is great that you are trying creative angles and close shots. What slightly distracts me in your shot though is the glasses. It looks like the camera autofocused on the rim, which looks sharper than her eye, and besides of that it is better lit than her face. It becomes too dominant and almost looks like a glasses advert. Bear in mind that your camera will often autofocus on the nearest object within the AF square. In this case you need either to minimise the AF field, if possible and aim at her eye, avoiding the rim, or focus manually. Or close the aperture a bit to get deeper DoF.
Nice glasses, btw

 

[chrismisterx]

@sashbar

thank you for your feedback, yes I agree about the glasses, I was trying to make the eye pop but it didn't work out, I am still trying to work out the different buttons and menus on the camera, so I will try and do what you suggest with the auto focus. I have loads to learn but feedback like this is fantastic for me, really helps me understand things more, so thank you for taking the time to reply!

 

[Granddad]

Welcome. Get out now while you still can! Sell the camera or give it away if you have to. Take up knitting or base-jumping, they're both cheaper, safer and less addictive.

Seriously, I agree with the tips given above. We see many first photos here that are a LOT worse than this one.
I learned most of what I know here on this forum so stick around. It will be interesting to see how you follow the advice of the experts as you grow and improve.

Photoshop is the standard tool, also Adobe Lightroom. Both have tons of video tutorials online. If your budget is restricted (like mine) look for older versions on disc. Photoshop Elements is a lot cheaper than the pro version and does a pretty fair job; I relied on it till just 6 months ago.

 

[chrismisterx]

@Granddad

Thank you, I was just thinking I need to sell a kidney or two for some of the equipment! Its only been a few days but already I am looking at other peoples work and seeing them in a different light, drawing a grid on for the rule of 3rds ( just learnt about that ).

The best thing about this hobby is its vast, from little bugs made to seem like monsters to fantastic landscapes it seems everyone's tastes can be covered.

As regard software its starting to hit me the after work on photos can be vast, with some much that can be done to improve the photo, a lot more can be done than I first thought. I think a week or so of just using the camera before I open that can of worms, but thank you for the advice on what to get.

 

[Granddad]

As a rule of thumb for my home studio shoots, I spend about 4 hours processing for every hour shooting... and that's before I pick my favourite 2 or 3 to go to town on.

 

[The_Traveler]

Don't worry about getting eyes 'to pop', learn the basics of exposure and composition first and editing first
Her face is really dark and you have captured a lot of what she will look at and not like so much.
The skin on her nose looks really dark and rough, her ear is the brightest thing in the frame and thus attracts attention and we see much too little of her face and too much of shirt, hair, ears, etc.

 

[chrismisterx]

@The_Traveler

Thank you for your insight, it was just a spur of the moment shot, but I am learning so much from it, so its been a great shot to post, all the help and advice I am getting is really opening my eyes and I am seeing the photo in a much different way than when I posted it.

I don't have a "flair" for arty stuff so I hope to be able to learn composition and I am trying to pick up the basics for exposure from video's on line, I most admit I haven't looked at editing yet as I didn't want to rush things, do you think that should be one of the first skills that I will need?

I do think we learn more from our mistakes and this feedback is really helping me look at photos in a new light, I just hope I can put it into practice.

 

[Designer]

.. do you think that should be one of the first skills that I will need?

Could be. Or not. Yes and no. Maybe, maybe not. It all depends.

I've been practicing answering those hard questions. Can you tell?

As for me, I was "into" photography for oh, about 40 years before I ever thought about digital editing. Truth be told, the most I ever did was to remount a few of my transparencies. You know, to crop.

With the growing popularity of digital photography, I thought more about it and purchased an editing software. (I think mostly because it seemed as if the free ones were for the PC platform.)

Now back to your question.

I usually recommend you do the bare minimum of white balance, straighten, and crop before you show it to anybody. That's not only the minimum, but if you're asking for C&C, doing those things will eliminate all that yakety-yak about "WB, crooked, and why doncha crop it just here?'' So the reviewer can get right to the thing that bothers him the most.

Your camera probably came with some software, and you can find some free ones, or just bite the bullet and purchase something. If you think that is too much too soon, then concentrate on making superb photographs with excellent composition, exposure, white balance, and perfectly straight all right out of the camera. Or as some folks put it: SOOC (straight out of camera)