Could I please get some critique

[11lisa11]

Hi, I am very much a beginner to photography, I really do love it, and would really like to know what I could be doing to improve. I appreciate any critique and advice.

 

[sm4him]

1. Seems a little underexposed, but nice shot otherwise. Normally, I'd say if you can, shoot birds from the front--the more you can get of their eyes, the better the photo, generally. However, for me, anhingas and such (not sure what you call them down under) spreading their wings are an instance where the "behind the bird" shot works.
2. and 3. These are moons. That's just really all I have to say about that. Everybody has to do a few moon shots.
I will say this: on #2, you've at least gotten a decent exposure, showing some detail. Many, many people completely overexpose their first moon shots and end up with a big white blob.
4. Love this; very nice! Is that a Kookaburra? Every time I see one of those birds, I hear this little song in my head that I learned in elementary school many, MANY years ago. It's a highly annoying song. :lmao: But a very cool bird. I'd be tempted to clone out that out-of-focus stick in the right foreground, and possibly even crop this to a portrait orientation. But it's well exposed, and you got good, sharp focus on the eye (it looks like it to me anyway--I do have vision issues so others may say differently).
5. Bee on flower--white balance seems off, on the yellow side (but wait for other opinions, I'm often wrong about wb). The composition isn't really making me love it either. I wish there was more room above the bee, and less room beneath the clover stem.

These are not a bad start at all. Keep shooting and keep posting!

 

[Ilovemycam]

That bird is interesting!

 

[CaptainNapalm]

Nice shots but I think the white balance might be slightly off in most, on the yellow/warm side

 

[11lisa11]

Thankyou very much for the comments and advice. Im still trying to figure the white balance thing out. Oh and yes, that is a kookaburra in pic 4. I love kookaburras.

 

[amolitor]

I will only comment on one of these pictures, the fourth one with that vaguely kingfisher-like bird glaring at the camera.

Look at the bird, and the two greyish sticks sticking up in the foreground a little out of focus. They're at roughly the same angle as the bird's beak. How would this picture be different if you had moved the camera a bit to the left just before you shot this? Think about the bird and the two sticks, and the visual relationship between them. Once you see a right thing to do there, and once you can do one of those right things more or less consistently when you're shooting, you'll level up.

 

[11lisa11]

Ok, I think I understand what your saying there amolitor, thanks for taking the time to help.

 

[Eclectix]

The first is my favorite- the pose really works for me. I agree that some light adjustments would improve it. The second moon shot is interesting for a moon shot because you captured a bat in silhouette on one of the exposures, but I think it could be better if it were a tighter crop and/or if there was more to see in the rest of the image besides a few dots of light at the base. The bee on clover has good composition, but as others have said it needs color balance.