Critiquing my own, am I getting it right?

[KmH]

Thanks Vince for taking the time to respond. Don't you just love it when we pesky newbies ask questions before reading that manual thoroughly..LOL

Many cameras let you set the pop up flash unit to less than full power.

You also need to decide if you want the flash to sync with the front or rear shutter curtain.

When using strobed light (flash), shutter speed functions differently than it does when only ambient (available/natural) light is used. (I hate the term natural light, because all light, from the sky or a flash tube, is natural light - photons.)
Specifically, shutter speed controls the ambient light exposure and the duration of the flash of light handles stopping motion. The background in the photo you posted is lit by ambient light.
Lens aperture is used to control the strobed light (flash) exposure along with the strobed light power setting.

I was going to mention the over processed, no longer natural looking eyes too.

 

[mc1979]

Thanks Vince for taking the time to respond. Don't you just love it when we pesky newbies ask questions before reading that manual thoroughly..LOL

Many cameras let you set the pop up flash unit to less than full power.

You also need to decide if you want the flash to sync with the front or rear shutter curtain.

When using strobed light (flash), shutter speed functions differently than it does when only ambient (available/natural) light is used. (I hate the term natural light, because all light, from the sky or a flash tube, is natural light - photons.)
Specifically, shutter speed controls the ambient light exposure and the duration of the flash of light handles stopping motion. The background in the photo you posted is lit by ambient light.
Lens aperture is used to control the strobed light (flash) exposure along with the strobed light power setting.

I was going to mention the over processed, no longer natural looking eyes too.

Keith, thanks for all the info you've taken time to give me. I can tell that flash and lighting is going to be an obstacle for me, just basically because it seems to be so much to it. But I'm taking baby steps, so I'll get there eventually! Right now my ultimate goal is just to get the basics down, exposure, composition..etc. Which don't get me wrong, I know that lighting is one of the main aspects of photography and that has to be learned and done right.
But frankly, the word "strobe" scares me right now!
Someone said earlier and I'm not quoting but that I need to have a mindset of what kind of photographer I want to be or strive to be like. That being said, I personally love the look of the natural/ambient lighting and if I can figure out how to post a link to someone's pics I like I'll do that to show you (which I'm sure you already have in mind what I mean)
I don't have any equipment right now other than my camera which is the D3000 along with the kit lens. Working on getting better lens next.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I want to get good with what I have before getting into lighting equipment and all that other scary stuff...haha..

As far as the eyes that several have mentioned. I did go overboard I see that now, still learning Lightroom.

 

[kundalini]

Ok, so I wasn't going to post, but the only way to learn is to learn from my mistakes. I have done alot of reading, especially on this forum. I took some pics of acquaintances the other day after they asked me to and with a great understanding that I am a beginner. I'm going to post one, and give my critique of what I think I did wrong, just basically to see if you agree and maybe that will mean I'm actually learning something! LOL Of course, I'd appreciate any feedback.



Bevan2 by mchatham79, on Flickr



ok first things first, composition: I didn't follow rule of thirds. But since I took in portrait style and just really wanted to capture this one up close, in this instance, I do feel this is ok.Maybe, maybe not?
The tree...wish I hadn''t gotten it in the background, seems distracting. The horizon is a tad tilted, but we were in a shaded park, that isn't really flat anywhere. And looking at the top not sure if it really is tilted or it's just the shadow of the tree that is.

Secondly, exposure. There was alot of dappled lighting due to the sun (talk about freaking out for a hot second because I had not one clue what to do about this! LOL) So what I got was an underexposed subject with a very blown out background. I have attempted to adjust all of this in Lightroom, just frustrated I didn't get it right sooc. And to my undestanding, what would have helped this would have been a reflector right? Or any advice on how this works in dappled sunlight?

Ok so what have I missed? I have some others from that day on my flickr stream that I would like critique on as well, and will post later.
Also, i chickened out right before we started and switched to autofocus. The little boy was runnning around everywhere, so even in autofocus, some of them are OOF.

I haven't read any of the replies thus far, so if there is any redundancy, I suggest you choose to listen to the prior replies.

First off, kudos to you for self critiqueing. Secondly... <slap on the wrist> If you already consider there are deficiencies, keep them close to the vest at this point. A lot can be gained by acknowledgement of the same / similar critiques in group dynamics. That means you are on your way to understanding.

Love the pose, handsome young man.

Because of the harsh sunlight, his left side is mostly blown for detail. This to me takes precedence over the background. His face is slightly underexposed. You mentioned that a reflector right might help, by your understanding. How is this going to help? What would you be reflecting if the main light source is also coming in from the right? Nothing IMO. What would help is a diffuser to knock down the sun entering the frame at such a harsh luminance. If you were to get an el cheapo 5-in-1 (don't worry, I've got one too), the 5th is the diffuser. Place that between the light source and the subject and you have a more even, controlled light pattern striking your subject. That will allow you to use your pop up flash with less power to make the subjects face stand out in the photo. Don't believe me, look at this example.

Personally, I'm not too keen with the crop. There is too much head room and cropping at the joints (elbow in this case) should be avoided.

Just my 2¢.

 

[KmH]

Keith, thanks for all the info you've taken time to give me. I can tell that flash and lighting is going to be an obstacle for me, just basically because it seems to be so much to it. But I'm taking baby steps, so I'll get there eventually! Right now my ultimate goal is just to get the basics down, exposure, composition..etc. Which don't get me wrong, I know that lighting is one of the main aspects of photography and that has to be learned and done right.
But frankly, the word "strobe" scares me right now!
Someone said earlier and I'm not quoting but that I need to have a mindset of what kind of photographer I want to be or strive to be like. That being said, I personally love the look of the natural/ambient lighting and if I can figure out how to post a link to someone's pics I like I'll do that to show you (which I'm sure you already have in mind what I mean)
I don't have any equipment right now other than my camera which is the D3000 along with the kit lens. Working on getting better lens next.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I want to get good with what I have before getting into lighting equipment and all that other scary stuff...haha..

As far as the eyes that several have mentioned. I did go overboard I see that now, still learning Lightroom.

Photography is entirely about recording light.

A lot of what looks like available light actually isn't, or at the least the available light is purposely redirected, like by using a reflector(s).

Only using available light is very limiting compared to using flash, but using tried and true lighting technique, like having a main (or key) light, fill and other light sources, still applies, so you still have to learn how to effectively do photographic lighting regardless the light source you use.

 

[mc1979]

Keith, thanks for all the info you've taken time to give me. I can tell that flash and lighting is going to be an obstacle for me, just basically because it seems to be so much to it. But I'm taking baby steps, so I'll get there eventually! Right now my ultimate goal is just to get the basics down, exposure, composition..etc. Which don't get me wrong, I know that lighting is one of the main aspects of photography and that has to be learned and done right.
But frankly, the word "strobe" scares me right now!
Someone said earlier and I'm not quoting but that I need to have a mindset of what kind of photographer I want to be or strive to be like. That being said, I personally love the look of the natural/ambient lighting and if I can figure out how to post a link to someone's pics I like I'll do that to show you (which I'm sure you already have in mind what I mean)
I don't have any equipment right now other than my camera which is the D3000 along with the kit lens. Working on getting better lens next.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I want to get good with what I have before getting into lighting equipment and all that other scary stuff...haha..

As far as the eyes that several have mentioned. I did go overboard I see that now, still learning Lightroom.

Photography is entirely about recording light.

A lot of what looks like available light actually isn't, or at the least the available light is purposely redirected, like by using a reflector(s).

Only using available light is very limiting compared to using flash, but using tried and true lighting technique, like having a main (or key) light, fill and other light sources, still applies, so you still have to learn how to effectively do photographic lighting regardless the light source you use.

I understand! Hoping to be able to get some practicing in over the weekend.

 

[Samerr9]

I have taken a portrait course lately, the some very important points to me were:

- when in the park try to shoot in shade and use reflector or fill flash
- Try to find a dark background (so you wont get it blown out)
- No shade, put the sun behind the subject, expose for the background and let the fill flash do the rest.

I think these notes are benificial in such shots in the park..

 

[KmH]

Check out this page: Photo Basics by Westcott and look at all their tips/techniques.

 

[mc1979]

Check out this page: Photo Basics by Westcott and look at all their tips/techniques.

Great site Kevin! Thanks for posting. One of the things I loved about that was with the first picture, a photo of her set up was along beside it.
When I see what others use and how they use it, especially someone that has produced a great portrait, I'm amazed by how simple some of their set ups are, and that is ENCOURAGING!
Right now being so new when I see this equipment, like softboxes, strobes, umbrellas, etc. I'm thinking "how in the world do you use this stuff?"
I haven't even gotten that far you know what I mean? I would love to find something that shows all that in detail. I feel so "dumb" when I see these words.