day one with nikon d40

lucas123 · Sep 15, 2009

just a couple pics with my new d40 and am all new to this but verry interested some tips would me nice lol thanks
i will post more when i get more lol there alot to learn

dry3210 · Sep 15, 2009

I can't say either subject is overly entertaining. For the second one its almost off the photo on the rear bumper and although the backround is nicely blurred...the car is too.

Al-Wazeer · Sep 15, 2009

Congratulations on the camera!
I'm sure you'll have fun with it, No.2 is nice but needs the shutter speed a little bit faster, and the first lacks subject in my opinion.

Welcome to TPF, hope you like it

.

photo28 · Sep 15, 2009

I agree with Al-Wazeer. Maybe try putting the first one in B&W and maybe a creepy feeling will come out?

PhotoXopher · Sep 15, 2009

For day one you did great!

Don't worry about polishing turds (I got told this when I posted my first shots as well) meaning don't try and make a bad photo good by manipulating it, just go out and have fun shooting for now. Some day soon you'll come back to these shots and know how to improve on them.

Enjoy
Read, read, read
Shoot, shoot, shoot
Repeat

My thoughts:

1. I know what you were going for and I take shots like this every day - fact is, they are just not that interesting to look at.

2. One or the other should be in focus and not blurry. If you had held the camera still the background trees would be in focus and the car would have the sense of motion. Otherwise, if you're really good at panning the car could have been in focus and the background blurry, giving another sense of motion. Having both blurry is just that, a blurry shot. I'd almost be willing to put $50 on it that you just aimed your D40 out the window while you were driving and hit the button.

photo28 · Sep 15, 2009

Yeah and black and white may not work best on this photo. You seem to have started off with good ideas, now you just have to practice and make your ideas work.

lucas123 · Sep 15, 2009

thanks everyone i do understand that there is nothing really interesting about the pics i just kinda wanted to know what i did wrong to correct it?? as i do not really understand alot about shutter and aperture or anything as far as that goes lol thanks again and ill be back

Derrel · Sep 15, 2009

Keep on plugging away with the D40. You will rapidly become better if you work at improving your camera skills. The D40 offers image quality that's above and beyond what a "professional" d-slr from 2001 offered, all in a very compact,lightweight body.

Read, ask,study,practice, improve. Imagine if yo improve skill level 10 percent per year; within 10 years you will be 100 percent better than you are right now. Last month, I read an article in which the author stated that it takes 10,000 hours of active participation in a new activity/hobby, to become "good at it". So, take heart. Enjoy the new camera and lens setup. This is a great time to get into the d-slr game.

Moe · Sep 15, 2009

A great book to start with is Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

As far as the effect you might have been going for with the car, google "panning". The idea is you maintain focus on the car with a kinda slow shutter speed. I think your speed of 1/30 is ok, as the background is blurry. Trick is to stay focused on the car.

As said above, just keep shooting. Keep on this website and you'll learn tons quickly. Good luck!

Kethaneni · Sep 15, 2009

N0YZE said:
For day one you did great!

Don't worry about polishing turds (I got told this when I posted my first shots as well) meaning don't try and make a bad photo good by manipulating it, just go out and have fun shooting for now. Some day soon you'll come back to these shots and know how to improve on them.

Enjoy
Read, read, read
Shoot, shoot, shoot
Repeat

I agree!

5DManiac · Sep 16, 2009

At this point it is your technique that should be analyzed, not your photo subjects. Since these are just test shots really. The photos arent bad for a first attempt with a new camera. It can certainly be intimidating... The first one is hard to pull off because you have such a bright area and a low lit area. To compromise between the two is next to impossible. Try a relatively evenly lit scene.

Also it's hard to photograph a moving car especially if focus isn't ahicieved beforehand.. try manually focusing on something within the same path of the car and wait for another car to come by and snap away. Also of course make sure your shutter speeds are fast enough, given you have enough light to work with.