First attempt at C&C from a noob (random)

[Tony123]

Got a D60 with lens kit about 3 weeks ago. It was a gift for my wife, but turns out I'm having a lot of fun playing with it too! It's our first DSLR and neither of us have experience in photography. Unless you count the 15,000 photos a year of the kids!

So these are some of my best over the last few weeks. Don't hold back, I'm here to learn.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

 

[PhotoXopher]

Let's see... to my eye:

1. Seems too centered, either that or the cars lineup draws me into the photo but there's nothing at the end of the rainbow (so to speak). This would have been pretty cool from more of a ground level maybe?

2. I like it! Maybe just a hint less on the right side for less negative space?

3. Great job, only thing I can say on this one is the feet being cut off but it doesn't really bother me. I'd like to see one like this lower to the ground, I think it would draw me in more and give more of a 'kids eye' perspective. We always see kids from above, getting them at their level adds a personal touch.

4. Cock-a-Doodle-Doo! Looks deep in thought, I like this one but maybe crop out that thing in the upper right compose the shot with the bird a little more to the left.

5. Best one of the series in my opinion, although he's centered there's a definite mood in this photo... sure was concentrating on whatever he has in his hands! Frame worthy!

6. I like how you got down to his level. Only thing I'm wondering here is how this would look with a shallower depth of field to make the dog stand out more.

7. I think you nailed this one. Bokeh is a little nervous for my taste but I love the shot.



Great work, can't wait to see more!

 

[Gaerek]

1. I like this one. You have a nice diagonal drawing your eye through the scene. I might suggest some cropping though. It might help to take some off the top. If you're worried about keeping a specific form factor, you could probably take some off the left also without affecting the shot too much. It also might be me, but it seems like the shot is leaning a bit to the right also. It might be worth trying to level it. (Level shots are one of my pet peeves, and also one of the biggest problems I have with my own shots! lol)

2. I would have tried to put the focus more on the center of the flower personally. I'd also crop a bit off the right I think. I might also take some off the left too, just to cut down on some of the in-focus leaves, which might be a distraction from the main subject, but that's a personal opinion. Close ups of flowers are some of the toughest shots to get right. I think you did a good job with the lighting on this.

3. Cute picture! One for the family album for sure! It might have been useful to use an aperture of f/11 or even f/16 for this shot though. I don't know what aperture was used, but having both boys in focus would have made a cleaner shot, I think.

4. Great composition! The negative space on the right, and the close crop of the chicken I think really add to the shot. It looks like you took the shot in direst sunlight, which isn't the greatest lighting for this type of shot. I'm not sure if you have the ability to easily retake the photo, but maybe try in early morning/late afternoon, or with the sun covered by a cloud. You could also try using some fill flash to fill in the shadows.

5. I love this shot, probably the best of the bunch. Typically, I don't like a lot of negative space around a subject, or a centered subject, but for this shot, it really works. The only problem I can see is the soft focus on the boy. Either he wasn't in focus for some reason, or maybe you were hand holding at too slow of a shutter speed, it's hard to tell. Another suggestions, and this is only an opinion, looking at the shot again, this actually might be a great candidate for a square crop. I'd have to see it cropped that way to decide, but I think it might work well.

6. It looks like you used a small aperture (bigger number) for this shot because there's huge depth of field. A smaller aperture would make the dog stand out from the background better. I might also crop away some of the negative space from the top.

7. I like this shot, there's not much I can comment on. The background might be distracting to some people, but I kinda like it.

Sorry for the somewhat harsh critique! I do it to help people get better. As you can guess, I'm a huge advocate of brutal cropping. I believe almost every photo can benefit from being cropped. I think you're getting a good handle on your camera, so have fun with it.

 

[Tony123]

Thanks guys! Very helpful.

For a response:

1. This one was not staged. Our neighbor had a few buddies over for a cookout and I took it as is. I don't think its unlevel. The terrain was tilted all sorts of ways. I felt a bit like a camera nerd walking around with all the "car guys", so I didn't have the nerve to get at ground level, but wanted to. Cropping, I figured that the amount of trees at the top was minimal already. Any less and I would have had to crop all the way down to eliminate them. I agree, could have cropped more off the left.

2. I thought I was focusing on the center, but...

3. Properties in windows tells me Fstop of 4.5 at 100mm. It's so tough when kids are running around. I wanted them both in focus, but this is what I got. In some ways it gives some interest to the composition. But still.

4. He's our resident watch chicken, so I'll have other opportunities with him. It was direct sunlight. The negative space on the right was a happy accident, but I agree. I'll have to catch him again in early morning light.

5. I didn't like this one so much until you guys did! Now I do. This was actually taken with our P&S, I forgot that. Goes to show, that the favorite of the series was done with a cheapo. He's holding a rock. Every rock is an indian artifact to him. I could see a square crop as well.

6. Again, done with the P&S. I had no control over the Fstop, but agree with you guys.

7. This was at a neighbors, and the car was up on an overhead rack. I asked if I could shoot some shots and he said, "sure, but there ain't much of a shot in there". Well the ground level perspective was a natural since it was up on the rack. He had a bunch of junk on shelves on the wall in the background that I PS'd out of it. What is Bokeh?

Thanks again for the C&C. I feel I'm improving already!

 

[PhotoXopher]

Bokeh:
Basically the blur of the out of focus areas. When using a short depth of field the background is out of focus, 'good' bokeh is usually non-distracting.

People have different preferences but I like mine creamy looking

Here's an example, I used it to make the flower stand out from the background:

 

[Tony123]

Thanks Chris. I did a wilkipedia on Bokeh and understand it better now. Learning.

 

[Gaerek]

6. Again, done with the P&S. I had no control over the Fstop, but agree with you guys.

Most P&S have 'modes' that you can shoot in, and even if there is no way to set shutter/aperture manually, you can kinda force it using modes. Portrait mode sets a large aperture to blur backgrounds, for example. Landscape mode will set a smaller aperture to get more in focus. Sports mode usually sets fast shutter speeds. It's worth playing around with, especially if you use the camera a lot, and want a bit more control.

 

[thefonz]

6. Again, done with the P&S. I had no control over the Fstop, but agree with you guys.

Most P&S have 'modes' that you can shoot in, and even if there is no way to set shutter/aperture manually, you can kinda force it using modes. Portrait mode sets a large aperture to blur backgrounds, for example. Landscape mode will set a smaller aperture to get more in focus. Sports mode usually sets fast shutter speeds. It's worth playing around with, especially if you use the camera a lot, and want a bit more control.

I didn't realise that, good to know. I'm a noob for sure. This forum is a great source of info. :thumbup:

thefonz

 

[Tony123]

I say we only use the P&S for "quick snapshots", but you never know when opportunities present themselves. I'll experiment with the modes.

Any other opinions on the photos would be appreciated!

 

[Chairman7w]

Wow - number 7 is dynamite!!!! Well done!

 

[Tony123]

Thanks! That's a late 60's model Camaro that was a frame up restoration about 3-4 years ago. It belongs to the neighbor I refer to above. I emailed him the photo several weeks ago and got no response from him. He's a nice guy, but apparently didn't appreciate the photo.