First day of photography, ever

[DarkShadow]

And if your first test shot are not of a cat, the camera cant be any good. Good Job and Welcome.

 

[Peeb]

On the second picture of the second set (row of parallel trees in a parking lot), I wonder about shooting from a lower perspective (closer to the ground) with the camera oriented portrait instead of landscape. Also, consider shooting either early morning or early evening when the light is most interesting.

Just thinking out loud. Some good stuff mixed in there.

 

[Derrel]

I see something that MIGHT help your pictures: a numbr look too-contrasty, as if the camera might be captureing in Vivid color mode, and without the benefits of Nikon's dynamic range balancing options. Some shots seem to have dhadows that are too dark, and skies that lack some detail...this is common with color positive images (slide film, or digital capture), and I think you might need to look into the camera manual to find out more about how you can set the camera up using Nikon's so-called Active D-Lighting mode.

I am not sure how you are shooting or processing, but this above batch of not-quite shots seems to be excessively contrasty.

Photography Lighting | Active D-Lighting Great for Cameras from Nikon from Nikon

 

[Designer]

In order to improve, here some of the pictures I took as well, which didn't make the cut to bet put here initially. But as they say, mistakes teach you more than successes, hence me posting them. I would love to hear your opinions on these pictures I like less, and how you would suggest I improve

Attempts to capture a nice image with pespective

As you may discover, I can be known as the crusty curmudgeon of this site. This is WAY too many shots for me to critique all at once. Besides; even in a string of three I still may find only one shot that I would be willing to offer much more than "nice shot" or similar.

1. If you are going to ask for critique and commentary (C&C) please post only one (my preference) per thread. There are some threads/posts that you can search for on how to post for critique, so please read them.

2. Do not be dismayed if you get only a few comments on your favorite photograph. There are many reasons that can happen, such as; the one person who might be inspired to spend some time on it might be out that day, or your photograph just doesn't trip anyone's trigger. You should not be discouraged, but post something different the next day, and post according to the suggestions.

3. If you do find the need to post more than one, please number them.

4. A shot that you might think is no good might be the best shot of the day according to some members, so don't prejudge.

5. Please change your preferences to allow editing, because someone might just do it rather than try to explain to you how to make editing improvements.

Now that we've got the housekeeping out of the way, I'll give you my opinion of the long "perspective" type shots that you posted. IT'S VERY HARD! What you will find is that the camera just will not see what your eye sees while you're there looking at the scene. (Same for landscapes, BTW)

One issue is the depth of field (or depth of focus if you prefer to think of it in that way). Get the first few feet in focus, and the remainder of the line is completely blurry. Not your fault. You can try to minimize it by increasing your depth of field (DOF around here). Study DOF and what affects it and how.

Also the light. Only rarely will you find a row of something that is lighted in any artistic manner that will make the photograph something special.