First foray into photography

[Animaniac888]

I just recently bought a Nikon D5100, my first DSLR, 5 days ago and have found photography to be really enjoyable. Here are a few of my shots:



I guess C&C is implied, but on CG forums you have to ask for it, so... C&C?

 

[WesternGuy]

Welcome to the forum and to photography - it is always nice to see new people here. Some points - please number your images as this makes it a lot easier for someone to review them by number rather than having to flip back and forth to make sure they are commenting on the right one. It would also be nice if you could post them at a slightly larger size.

One thing you will find out, probably very quickly, is that what works for you may not always work for others. To me, these are nice snapshots (second one is bit tightly cropped), but they do absolutely nothing for me. You probably should do some reading about composition, because it is primarily various aspects of composition that make or break an image. I would encourage you to surf the web, but you could start with - Advanced Composition -- Part I - there are two following web sites with the links at the end of the site. As well, have a look at this one - PhotographyComposition Articles Library as there are a number of links to sites on composition. There are a number of books that have been written on composition - you might want to look at one by Bryan Peterson called Learning to See Creatively - Amazon.com: Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color& Composition in Photography (Updated Edition) (9780817441814): BryanPeterson: Books. There are lots of others. HTH.
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WesternGuy

 

[Jaemie]

Welcome

Well, okay. Is there anything especially interesting or unusual about these subjects that you are trying to depict in your photos? These look pretty plain, although they are technically decent. I mean, a baseball glove can look fantastic with the right light, setting, circumstances, colour, texture, action, etc., but all I see here is a fairly new-looking glove sitting on the steps. It might be more interesting if was being held at the knee of an outfielder with a single painted fingernail exposed, and had some grass and dirt on it, so it had a sense of immediacy. Anyway, that's my simple opinion. Keep at it and post some more photos!

 

[Frequency]

Hi, welcome

I know how happy you must be to have a new camera....

Regarding the images....

#1: the object and shadow merges without distinction... it would be better to include the shadow completely within.... I feel Jaemie is right here that the object you chose is not very convincing
#2: i like this; you may please trim out the right end to eliminate that distraction there to create a feeling of endlessness there
#3: i liked the shallow DOF here; if there were some dew drops or rain drops , it would be telling a story of the season....

Regards

 

[Animaniac888]

I see what you all are saying. I guess these were kind of like "test shots", without much attention to composition(not even as basic as rule of thirds) and I'll try to read up on advanced image composition, as well as try to choose more interesting subjects.

 

[Jaemie]

Sounds like a good plan. Don't be too quick to dismiss these subjects. The same subjects could be very interesting with better composition. I think that's the key to a lot of great photography: making the ordinary look extraordinarily different and interesting. This is not my photo, but its a so-so example of what I'm saying about an image having more to say: http://0.tqn.com/d/inventors/1/0/s/8/1/baseballglove.jpg

I'm guessing from your username that you like anime. I'm very fond of the genre (Toradora is a favourite). If you have any PVC figures, have you considered using them as photographic subjects? Also, there are a few threads on cosplay, here.

 

[Jaemie]

I'm not really that fond of anime at all. I'll try chess pieces or something.

I see. Geez, I forgot Animaniacs was a Spielberg thing. Lol..

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

 

[The_Pearl_Poet]

Although these compositions are not the most interesting, I can tell that you have some knowledge of composition and that you are paying attention to position in the frame, line, and DOF. I suggest that you keep practicing and continue to experiment.

 

[Animaniac888]

LOL at the video... I'm sure as hell going to be more careful about what I eat next time.

I took a few closeup shots of flowers and bees today, and here are my two best. This was actually before I saw the replies to this thread, so the composition hasn't been thought out that
much.

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