First pictures from first DSLR C&C

tambrico · Feb 17, 2011

Hi everyone. These are the first few photos I've taken with my first DSLR and lens (Nikon D7000 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4). I am completely new to photography and I'd just like to see some opinions of the first few photos I've taken. I will also be providing my own self-criticisms and I'm interested to see if you guys agree with me. Also, if you notice any stuck pixels in the images, I am aware of this problem. My camera is currently at the Nikon repair center getting repaired.

1. These are my headphones sitting on my laptop. This was the first image I took that I actually thought looked nice. One thing I really don't like about this photo is how the wire that is coming out of the speaker that is in focus is completely out of focus. It almost looks like it's moving.

2. This is my dog Keba. While I find this photo interesting, I could understand why others wouldn't. There really isn't anything that grabs your attention.

3. This is my dog Lucky. I found him as a stray in the middle of a snowstorm and possibly saved his life. I like how his white fur contrasts with the white of the floor. Maybe this photo could do without the rug in the background?

4. This is my friend Dan. I think this photo could benefit from not having the shadow from his hood on his face. I'm not sure how I could have eliminated that.

5. This is a porcelain bull in my friend's house. Maybe this could be better with a slightly less shallow DOF, but there's not that much wrong with it IMO

6. I took this of my side view mirror while I was stopped at a red light. I love the bokeh. However, it could have be much much better with a deeper DOF. While the reflection is in focus, the whole mirror and its housing is not. I could have used a smaller aperture and maybe a slightly longer shutter speed if I needed to compensate. But as I was said, I was at a red light so I didn't have much time to adjust. That said, I do really like it

7. This is 7.62x54R ammo for my Mosin Nagant rifle. I set this up to play around with DOF and different combinations of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. I got off one shot before one of my dogs knocked it over.

rickabobaloey · Feb 17, 2011

One thing I've learned since getting my Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, not everything needs to be shot at the largest aperture. Yes, getting the blurry background is neat, but tends to get blah after a while. You don't have to close the aperture all the way down but expirement with smaller apertures. Just a suggestion.

By the way. Giving you a :thumbup: on the 7th photo. Love the Mosin Nagant and the 7.62x54R round. Can't beat it!

tambrico · Feb 17, 2011

rickabobaloey said:
One thing I've learned since getting my Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, not everything needs to be shot at the largest aperture. Yes, getting the blurry background is neat, but tends to get blah after a while. You don't have to close the aperture all the way down but expirement with smaller apertures. Just a suggestion.

By the way. Giving you a :thumbup: on the 7th photo. Love the Mosin Nagant and the 7.62x54R round. Can't beat it!

Thanks, will do. I haven't gotten the chance to shoot outside in daylight yet. All of these have been in relatively poor lighting situations so I guess it was just easier to shoot wide open. When I get my camera back from the repair center, I intend to experiment with everything.

rickabobaloey · Feb 17, 2011

I had to go back and re-read your first post as I kinda skipped it and went straight to the photos. :lmao:

Hope Nikon can get that fixed for you right away! I only offered that advise 'cause I know for the longest time I was stuck on shooting with the aperture wide open and I'm thinking if I had stopped it down, I'd have captured a few images differently and quite honestly, better.

I also do want to say that I think compositionally the photos are all great. Does look like your dog Lucky is think he's in trouble in #3.

cabrosh · Feb 17, 2011

These are your first shots? You really have a good eye. I loved the ammo shot, and didn't mind the shadow from the hood, thought it added to the picture. Have you started using a photo editing program? I see I still can't post attachments, but I took Keba's picture, lightened the shadows about 15%, darkened the highlights 2%, lowered the midtone contrast about 20%, dodged the highlights on the left side of the face and blurred the background. It was just a quick and dirty edit, but IMHO it helped. Wish there was a way to let you see it.

RockstarPhotography · Feb 18, 2011

There good photos. I would say with #3 you want to get more on the dogs level. people have a tendency to shoot animals and kids from their perspective. get down on your dogs level and shoot him.

good job for some of your first photos. When you get that camera back keep playing!

tambrico · Feb 18, 2011

Thanks guys

I do not have an editing program yet outside of Picasa, which I didn't even use for these. I'm probably going to get Photoshop Elements. Would it be worth it to get the full version?

JWellman · Feb 18, 2011

I love #3!!! Have fun with that new lens!

rickabobaloey · Feb 18, 2011

I have Photoshop Elements 9, and I like it so far. Organizes the photos really well. So it makes finding old ones easier if you know how you tagged them. It can also handle RAW image files, which is a + as you don't have to have a separate program for that. I don't attempt any significant post production, like HDR so I think the editor in PSE9 is great.

Yownhouse · Feb 18, 2011

I recommend going straight to Lightroom 3. I use Lightroom 95% of the time on all of my photos. I feel that it is more user friendly than PS and I've had some of my better photos come out of LR. Go try the free trial on Adobe's site!

tambrico · Feb 18, 2011

I've heard lightroom is just an add-on to photoshop. What does lightroom do that photoshop doesn't and vice versa?

Yownhouse · Apr 9, 2011

LR is photo editing, PS is pixel editing. It's easier to get what you want out of picture.

KmH · Apr 10, 2011

Lightroom was designed by Adobe as a database manager for photographers that have a high volume of images, that integrates tightly with Photoshop. The editing function in Lightroom is a secondary feature.

Lightroom 3 and Photoshop both use the same non-destructive (parametric) edit rendering engine - ACR 6 (Adobe Camera Raw). However, the ACR version Elements uses is de-featured compared to the full ACR that is included with CS5 and Lightroom 3.
Non-destructive editing means the original pixels are not altered by the edit, so the original remains unchanged.
For some edits, you do want to change the pixels, but Lightroom is not capable of doing pixel edits.

Photoshop, including Ps Elements has additional non-destructive editing tools Lightroom doesn't have. The most powerful feature Photoshop has that is missing from Lightroom is layers, both regular layers and adjustment layers. Photoshop also has more precise masking capabilities. Photoshp also has much more accurate selection tools for making local edits.

Photoshop can basically do everything editing wise that Lightroom can, but Lightroom cannot do everything Photoshop can.

Adobe offers student pricing for their software. Adobe offers an 80% student discount on CS5 Extended that reduces it's cost from $999 to $199.

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