first pictures with my D40.

darkpbstar · May 18, 2008

Ok so today I was able to go out and take my first pictures with my D40. I absolutely love it. I went out to the lake (Lake Michigan, in WI) and had some fun there. I was messing around like 10 minutes ago outside and had it on auto and took a picture of my car, and it was pretty dark, so I turned it on the night-time mode, and wow what a difference. It lightened up the picture greatly. I also learned that it takes longer in the night mode, like it will make a noise, then wait a second, and make the second noise, not like fast simultaneously in auto, obviously because it is capturing at night, I just don't know all the tech stuff yet. something that was happening though at night was I would hold the button half way, and it wouldn't want to take a picture for some reason. WHy would this be? I had to move a little then I could get it.
OK well here are the pictures. Thanks. Just a few of what I got. please give comments/critisim. also, I know they may not be perfectly straight, I didn't crop or edit anything, this is just what I got. thanks again
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk308/darkpbstar5/DSC_0017.jpg
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk308/darkpbstar5/DSC_0013.jpg
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk308/darkpbstar5/DSC_0007.jpg

LaFoto · May 19, 2008

Even though you are not directly showcasing your photos here, you at least MEAN to showcase photos of yours, so I moved your thread from The Beginners' Place to Landscape and Nature, one of our many galleries, which exist for the simple purpose of ... erm ... well ... showcasing one's photos. The Beginners' Place is a Q&A-forum, see?

A hint: when you link from Photobucket, highlight the LAST of the four URLs on offer, the line that says "IMG code", for that will make your photos show right in your thread.

As to your photos here, I feel they are a good start, but still a little boring with regards to your subject matter. The middle one shows most, but has an inclined horizon. Particularly when you photograph above water you will have to keep the horizon line level.

JCphoto · May 19, 2008

darkpbstar said:
something that was happening though at night was I would hold the button half way, and it wouldn't want to take a picture for some reason. WHy would this be? I had to move a little then I could get it.

Well you obviously need to push the shutter all the way down to take a photo. When you are in auto focus your lens will focus according to how far away the subject is that you are shooting, if its too dark out for the camera to see the subject then it has no way of calculating how far away it is and therfore can't take a photo.

As for critique. When you're taking a photo try to be sure it has a clear subject, and position the subject in a position in the frame that will highlight it and make it the focal point of the image, so as not to confuse the viewer. When taking a photo of a repeated pattern (the last photo) generally its a good idea the fill the frame with the pattern, otherwise the other elements (in this case at the top) will distract from the pattern and not make as strong an impact.

I suggest you read up on some photography basics, then youll be able to concentrate more on what you are seeing and your pictures will improve more and more as you learn.

Hope that helps.

JC

dylj · May 19, 2008

JCphoto said:
Well you obviously need to push the shutter all the way down to take a photo. When you are in auto focus your lens will focus according to how far away the subject is that you are shooting, if its too dark out for the camera to see the subject then it has no way of calculating how far away it is and therfore can't take a photo.

As for critique. When you're taking a photo try to be sure it has a clear subject, and position the subject in a position in the frame that will highlight it and make it the focal point of the image, so as not to confuse the viewer. When taking a photo of a repeated pattern (the last photo) generally its a good idea the fill the frame with the pattern, otherwise the other elements (in this case at the top) will distract from the pattern and not make as strong an impact.

I suggest you read up on some photography basics, then youll be able to concentrate more on what you are seeing and your pictures will improve more and more as you learn.

Hope that helps.

JC

Wow! Great, generous, patient, sensitive advice JC! This has helped me a great deal as well. Thanks!

LWW · May 19, 2008

darkpbstar said:
Ok so today I was able to go out and take my first pictures with my D40. I absolutely love it. I went out to the lake (Lake Michigan, in WI) and had some fun there. I was messing around like 10 minutes ago outside and had it on auto and took a picture of my car, and it was pretty dark, so I turned it on the night-time mode, and wow what a difference. It lightened up the picture greatly. I also learned that it takes longer in the night mode, like it will make a noise, then wait a second, and make the second noise, not like fast simultaneously in auto, obviously because it is capturing at night, I just don't know all the tech stuff yet. something that was happening though at night was I would hold the button half way, and it wouldn't want to take a picture for some reason. WHy would this be? I had to move a little then I could get it.
OK well here are the pictures. Thanks. Just a few of what I got. please give comments/critisim. also, I know they may not be perfectly straight, I didn't crop or edit anything, this is just what I got. thanks again
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk308/darkpbstar5/DSC_0017.jpg
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk308/darkpbstar5/DSC_0013.jpg
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk308/darkpbstar5/DSC_0007.jpg

You did good.

Life is a learning process.
Also, you can imbed your oics into the post without making people click on the link via the little box with a pic of mountains and the sun when you post ... ot you can quote this post to see how it's done manually.

I took the liberty of doing these for you.

If that's not what you wanted let me know.

LWW

darkpbstar · May 19, 2008

alright thanks for tips. I'll deffinetly read more. as I said, these were my very first pictures so I knew they wouldn't be "spectacular". thanks for teh replies

darkpbstar · May 19, 2008

any more reviews? I know they aren't great, but just need some more feedback so I know what to look for in good photos, and how I can improve. Thanks alot!

Senor Hound · May 19, 2008

I don't like telling people what is WRONG with their photos. Nothing is wrong with a photo unless you think there is. That being said, there are some things I would do to a few of the photos below to make them more universally appreciated in terms of composition. If you have any post-processing software, such as photoshop or paint shop, it can really make a photo zing with only about 2 minutes worth of work.

I REALLY like the second one, but the colors aren't as strong as they could be. Most photos look like this (even the ones professionals take) when they first take them, so this is not a pick at you. If you have a program that will, adjust the contrast and saturation of the photo to get the colors you're looking for. The sky is so beautiful, but I feel like others would appreciate it more if it were bluer (people love darker blue skies than what is really out there on most days). Also, I would turn the photo in so the horizon is level in the background.

But that's about it. A good photo doesn't need a lot of photoshopping to make it great. And since you pretty much nailed it while you were there, it won't take much work to tweak it afterwards. Also, keep in mind when people give advice on here, they are only telling you what they think would be good. If you like it as-is, and don't want to change it PLEASE DON'T! You aren't selling your photos, and you have no one to please but yourself. When I first came on here, someone who was really smart said something to me in a very non-sugar coated way, and it hurt my feelings. That being said, please remember they are only trying to help, and usually if you put a "be nice" disclaimer, they will do just that.

darkpbstar · May 19, 2008

alright thanks alot for your help, and your reviews. I too see how the horizon is, that is something that I would want to change for sure. THanks for the imput, I needed it. I do have some sort of photo program that came with my camera. I'll install it and see what it's all about. thanks