First post & pics to critique please

[Puma]

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Hey all,

I am new to this site. Well, actually I have been browsing for about 2 or 3 months just reading. A bunch of y'all have actually helped me to buy my first digital slr. I went with the Nikon D80. Thanks.

I am an owner of a mobile dj business that is doing great, so I am planning on expanding into the photography market as well. I am finding out that there is alot to learn. My wife & I are enrolled in an online course right now to help learn.

I have a few pics that I am pretty happy with as a beginner that I would like to share with y'all and have them HONESTLY critiqued. I am not a crybaby, let me know what and where I can improve please. I am not stating that I believe these to be any good, just that I am proud being a brand new photographer. I truly am learning everyday that I know less than I thought I knew....lol

OK for the pics...........................

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(#1) The first pic is a session I did with my friends and their new baby.

(#2) This next one I edited a little

(#3) I did a little work on this one and feel I should of made it black & white due to the baby's skin blemish

(#4) Another one I edited a little

(#5) Not real sure about this one

(#6) Yep...a lemon

Thanks in advance for any help or comments.

-Puma-

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[Puma]

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I realized I didnt put any info on what i what using.


......on the baby pics I was using my Nikon D80 with the kit lense it came with (18-135mm). After this session was over I went and bought a 50mm 1.8 prime lense. That is what I took the rest of the photos with.

I didnt have any lighting except for the built in flash and natural light that I tried to utilize the best I could. I want to improve in that area first, buying a sb-800 flash and diffuser. I just need to research lighting more first.

I also dont own photoshop yet. I am using a real cheap and simple program called printshop21 by broderbound. It doing ok for what little I knw right now.

Thanks agan.

-Puma-

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[memento]

the lemon, Yep... the lemon, is pretty neat.

 

[Christina]

well i dont think your off to a terrible start, and im fairly new myself but if i may offer a few thoughts.

1) Numer one is a nice classic pose, but if you notice moms hand fills the right hand corner but the left hand doesnt? it makes the photo look slightly crooked.

2) Your front butterfly is very blurry and the shadow from the 2nd butterfly is throwing a very hard shadow, try using your internal flash for something like this. Also when using color selection, its normally used to draw attention to the subject, and i would assume the baby is the subject in this photo, not the butterfly? also the angle you shot from makes the stripes in the background look odd, i do like the poses and its very creative.

3) moms eyes are very pretty but almost unreal, but with the baby, he looks squished with one eye open and the other eye not. i focus more on mom than baby here.

4) Isnt a bad idea, but the babies legs trailing from the hand makes you want to follow them out of the photo, maybe try sitting baby where dads hands covers the rest of legs and body?

5) just dont do much of anything for me.

6) I like alot, i love the colors and i think the reflection gives it a nice touch, very clean feel to it.

hope this helps and best wishes.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

4 looks like the feet were severed off and some guy is holding them in his hands. It needs context, meaning where is the rest of the body?

 

[Puma]

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well i dont think your off to a terrible start, and im fairly new myself but if i may offer a few thoughts.

1) Numer one is a nice classic pose, but if you notice moms hand fills the right hand corner but the left hand doesnt? it makes the photo look slightly crooked.

2) Your front butterfly is very blurry and the shadow from the 2nd butterfly is throwing a very hard shadow, try using your internal flash for something like this. Also when using color selection, its normally used to draw attention to the subject, and i would assume the baby is the subject in this photo, not the butterfly? also the angle you shot from makes the stripes in the background look odd, i do like the poses and its very creative.

3) moms eyes are very pretty but almost unreal, but with the baby, he looks squished with one eye open and the other eye not. i focus more on mom than baby here.

4) Isnt a bad idea, but the babies legs trailing from the hand makes you want to follow them out of the photo, maybe try sitting baby where dads hands covers the rest of legs and body?

5) just dont do much of anything for me.

6) I like alot, i love the colors and i think the reflection gives it a nice touch, very clean feel to it.

hope this helps and best wishes.

Thanks and I agree with everything you said. The only thing about the shadow is....that the flash is what caused that shadow. I wish I had one of those external lights or flashes.

The Moms eyes are freaky. I did nothing to her eyes. They look like that in the original. She has awesome eyes. We all said the same thing when we saw the original photo ( that her eyes look fake)

Thank you very much for your comments and criticism. I appreciate it and it gives me some stuff to work on. Thats what Im looking for.

-Puma-

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[Puma]

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4 looks like the feet were severed off and some guy is holding them in his hands. It needs context, meaning where is the rest of the body?

I agree. We saw that pose on google and we tried it. It does appear to be severed feet in his hands....lol

I promise no children or feet were harmed in the production of these photos:lmao:

-Puma-

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[Puma]

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Here are a couple butterfly pics I liked that I took with the kit lense.

#7

#8

-Puma-

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[Puma]

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I was hoping to get critiqued by a few more people. These are my first attempts at photography. I know they arent great so thats why I am asking for help.

I went to a state park 2 days ago that had alot of animals including manatees and the pics came out very disappointing. So much so I wouldnt even post them on here. So, I know I have alot to learn. I guess I will just keep reading as much as I can.

-Puma-

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[Puma]

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Here is one I took a few days ago of a shack I found out in the woods.

I am gonna try to fix the sunny spots on the ground. Just looking for some tips on what I can do better or what I am doing wrong.

-Puma-

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[tbsdphotog]

The pic with the baby and the butterfly you are definatly right. You need a fill light. The harsh shadow really killed the photo. I love the lemon pic!