First time not on auto CC

Live_free · Dec 28, 2009

Well today and yesterday, got my camera on christmas mind you, were the first days off auto for me. I have read composition rules and actually tried, keep in mind I'm still a noob at this. lol Any and ALL advice is welcome. Just don't be too mean, like meaningless rudeness. If you hate them just offer on how they could be better. Thanks

Bitter Jeweler · Dec 28, 2009

The last one might be better not centered. The stem creates a nice leading line to the "berries".

#2 looks pretty nice, maybe a little grainy, but still a nice capture.

TJ K · Dec 28, 2009

1 just seems kind of boring and dull. I don't like the main subject where it is and the water all out of focus.
2 the sky is nice and the colors are pretty good. I might have increased the saturation on it a little bit to get a bit more pop but the composition is decent just try to keep from centering everything. Either have more of the sky or more of the land.
3 is again directly in the center of the photo. Check out the rule of thirds and all that good stuff. The subject is a bit too bust for me.
4 is also right in the center and the white might be a little bit over exposed.
Good luck and keep er' out of auto!
TJ

Live_free · Dec 28, 2009

Thanks guys, the ones that you mentioned about the rules of thirds were taken yesterday before I read those rules. Also number 1 is more of a "peaceful" picture. I focused on the cat-tails? I believe and the water was out of focus on purpose.

TJ K · Dec 28, 2009

I know it was on purpose but I think especially seeing those rocks and logs near the bottom you could have done something really nice with that and the water and hills in the back.
TJ

Bitter Jeweler · Dec 28, 2009

Horizontal lines suggest peace/rest/calm. Focusing on the vertical grasses...suggests strength/power/growth.

Live_free · Dec 28, 2009

TJ K said:
I know it was on purpose but I think especially seeing those rocks and logs near the bottom you could have done something really nice with that and the water and hills in the back.
TJ

Like what?

Also in your signature how do you make a hyperlink? Thanks.

TJ K · Dec 28, 2009

Go to user cp and then the menu on the left go to edit signature. From there click on the add link button the picture of the world with the green plus sign. Put your link there and then edit the section that is high lighted to say what you want.

I would have maybe went for a lower angle and used those rocks and logs as my main subject and then stopped down my lens so that I could get the water to have a bit of a dreamy feel to it and look nice and smooth. GL
TJ

Live_free · Dec 28, 2009

Well I am going back to take pictures tomorrow so I will try =]

TJ K · Dec 28, 2009

Alright have fun! Try new things and new angles you never know what will surprise you.
TJ

jennyjen · Dec 28, 2009

Maybe try and find a better place to take the pictures. I dont really like the view.

agc970 · Dec 28, 2009

good job on going off auto... it too me much longer to do that than it did you! :lol:

i can tell that you've got an eye for the type of shot you are trying to capture. you are off to a great start! i would like to make a few suggestions for improvement as far as composition goes.

#1 seems out of focus. this would be a perfect shot if the stalks of grass were moved over onto the first third of the left hand side (rule of thirds) and if the stalks of grass were in focus. this has a nice peaceful feel to it.

#2 is a nice sunset capture. i like that you've used a lake to capture a reflection. the sky is so beautiful! however, all of the birds or stones (can't tell) in the water and the houses off in the distance, make the composition a bit too busy in my opinion. i think you could easily fix part of this problem by increasing the blacks in this photo so that it just looks like a silhouette of trees and you lose the houses (if that makes sense). it would also be nice to adjust the saturation of those colors in the sky to make them pop just a little more.

#3 is a bit too centered here. don't forget the rule of thirds

#4 is a very nice, simple composition. and the DOF here is excellent as well. i would suggest cropping out part of the bottom and right hand side of the photo to keep the composition in line with the rule of thirds.

i think you've got some really nice photos here and you're off to a great start. some of the suggestions i've made require some photo editing software. if you don't already have photoshop or lightroom, i would suggest checking out gimp software for now because i believe it's free! You can find it here: GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program

TJ K · Dec 28, 2009

jennyjen said:
Maybe try and find a better place to take the pictures. I dont really like the view.

I don't see why you wouldn't like the view. Look around the pictures there seems to be a lot of interesting things in the area. Don't just think about what you see right in front of you think of what else might be in a forest it's not just filled with tree stumps ya know:thumbup: