First time posting! CC welcome!

[SpencerW]

im still getting used to my first dslr and i would like some tips on my photos. these were taken in apple valley california. taken with d3100 and edited with viewnx2. not sure if i over edited them or anything so just help me out with some feedback!

thanks!

1.

DSC_0046 by stw1990, on Flickr

2.

DSC_0129 by stw1990, on Flickr

3.

DSC_0066 by stw1990, on Flickr

4.

DSC_0043 by stw1990, on Flickr

5.

DSC_0015 copy by stw1990, on Flickr

 

[vonstarrphoto]

I really enjoy the colour in these. In picture number two I would say the sky was a bit blown out though and could do with some more detail in it. Great photos though!

 

[SpencerW]

thanks!

 

[dxqcanada]

They appear to be over-exposed or lightened too much in post processing.

When you visually looked at the scene ... was there more darker areas?

 

[NikonME]

I second that. They all look over exposed with blown out areas. Post an original unedited photo or two.

 

[Ryan L]

Whoever is peeing in #4 has quite the flow...nice.

 

[NikonME]

Whoever is peeing in #4 has quite the flow...nice.

I thought the same thing.. lol

 

[shari626]

I am always happy when I look at a photo for C+C and try to draw my own conclusions - and then they match what the "pros" said. I agree with the other posters about your photos. Except the peeing part.

 

[SpencerW]

thanks for the feedback. im still new to editing so im not too sure what i should be doing haha

heres a couple of the unedited shots. the sun was pretty bright that day




DSC_0043 by stw1990, on Flickr

 

[lyonsroar]

Skies blown out. Clouds blown out.

The water stream one has potential to be fantastic if you could have opened the shutter for longer resulting in a bluffed, waife-like stream instead of a halfway blurred choppy stream

 

[Scoody]

Whoever is peeing in #4 has quite the flow...nice.

No prostate problems there, I tell ya!

 

[eric rose]

A quick little trick I use for metering in difficult situations is look for some green grass or green trees. They are 18% gray. See God does love photographers! Take a spot meter reading off either one and shot at that. That should get you in the ball park. Another natural 18% gray is a clear north blue sky.

 

[KmH]

A quick little trick I use for metering in difficult situations is look for some green grass or green trees. They are 18% gray.

Please explain how green grass, or green trees, are 18% gray.

18% gray:

 

[eric rose]

Meters are color blind. The way camera meters are setup they want to make everything look 18% gray. If you take a pic of a pure black wall it will come out looking 18% gray. If you take a pic of a pure white wall it will again come out looking 18% gray. It's about reflectance values. Green grass etc. reflect at a level equal to 18% gray. I am sure there are some great resources on the net that explain metering in greater depth than we have room for here. Learning how your meter works is 90% of getting good exposures from it. Read up on the Zone System. It applies just as well to digital imaging as it does to film. 18% gray is Zone 5 in the Zone System. This system has 10 zones from pure white to absolute black. This explains why you need to override your meter by 2 stops when taking photos of snow with shadows in the dips. The snow is placed on Zone 7 which is 2 stops more reflective than Zone 5. Hence you need to over expose by 2 stops to get a natural tonality in the image. If you don't you will find your image under exposed by 2 stops and looking quite dark.

 

[lyonsroar]

^On the left hand side of the page under "location" it says "post count"

Off topic: What is KmH's post count?