First Week with DSLR

Joeguitar · Feb 16, 2011

[FONT=&quot]A friend of mine is letting me borrow his D-40X while I consider purchasing a D3100. This past week (my first week in photography ever) I decided to take a few shots of the beautiful Kentucky countryside. My aim was to find color in the "dead" of winter.

I realize there is nothing revolutionary in these photos but am looking for serious C&C so I can improve over the coming weeks/months/years. I have had a blast learning the ropes!

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alwaysbored786 · Feb 16, 2011

my fav is the second one, decent composure, With some editing it can look really great. You';ve got an eye for angles/composure. Overall the first picture seems pointless to me, nothing going on, not sharp, my eyes just dont like it.

Second picture, zoom out a bit, grab some of the surrounding areas and dont expose it as much.

I would give you a lot more detailed C&C with what settings and stuff you should use, but until you understand the basics, its quite pointless.

Joeguitar · Feb 16, 2011

alwaysbored786 said:
my fav is the second one, decent composure, With some editing it can look really great. You';ve got an eye for angles/composure. Overall the first picture seems pointless to me, nothing going on, not sharp, my eyes just dont like it.

Second picture, zoom out a bit, grab some of the surrounding areas and dont expose it as much.

I would give you a lot more detailed C&C with what settings and stuff you should use, but until you understand the basics, its quite pointless.

Excellent feedback...I do have a cursory knowledge of editing software and of photography (elements of proper exposure, etc.) so don't hesitate to hold back. I actually cropped the second shot so maybe you would prefer the original:

alwaysbored786 · Feb 17, 2011

Yes, original is much nicer imo! Could be a bit sharper, seems like there was a bit of camera shake, were you using a tripod and timer/remote shutter release?

Biggs88 · Feb 17, 2011

All of the photos lack composition.

Take your time, learn the basics of photography. As I have said in other posts, go to a library and get books about photography from the 80's and early 90's. Those books are the ones that focus on the art of photography and not just how DSLRs work like a lot of todays "photography" books do.

For new books, check out Understanding Exposure.

Read up online. Shoot non-stop.

Have fun!