frogger

mookster43 · Jul 28, 2011

Hello, Just a short background.. I'm new to photography and I've been both reading up on this forum and some books/internet etc. I have been messing around for a few weeks now. I feel like I just took my first picture that I actually am willing to show to someone. I believe I took it in Av mode, but I can't figure out how to look at my exif to check on that, but I'm sure you can

To me it looks like I focused on his eyes but I know that sometimes I have trouble discerning the details that you more experienced photographers can see. I feel like I could have used a little bit of a larger dof because the water is way blurry and those light spots distract me a little. Anyway number 1 is just cropped and number 2 I used picnik (all I have) to boost the color by 20%. Am I on the right track?

I apologize I'm not sure how to make the pictures smaller in my post.

1.

2.

NikonME · Jul 28, 2011

Did you use an on camera flash?

mookster43 · Jul 28, 2011

I was trying not to, but yes I believe the flash fired.

marmots · Jul 28, 2011

the focus is definitely on he right eye, and the second is better.

the overall composition isn't at all bad, and i think the light would be even more distracting if it were in focus so the dof is fine

but just a little grammatical error, it is said "greater" depth of field, not "bigger" depth of field

and for editing i would recommend gimp for editing on the cheap, it takes a little getting used to, but can be a very powerful photo editor

and don't worry about re-sizing the pictures, as long as they're not 1,000,000 pixels across like this one guy posted, it will automatically resize

NikonME · Jul 28, 2011

Some will say it's boring or it's just another frog picture. When you are learning, it's about getting out and just taking pictures. The composition is good. The light/reflections are hard, but that could be flash or just a bad time of the day. Try shooting in the early morning or evenings when the sun is not high.

The reflections could be reduced with a polarizing filter.

There is something, bit of weed or something in the water that on the right side that is a little distracting, I would photoshop that out.

Either way, if you like it than that is all that matters. Keep taking pictures and practice, practice, practice.

mookster43 · Jul 28, 2011

Thank you for your input. I see what you're saying about just another frog picture but I guess to me it makes me happy because its a frog that lives in my backyard pond and that's what matters right now because I'm not trying to sell my photos to anyone

All I needed was a little encouragement that at least SOMETHING was sinking in because I feel like there is SO much to grasp all at once just to take a nice photo. I appreciate the responses.

NikonME · Jul 28, 2011

mookster43 said:
Thank you for your input. I see what you're saying about just another frog picture but I guess to me it makes me happy because its a frog that lives in my backyard pond and that's what matters right now because I'm not trying to sell my photos to anyone All I needed was a little encouragement that at least SOMETHING was sinking in because I feel like there is SO much to grasp all at once just to take a nice photo. I appreciate the responses.

There is a ton to learn.. but you will get it as long as you don't give up. Keep up the learning!

vtf · Jul 28, 2011

Bull frogs squeal like a pissed off cat. I actually like the first shot, I find the second satuated too much.

amberandhercamera · Jul 28, 2011

Great picture!

mookster43 · Jul 28, 2011

vtf said:
Bull frogs squeal like a pissed off cat. I actually like the first shot, I find the second satuated too much.

They do!! haha you can hear them over the air conditioner sometimes. There are a whole bunch that live in our pond and whenever you walk out you hear them all plop into the water. That's why I was so excited about this one because it sat there and posed for a good 20 minutes while I took a whole bunch of pictures of it.