Frogs! New Photographer. C&C Please

[DivadWaldoss]

Hey guys! I JUST got my Canon t3i (first DSLR) in the mail the other day, and so today I went down to our pond and got some pictures of frogs!
Wildlife photography is one of the main things I want to do with this camera, and today made me realize how badly I need a telephoto lens!
If you could please give me some comments and criticism, and things I could improve on, that'd be great! Please be honest, even if that means being harsh.
Thanks!

1


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3

 

[WesternGuy]

First request - it will make it a lot easier for folks to give you C&C if you number your images. This makes it a lot easier to refer to them, rather than having to flip back and forth to make sure that the reviewer has the right image - thanks.

First impressions as an experienced amateur who also does a lot of wildlife photography: these are not too bad for a first time, but one thing you do have to watch is what I call "clutter" - this being anything that detracts from the image/subject you are trying to present. Your best example of this, for me, is the second one where the vegetation detracts from the frog and the third one where the vegetation and the rock tend to dominate the image, rather than the frog(s) you are trying to capture. As you indicated a telephoto will probably help, but one thing you do have to develop as a wildlife photographer is patience and lots of it - just don't be satisifed with the first few shots that you can get. Not only that, I find it helps if I have some kind of an idea about what types of images I want to capture before I start, that way I am not just shooting at anything that moves - yes it helps to be able to grab the surprise shots that come along, but a bit of planning is also valuable.

As you are just starting out, I think that you might benefit from doing some reading on compostion and I would encourage you to surf the web, but you could start with - Advanced Composition -- Part I - there are two following web sites with the links at the end of the site. As well, have a look at this one - PhotographyComposition Articles Library as there are a number of links to sites on composition. There are a number of books that have been written on composition - you might want to look at one by Bryan Peterson called Learning to See Creatively - Amazon.com: Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color& Composition in Photography (Updated Edition) (9780817441814): BryanPeterson: Books. There are lots of others. Hope this helps.

WesternGuy

 

[DivadWaldoss]

Thanks for the great advice WesternGuy! I'll be sure to keep these things in mind next time.
Also, I went ahead and numbered the pictures, and will be sure to do so in my future posts as well.
Thanks!

Anyone else?

 

[Kayak]

Image one is great, really like it. Something to consider... changing or varying the angle you are shooting from can provide some interesting perspectives and composition. It appears from these images you were standing at the end of the water looking down. What if you got the camera down to water level and looked that frog in the eye?

 

[dmanning11]

Image one has my vote, my advice is to get a good C Polarising lens, that way if you take shots involving water or other reflective surfaces you have the option to increase or remove the glare from the waters surface.

 

[Angela Spangler]

I really love the first one!

 

[DivadWaldoss]

Thanks guys!
The first one is my favorite aswell!
I like the idea of getting the camera at water level. Might make me a bit nervous, haha!
I'll go take some more today, and as WesternGuy said, I'll have a goal. My goal is to get a shot from water level, and to get a shot of a frog jumping.

@dmanning11- I'll look into that. Thanks for the advice!