HILARIOUS!

[blackrose89]

I have no activity on in this thread, and I don't care to. I just want to offer my two cents. I've been skimming through some of the thread, and if I am completely off-base please disregard lol.

What it seems we have here a newbie who doesn't want to take criticism. Seems to me that too many people want to post their photos, get Oohs and Aahs and be on their way. That's NOT what the forum is about. This forum for the most part is people serious about photgraphy trying to learn and grow. I also don't understand why people are so defensive and keep arguing. If you don't like someone's advice, if you think someone's advice is bull then move on! Yes people are harsh, but in the few weeks that I have seem an improvement in my photos and a hell of a lot more effort in my photos. I understand it, when I first started posting photos, I thought people were going to love it! Guess what, didn't happen. Was I devastated, yes? Do I regret the feedback, NO! My photos are all the better now for the criticism I have received. And also, if you're not looking for serious critique, this isn't really the place to do it, you don't have to post here.
Look at the difference in my photos

Before harsh critique

After Harsh critique

I understand it's no award winning photo, but it's a jump from the prior photo.

I'm also getting tired about people saying there should be no rules/guidelines to photography, that you can't teach art. Yes you can! There is art school, art classes. There are rules with any art! When you draw, there are guidelines. You can't just sketch a doodle and show it to a real sketch artist and have them say "OMG this is amazing" Picture taking and photography are TWO different things! Photography is an image creating technique that needs to sucessfully communicate a message between the author and the observer. I get tired of people being crappy at drawing, photography, painting and saying "Well it's art, so it's ok" People use the term "art" way too much as a get out of jail free card to cover up crappy artwork.

Also, another thing, the reason CC is so varying is because a technical factor that might be important to one person, may not be to another. To one person, perfect exposure might be important and is much more critical about that rather then someone's poor composition. And Vice versa. You have to take all of the pieces of advice and put them together as best you can. Guess what, if you don't like someone's advice, you can ignore it. Being defensive have never accomplished a critic to suddenly see the light, and like a photo.

 

[cgipson1]

Are you related at all to AmateurAllie?

Hey.. thats my line! lol!

 

[KmH]

There are no rules, only guidelines and interpritations of the guidelines.

 

[gsgary]

The one thing that hit me was that you expected to be able to pick up the skill of photography in a weekend' it takes time some a long time

 

[blackrose89]

There are no rules, only guidelines and intreptations of the guidelines.

I guess guidelines is more of what I want.

 

[fotomanjack]

Quite an interesting thread, really. All good answers, all good advice, all good intentions. Much can be learned from all these posts. I hope the original poster reads and understands and LEARNS from these posts.

 

[SCraig]

... It is that newbies come here expecting to be seen as photographic prodigies, and when they realize that the work they put up isn't quite as good as they thought...

I'm not so sure that it's a case of assuming that they are photographic prodigies, but rather that they have no concept of how much there is to know, and that there's a LOT more to getting a top-notch image than just turning your brand-new, Best-Buy DSLR to 'Green box' mode and snapping away. I've been doing this for 30 years and I still learn something new almost every day.

Well said. That's why I think it's so amusing when people post "I just got my camera" and "I'm ready to go professional" in the same post. Some people honestly and truly have no idea how much there is to learn. As long as "Automatic" is available to them they are ready to go pro. I've only been around this forum a few weeks so I can only imagine how many "Pros" will show up a few days after Christmas.

 

[vtf]

I've made my suggestions in the prior 40 threads you started. I suggest looking back and reviewing those.
ibtl

 

[ababysean]

This was my first picture posted here. April 29, 2010

same kid about 1.5 years later after several butt kickings on TPF...

Far from perfect, but I bitched and complained and yelled and screamed at the CC given, but they have brought me to here....

 

[tirediron]

...I can only imagine how many "Pros" will show up a few days after Christmas.

*Note to self: Disconnect Internet from 26 December until 31 January.

 

[GrantH]

You are getting this confused on such basic principles? You could literally find all of this out by going and shooting your front door for 3 hours. I'm a newb, but everything you said in your post is "manual reading" information, honestly.

 

[TamiAz]

You are getting this confused on such basic principles? You could literally find all of this out by going and shooting your front door for 3 hours. I'm a newb, but everything you said in your post is "manual reading" information, honestly.

I had a hard time with some of the stuff in the manual, so I ended up getting one of the books that goes into more depth on the same topics that are in the manual..It was written specifically for the Nikon D5100 and it was a huge help.

 

[Vtec44]

Honestly from your posts, I think the problem is that you try to remember but you don't understand. You're trying to remember all the suggestions, but you don't understand the "why" for each.

Why raise ISO instead of flash?
Why motion blur at low shutter speed? At what speed of my subject is okay to use 1/200? What about 1/320, 1/400, 1/500, 1/800, and so on?
Why f5.6 instead of f2.8 or f1.8?
Where do you crop limbs and where not to crop? Do I not crop at all, ever?
Pay attention to your histogram? why? what for? What's the generally accepted histogram?

There's no 1 right answer, each photograph and each photographer is different, but you need to understand why your settings are in a certain way and why not in a certain way.

 

[KmH]

Slower shutter: more light in, more room for error in sharpeness

Nope. Slower shutter speed - more chance of camera shake and/or subject movement blur during the exposure

lower aperture numbers (aperture opened up wider) ...more light in/less DOF)

The only correct statement there is a more open aperture lets in more light.
Otherwise, Nope. A more open aperture is a bigger aperture number. f/2 is a bigger number than f/8 is, and you can have less DoF even with a more open aperture because lens focal length, focus point distance the the camera and to the background also affect DoF.

DOF: dependant upon aperture/focal length

And the focus point distance from the camera, and from the focus point to the background.

metering: instead of seeing everything in color see it in shades of black/white/gray. Find your middle gray.

Nope. Find the appropriate exposure by using the meter, but be aware the meter is calibrated to 18% gray and can be fooled if the scene has a lot of white in it, like snow, or a lot of very white wedding dress. Your Nikon D3100 has color-aware metering (it's listed in the Specifications -TTL exposure metering using a 420-pixel RGB metering sensor), a real plus over those other makers cameras that are color blind. Plus your D3100 has 3 user selectable metering modes: Spot, Center-weighted, and Matrix that have different uses.

Af-C basically means auto focus but you choose your focal point and the camera then continues to keep that point in focus even if your subject moves.

Nope! If you select AF-C as the focus mode, you also have to select one of the focus area modes. If you use the single focus point area mode you have to keep that focus point on the subject as the subject moves.

Af-S. (or servo) basically you lock in your focus and shoot. It does not continue to keep your subject in somewhat focus which is why if there is to be any movement, you need to recompose.

Sort of. Your Nikon has Auto-servo, Single-servo, and Continuous-servo (page 55 - D3100 user's manual), and the procedure for Focus Lock - Recompose is described on pages 60 & 61.

composition: don't cut off limbs, rule of thirds, don't fill your frame with your subject (at least all of the time because your margin for error is greater.) STEP BACK!

You can cut off limbs, but it's not a good idea to do so at a joint, because then it looks like an amputation. Yes, fill your frame, but be sure and leave room to crop for different aspect ratio prints.

Pop up flash is harsh, Only if the power isn't manually turned down use a diffuser Maybe or (according to some) forget the flash Maybe, bump up your ISO Only if you have some other way to control the light.

According to others, use a speedlight and bounce or don't bounce the light.

It depends what you have to bounce off of, what color the bounce surface is, and the lighting effect you want. Bouncing off a ceiling without using a bounce card results in 'raccoon eyes' - dark eye sockets.

Some say keep ISO as low as possible and bring in other light. (hence my speedlight)

Because you have more artisitc control by bringing in other light than just upping the ISo and using whatever light is available. Take control of the light - with a reflector, Or 2 speedlights, or 3 reflectors. It depends on what you want to light and how you want to light it.

Shutter speeds: For a moving subject (even just a little movement) shoot no slower than 1/200 and maybe even 1/400. However some have told me to work on camera shake and try 1/60 and keep that ISO down.

The slower the shutter speed the more likely a photo will record camera shake blur or subject movement blur, regardless the ISO setting. You do not yet seem to have even a rudimentary understanding of the relationship the 3 exposure triad settings have to each other, nor an understanding of the basic exposure concept of a 'stop'.

Pay attention to your historgrams.

I rarely look at the histogram when I shoot, but sometimes look at a histogram when I am editing a photo post process. You have to know how to read a histogram.

If you shoot in RAW than you can adjust more in pp.

Maybe. But you don't shoot JPEG, because JPEG is a finished ready-to-print file type that was edited with little to no input from you.

White balance has to do with temperature (obviousely).

White Balance is about light source color temperature.

Focus your AF point on the nearest eye of your subject. (when shooting a portrait; not written in stone)

Maybe.

Unwritten rule; for every number of subjects you need to shoot, make sure the aperture is that +1.

There is a reason that rule is unwritten. You cannot count on it, because there are to many other variables that have to be taken into consideration.

 

[AMOMENT]

I have no problem with someone saying to me point blank "THAT PHOTO SUCKS AND COULD NOT BE ANY WORSE." I don't think anyone owes me information at all. I only ask that you don't pass judgement my way by acting as if I OWE YOU something besides gratitude for helpful advice. I became defensive when everyone actually said I was ignoring their advice and disrespecting them by doing this. I am trying very hard to apply everything.

CC is great and I don't mind anyone telling me my work stinks. In fact if you revisit my posts I NEVER agrue or defend my photos as if to disagree with you. I thank you, acknowledge your point, and go from there. The only thing I have ever become resistant to you is when you become angry on here at me for supposedly not taking your advice. If anything, this is self centered.

Attack my photos all that you want but I have received numerous personal attacks from people who don't even know me. It is these that have caused me to state my professions as a way to show you that I am a professional in something as well and therefore know what it's like to teach. I never talk to my students like this. I never once scold them for not taking my advice. If I give them my opinion it is a "gift" and if they choose to embrace it, wonderful. If they struggle, fine.

Again...revisit my threads. I never have shown any resisitant to TRUE CC. I only became defensive about personal attacks from people insinuating I was doing them some sort of diservice.