Just Some Wildlife (Beginner)

[shelby16]

Bare in mind, I am still using my compact camera but next week I will be using my new Nikon D5100. I'm very much a beginner but I'm practicing and practicing. Anyway, I'd like so opinions on these shots? #1 it was very bright, and I tried to do some editing to take away some of the blur my camera made. Still a little blurry, but I hope it worked some. For #2 my dog was in perfect stance so I just played with the tones a little. #3 is in my backyard, barely any edit. I hope the exposure is good on these! I just want some thoughts on how these are for a beginner. It's very appreciated, thank you!

Shelby

#1


Edit:


#2


#3
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[kundalini]

Don't worry, it gets better with time, experience and practice.

 

[shelby16]

Don't worry, it gets better with time, experience and practice.

Are they that bad? hahaha. Just kidding, I'm aiming to get better.

 

[SCraig]

You'll have a tough time getting a good exposure when the light is like it is in the first shot of the bird. Half of the subject is in heavy shade and the other half in bright sunlight. If you expose for the highlights (which is what you normally want to do) you lose detail in the shadows. If you expose for the shadows the highlights blow out. It's a no-win situation because cameras don't have that much dynamic range. You can take multiple shots at different exposures and use HDR software to merge them and improve it a great deal, but birds generally don't sit still long enough for that to work.

You handled it about as well as it could be handled. The highlights are slightly blown-out but the shadows aren't too dark either. No matter what you did you would have lost somewhere. A lot of it can be fixed in post processing, but not all of it.

 

[shelby16]

You'll have a tough time getting a good exposure when the light is like it is in the first shot of the bird. Half of the subject is in heavy shade and the other half in bright sunlight. If you expose for the highlights (which is what you normally want to do) you lose detail in the shadows. If you expose for the shadows the highlights blow out. It's a no-win situation because cameras don't have that much dynamic range. You can take multiple shots at different exposures and use HDR software to merge them and improve it a great deal, but birds generally don't sit still long enough for that to work.

You handled it about as well as it could be handled. The highlights are slightly blown-out but the shadows aren't too dark either. No matter what you did you would have lost somewhere. A lot of it can be fixed in post processing, but not all of it.

Thank you so much! Do you have any thoughts on any of my other images? Also, I'm hoping that when I am able to start using my D5100, I can take clearer shots of birds. I'm hoping a better lens that can zoom in closer to the bird will make it look more crisp.

 

[SCraig]

Thank you so much! Do you have any thoughts on any of my other images? Also, I'm hoping that when I am able to start using my D5100, I can take clearer shots of birds. I'm hoping a better lens that can zoom in closer to the bird will make it look more crisp.

I think I'd darken the dog a little bit. Not much, just a tad. His nose looks dark gray and I bet it's black, and darkening it slightly will improve the saturation. Also, if you can crop some of the grass out do so. It's just visual "Noise" that does nothing for the image. In fact, I'd probably crop it to just a portrait of his head. Next time get down lower so that your lens is at his eye level, and don't cut the top of his hip off


The palm trees at sunset are a prerequisite shot that everyone has to do at some point. They are always "Pretty" but they usually lack interest. There's just really not a lot there to grab someone's attention. You did better than most though in that neither the trees nor the horizon are dead center. Again, darken it some and you'll start to see the colors come alive.

 

[shelby16]

I think I'd darken the dog a little bit. Not much, just a tad. His nose looks dark gray and I bet it's black, and darkening it slightly will improve the saturation. Also, if you can crop some of the grass out do so. It's just visual "Noise" that does nothing for the image. In fact, I'd probably crop it to just a portrait of his head. Next time get down lower so that your lens is at his eye level, and don't cut the top of his hip off

The palm trees at sunset are a prerequisite shot that everyone has to do at some point. They are always "Pretty" but they usually lack interest. There's just really not a lot there to grab someone's attention. You did better than most though in that neither the trees nor the horizon are dead center. Again, darken it some and you'll start to see the colors come alive.

Wow, thank you so much for the advice!! I will edit these pics again ASAP and post them. Watch for them!