Just started my photography Biz need C&C PLEASE!

[thereyougo!]

OK, here's another you posted. Quite sharp, great look, good composition.
Note that the entire thing look a bit cold and the face looks like it's in the shadow.
A great hint is to look at the whites of teh eye. On children, unless they are ill, they are generally quite clearly white with just a tiny tinge of blue.
Once the image is warmed up, a magenta cast shows.
I changed the bluish tint and the magenta tint as much as looked good. (There is still some magenta under the eyes but I left that alone for now)

Then I brightened the face only to balance off the brightness of the sun struck part of the head.
I think this gives a much more appealing look. (altho the WB is still a bit off)

While you are learning how to use your camera, remember that the real goal is to learn to recognize good pictures and to understand how to get to them from wherever you start.
A lot of people, unfortunately, can run their cameras but their pictures have no heart, no soul and their pix never be more than sharp and reasonably composed with good color. This picture is nicely done and could be an indication that you have a real talent, now support that talent with skill.

I agree that the OP has really caught the emotion in this shot and I like your edit. The shot is still let down by composition as it's just a little too tight which would have been solved by a portrait orientation which would have meant that the sweet little girl's chin and head weren't cut off. Exposed right with correct WB and composed just a little better, this would be a winner.

 

[Elizabeth30]

OK, here's another you posted. Quite sharp, great look, good composition.
Note that the entire thing look a bit cold and the face looks like it's in the shadow.
A great hint is to look at the whites of teh eye. On children, unless they are ill, they are generally quite clearly white with just a tiny tinge of blue.
Once the image is warmed up, a magenta cast shows.
I changed the bluish tint and the magenta tint as much as looked good. (There is still some magenta under the eyes but I left that alone for now)

Then I brightened the face only to balance off the brightness of the sun struck part of the head.
I think this gives a much more appealing look. (altho the WB is still a bit off)

While you are learning how to use your camera, remember that the real goal is to learn to recognize good pictures and to understand how to get to them from wherever you start.
A lot of people, unfortunately, can run their cameras but their pictures have no heart, no soul and their pix never be more than sharp and reasonably composed with good color. This picture is nicely done and could be an indication that you have a real talent, now support that talent with skill.

I agree that the OP has really caught the emotion in this shot and I like your edit. The shot is still let down by composition as it's just a little too tight which would have been solved by a portrait orientation which would have meant that the sweet little girl's chin and head weren't cut off. Exposed right with correct WB and composed just a little better, this would be a winner.

Nice!! And you know what, I did warm it up later so I could post on my FB page. I just uploaded the unedited version becuase I'm not sure of my monitor color so I wasn't sure if I was seeing it correctly.

 

[LightSpeed]

I simply leave all the smart ass remarks to gsgary.
He's snide. Direct. And to the point. He's a much more seasoned veteran, in that regard, than I.

You cheeky bastard leave me out of it

See what I mean?

 

[gsgary]

I simply leave all the smart ass remarks to gsgary.
He's snide. Direct. And to the point. He's a much more seasoned veteran, in that regard, than I.

You cheeky bastard leave me out of it

See what I mean?

:hug::

 

[Redeyejedi]

hi elizabeth, amateur/hobbyist/ aspiring photographer here as well. i agree with understanding you equipment is an essential part of the game. there are supplemental books on many camera bodies and some have good layout and illustrations that will help you navigate menus, familiarize yourself with various features. i grabbed one and has helped me understand my camera more. i still have much to learn(in many aspects). you have what it takes to become as good as you desire as you have demonstrated patience, willingness to learn and be criticized, and you seem to be able to deal with a variety of personalities and not be dissuaded. also, many of the links suggested are quite the valuable resources....bookmark them and visit them frequently.
Flickr: Discussing Bokeh vs DoF in ¡Bokeh! - an interesting discussion on bokeh vs Dof, with a few images to help put things into perspective. for some, grasping the terms; circle of confusion, focal plane, depoth of field, near/far limit of acceptable sharpness, bokeh.... the way i understand it is(and someone can correct me if i am mistaken) bokeh takes on the shape of the hole the light is traveling through. depth of field has to do with the gradual 'out of focusness' in front and behind the focal plane, what the camera is focused on. and as you have already discovered, you can control the depth of field the choice of aperture, but bokeh is a function of the diaphragms in lens.
commenting late but trying to bring it back to the OP's OPs.

as a side note, one can control/change the shape of bokeh on any lens, although it is not a function of camera or lens settings, but rather physically change the shape of the hole light is travelling to sensor/film plane.
here is an example, nothing special by any means, but it is basically a 'stencil' for the lens.

one more thing, have fun! tons of it!

 

[Elizabeth30]

So I started this thread over two years ago and thought I'd pop over for a visit. How are ya all? I started to read through old posts and holy drama city!

I'm not back to cause any drama just back to say that two years later and I'm going pro this year! Yup, all new gear and equipment, business license and all
I don't remember the exact photos I posted in this thread but here's what I've been up to in the last two years.

A few of my faves.
All taken with my Rebel and a 50! OH and 1 with my 11-16mm

 

[astroNikon]

I'm not a pro .. but from what I read compared to what you just posted, it's a dramatic improvement.

You've learned to use your DOF really well, eliminate background distractions, colors, etc. Even the church group card photo is really nice with the OOF light star pattern and leading lines to the card behind it. Nice.

 

[ronlane]

Welcome back to the site. You should stick around. I don't see any drama from that latest set of images. #3,4 and 6 look really good to me.

 

[Elizabeth30]

Just curious- if I understand what you typed, you offer the non-edited photos as well? What is your thought process for that?

There are still really good shots in the non edited. I'm not going to go through and edit 200 photos but I do delete any that are obviously blurry or have major flaws before giving them the disk.

How can you take 200 shots in 1 hour and get any good shots, i can be 1 hour setting up lights for a still life and only shoot 2 shots in 1 hour

Reading through some of this is painful!! And kind of humorous at the same time. I'm happy to report that I don't charge $50 any more and I NEVER would even think about letting a client see unedited images let alone giving them one!

 

[Braineack]

Reading through some of this is painful!! And kind of humorous at the same time. I'm happy to report that I don't charge $50 any more and I NEVER would even think about letting a client see unedited images let alone giving them one!

Now I know the post to link back to everytime someone doing the same comes here to complain...


Most of the stuff you put here two years ago is no longer showing up, but the work you put up yesterday looks pretty good; just slightly desaturated/muted and unexposed for my tastes.

 

[The_Traveler]

I'm glad that you stuck with it and got something out of that drama session.
Pictures look much much better
But never take pictures on or near railroad tracks. Cliche and dangerous and trespassing

Best of luck

 

[manicmike]

Nice work.

 

[Elizabeth30]

Reading through some of this is painful!! And kind of humorous at the same time. I'm happy to report that I don't charge $50 any more and I NEVER would even think about letting a client see unedited images let alone giving them one!

Now I know the post to link back to everytime someone doing the same comes here to complain...


Most of the stuff you put here two years ago is no longer showing up, but the work you put up yesterday looks pretty good; just slightly desaturated/muted and unexposed for my tastes.

Thanks! Not sure why but for some reason the images look very desaturated and under exposed UNTIL you click on them Try clicking the first and then you can scroll through.

 

[astroNikon]

I'm glad that you stuck with it and got something out of that drama session.
Pictures look much much better
But never take pictures on or near railroad tracks. Cliche and dangerous and trespassing

Best of luck

Yeah, I thought about the train track photo ..
here's the thread to read about it
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/just-fun/350169-dont-photograph-train-tracks.html

of course, I've *never* done it ... well ... maybe ...

 

[Braineack]

oh wow, yeah, that helps. I know the thumbnails don't always look as good, but they are much better, to my tastes, when clicked larger for sure.