My Son

[Raizahblade]

Cute kid and cute picture. Don't be afraid to click the shutter button. How many images does the card hold? Take multiple shots at the given opportunity.
Hope that helps.
What camera do you have body goes with the 18-135?

I have a 60D. I've had it since the beginning of the year. I want to get a 50mm lens but I figured I should practice with the one I have before investing further money in this newfound hobby of mine.

 

[Raizahblade]

No, it wasn't. At all. It was honest and to the point and exactly what she asked for.

I'm a dude! Haha.

 

[Juga]

Cute kid and cute picture. Don't be afraid to click the shutter button. How many images does the card hold? Take multiple shots at the given opportunity.
Hope that helps.
What camera do you have body goes with the 18-135?

I have a 60D. I've had it since the beginning of the year. I want to get a 50mm lens but I figured I should practice with the one I have before investing further money in this newfound hobby of mine.

I have a 50mm f/1.8 II and while it isn't the most expensive lens it does a really good job for the price. GREAT VALUE. You have the right attitude...just take, take, and take some more...in one of the manual modes of course.

Also you will find that some people on the forum just criticize and not construct.

 

[Granddad]

First thing to remember is that it's digital - you don't have to pay for developing and printing!

In the average 1 hour studio shoot I take 300+ shots. If I get 10% that are decent I'm happy, if I get one out of 300 that's a corker then I'm ecstatic! If I take 1 shot I have a 10% chance of getting one that isn't total rubbish.
Don't be afraid to consign images to the recycle bin!

Welcome to the forum, it's a great place to learn and with your attitude you WILL learn.

 

[manaheim]

I'm a dude! Haha.

Ha. Funny. Something about someone posting a pic of their kid always makes me assume it's a woman.

Sexist, I suppose... But I think it's actually the norm.

 

[The_Traveler]

Even though I caveated that I was a newb, I appreciate the direct (straight forward) criticism.

Being straightforward is not necessarily a positive attribute that I can claim but a result of my intense resistance to lying. If you ask what I think, and the first fifty or so thoughts are critical, I'm not going to rummage around to dig up something trivial to say in order to make what I think more palatable, Since you clearly want to improve, treating you like a child that needs sweets with the sour, seems disrespectful of you as a adult. Your attitude, as evinced by your response, is terrific and you will certainly get better.

Believe me photography is hard; getting good non-formulaic pictures is a continuing challenge to your skill and imagination but the struggle is worth it.

 

[Photographiend]

I'm a dude! Haha.

Ha. Funny. Something about someone posting a pic of their kid always makes me assume it's a woman.

Sexist, I suppose... But I think it's actually the norm.

Haha... Who ever makes that mistake... Certainly not me right???

I had guessed Female too.

Now I am wondering what people had guessed me to be when I came here...

 

[imagemaker46]

I understand that but C&C is worthless without constructive criticism instead of just criticism. I want to develop some sort of photographic identity. So some ideas would be nice. Thanks!

You can't see his face.
It's not particularly sharp.
The light is flat.
A hand appears out of nowhere and grabs his wrist but all the fingers are chopped off.
the background is brighter than any of the important things
You have 'saved for web' so all the EXIF are stripped out of the photo.
You've saved it at 95% quality so the file is huge when 35 or 40% quality would be adequate for a screen shot.

Look at other pictures where people are purposefully trying to compose.
Read a bit about composition.

Pretty snarky comment to a newbie that is rather clueless...don't you think?

Not at all, would you have rather have just said it's great. People don't get better when everything is candy coated. The op took the comments as someone that is willing to learn, I believe that his pictures will get better as a result of the comments made by The_Traveler.

 

[vintagesnaps]

You saw a great expression on his face, and I rather like the smile as he's looking down, anticipating the fun of getting ready to go down the slide. It looks like the camera might have been focused on his shoulder or hat - you might need to work on learning how to get the camera focused exactly where you need it to be.

The lens aperture might have been better if it wasn't so open, that might help get his face and hands etc. all in focus. If he's active and moving you might need to keep the shutter speed fast enough so you don't get movement blur. If you're outdoors there should be enough light to be able to do both, and you can use your meter to tell you if you have the appropriate amount of light coming in to your camera.

This might have worked better with the camera held vertically to get his face and hat instead of part of someone's hand etc. in the picture. Composition can take time to learn, but it can help to notice the backgrounds and learn to move around and change your vantage point to get the subject framed w/out distractions in the background.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

I understand that but C&C is worthless without constructive criticism instead of just criticism. I want to develop some sort of photographic identity. So some ideas would be nice. Thanks!

You can't see his face.
It's not particularly sharp.
The light is flat.
A hand appears out of nowhere and grabs his wrist but all the fingers are chopped off.
the background is brighter than any of the important things
You have 'saved for web' so all the EXIF are stripped out of the photo.
You've saved it at 95% quality so the file is huge when 35 or 40% quality would be adequate for a screen shot.

Look at other pictures where people are purposefully trying to compose.
Read a bit about composition.

Pretty snarky comment to a newbie that is rather clueless...don't you think?

If you think that was snarky you should attend the photo program at our local university- and the "Intro to Photography" class where we hung out pics on the wall for the professor to critique.

I thought my pic of Marg was Vogue magazine material and couldn't wait to pin my 1st homework assignment up. Dude zero'd in on it and yelled "HOW COULD YOU DO A LADY LIKE THAT? IS SHE YOUR ENEMY? DID SHE HURT YOU IN THE PAST"

I learned to appreciate that %$#^ing professor, especially when i finally got to studio lighting class

 

[Raizahblade]

I'm a dude! Haha.

Ha. Funny. Something about someone posting a pic of their kid always makes me assume it's a woman.

Sexist, I suppose... But I think it's actually the norm.

It's cool. When I posted it, I also thought it looked like a pic that a female would post but I love my son and I actually liked the picture so I figured that I would practice with it.

 

[Raizahblade]

And again thanks to everyone that chimed in!