New and looking for advice

[erikksonb]

so im rocking a Casio Exilim ex-Z70 (little pocket digital camera 7.2 megapixels)

well i have been into photography and everything but right now i can't afford a nice D40 (im saving up for one though)
but while im at it i just took these pictures on a camping trip last weekend


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Im just looking for advice, besides getting a new camera. What should i look for when taking a picture such as this in an area as shown?
thanks for your feedback everyone

 

[MarcusM]

Welcome to the forum!

The first shot is nice.

#2 looks like your average snapshot, and in #3 I'm not a fan of the feet poking out.

Were those shots by any chance taken at the Columbia River gorge? I was in that area once and it looks very similar...beautiful area.

 

[Jrmdb3]

#1 photo. very good, Wouldn't change a thing. Good composition and DOF.

#2 photo. I agree, average snapshot. Were you trying to play with the DOF here?

#3 photo. I personally like it. Too much of a glare coming off of the river though.

Try shooting actual objects. Pick a good background and think about what you have in mind!

Good start and goodluck!

 

[erikksonb]

ah thanks for your imput. i uploaded some more.
and I was at the deschutes river, it comes off of the columbia river gorge.

and if i can ask. what is the DOF?
also, how can i reduce some of the 'hazzy-ness' it seems like on some of the pictures? [for future reference]

 

[Jrmdb3]

DOF (Depth Of Field)

Hazy?What do you mean? Which pictures?

 

[erikksonb]

say 6-8 It seems like a lot of the colors are the same such as the sky or the plants. is there a way to get more contrast or to darken it with the camera and not with photoshop?


and by the way, on number 1 i cheated haha i used photoshop and ehanced the picture. thats probably why it seems so much better then the rest

 

[brutal_chief]

and by the way, on number 1 i cheated haha i used photoshop and ehanced the picture. thats probably why it seems so much better then the rest

Did you happed to blur the sky, It almost looks fake, more or less painted on.

 

[Jrmdb3]

I'm not fimiliar with your camera, but there should be settings to which you can play around with. Check the manual if you aren't sure.

Depth Of Field is ,simply, the field in focus. The lens can only focus once at a certain distance which you manually tell it to. The greater the DOF, the less 'unsharpness' you will get. This is relatively good for landscapes and such photos. A small DOF will give you a sharp and crisp object, and an unsharp background/foreground.

Notice in #3 the lens was focused on the feet. A smaller DOF was probably used because the background is a bit unsharp. Whereas number 1 or 4, a larger DOF was used because pretty much everything seems to be in focus.

I am no expert, so if somebody wants to chime in and try to make more sence of it than me, go right ahead!

Hope this helped just a slight bit by the way.

PS: I wouldn't call it cheating, more like helping! Some great photos are edited, keep that in mind.

 

[erikksonb]

Did you happed to blur the sky, It almost looks fake, more or less painted on.

No i didn't. most of the pictures it seems like its that way. Im not sure why, i was on my "scenery" setting for the pictures and maybe thats just how it comes out? In this preset it sets the focus to (picture of hills/mountains) so i guess that wasnt the problem?
i dont have any manual settings on the camera by the way, i just have a list of about 50 presets it seems like haha and then an auto preset. But i can change factors such as the ISO and focus.

 

[Wozza]

Ahhhhh #3 gave me a scare - heights