new and wanted some critiquing

[Elliehanna]

naw I am not in a business, I just like the word photography and how it looks to be honest so I added it to my watermark hehe, I have never even taken photos of anyone for free let alone pay, if a friend wanted me to take photos I would do it for free, but have them develop them themselves.

I will change my watermark up and take off the photography though, that is a good call (I did however just upload some so I will post those but change it for future photos for sure!)

 

[Elliehanna]

I will try to find a photoshop on youtube, I have looked before but for my version they have all been just with music, but I will look again and maybe just try to deal with it as I know I really need to learn it! I can't afford $150 right now, but I can sure save up and maybe by the time I learn my photoshop I will have enough for the lightroom. I will look into a flash, I do have a Sunpak Auto 433 D Thyristor Electronic, Flash Unit from my dad's Canon, don't know if it still works as its from 1983 (I am looking at the owners manual right now that is how I know how old it is haha) but yea I will look into a flash, I so have a diffuser for the flash that is on my camera, don't know how much of a difference that flash would really make though.

ok, I took a lot of photos, I am going to post a lot for this one (19) because I really want to show what I was doing (I am going to number them 1-19 so it should be easier I hope if you are just explaining something)

1.
I am going to start with the portraits

[/URL] smaller 8584 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

2.

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3.
I was trying to recreate that 1st photo I took, and I think this is so much better with the tips you all have told me!

[/URL] smaller 8586 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

4.
I was wondering about this one, if I could either edit it to lighten it or if I should have done something with the exposure or what I did wrong

[/URL] smaller 8590 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

5.
please butcher this one! I think its really good so I want to know what is bad!!

[/URL] smaller 8597 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

6.
this one too, probably same as the one above though as far as what is wrong with it

[/URL] smaller 8602 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

7.
here is another of me trying to recreate the 1st photo, I think it is a lot better also, don't think the angle is good though

[/URL] smaller 8626 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

8.
and this one too, I think the background is my major problem but with the F stop so high it really blurs it well

[/URL] smaller 8628 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

9.
this one I have no clue why it came out so dark! can you explain it to me?

[/URL] smaller 8583 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

10.
and though I think I did bad on the edge (not leaving enough blank space infront of his nose!) I think the photo is funny but at the same time dull...is this one that messing with the color balance would help? if so can ya mess with it and tell me what you changed +- so I can better understand how to mess with it (I know its really a practice thing but I truely am one that fails at what colors mix to make what, I was not good at the color wheel in art and its something that just doesn't stay in my head)

[/URL] smaller 8656 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

11.
last of the portrait style is one of my boy in the shade I thought it came out really well and I really like the color, I do wish I could just erase the background in all my photos though!

[/URL] smaller 8642 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

12.
ok now for the really important (to me) questions! how can I take better action shots! should I have lowered the f stop more? messed with the exposure? what!

[/URL] smaller 8616 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

13.
this one isn't as bad BUT he was moving so much slower!

[/URL] smaller 8636 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

14.
this one he was moving fast (I was messing with settings on all this so they are probably all over the place because I was trying to figure out what way was better but couldn't see the photos in the sunlight very well but was hoping I would land on a good setting to figure out where it needed to be around)

[/URL] smaller 8643 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

15.
this one is odd to me, I don't know why but yea, he is in but out of focus to me, did I just miss him when I snapped it? I really wish this one would have come out and its the only reason I saved and am even posting it lol

[/URL] smaller 8648 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

16.
and this one came out but looks off to me, can you explain why or is it just me?

[/URL] smaller 8650 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

17.
this one came out great BUT is to dark, guess the adjustments in edit would help but what would have helped at the taking of the photo?

[/URL] smaller 8651 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

18.
think this is one of the best action shots I took, he is in focus and the lighting is ok!

[/URL] smaller 8657 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

19.
and this one is ok (sorry its his butt)

[/URL] smaller 8662 by cowrunning, on Flickr[/IMG]

thank you for all your help! I am so glad I am learning how to be better at photography, I have no idea why I didn't just join a photography forum the day I got my DSLR!

 

[YvetteC]

Dogs are tough...they are fast and it's not easy to get a nice background because they only pose nicely when they are sitting in front of garbage cans or chain link fences. For just starting out, it's a good idea to practice with a still subject...it allows you to pay attention to your settings and make adjustments. I would also get rid of the watermark...I know why you like it but it implies a certain level of skill and professionalism. They also distract from how you, a beginner, view the image and when you are learning, you should be focused on the basics. I have been at it for a few years now and I wouldn't dream of using a watermark. That was a great practice run and I'm sure you learned a lot from it...good luck!

 

[YvetteC]

Also, when you have a practice session like this, take your best 2 or 3 and ask for c & c...you will have better results. The more experienced photographers will often times give really detailed advice if there are just a few.

 

[Benco]

Background is going to be an issue where you're shooting, I like number 7 because the car behind is cropped enough to be an abstraction that appears to be the focus of the dogs attention, even though the cropping hasn't done the dog any favours I like it just because of that.

 

[Elliehanna]

thank you so much! I will do that in the future for sure! I will try to take photos of still objects (I get bored easy though so it will probably be some of my dog still though haha)

yea I seed how number 7 is like that, heck I got 1 background that wasn't horrible I am happy