New at taking pics, would love thoughts please!

klc · Jun 12, 2011

I just got a T2i this year and a 50mm f1.4 prime and a 580exII speeedlight. I am a weekend hobbiest :O) I would love some help and gentle criticism please! Thank you!

dxqcanada · Jun 12, 2011

Hmm, it appears that you have understanding of using light, and off camera flash.

Can you describe the lighting setup ?

Your 300mm zoom lens has very high chromatic aberration.

AgentDrex · Jun 12, 2011

The stork? photo shows the most chromatic aberration (purple fringing in this case)...hope you didn't spend much on the lens...

klc · Jun 12, 2011

Thank you! Yup that blue heron was taken with a cheapie zoom! I wouldn't have gotten him with my 50mm prime. I got to save money for better lenses. The only ighting here was a nice lit door and a bounce speedlight 580exii. Thank you for mentioning chromatic aberration , now I can learn what it is! lol! I just enjoy taking pics of my girls!

Kerbouchard · Jun 12, 2011

Looks good. A couple of things stand out. You should try to pay a bit more attention to your framing. In several photos, parts of hands, arms, and even heads are chopped off. Makes the photos look kind of haphazard. Also, you want to bring your viewers attention into the frame instead of out of it. For the shot with the dog, his nose is right up against the frame and it makes it look kind of cluttered. In general, people and animals should have some breathing room and be looking into the frame instead of out of it.

klc · Jun 12, 2011

Thank you this was very helpful! It is hard to keep a toddler still, but I could have had Jenn, hold Penny facing the inside! lol! If I ever get them together again, I got to try having Jenn holding Penny facing inside. I feel so silly for not thinking of that! I was taking pics, Caroline wasn't cooperating and they just all got there by the door, so I snapped. I know I need to get a remote to shoot, it will probably make it easier with a toddler. I also do want to get a good zoom portrait lens With the 50mm prime, the only zoom I got is my feet. Not that I mind, but lil Caroline is tough, she already doesn't like camera's and I am by far a real photographer. I would love the Canon 24-70 EF L zoom lens. I want to practice with what I got before I invest in something like that. I want to be sure I will use it and am good enough for it. I am working hard to get all of Caroline in pics when I am taking her in dresses, and am getting better. She needs a bit of a break from the camera! lol!

amandalee · Jun 12, 2011

I'm pretty familiar with photoshop and I can tell you may have used an eyebright effect or something of the sort on the second picture. The problem with that tool and brown eyes is you get that creamy haze over them. I recently found a better way for brightening brown eyes with the Dodge tool set on highlights (for a more yellow) or midtones for a softer change. Also make sure the opacity isn't too strong because then you will get vampire eyes....

If you didn't use something like this...well then the eyes look weird on that one to me! Lol cute girls tho!

klc · Jun 12, 2011

Yes I did, and I will try that picture highlighting her eyes that way! Thank you!

amandalee · Jun 12, 2011

No problem! I did that for so long because there are so many ways to enhance different colored eyes and I could never fix brown ones! (I have brown and I wanted mine to pop as well lol) But id you use the dodge tool I usually set it on 35% opacity and do the midtones in the middle of the eyes then set it on highlight and do right inside what i did on the midtones and it works great! Another trick is to sharpen the eyes first so that you can see the textures and patterns in the eyes and the do the dodging! Good Luck and I can't wait to see how it turns out!