New DSLR owner - some first photos

boucher28 · Apr 2, 2010

Recently bought my first dslr, Canon xti, with MUCH help from members here. Thank you! Here are a few photos I took on a nature walk with my kids yesterday. Nothing fancy, just thought I'd share. any critique is welcome of course. photos shot with Canon xti, 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 lens

cnutco · Apr 2, 2010

I like the first 3 phots.

1- I like creeks, but still this is a bit dull.

2- Don't shot downward. Get down there with it to shot a different vantage point.

3- Snap shot, but I still like it.

4- Snapshot

5- Snapshot

anm90 · Apr 2, 2010

This is a fairly good start, however, most of these are snapshots. Take this as you want it, as I am still relatively new to the hobby, but this is what I would do.

The one with the most merit is number 2 I think. However, I would go back either around sunrise or an hour or so before sunset to get much better lighting. It looks like these were shot in the middle of the day when the light is harshest and also flattest. This leaves for little contrast and dull pictures. The low angle that the sun is at close to sunrise / sunset produces side lighting which produces more texture and contrast in most scenes. It is also a much warmer color temperature and can bring out some very nice colors in a scene.

Compositionally, I would get lower. Don't be afraid to get on your knees or on your belly. Get some foreground interest there, even if it's just a rock that you can focus on relatively close. Use a small aperture of at least f/11. You want the whole scene to be in focus. Make sure you keep the shutter speed above 1/60th though, so adjust your aperture as necessary. If you have a tripod, you could try stopping the lens down even further to its minimum aperture (may be around f/22 for that lens) and if you can get a shutter speed of around 1/15 to 1/5 of a second you can get some cool effects on the water, depending on how fast it is moving. The water will look smooth and silky if done properly.

As I look closer at #2, it looks like there's sort of a curled branch on the right side of the creek up ahead of where you took the shot. You may be able to use that to "frame" the image and have it in the foreground. I would look up some basic compositional principles and pick up the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. You will benefit tremendously from just a few hours worth of reading and more practice.

For the photo of your daughter (I presume?), the whole thing about time of day definitely applies. I would also get lower, so that you are more at her level. It makes the photo have a much greater impact and it becomes much more personal.

For photo #3, I think there is way too much going on in the foreground. What was your subject? The water, or the tree? The lines of the branches are leading my eye all over the place and I'm not sure where to look in the photo.

Images like #4 can be interesting but I think the tree in the bottom left kind of takes away. I would get the sun out of the frame, get lower and closer to the tree you wish to take an image of, and look straight up through it's branches keeping in mind the rule of thirds. The sky in this photo is interesting but is fairly blown out as a result of the sun being in the frame.

Hopefully this helps a bit. I look forward to seeing more of your photos in the future