New Member Requesting C&C

[CapturingLight]

Hi Gang,
I'm new to your forum and it looks like I can get some decent feedback here. I've been shooting since I was a young boy, with memories of a Kodak 110 Instamatic as the beginning of this journey. An older boy now, I proudly own a Canon XS/1000D, my second digital and first DSLR. An earlier, abandoned foray into film SLR was with a Rebel 2000, and I recently acquired a Nikkormat FTN manual job, which has been quite fun. A few basic lenses get me by: Canon 50mm f1.8 and 75-300 f4-5.6 III in addition to the kit 18-55 IS, and the kit 28-80 that came with my Rebel 2000. A look in my bag will also find a Quantaray 18-35 that gets used occasionally, but is relatively crummy. A Slik U212AF with pistol grip ball head is my go to tripod. Picasa is used for management, and I edit very little. I have experimented with RAW, but primarily use jpeg. I do use manual mode the majority of the time.

In the next few months my goals are -
Canon 50D
Canon 320EX or Metz flash
Canon 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS USM

Here are a few shots I'd like to be critiqued on, as I don't receive enough valuable input from my inexperienced peers.
#1 - 1/200s, f13, ISO 100

#2 - 1/2000, f3.5, ISO 400

#3 - 1/40, f5.6, ISO 125

#4 - 1/320, f5, ISO 320

#5 - 1/320, f1.8, ISO 320

#6 - 1/2000, f1.8, ISO 125

Thank you, and don't pull any punches!
Jesse

 

[mrstravis]

I really like #2 but i am a noob so i cant offer any real c&c. I can tell you that people generally only want to see your best 1-3 photos. That way you get more in depth feedback.

 

[mrstravis]

Btw, welcome to the forum!! You will get some very valuable information here.

 

[CapturingLight]

Thanks, I have plenty more, next time I'll post fewer.

 

[Aerr]

#3 looks like a really sharp, nice product shot, except that the seat is blown out.

#4 is a great shot but a little dark. I did a quick edit but then realized you don't want your photos edited so won't post it. I think the boy has a very captivating expression.

 

[CapturingLight]

Thanks, Aerr.
What would you do for #3, is cropping the best option? The balance was difficult with the contrast between the black plastic and nearly white seat. When I exposed for the seat and shifter trim, the blacks were too dark. I do like the detail in the grain of the plastic that I was able to capture.
I grant permission to edit #4, I like the DOF in that one, but not the WB.

~Jesse