New to DSLR photography - C&C please!

Hello, I'm new to the forum but I've been reading up on photography.

I've recently acquired my Nikon D40 with 18-55mm AF-S 1:3.5-5.6GII ED.
All my pics were taken with that setup.

Please critique my photos... as you can see, I'm just a beginner. All constructive criticisms and critiques are appreciated
(All my photographs are not for reuse & personal use unless granted permission)

No editing on the pics have been done (all images direct from the camera) except the copyright insertion. Also, all were handheld (no tripod used).

So here they are (all taken with Aperture priority with no flash):
1.
F-stop: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/60 sec
Iso: 400
Focal length: 55mm
JPEG High

I was merely testing out close up ability and bokeh



2.
F-stop: f/10
Exposure: 1/1600 sec
Iso: 400
Focal length: 32mm
JPEG High

This was right after it rained. I know that it's a bit underexposed but I kind of like the color I got from it.


3.
F-stop: f/4.2
Exposure: 1/5 sec
Iso: 400
Exposure bias: +0.3 step
Focal length: 28mm
JPEG High

Taken of sister & her friend at a tea shop with warm lighting. I thought the result looked pretty nice (skin tone) other than the fact that the random person behind was not blurred enough.

 

I love the last pic... the highlights are a bit blown for my taste in the background, but not enough to make me turn away, and if you're anything like me, you just couldn't help that at all

I could actually see a series coming out of that last pic, some sort of editorial if you will.. does that make sense? Probably not, but, anyway, I like the last pic

 

oh highlights blown? could you explain? (I'm really new to photography)
haha what do you like about the pic?

 

The highlights are the brightest parts of the pics. They are a little blown out but not too bad. The pic looks pretty well. A little more light wudve went a long way. Keep it up!

 

Agreed, I like the third as well. Personally, I find the man to the right kind of distracting because he doesn't seem to be at all part of the photo. Maybe if that were just background instead..

Anyways, good shots, keep them coming!
-Paul

 

Blown out means to bright. So bright, there is no detail left in that part of the image, just a blob of pure white.

Unfortunately. blown highlights cannot be fixed with an image editor.

On another note, your copyright notice is not in a valid format because it doesn't include the year of first publication.

Example: © 2008 John Doe

 

Ah I see. So the best would be to have a slightly darker pic with all the details included in the highlights?

Also, what makes the third one the best pic out of the three? I'm still exploring what I like to take photographs of and people seems to be my weakest point.

Thanks for the great advices!
(I'll fix the copyright)

 

I believe what makes the third pic the best is the girls being clowns.

 

How about in technical terms?