Newbie here, not planning on shooting a wedding ;-P

keljbj · Mar 24, 2012

I was a little unsure about introducing myself, having read some disturbingly negative newbie posts. But i figure since i'm not planning on charging anyone for my photos or taking anyones wedding pics i should be ok

Anyway, i'm new here, kind-of new to photography. I've had my DSLR for about 3 years, have been shooting in manual for around the last year. But i still consider myself a novice, and have alot to learn. I'm hoping thats where you guys come in

I'm still trying to find my style. My main subject matter is nature, but i also love taking photos of my children and my cats, and a bit of randomness thrown in.

Here is a recent photo i took of my daughter. Please be gentle with me

cgipson1 · Mar 24, 2012

welcome! Did you apply some sort of blur effect the the photo of your daughter?

I am extremely rude to the wannabe pros that are already charging for crap! Most of them are convinced they know it all already anyway! We see so much of that it is not funny anymore! lol!

If you really want to learn, and aren't going to be one of THOSE.. we will get along fine!

momo3boys · Mar 24, 2012

Welcome! We can be a bit intimidating for some, but I'm sure you'll be fine. I can't critique too much because I'm still a newbie too, but the first thing I notice is the blurriness of it. Did you do some Post processing?

OscarWilde · Mar 24, 2012

Definitely post processed; (can see the lines where you edged the blur when zoomed), which isn't a problem, but why process it? It looks like it would have been a good photo on its own!

Learning when NOT to PP is good to learn, but its up to each person individually!

The people on here are usually good! Just don't be afraid to take criticism; if you don't like being critiqued, you probably won't like this site!

Judobreaker · Mar 24, 2012

Woah! That's some mighty smooth skin she has!

I like the photo but I really thing you should stay away from that big red blur button a little.

Oh and welcome by the way. ^^

keljbj · Mar 24, 2012

Thanks for the welcome

Yeah, i did over-do it slightly with the blur lol. She gets blotchy skin which i was trying to smooth out, first time using the surface blur on PSE!

At least i have her eyes in focus though eh ;-P

Judobreaker · Mar 24, 2012

keljbj said:
At least i have her eyes in focus though eh ;-P

Well, they are most in focus. ^^
A little bit of sharpening could be nice.

cgipson1 · Mar 24, 2012

keljbj said:
Thanks for the welcome

Yeah, i did over-do it slightly with the blur lol. She gets blotchy skin which i was trying to smooth out, first time using the surface blur on PSE!

At least i have her eyes in focus though eh ;-P

Please post the original!

keljbj · Mar 24, 2012

The original, unedited version. All i have done to this is convert it from RAW to JPG.

The cheek on the top is a bit blotchy red, and she looks like she has a bit of a bag under that eye.

cgipson1 · Mar 24, 2012

is this more what you were after?

manaheim · Mar 24, 2012

I nominate this newbie post of the year.

cgipson1 · Mar 24, 2012

manaheim said:
I nominate this newbie post of the year.

+1

keljbj · Mar 25, 2012

cgipson1 said:
is this more what you were after?

Ah, thats exactly what i was after! Thank you

Now the obvious question. How did you do it?! I'm even newer to pp than i am photography lol.

greybeard · Mar 25, 2012

I can see that you did a lot of masking work on the edited version. I like to play around with that as well but, sometimes I spend so much time editing and my eyes start telling me that something looks better when in fact it doesn't. I think a touch of luminance over all will smooth things out the way you want.

pgriz · Mar 25, 2012

Welcome to the forum, keljbj. This forum is excellent for learning, but like all tools, you need to know where the sharp edges are and where you can grasp. There is no sin in not knowing when you are starting out, and we all were there. The brickbats start flying when someone tries to mask their ignorance by appeals to taste and artistry... The simplest way to get help is to post a picture or two, explaining to us what you were trying to do, and what steps you took to achieve that. Exposure settings, focus placement, and focal length selection are part of that, as knowledge of the light source(s) and direction. From that information we can reconstruct your shooting environment, and based on what you say your goals were, give you ideas on how to do better the next time.

There's a tutorial thread sticky on the top of the beginner section that is well worth spending time on (http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photography-beginners-forum/123160-tutorial-thread.html). Knowing your camera inside and out can be considered a prerequisite for any serious work, and having your manual with you and constantly referenced is a good way to get you past the usual issues many beginners have. It can be depressing reading about someone's struggles when you realize they have no clue about concepts such as reading the meter, knowing the limits of auto-focus, apertures and their effect on depth-of-field, shutter speeds and their effect on picture sharpness, etc. Not saying that you are guilty of any of these, but if you read the threads, you'll see sparks flying when people post what they think is brilliant work, when to the experienced eye all kinds of fundamental issues are visible.

My other suggestion to you is to treat post-processing as a spice in cooking - a light hand is usually the best. Get the best you can get in camera, then give it just a little more zing with PP. Trying to compensate in PP what is poor coming out of the camera is like trying to make a palatable meal out of rotten ingredients by using the spices to mask the deficiencies. Generally, doesn't fool anyone. Again, not saying you are doing it, just be aware of this tendency.