Newbies Photos

[Tashyd]

Hi everyone,
I have been struggling to decide which photos to post on here first. Since I don't have permission from any of my friends I have done shots for I will stick to some done on the few trips I have taken recently....any maybe one or two of my doggy
I really enjoy travel photography because I find it challenging to capture either the moment that I am experiencing or the feel for the place Im in.
Here are a few from my trip to Hautulco:

A beautiful little girl (who's mother gave me permission to photograph, I always make sure and ask). Despite the picture she was very smiley and happy

A cute young boy. He was very curious about us and gave us a fleeting smile, but I wasn't quick enough to capture it.

Some market produce

A family on the beach

One of the many amazing churches. I struggled with composition and I realize that its not great. I also had to do a lot of post editing as most of the highlights were blown out, but I still enjoy the end result (probably more more for sentimental reasons than for the actual result)

And one of my best bud (please humour me)

Anyways I don't want to post too much so I'll leave it at that (as if its not enough already). Any comments or critiques are welcome...gulp!

Tashyd

 

[enzodm]

Be careful in composition, you cut out legs of your best friend .
The one I like more is the boy one (I would slightly crop the top). In general, you should try to follow (at least at the beginnings) some of the rules that help in focusing viewer attention, of which the rule of thirds is the most known. You normally avoid to have the main subject exactly in the middle (e.g., the first one; I would cut the extra room on top and on left). The dog is better from this point of view.
A good source of basic information on composition is here: 10 Top Photography Composition Rules .

 

[WesternGuy]

Tashyd, nice images - little ones always take great photos. The only advice I would give you is on the picture of your best bud...doesn't look too bad, except I would not crop off the feet and I would clone out the leash or remove it before you take a picture - its presence detracts from your the main image (your bud) because the eye is drawn to it because of its contrasting colour. One thing that animal/wildlife photographers try to do is to have a "catchlight" in the eye of the animal they are photographing, particularly when you are really doing a "portrait" of your dog in this image. Catchlights add a glint or "spark" to the eye and is really a highlight from a light source, such as a flash or the sun, reflected off the eye. It adds depth and dimension to the eye and gives the eyes life in a portrait or shot such as this one. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

 

[Tashyd]

Thanks for the input enzodm and WesternGuy! I will definitely start paying more attention to the composition of my photos and the top ten rules. I do know them but when I am rushing to catch a photo of something I sometimes almost panic (if that makes any sense) and don't spend enough time composing and paying attention to detail. I will have to work on this!

Tashyd