Noob needs imput

DScience · Apr 15, 2009

Hello everyone! After years of wanting to get into photography, last week I finally bit the bullet and bought a DSLR. I am just becoming familiar with the basics of the art, and I would like your opinions, feedback, and constructive criticism. Here are a few that I took over the past few days. I did minimal adjustments in PS; levels, brightness/contrast.

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Photo #4

rfosness88 · Apr 16, 2009

number your photo's next time

Photo #1. the depth of field makes my head hurt a little.

Photo #2. this is my favorite, red color came out great.

Photo #3. doesnt really do it for me. most of the photo is out of focus...no real subject.

Photo #4. I let my love "flow" every night

took me a while to figure out what the picture is of. Is it a cup with a tea bag?

Nice photo's, what camera/lens did you get?

DScience · Apr 16, 2009

Thank you for your response! I went ahead and numbered them, good idea!

#1 - I was having trouble finding the right depth of field on this one. I wanted to use a low aperture, and have the steps slowly blur as they get higher. It is a little straining on the eye lol :lol:

#2 - Thank you, this is my favorite so far

#3 - Totally agree with you! I have been having a lot of trouble with getting good shots with trees.

#4 - Yes, it's a tea bag in a portable coffee thermos/mug

I have the Nikon D60, and all these were taken on the stock kit lens, 18-55 F3.5-5.6 VR.

EhJsNe · Apr 16, 2009

it loooks theres a little image blur in number 3 on the tree.

But other than that nice job!

DScience · Apr 16, 2009

EhJsNe said:
it loooks theres a little image blur in number 3 on the tree.

But other than that nice job!

Thank you! Just curious, are you referring to the close up tree, that I tried to have in focus, or the more centered one?

rfosness88 · Apr 16, 2009

he is referring to the centered one, the blurry one...

Sherman Banks · Apr 16, 2009

The first one has the most potential to be a good photo. However, I personally would shoot that with the daylight casting a better shadow and change the angle to capture it. This could make for a very interesting play on line geometry and visual rythm from the combined elements. A tighter crop, getting rid of the light pole at the top of the stairs, and leveling the photo could improve what you have though. A common theme in your photos is the amount of space you leave around the subject. Think of ways to isolate the focal point using different methods other than just the surrounding space, and try to stray away from central placement in your composition.

DScience · Apr 16, 2009

Sherman Banks said:
The first one has the most potential to be a good photo. However, I personally would shoot that with the daylight casting a better shadow and change the angle to capture it. This could make for a very interesting play on line geometry and visual rythm from the combined elements. A tighter crop, getting rid of the light pole at the top of the stairs, and leveling the photo could improve what you have though. A common theme in your photos is the amount of space you leave around the subject. Think of ways to isolate the focal point using different methods other than just the surrounding space, and try to stray away from central placement in your composition.

Thank you, that was very very helpful. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind. I agree about the daylight for a better shadow. Unfortunately I work during the day, and could only get out for an hour before sunset, but I plan on getting another shot. When you say 'tighter crop' do you mean crop the top off to get rid of the light post, or crop the right side to get rid of it??

Second, I have a question about your pictures on Flickr, the two you have on the second page of trees and then sky as BG. These are shot i've been trying to get, and i'm curious how you get the branches so clear and focused. What settings do you use on these, and what mode are you shooting in?? Thanks again!

Sherman Banks · Apr 16, 2009

DScience said:
Thank you, that was very very helpful. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind. I agree about the daylight for a better shadow. Unfortunately I work during the day, and could only get out for an hour before sunset, but I plan on getting another shot. When you say 'tighter crop' do you mean crop the top off to get rid of the light post, or crop the right side to get rid of it??

I'm speaking of cropping the image from left to right. Here is my edit of it (I only removed the pole, but the plant could go too). The tighter crop now places more emphasis on the subject of the photo.

DScience said:
Second, I have a question about your pictures on Flickr, the two you have on the second page of trees and then sky as BG. These are shot i've been trying to get, and i'm curious how you get the branches so clear and focused. What settings do you use on these, and what mode are you shooting in?? Thanks again!

I believe I shot those both with a wide open aperture (AV mode) due to low lighting and just did my best to focus on the branches themselves. I may have even used manual focus just to get it tight where the auto was having trouble. It's something you'd have to play with to get right, but that's the great thing about digital right? Instant results. Hope this helps!