Noob pics. CC welcome! Lanscape and Motorcycle

[lost1888]

Just wanted to post 3 pictures I have to get some opinions. I am new here and trying to further my understanding of photography. Right now I just do the point and shoot method and very little editing. Also if anyone can suggest any books or good reading material to help me understand some of the finer points of photography.

Thanks for you help and opinion!
Michael

The Chagrin River in Chagrin Falls, Ohio 10/7/2008

Conesus Lake, N.Y. Finger Lake 8/17/2008

Vrooman rd. Bridge and my motorcycle. Painsville Twsp. Ohio

 

[Chris Stegner]

Isn't Mentor near Cincinnati? I'm in Northern Kentucky!

I think you would be very well off to read a book called Understanding Exposure - by Bryan Peterson. I found a used copy on Amazon for like $13. I have seen many posts here recommending this book and finally I thought I'd get a copy. Very good decision!

Give it a read. And keep shooting!

 

[czsmola]

the one with the motorcycle seems to over exposed... if you were using the A mode it was probably focused on the tail of the bike that was partly in the shade where as what is in the sun is to washed out.. it is easier to lighten areas then to darken them

 

[lost1888]

Isn't Mentor near Cincinnati? I'm in Northern Kentucky!

I think you would be very well off to read a book called Understanding Exposure - by Bryan Peterson. I found a used copy on Amazon for like $13. I have seen many posts here recommending this book and finally I thought I'd get a copy. Very good decision!

Give it a read. And keep shooting!

No Mentor is near Cleveland and thank you for the suggestion on the book.

 

[anubis404]

#1 has potential but looks a little too snapshotish. I would find the RAW file (if you shoot raw) and do some color adjusting, such as maybe bumped contrast and saturation.

I love #2.

#3: Very nice bike, although again its a little bit of a shapshot.

 

[wchua24]

love the first picture. i love the nature. pretty peaceful picture.

 

[Teknik]

i like number two

 

[kundalini]

You have a good start. I think you should look up the Rule of Thirds in composition in addition to the Peterson book.

Also a little boost in colors (not a lot) will help.

Original:

Quick Edit:

You'll notice that I also cropped out the posts at the bottom of the image. I didn't think they added anything as it was. Keep shooting and posting.

 

[lost1888]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments. I see I have a lot to learn. Let me know what you all think of this one. I am hoping I can get these printed out and framed for Christmas to give to the family.

 

[Jaszek]

Just like kundalini said you should read about the rule of thirds. I did to quick edits of the second image.
Original:

1st edit:

2nd edit:

With the rule of thirds you force the person who is looking at the pictures to look at one part of the picture and if you have the horizon or your subject in the center they will have a choice of looking up and down. Also, if you can, try shooting landscape since it's more pleasing to the eye because people don't walk around with their heads turned 90 degrees. Hope I helped. If you have any questions ask me, I'm also a beginner so I might learn from you and you from me.

 

[blash]

1st) Pretty decent photo but rather snapshottish - although I love the color and reflection, there is no clear subject in this picture. You might want to experiment with a circular polarizer in order to "see" through the surface of the water in the future.

2nd) Has potential, next time a) Rule of Thirds, look it up, editing out the top half of the sky is a good start here b) shoot in landscape for landscapes, c) edit out the buoy next to the dock, d) again, look into circular polarizers.

3rd) interesting idea, slightly overexposed and I would crop off just a tad on the right. Generally though, if you have something on a road then you want the road to lead to something in the photo because the viewer's eyes will follow the road. Well, here we have a road leading right into the camera and a bridge that leads to nothing - I'm not familiar with the locale, but you might have a way to fix that if you go back and reshoot. Also, read up on natural lighting below.

4th) *ow* Entire left side is horribly underexposed, the rest of the forest and lake is pretty underexposed, and the sky is horribly overexposed - either shoot in RAW or take multiple exposures for the forest and for the sky so both are properly exposed after post-processing. Reiterating the need for a circular polarizer (yes, again) and you want to shoot at a slower shutter speed so that the river doesn't look like it has the texture of a rock. Contrast/Saturation need a bit of adjusting as well.

Look into Scott Kelby's Digital Photography books,
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelbys-Digital-Photography-Volumes/dp/0321604032/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227260802&sr=8-3[/ame]
which have a lot of general tips, situation specific tips, equipment tips, etc. If you can only afford one of the books, the first one is better.