OK guys and gals, what do you think

[jefflesh]

Here are a few pictures, I would like to know what you think.

 

[running_with_scissors]

I think you will get more comments, critiques, etc if you post in the critique forums.

 

[jefflesh]

Actually, the pictures don't look as good here as the originals do. When converting RAW files to JPEG, what setting do you use. The software I am using is the Canon Professional Photo software to convert from RAW to JPEG and Irfanview to resize the image. When I converted to JPEG file I also lowered the image quality from 10 to 6.

Thanks for your time and help.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

[Meysha]

With photos of those dimensions you could easily have file sizes 4 times what you've posted here.

In your menus you might have a control for image size. Reduce your width and height to a maximum of about 800 pixels. And keep it at 72dpi.
Then when compressing as a jpeg, I wouldn't go below 8 or 9 in quality. Just make sure your file isn't bigger than about 200kb. Most people have theirs around 100-150.

 

[LaFoto]

Hiya jefflesh and welcome to ThePhotoForum.
I moved your post from The Beginners' Place to the General Gallery, since The Beginners' Place is more of a Q&A-forum while the galleries are for picture showing for all our members, beginners to photographer, beginners to TPF, skilled amateurs, semi-pros and pros, new members and long-standing members alike.

My immediate impression about the photos of yours that show up here is that the subject is always very, very centred. You will find out that your photos will look "more exciting" (more pleasing to the eye of the viewer, too) if you compose your photos so the subject is not always smack in the middle. Try it out. Feel if that pleases you more in the end.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I don't like any of these. I do NOT mean to be harsh, I want to offer you some constructive criticism.

In general, LaFoto is right in suggesting that you spend more time thinking about composition. The way you frame a shot can help you tell the story.

1. The Yellow Flower.

In this case, having it centered makes sense. However the background is distracting. What might be a really cool juxtaposition is the beautiful flower in front of the hard brick wall. Could you have moved to your right a little, and filled the background with the wall? The shot might work better in Black and White, btw. The background color is very close in intensity to the flower, and they compete a little.

2. Couple in front of the Lake

A classic shot. But please, don't cut off her hands, it's nicer if they're fully in the frame. The light is waaay too harsh, both of them are squinting, and the high-lights of their skin is unpleasant... but sometimes you just need to get the shot when you're there, people want memories from a fun trip.

3. The Sunset.

Not an easy shot to get, it takes practice. The light meter red the sun, declared it extremely bright, and the exposure so that everything else turned too dark to recognize. A simple (though not perfect) solution would be to meter for the dark landscape, and then take the shot. You can do that by pointing the camera at the dark area, and then locking in the exposure - usually done by depressing the shutter button halfway. There's also a button on the back that you can use for Exposure Lock. The other way would be to use a tri-pod, and "bracket" the shot. It's a built-in function of the camera, check your manual. It means the camera takes three or more shots at different exposures. You can then merge these images using various softwares, Photoshop for example. I can't give you any compositional advice, as I can't see what's in the shot.

4. The wooden structure by the water.

I think there's an exposure problem here - again, the camera metered for the sky, which made your subject so dark that you lost detail. But might you have metered for the dark wood, the sky would have been blown out to a clear white. But the extreme JPG compression here is a real problem. Look at the weird Halo-like effect around some of the dangling chords and other areas of the wood. Also, whatever detail may have been in the dark was simply discarded by the JPG algorhythm.

5. The Ducks

Good shot. Well composed, and well metered. And who doesn't like Ducks. Try these in Black and White.

6. The stag.

Not a great shot. Yes, it's some kind of wildlife we don't see in the city much, but this is hardly majestic nature. It's some odd-looking antler thing slinking by a campsite parking area, head low and caught in mid-gate. Just like shooting people, track the subject and think about when it's going to put its foot down at the bottom of the step. It's like fashion photography. Models walk with a steady gate not only because it looks cool and commanding, but also so that photographers can time the shot - a person looks best during walking if the leg is fully extended. It's harder to do if the subject has four legs Also, the antler is hit by too much sunlight and blown out, this might be fixible if you burn the image. Look up "dodge and burn" to understand what I mean.

Good luck, keep firing away, and come back here for more comments.

 

[jefflesh]

Iron,

Thank you for your criticism, I understand most of what you are talking about. I also do not think the way I converted these pictures from RAW to JPEG was very good as I lost a lot in that process.

I have made changes to the loading dock, let me know what you think.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

[Iron Flatline]

Very good, a LOT better.

 

[jefflesh]

Thanks,

I also changed the sunset picture, I think the sunset picture on my original post was updated as as a result. Can you check that one out again? I think it looks better but I would like another opinion.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

[Iron Flatline]

I can't see a difference, not that I would remember it perfectly. But looking at the odd artifacts at the horizon and around the sun due to compression, I am willing to bet it is still the same version as originally posted.

 

[Meysha]

The sunset photo is a Lot better! You've really brought out the green in the bushes. The problem is, it's just not that interesting a sunset.

But you've done well in the harsh lighting.

 

[jefflesh]

Meysha,

Thanks for your comments. I know that the picture is not that interesting but, i was trying to get some practice for when a better opportunity presents itself.

Thanks again for you time.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

[Meysha]

oh dear.. I hope I didn't put you off by saying it wasn't 'interesting'.

But hey, I think of photography as learning in stages. This lesson was about exposure control and lighting. Next lesson - composition! Wooo!

Good luck, and keep posting here. We're here to help!

 

[jefflesh]

Meysha,

No, your comments didn't bother me at all. Please don't be worried about that. I am just trying to learn and the only way to do that is to take pictures and post them on here to get the critiqued.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeff