Really REALLY bad..

[Weaving Wax]

So, I'm fairly new to photography as some of you may know. I'm BRAND new to film. And took a few shots with my first roll of color. I got them back today..

I'm looking for some pointers and stuff...

Some of these are blurry, probably from being hand-held, but the photos are overexposed and everything looks blown out.

These are some taken at night, which did turn out a bit better...

I know these really have no "subject" or artistic value, but I want to learn the basics of photography..I know I should "aim" for something and I kinda did, but as you can see...things didn't turn out as hoped..

For the daytime ones, it was a bit overcast and I used apertures ranging from 1.8 (the lowest on my camera) in Av to, 8, 11. I read that if you want more of the photo in focus, you'll want a lower aperture and if you want to blur everything except for one thing in the picture, you'll want a faster aperture. I'm also taking notes from the articles on B+W photography, so I'm hoping I improve...So, yeah...you can rip them apart..They're my first.

 

[Alex_B]

For the daytime ones, it was a bit overcast and I used apertures ranging from 1.8 (the lowest on my camera) in Av to, 8, 11. I read that if you want more of the photo in focus, you'll want a lower aperture and if you want to blur everything except for one thing in the picture, you'll want a faster aperture.

an f-stop of 1.8 means actually a large aperture, and 11 is a rather small aperture. Smaller aperture, as you say, means that the depth of field (the depth in your image you actually get "sharp") increases. with larger aperture (smaller number) however exposure time is reduced and hence you get less motion blur... and also less blur to camera shake.

I think most of your images have a problem with camera shake so I suppose you had only little light and chose a small aperture.

i think none of your photos is seriously overexposed.. might not be perfect. but not too bad.

 

[Weaving Wax]

an f-stop of 1.8 means actually a large aperture, and 11 is a rather small aperture. Smaller aperture, as you say, means that the depth of field (the depth in your image you actually get "sharp") increases. with larger aperture (smaller number) however exposure time is reduced and hence you get less motion blur... and also less blur to camera shake.

I think most of your images have a problem with camera shake so I suppose you had only little light and chose a small aperture.

i think none of your photos is seriously overexposed.. might not be perfect. but not too bad.

Right. I knew that! Man, how could I get it mixed up? Thanks...Thanks for the nice comments.

 

[siphoto]

Also another thing may be the film speed, low light you should use a faster ASA unless desired not to, but if I was using a handheld in low light I would be using a faster ASA film

 

[Weaving Wax]

Yeah, actually, the prints for the night shots turned out great, but the scans suck...I might take them somewhere else next time... Thanks, though!

 

[BoblyBill]

what type of film did you use and what ISO? just out of couriosity...

 

[Weaving Wax]

I used ISO 400 because I know that is the "standard" and I used Fuji film something or other. I can't remember now. I might venture into other film speeds once I feel comfortable with 400.

 

[fmw]

Wax, that is how we learn. There is plenty of light in the first three images to make a hand held shot. I'm not sure what caused the camera shake but concentrate on holding the camera still and squeezing the shutter steadily like the trigger of a rifle. The first three are all out of focus. Spend some time learning how to use the focusing aid in your camera viewfinder. If it is a split image, you can see the subject separated there as you go out of focus, as an example. A microprism will enhance the level of focus so you can home in on it. The ground glass is harder to use but should show you about what you shot when you released the shutter.

I'd go back to shoot these again paying close attention to the focusing aid and holding the camera steady.

 

[Weaving Wax]

Thanks! I figured it out (just now) and I know how to properly use the manual focus, but what if you want the foreground blurry and the background sharp? Would you put the background in the split? So you can focus it or just focus the lens until the background is sharp?

Edited for the 3rd time, sorry.

 

[fmw]

Thanks! I figured it out (just now) and I know how to properly use the manual focus, but what if you want the foreground blurry and the background sharp? Would you put the background in the split? So you can focus it or just focus the lens until the background is sharp?

Edited for the 3rd time, sorry.

Yes, that's right. Focus on the background and make sure you use a wide enough aperture so that depth of field doesn't bring the foreground into focus. The aperture will determine how Out-of-focus the foreground is. In that situation iit s pretty easy because depth of field extends beyond the focused subject more than it does in front of it.

 

[Weaving Wax]

Thanks again! So, the wider the aperture the more "in focus" everything in the shot is? And the smaller the aperture less of the shot is in focus? I think I read that. For low light you'd want a larger aperture to let in more light and in vice versa for subjects with more light? Sorry for all the questions, I've been reading on these things, but I do need some clarification on certain things...

 

[fmw]

No, you need to read about depth of field. The wider the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. The narrower the aperture, the deeper the depth of field. What is exactly in focus is what you choose to focus on in your viewfinder. What else in focus in terms of near to far depends on the depth of field which is governed by aperture.

 

[Weaving Wax]

Thanks.

 

[joyride]

I would also suggest a tripod. Aside from a camera and film, this is the most important piece of photo equipmwnt I have! Plus, you can get them for fairly cheap. And if you dont have a tripod, try leaning against a wall or another stationary object. If you can press the camera against something wile you shoot, that will help stabilize it.

If you are really serious, this is a great book for begining. Its a little pricy, but has tons of information from beginning to advanced photography.
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0131896091/sr=1-3/qid=1163908028/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-1892033-2312721?ie=UTF8&s=books[/ame]

 

[Weaving Wax]

Thanks! I have a monopod which is I guess better than nothing. I am reading a photography book I got from the library, I'll see if I can find this book somewhere local, though..