Some phots I shot Last night...

Twisted · Aug 18, 2011

Thought I would share a couple photos I have shot.Please feel free to critique. I am new and still trying to figure things out.<br>

HagenDaaz · Aug 18, 2011

Hey man, I'm new at this too! To be honest, I think they're great shots of a very handsome cat. May I ask, what photo editing software do you use, if at all?

powasky · Aug 18, 2011

Your lighting doesn't separate the foreground from the background. They aren't sharp through the whole range the cat is in. Your background is folded and ****.

pictures of cats are overdone. pick a different subject next time.

Twisted · Aug 18, 2011

I didnt use any lights in the photo. It was taken using only room light which was a small corner lamp with a compact fluorescent bulb. The shoot wasnt staged. The cat just jumped on the table I was using to shoot something the day before, so I grabbed the camera and took a few pics.

Those photos are unedited but I use Corel Photo Pro X3.

SabrinaO · Aug 18, 2011

Twisted said:
Thought I would share a couple photos I have shot.Please feel free to critique. I am new and still trying to figure things out.<br>

What are you trying to figure out? There are a lot of issues with these photos..

lenejetlee · Aug 18, 2011

nice photo... so what kind of lens are you using then?

emoxley · Aug 18, 2011

powasky said:
pictures of cats are overdone. pick a different subject next time.

That's a matter of personal opinion. If you're a cat lover (like me) you never get tired of looking at cat pictures.

The cat pics look good to me. I don't think the light was bad at all. I personally, would have tried for pics with the whole cat in them, or gone in for a close up of that pretty face of hers/his. The cat is definitely posing in the first one. Is it a ham?

Forkie · Aug 18, 2011

They look out of focus to me. The white balance is way off to the point where the only colours in the photo are different shades of yellow. In the first shot, you've cut his legs off and he is in the dead centre of the frame.

Do a Google search of the Rule of Thirds and learn a little about composition and you'll see why the framing, particularly in the first shot is not good.

I hope you don't mind, but I've done a quick crop to show a better composition (I also tweeked the colours slightly to make it a bit less yellow).

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is easy enough to accomplish straight from the camera by taking shots like this in portrait. Also, experiment with the white balance settings on your camera, for a normal table lamp, have your W/B set on tungsten, or whatever is the appropriate setting for your lighting, that way you will get more accurate colours instead of that awful yellowness. Keep at it!

emoxley · Aug 18, 2011

I agree about the WB. Wasn't thinking about that when I replied above. Although it wasn't really distracting, like it can be. The "rule of thirds" was followed in the 2nd pic ok. But the rule of thirds doesn't have to apply to every picture, especially to a portrait, which the first pic was. Rules are made to be broken.........at times.

I like your edit of the pic too. It's closer to what I meant about going in for a close up.

Shadowbox · Aug 18, 2011

the cat is cute!

Twisted · Aug 18, 2011

Thanks for the comment guys.

I was using a 50mm Prime lens on a Sony Alpha A55. Also on the focus....Photobucket really crunches it down when I upload, so the quality is diminished. I cant figure out how to get around photobucket crunching them.

Forkie...I like your edit. Like I said i am a complete noob so any comments from you guys are good. Gives me things to try out next time.

Tee · Aug 18, 2011

Twisted said:
Also on the focus....Photobucket really crunches it down when I upload, so the quality is diminished. I cant figure out how to get around photobucket crunching them.

For the most part, I always resize and sharpen my photos for the web (not to exceed 700 pixels on the long side). This usually prevents sites from resizing for you and you can maintain sharpness and a decent viewing size. There are a bunch of tutes on the web that can show you how to do this.

You gotta start somewhere and I'm pretty impressed the cat stayed put (mine always ran the minute I picked up the camera). I would work on white balance and composition. It's important to learn the fundamental rules of composition before going renegade. Good luck.

MissCream · Aug 18, 2011

Cute cat

Like other said, the composition is lacking and the WB is way too warm.

Also It looks like your cat is whistling :lol:

Twisted · Aug 18, 2011

MissCream said:
Also It looks like your cat is whistling

Lol. Yea his bottom lip is black so it looks like his mouth is open a little. :lol:

And the lamp in the room throws off a yellow light so i am sure that is where most of the issues are coming from. I will fire up the lights and see if I can get him up there again.:thumbup:

Forkie · Aug 19, 2011

Twisted said:
MissCream said:

Also It looks like your cat is whistling

Click to expand...

Lol. Yea his bottom lip is black so it looks like his mouth is open a little.

And the lamp in the room throws off a yellow light so i am sure that is where most of the issues are coming from. I will fire up the lights and see if I can get him up there again.:thumbup:

I'd love see your next attempts. Try to get in a bit closer and if he's sitting like in the first shot, shoot with the camera at 90 degrees to get his whole body in, or at least his chest and head. Think about where his head should be in the shot - lock your focus on his EYES and then recompose whilst holding that focus. Good luck!