Two months in. Shooting around. Any tips ?

[Matthew2474]

Thank you all for the words of encouragement and info.

Reading from a multitude of difference sources has gave me a lot to learn but one thing that is clear is the ability to use and understand light.

When I take my iguana out for some free roam time there is a basking light set up for her to go warm up at, and another uvb light strip at another spot she goes too. So I figured it was a good time to practice some shots.

Iguanas have a unique feature of being able to show emotion in their face more than other lizards. I really tried to capture the difference. The top she’s more concentrated, the bottom more relaxed.

 

[Mike Drone]

Nice shots =]

 

[RichardProtium]

As you said, light is the key. The angle of the light in the first shot really shows off the iguana's texture. I would consider denoising and desaturating the background and cloning/cropping out the small dark fringe at the bottom of the photo.

 

[otherprof]

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I like the bokeh in the bird shots, but I wish there were a little more of the image at the bottom.

 

[Derrel]

Keep reading and expanding your
Awareness of photography techniques and methods. Keep learning and practicing.

 

[Matthew2474]

As you said, light is the key. The angle of the light in the first shot really shows off the iguana's texture. I would consider denoising and desaturating the background and cloning/cropping out the small dark fringe at the bottom of the photo.

Damn I didn’t notice the fringe ! Thank you !

Unfortunately that noise was even after going through post processing and taking a brush to that background. I didn’t try desaturation though ! What would that change exactly ?

 

[RichardProtium]

Unfortunately that noise was even after going through post processing and taking a brush to that background. I didn’t try desaturation though ! What would that change exactly ?

It would even out the background and remove the blotches of large scale colour noise.

Although, the focus and DOF of the second shot are perfect. I would just consider cropping out some of the left side.

 

[Dave Maciak]

Learn about light and how to position yourself in relation to the light. The 32 or so Hedgecoe books are good for this. Backlight and sidelight are common; your bird photos would have been elevated had a touch of flash been used to add a catchlight in the eye.

I agree 110%! Those eyes are either the most critical to the image or a close second! Learn how to use a strobe, reflected light, otherwise good images--which could be made great! Get the image.

 

[Space Face]

Loads of great advice on here. Fantastic learning points.

 

[Soocom1]

The lizard shots are great!!!

I love the Darth Iguana look of No. 1 and the personality of No. 2.

 

[Matthew2474]

Okay so ! I couldn’t get Freya (the other black/yellowish lizard) the way I wanted.. I wanted to capture her body coming out of her with clarity so it gave more emphasis to her size but I just couldn’t get the aperture correct for it. I should have went to aperture priority mode.

Atreyu’s background was tough to get right because it had some many bumps and strong texture, it would take you’re eye too it which isn’t what is intended of course. I attempted to desaturate, reduce detail and clarity to bring emphasis to her and the controller. How’d I do?

Thank you all for the words of encouragement and critique/advice. It’s given me a lot to work with!

 

[Matthew2474]

Would it be allowed for me to post periodically on this same thread of my pictures throughout the year? I figured it would be cool to come back to beginning pictures after a year to see how far I progressed.

 

[Space Face]

Would it be allowed for me to post periodically on this same thread of my pictures throughout the year? I figured it would be cool to come back to beginning pictures after a year to see how far I progressed.

I think that would be a good idea. Makes sense to me.

 

[Matthew2474]

Took the wild life with my new canon 400mm 5.6L and the scenery shots with a tamaron 10-24 3.5-4.5 wide angle

What do you guys think ?

 

[zombiesniper]

Overall I'd say you're doing well.

A few things that can aid you.

Gear related.

1. Know you're gear. Read the manual. Cover to cover. Then read it again with the camera in hand and follow through in camera with the manual. This is essential for aiding you in figuring out why something its happening and how to correct it.

2. Settings.
Try new settings to find out what works best for you. THERE IS NO RIGHT SETTING. I shoot a lot of wildlife and if I stand with 10 photographers shooting the same bird, 8 of us are all on different settings. Now having said this some settings are more common than others.

Metering. With wildlife you will find that for the most part metering the whole or partial scene will not get you the best exposure. A majority of wildlife photographers lean towards spot metering since you only care if the subject is correct. Other forms of photography meter differently.

Autofocus points. With subjects that are in or in front of a cluttered background a single focus point will get you the most number of keeper images. Zone or all will tend to focus on branches and leave you with some great leaf shots instead of the bird/animal. Uncluttered clear skies with a bird in flight more AF points are often used.

3. Lighting.
This is the single most important part of photography since without it there is no photo.
Learn to see the light. I know sounds light a dumb philosophical statement but most people can't look past their excitement of getting "A" shot instead of trying to get "THE" shot.

Natural light. It is always best to have the sun or majority of light (overcast day) to your back. This will provide the best light on the subject.

Catch light. This is the little reflection of light in the eye. This one little detail can make and image go from good to great. It doesn't have to be a direct reflection of the sun but can just be a reflection of a brighter point that the subject is facing.

Studio lighting. As @jcdeboever mentioned. One and I repeat one flash/strobe is the best way to start. If you already have more than one. Put all but one back in their boxes until you've completed the next step.
Read up on studio lighting.
Look at images that you like and try to dissect the lighting i.e. how far was the light from the subject? At what angle? how high? what was the lights angle to the camera. How far was the light from the background and the hardest part is to evaluate what each of these things if changed would do to the image. If it is an image on the forum, ask the photographer if they would mind aiding you with settings.
Practice is key. Shoot with one light. Every angle, power setting, distance from subject. Only ever change one aspect of the lighting (angle, power, distance etc.) and reevaluate what it did.


4. Getting useful feedback.

There are two types of feedback you may receive. Opinion and factual based.
Opinions mean absolutely nothing as they are just a preference and not based on anything else. Things such as, I'd clone out (insert whatever here).
Fact based feedback is going to provide more meaningful progression such as, if you raised your shutter speed to 1/2000 or more you will have a better chance of getting a birds wings clear and reduce the movement blur.

How to ask for useful feedback.

Just posting CC or feedback welcome will not provide anyone with what you are needing help with.
So first thing is to have a goal on what to work on BEFORE hitting that shutter button. I do it all the time. Take pictures of flying birds as they're moving through thick brush to practice my aim and tracking. The point is to know what it is so you can ask for help with it.
Posting a meaningful set of things, a few but not more than 5 that you would like feedback on. This could be how to get the proper exposure, composition, post processing (be specific here as well or again you'll get opinions and preferences).

Find my style I guess you would say

If you ask most good artists, painter, photographers, sculptors a lot of them will tell you the same thing. You don't choose your style. Trying to force it will only make the journey harder.
Shoot, learn but most important ENJOY. Your style will find you.


I'll end this here before i start an essay.

Keep up the good work and don't be afraid to ask questions.