Beginner, tips and crit wanted

kieranv

kieranv

kieranv

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Glasgow, scotland
Heylo all, i have a canon S3 and have just started photography within the last year really. i'd like your constructive criticism on two pictures i took yesterday, the first i was trying to get an autumny feel with the colours of the trees and the field, this is it straight out of the camera, just cropped it a wee bit and added a border.

IMG_14071small.jpg


the next is a sunset, i've tried to remove a telephone pole with photoshop, need to learn how to do it better though.

IMG_1412copycopysmall.jpg



thank you :)

kieran
 
number one is a good shot mate, i think it would have been better with a bit more foreground tho

number two lacks contrast on my screen.

i think you could benefit from researching the rules of thirds and composition, other than that they are great for your first shots! defo a lot better than my first one heh :)
 
alangelluk said:
number one is a good shot mate, i think it would have been better with a bit more foreground tho

number two lacks contrast on my screen.

i think you could benefit from researching the rules of thirds and composition, other than that they are great for your first shots! defo a lot better than my first one heh :)
Click to expand...

that the whole 1/3rd earth to 2/3rds sky thing?

looking quite good, especially like the sunset one, the first one looks a bit 'off' can't quite explain why, but it does :p
 
more that your image is split by two horizontal and two vertical lines, splitting your image into thirds vertically and horizontally. and the rule goes that you should aim to have you main focal point(s) at the intersections of the lines, or upon the lines. i think it's more of just a guideline though
 
I like the autumn one, but I do slightly agree that it looks a bit 'off'...could it be the white balance? I don't think I would have cropped it, to me the shadow and bits of grass add a little bit of that 'foreground interest'.

As for the sunset, I prefer the one with the telephone pole in it, it's good to look for silhouettes to make a sunset more interesting. I didn't like the sun in the centre on the one you posted in thread one, but think it works better like that with the pole.
 
ahh yes, you're right, that does look a lot nicer. i think because i live directly across from the church and look at it everyday i find it a bit boring so dont really know how best to make it look nice, but i saw the nice sunset shining on it and thought i'd go out and try to take some pictures :)

cheers people
 
I'm just trying to get going as well (I'm out fishing a lot and figured it would give me something to do if the fish were slow that day! I always see wildlife or nice weather effects)

but I have no idea where i'm going with post processing on photos..all mine seem to lack something..they seem a bit flat

are there any guides on filters or such like

an example of one I took out fishing (its been resized)

http://www.nicksmith.nildram.co.uk/photos/nice end to the day.JPG

I'd like to make the sky more blue to create a bigger contrast with the clouds

I suppose post processing is down to personal taste in the end as to what effects people add, but are there any cardinal rules people should abide by, or any basic mistakes that beginners always trip up on?

I have also realised that even for a compact like my lumix I need a tripod for the ultra zoom shots as I just cannot keep it steady enough..same for macro stuff really..I suppose this means I would finally be able to longer 'exposure' photos ( i'm not sure exposure still counts in digital photos??!!..maybe theres a better word for it, I mean it as if it were a slower shutter speed)
 
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I've had a quick blast with all three images in this thread.

I'll start with Alan's.

First image I prefer the non-cropped version. I really like the foreground. Here's my version:

autumn.jpg


I've used auto-level/contrast and then applied the shadows/highlight filter. Final thing was to alter the colour balance to bring out some more of the yellows and greens.

Really like the shot :)

sunset.jpg


Once again with this one I zero'd everything (auto levels/contrast/colour). I then applied shadows/highlights. Just gives the image a bit more depth.


FTM, I had a quick go with yours but to be honest it didn't need much work!

sunset2.jpg


I've made the sky a bit of a darker blue as you asked but I don't think it makes too much difference. I also reduced it to 800px wide to get in on the forums.

Any questions or anything, go for it :)

*if you want me to remove these images just ask.

Panzer
 
I suppose stuff like framing a shot..

I see stuff and I just snap away...but then when I have a look at it later it never seems to look the way I thought it did...I spend a lot of time outdoors so any photos I take are likely to be landscapes...I read on here about how the foreground can distract the eye or a picure can lead you in....

I took this one on the same day....and I put my mate in the corner rather than the centre because I figured it would make the picure more interesting...it wasnt me taking a picture of my mate....I thought it would look more like the landscape/water with a bloke fishing on it..and I was hoping to make him more a silhouette but it didnt quite work out like that,it may have still been a bit bright for that

http://www.nicksmith.nildram.co.uk/photos/gordon.JPG

are there any recommended books on this sort of thing? how to frame a photo for dummies? or such like


what you have done with the second photo there is brilliant..you seem to have added a whole level of richness..I am guesssing you dont just pick this sort of stuff up overnight !


I took loads of pictures that day as it was flat calm and made the fishing really hard! but looking back at them, all the photos I took in the morning look bland and flat..it was only as the sun went down that it really lit up.
 
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and 1 other thing...success rates!

is it just me or do people have to take loads of photos before they find the one they want?

is it always worth taking multiple shots of something just incase you dont get it bang on the 1st time?

or is that just me not taking enough care in the first place?
 
FTM said:
and 1 other thing...success rates!

is it just me or do people have to take loads of photos before they find the one they want?

is it always worth taking multiple shots of something just incase you dont get it bang on the 1st time?

or is that just me not taking enough care in the first place?
Click to expand...


I was the same to start with (im still a noob) but the problem you have is that when you get back home you have to spend time choosing the best out of n almost identical shots which takes time, especially if you have taken 100+ photos.

Now, unless i know it could be an AMAZING photo, i try to take my time and take 1 rather than, say, 3. This way I think about what im shooting.
 
you are going to have low success rates when you first start out, but tbh i wouldnt worry about them at all rly. at the end of the day if it takes you 50 shots to get the one you want who cares, thats why digital is so beautiful :)
 
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