My Photos.. critique and feedback very welcome!

keenan · 18 Mar 2014 at 09:20

Hi guys, I'm very new to photography and would like to learn as much as possible. I will post my photos here and I would appreciate if you guys could give some feedback, tips or critique.. I have a Canon EOS 500D with a 50mm F/1.8 and a Tamron 90mm F/2.8

wellesley road by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

rusty by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

the wall by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

taking the bus by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

yolk by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

pencil by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

power web by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

walko mono by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

keenan · 18 Mar 2014 at 09:56

alexthecheese said:
I like the spoon dude, but the aperture is too wide on the first two. It'd be nice to have enough DOF to be able to read the sign, and there's nothing really for your eyes to focus on in the second.

Thanks Alex, I'm still learning about which aperture to use.. Dont know if it's just with the older body's, but the viewfinder doesn't give the best reaction to aperture adjustments. I suppose it will get easier once I learn the lens and know the focus distance each aperture value provides.

keenan · 18 Mar 2014 at 12:12

Razor-BladE said:
The viewfinder doesn't give any indication of dof because the aperture blades don't 'activate' until a photo is actually taken. However, there is a dof preview button on the camera body near the underside of the lens which when held down, activates the blades allowing you to preview the dof.

Haha, I never even knew that.. thanks for the info!

keenan · 18 Mar 2014 at 14:32

D.P. said:
I don't really get the subject in the first 4 and the composition is weak to me.

The telegraph pole has the most potential but the over-top HDR has ruined the photo and the artifacts and halos are ghastly IMO. In general the processing hasn't helped any of these photos, all are over sharpened really.

My advice would be to take a step back and forget the processing for the time being and concentrate on the basic of composition, framing, selecting interesting subject matter at times with good lighting. When the out of camera jpegs are brilliant then you have a stronger canvas to work on during PP and the time sat in front of a monitor can be reduced.

But that is just my opinion, take or leave it for what it is. I realize it is harsh, i haven't softened my response and wrapped it in cotton wool for you, just spouted out my dislike. But I do believe it is a constructive critique.

Thanks for the feedback, I dont mind the harsh tone, it's still constructive

I do realize I need a lot more practice with composition and framing and taking 1000's photographs is likely the best way of getting better at it. I do welcome any tips that will help in my path to learning

keenan · 20 Mar 2014 at 01:33

Thanks for the advise guys, definitely taken to heart!

keenan · 26 Mar 2014 at 11:42

Thank you Baron C, I will definitely look into getting both of them..

Here's another one, done some pp, but nothing major..

miemie by jdewinnaar, on Flickr

keenan · 6 Apr 2014 at 00:16

Thanks guys, I got "The Photographer's Eye" and will be spending some time taking it all in..

My friend allowed me to take a portrait of him and this is what I came up with..

Here's one with my son attempting to be creative..

As well as an attempt by me..

keenan · 14 Apr 2014 at 09:03

Some more taken with my new 28-105mm

dunny by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

another dunny by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

dunny mask by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

dunny unmaked again by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

keenan · 14 Apr 2014 at 09:52

Camalot said:
What kind of PP have you added in the first few shots?

Hi, just desaturated, upped the clarity and contrast along with high pass and a light vignette..

keenan · 6 May 2014 at 10:10

Recently got a Yungnuo 560 and some soft boxes..

These were achieved by completely blocking out any ambient light..

IMG_5261 by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

IMG_5231 by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

IMG_5274 by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

keenan · 13 May 2014 at 09:19

Playing around with the speedlite inside a 23cm softbox firing from the left..

cooling by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

cooling4 by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

cooling2 by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

cooling3 by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

cooling5 by jacquesdewinnaar, on Flickr

keenan · 6 Aug 2014 at 12:58

Some of my latest photos..

red velvet by jdewinnaar, on Flickr

since 1658 by jdewinnaar, on Flickr

the view by jdewinnaar, on Flickr

he'll get there by jdewinnaar, on Flickr

keenan · 6 Aug 2014 at 13:23

Janesy B said:
Typical 'My First DSLR' shots, we've all been there. Sorry

I don't know why you bother to post if you have nothing useful or constructive to add..

* Oh, you edited your comment, why?

Raymond Lin said:
You are good at this, already have composition and processing way ahead of someone who only been shooting for 6 months.

Thank you Raymond, I can definitely see progress when comparing my latest photos to the ones when I first started.

keenan · 6 Aug 2014 at 13:53

JBuk said:
Or maybe he has a point that you should consider rather than dismissing it because it's not positive.

I didn't dismiss it, did I? Like you, he had nothing useful or constructive to add and I questioned him about it..

Why did you take the trouble to post? Just to echo him? That's very nice of you, but I think he had it covered without your heroic contribution.

keenan · 6 Aug 2014 at 15:09

JBuk said:
Ps your thread title does say critique and feedback very welcome

Indeed it does, which means I am looking for critique about my photos.

If you know what critique means, than you know that neither of you actually offered any. That is the problem!

Back on topic, thank you for the constructive input in your last comment, that is something I can take on board..

Janesy B said:
I edited it because I realised it would prompt a response like the above

Seems quite natural that it did the very exact thing then..

keenan · 1 Nov 2018 at 03:18

Hi again everyone.

Seeing as it's been more than 4 years since my last post in this thread I thought it best if I posted something light hearted on my first re-entry.

Danbo seems like the perfect denominator..

keenan · 1 Nov 2018 at 08:13

sHo0sH said:
Nice! composition and pp has come on a long way.
Still on the 500d?

Thanks sHoOsH, most of those were taken with an old 5D.

keenan · 1 Nov 2018 at 17:52

Drollic said:
The 4th and last I really like.

I'm very glad you like them Drollic.

MrRockliffe said:
There's a massive jump in the "professionalism" of the photos. It doesn't look like you're gunning for extreme bokeh just because DSLR etc, you're using it to great effect. The 4th one in particular is really really nice - looks like you've turned RTX on

Thanks for the kind words MrRockliffe.

keenan · 5 Nov 2018 at 06:52

Buddy said:
Great images. 100mm?

They were taken with a variety of lenses from 50mm up to 135mm.

keenan · 6 Nov 2018 at 06:25

I guess now that Danbo had a turn it's only fair to give Wall•e a little attention as well..