Just looking for a little C&C

[bonzi13]

Hey all, was just wondering any tips or anything that I could get from you guys. I'm still pretty new to this and I'm using a Rebel XTi with the kit lens.

#1

[bonzi13]

#2 Just some black and white.

[bonzi13]

#3 Some Photoshop on this one.

[bonzi13]

#4 Just a little sunset.

[tonydee]

Hi Bonzi,

#1 seems a bit heavy in the two colours, with the rest black or bright white. Just not much detail to look at, and the overall mood's a bit despressing. Generally, you want some foreground, midground and background interest in a shot. #1 has foreground, but it's underexposed and no detail can be made out. The midground's there - the bridge, lights and trees, cutting severely across the photo. And the background's completely overwhelmed. Just a soft suggestion of some mountains barely visible behind the bridge, but there's no way to know how far away they are. Not enough cloud in the sky to add interest there either, but there's a lot of it on display. My suggestions for this are: consider using your flash to put a little light on the foreground. Don't get so square on to the midground, and try to shoot from a point where you can see something beyond. If you have a tripod, consider trying out HDR (high dynamic range) processing, where you take a few shots at various exposures and use the computer to stitch it together, so you've got quality information in the shadows and highlights, and can put as much or as little detail into each part of the picture as you like. If you're starting out and want a cheap way to play with this, try the free qtpfsgui (Google it), available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

#2 is a good shot in my mind. You haven't got a lot of light on the face, but you can see it properly, which shows nicely controlled exposure. I like the fact you can see the brushed steel grain on the top left of the watch. The depth of field works well here. Watch face is on the Line of Thirds from the right, and generally the framing is interest and unorthodox.

#3 is very nicely controlled exposure on the bricks, and pretty sharp - which isn't always easy to do with shots like that. There's light coming into the lens (red and yellow marks on the left), which you might have been able to prevent with a hood, to I don't personally find them annoying. Another thing to understand is that the blue and white patchiness around the tree trunks is due to the extreme contrast with the bright sky beyond, and shows in this part of the picture the sky was overexposed. Another possible shot for HDR techniques. Any particular story behind the place? Looks like it might be a grim one... :-(

#4 has a lot of potential. You got some interesting light onto the foreground, the tree on the left is interesting, the cloud too, the reflected light is good, the gradation in the sky, but I think the framing is not quite right. I would have walked around to the right more, tried to get the tree a third of the way from the left in the shot, taken in more of the cloud, and avoided the sun completely. With the central sun positioning, it's really dominant, overwhelming even, and doesn't help the picture (in my mind).

Not sure if any of that helps, but as a general rule, have a read of people's thoughts and if something rings true to you, then take it on board. Can also use suggestions to experiment with - even if you go back to what you've been doing it should be with more assurance.

Keep up the good work. Best of luck.

Tony

[bonzi13]

First of all, thank you for the comments and advice. I will most definitely take those tips into consideration.

#3 doesn't have a sad story at all. I'm currently a student at Iowa State University and those are the bricks in front of Catt Hall, which is named for Carrie Chapman Catt. The names of females who have made an impact on society. I was wandering around campus and noticed the setting sun on these bricks and quickly grabbed some shots.