Newbie here ..C & C please

[Leo2008]

I posted this in the "portraits" section and didn't get much C & C and so I thought I will post here

http://praneetha.smugmug.com/gallery/5552974_uxnho#340146571_xy8v5

Please let me know what you think of the photos. I am learning and would love to hear your comments. Thank you!

[shutter_blitz]

Welcome to POTN!
Here are my comments. Not a professional so take it for what its worth.

Pros: If these are some of your very first shots, they are not too shabby at all. 1,2 & 4 are pretty good. I like the saturation of colors and sharpness. Focus and background blur is good.

Cons: 1&2 look cold. They have a blue cast and 4 has an orangeish cast. This is due to lack of a suitable/customized WB setting. The exposure on 3 is good, but you lost focus on his face and it seems to have landed on his hands or somewhere below. Or, your shutter speed is too slow which causes the moving hands to blur and any motion to cause blurring. The background on 1 &2 is blownout where the sun is lighting up the grass.
The B&W conversions seem to have lost some IQ. Maybe its just me, but they seem a tad softer.

Keep practicing, especially with varied light conditions. That will help you understand a lot of the naunces of exposure and WB.

[Leo2008]

Thank you for your comments! I really appreciate it.
All the things that you said makes sense. I would not have figured it out on my own.

I have to read about the WB setting - don't know how that is set. :oops:

The color photos are unedited and the Black & white are from Picasa - I don't have any photo editing software yet and I think that is why it is softer.

I'll keep shooting.

[Robert_Lay]

I like the one in the upper right corner - he's charming!