Opinions please......

[daystar]

learning, learning, learning.....:). I took my kids to play at the church playground and was taking the opportunity to practice. What do you think?
eta: this is straight from the camera

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii290/wcanderson/IMG_6615.jpg

[KarlosDaJackal]

Subject
Its not doing anything for me subject wise, neither the building or the sky are that interesting to look at.

Technically
Its not straight, I know its straight of the camera but with the layout of the autofocus points you should try get the camera level to take a shot, rather than relying on fixing it later. Exposure seems ok, just seems odd that you went for ISO 200 on such a sunny day when you didn't need the extra shutter speed, but it makes almost no difference as its still technically "correct".

[daystar]

Thank you for the feedback. It helps tremendously. It's hard for me right now to remember all the little things to do to try to get the right shot - my brain is not in automatic mode yet, :).

My family is so sweet about my pictures - my mom especially just loves them - but I know she isn't looking at them with the eye that I'm trying to aquire and I know alot of you have. So I geniunely appreciate any help on this journey. Thank you, again.

eta: oh, and about the ISO....it was blaring sunny one minute and cloudy/overcast the next so I was switching alot of things according to the available light. The clouds were moving faster than my brain, lol.

[Robert_Lay]

I won't get into the issue of ISO setting, but I will second the comment on verticality.

Actually, the problem is perhaps more a problem of composition in that centering, if used, must be perfect. That's one of the reasons why important elements of a scene should not be centered. In other words, let the rule of thirds guide you on placement of important elements. Whenever you try to bring two things into conjunction or try to get something exactly parallel or exactly centered, you are asking for trouble. Much easier to go for significant imbalance.

[daystar]

Would something like this be better, composition-wise?

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii290/wcanderson/IMG_6612COPY.jpg

[Robert_Lay]

I think it's safer.

You still have to have the interest and the technically optimum exposure and lighting, but I would say that in this newer post you are not as likely to be accused of not having the steeple plumb. You obviously want this particular angle and perspective - it's too far off to be accidental.

Looking good!

[daystar]

Thank you. I really want to get better at this and it's so helpful to get ideas and feedback here.