Newbie with XSI, Please critique

[thedicktator]

Hi,

I am brand new at photography. I just love it with a passion but never had the time and money for it.


I just bought the XSi with kit lens and nifty fifty.

Please critique and possibly show me how I can improve my composition, framing and post processing in photoshop.

Its my first post and looking forward to learning a lot from here.

Any advice is appreciated.

Coys at Fahsion Island

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Thedicktator/PS-Coy.jpg

Top of the world at Languna

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Thedicktator/IMG_0244.jpg

Bridge at Surf City

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Thedicktator/BridgeSamplefinal.jpg

[mpistone]

I don't see an image, sorry.

[JoYork]

Out of the 3 images you posted, the second one is by far the best. There are a couple of ways you can improve on it though:

1) You cut off her hand and foot. Not good. Try to frame it so you get her entirely in the frame.

2) The image is a little flat. Give it a boost by increasing the contrast, saturation and sharpness a little.

The first image just looks like you walked past a pond and took a photo of the fish. There's nothing about the image which makes it look like anything other than a snapshot. Unfortunately for subjects like this it can be difficult to get an interesting angle on the fish as they quite hard to get close to. I find that try as I might I'm unable to take photographs of certain things and make them look special.. they'll always look like record shots.

Compare the first to your second and you'll see how much more professional the second photo looks to the first, however. The second photo shows planning - the model is posed, you chose your composition well and other than cutting off her limbs you did a great job.

The third photo is pretty good. My eye starts at the left hand side of the photograph and swoops along following the bridge to the right. There's a path for it to follow and this works.

I wonder if it's possible to go back and try framing it so we see where the bridge starts or where the bridge ends? Or step further back and get both in?

The colours and contrast in this picture are better than the other 2 - look how much richer and contrastier it is.

If you're not doing so already you might want to start using RAW mode (or RAW+JPG to begin with). RAW ultimately gives you more control over an image and means that as you improve you can go back and visit old photos in months to come and use your new found post processing skills more effectively.

Remember, don't take anything I say as gospel, it's only my opinion.

Welcome to the forum by the way!

[505th_man]

Here is my opinion
In the first image:
I only have one comment, if you could wait for the fishes to move so that there would be only one fish left, that could maybe have a better impact on the image.

In the second image:
Improve your framing at the second image, like what was said by the poster above.
Try to change the angle in the 2nd image
Aside from the framing issue, the image looks good

In the third image:
If you were aiming for the image to look like a long bridge, try to crop and remove the end part.
The clouds in the image look average, not bad, not good; but don't feel bad, it's not your fault
The composition in the image looks way better than the first image.

But hey, that's only some advice from one person. I also could be wrong..
I'm also new to photography.

[PCthug]

Not a bad set of images.

1. Might have been better if you just left one of the fishes in colour, then it would have given the eye something to rest on (say the one at 4 o'clock, using the rule of thirds).

2. Nice shot, but has already been said, cutting parts of limbs off is a big no no. You have included wasted space top and bottom, yet cut her hand and toes off. It may have been better shot horizontal, not portrait. Adjust the saturation or contrast slightly too.

3. Again, not a bad shot, that would have benefited from a lower view point, adding foreground interest (a branch, duck, debri etc), and pushing the bridge 'slightly' higher into the top third instead of the middle.

[thedicktator]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

All your points make great sense and I will keep shooting and post more up.

[JoYork]

Love the colour fish in the mono pond :)