First Outdoor Shot

[LowSpark420]

I am a true beginner in every sense of the word when it comes to "real" photography. I have been a digital point-in-click guy for a while, taking more than 1,000 shots of my son in the past year of his life.

I am now ready to learn how to really add quality and depth to my photograph's to cherish for years to come.

Anyway - I purchased a Canon EOS Rebel XSi on Saturday and have begun reading and messing around. It's fun stuff!!

Here is a picture I took this afternoon in my backyard. Not bad for a rookie I guess? Really wanting to get into being able to take those pictures where the main focus is in my case, my son, with the background blurred, I love that effect.


http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn305/PanicDad/Plant-5-18-09-1.jpg

[MattMoore]

Welcome!

Really wanting to get into being able to take those pictures where the main focus is in my case, my son, with the background blurred, I love that effect.

I believe you're referring to bokeh (the wider your aperture (numerically lower f/stop), the shallower you're depth of field (DoF) can get).

Although the picture is rather pedestiran for my tastes, it is important that you read, practice, learn, repeat. Nobody starts on the top.

[DerekSimon]

You got the basic idea of bokeh but I would definately recommend asking around and reading some books. This shot is okay for a beginner but nothing that is wall worthy.

[Grimlock]

Welcome Lowspark.

May I recommend checking this thread out...

CLICK HERE! (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=414088)

You'll learn a lot from it, I feel.

[LowSpark420]

No, definetly not "wall worthy"...I just wanted to show what I am doing thus far. I can say moving from a digital point and click to a dSLR has been like night and day. Even if I never took the initiative to learn about the camera, it will take 100 times cleaner pictures just in auto mode than my other camera, so I am happy to say the least!

[MattMoore]

No, definetly not "wall worthy"...I just wanted to show what I am doing thus far. I can say moving from a digital point and click to a dSLR has been like night and day. Even if I never took the initiative to learn about the camera, it will take 100 times cleaner pictures just in auto mode than my other camera, so I am happy to say the least!

If you like greenbox mode, you'll love M and Av once you figure the out.

Here's a pretty decent (and very easy to understand) tutorial.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

[LowSpark420]

Here is the same plant, now blooming. Does my second shot at least beat out the first?

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn305/PanicDad/BloomingPlant.jpg

[40Dman]

Hello Low, yes the second is much better than the first. It looks a little overexposed to me. Try to get unique angles and don't center the subject all time. This is something I have learned from this forum. I used to center all time, but now I can see how much better they can be if not centered. Also the bright sun can (not always) kill good photos. I am a noob also, others can give more advice.

Steve

[tonydee]

Shallow depth of field can be a lot of fun when you're starting out, but often it's really best to have all of your subject in focus, especially both eyes for your son. Second shot is much more interesting than the first, and the DOF is shallow but many flowers are in focus so it's not bad, even though I'd still recommend more depth of field. Steve's right in saying off-centre pictures tend to work better... bit counter-intuitive at first. As Matt said, wide apertures produce shallower DOF, but other things contribute too like focusing closer to the camera, and focal length. You can plug numbers into http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html to get a feel. Cheers, Tony

[LowSpark420]

All good tips, thanks!