Brand New to DSLR

[Dana1318]

Hey

I just got my camera not to long ago and have been playing around with it.
This is my first time here and posting so I hope I can get some good C&C.

Thanks,
Dana

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/6902/img0032z.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7997/img0042fqs.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/img0042fqs.jpg/)

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/3195/img0182z.jpg (http://img188.imageshack.us/i/img0182z.jpg/)

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/2708/img0185ngr.jpg (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/img0185ngr.jpg/)

[joedlh]

Welcome to the forum and the world of SLR photography. You'll get much good advice here. Sometimes you won't agree with what is written. However, most of the time it is an attempt to be helpful.

First off, I would recommend posting only one or two images if you want detailed critiquing. Speaking for myself, I usually pass by multi-image postings because it would take too much of my time to do them justice.

In #1, my attention was drawn to the signs. Learn post processing and clone them out. The sky is a touch overexposed in my opinion. So you lose the deep colors.

#2 I believe this counts as the obligatory duck (or goose in this case) shot that gets you instant membership to a secret society on this forum. I can't tell you what it's about because it's a secret.

#3 is Overexposed. Is the horse tied to that tree? I don't know why, but for some reason the tree bothers me from a compositional standpoint.

#4. That certainly is a red car. It looks like it was shot in late afternoon. Congratulations. You discovered the magic hour when the light is at its best. There's a mixed school of thought on centering your subject. In general, it is recommended that it be on one side of the image, facing into the image. I would either do this or crop it more tightly.

[tonydee]

#1: the land extending to right is almost half-way up the photo: it's a tough thing to do sometimes, but photos do generally look better when you prioritorise either the sky or ground and divide the photo into a 1:2 or 2:1 ratio. This is called the Rule of Thirds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds) - of course it's misleading to call a guideline a rule, but it is a good idea to try it out.

Another issue with #1 is that so much of the photo is dark and not presenting much for the viewer to see. For that reason, I'd have included more water/sky, and less of the darkness at left. You only really need enough to frame the shot.

#2: the side-on duck is not presented optimally because the black head merges into the deep blue of the water, the outline of the body fights for definition with the edge of the bank (especially at the lower back/tail). The shadow from the frontal flash also confuses the outline. I can image you're thinking "hey - people are going to see the duck here mate, it's not in camoflauge", but these things really do make a difference to how pleasant that process is. The duck at the right isn't contributing a lot of elegance to the shot (beautiful as it may be from the right angle). On the other hand, it's the very fact that it's not exactly elegant that adds most interest to the photo, a kind of "oh, why shoot that?" reaction. If that tickles your sense of humour, keep it. But more generally, don't feel you have to live with whatever the camera frame's shape puts into your shots: feel free to crop and remove stuff you don't want, or find a more flattering ratio of side lengths, later. You can even go for circular or oval frames etc: used to be common in really old portraits but now it's harder to buy frames....

#3: Main problem is exposure. Seems you had the camera on manual, so only yourself to blame ;-P. Joe's got a good point re the tree: it's not so much that the horse is tied to it, but that the horse and carriage are facing it: this leaves no where for them to advance into, and the picture feels kind of stuck when the subject matter ought to suggest potential movement. Not your fault given that's the way you found them, but to get a really good picture you might have had to wait around until they were back on their way.

#4: I agree with Joe - Rule of Thirds again - try the vehicle so its centre is a third from right, facing into the rest of the space. The shadow would help occupy some of that space. Rotating it to face slightly towards the camera would also help: this would bright light onto the front grill, and also stop the vehicle from feeling like a blockage as the eye travels in to the shot. Being completely side on, the eye isn't carried further towards the trees. Being really picky here, the top of the car almost perfectly matches the base of the trees behind: it's generally better to have each object layered through the shot overlap the edges of the things behind: but like the duck shot - it helps avoid confusion about the outlines, and makes the whole more harmonious.

Cheers, Tony

[DragonDan]

I like the colors in #1, although it's a bit tilted to the left. Agree with cropping/ cloning out the signs.

Keep shooting! overall these are heading in the right direction!

[AxxisPhoto]

Welcome to the wonderfull world of DSLR and to POTN!! Keep shooting! The best way to learn is to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.

[Dana1318]

I'd like to thank you for your time and Ideas.