Getting back in to photography and would like to be put under the microscope

Hey everyone, Been lurking here for a while and have decided to rebuild my photography chops from years ago.

Currently using my 1000D to get back into the swing of things while I save up for a 5dmkII for full frame goodness. Here are some pics I have worked on so far.

The only changes to these are converting to JPEG from the original RAW files, no PS or anything.
1.

Welcome to potn. the 2nd and last shot seem oof and the 3rd and 4th seem overexposed on my work monitor.

ni$mo350 wrote in post #12570410
Welcome to potn. the 2nd and last shot seem oof and the 3rd and 4th seem overexposed on my work monitor.

Number two was a long taken with my 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III due to the exhibit being a very deep sort of indoor hole with a walkway. Was shooting looking down into the hole and shooting freehand. I didnt notice the focus was a little off till you mentioned it. I definitely need a tripod for zoom shots.

The third and fourth shot were taken in a very harsh midday sun. I was using the sunlight white balance setting and shooting all these shots dead center on the viewfinder light meter.
Any suggestions on fixing this problem?

Do you shoot RAW or JPEG? If RAW, you should be able to pull up the recovery and lower the exposure in LR which will help drastically.

ni$mo350 wrote in post #12570604
Do you shoot RAW or JPEG? If RAW, you should be able to pull up the recovery and lower the exposure in LR which will help drastically.

I shoot strictly in RAW format. Sort of limited in software at the moment due to lack of employment. Limited to the DPP which came with the camera.

Again thanks for the input. I really appreciate the critique.

I like the first and the third which are my favourites. The meerkat is nice but looks a little soft. Nice series.