Newbie, any help will do :-)

Hello, I am a total newbie to photography, as well to the forum, and have started a blog to help challenge myself and expand my knowledge. If any of you could check it out and let me know what you think and/or give me some challenges and critique them for me as well it would be greatly appreciated. I am currently shooting with a Canon 30D (all manual mode) and a 50mm f/1.8 lens ( I also own the kit lens that came with the camera). I alkso recentlyl purchased LR3 and also own PSE 5.0. Thanks in advance for any of the help you can give me!

http://withhercamerain​hand.blogspot.com/

If you want help, post some pics here for critique. Dont use this forum to drive traffic to your blog.

gonzogolf wrote in post #13814900
If you want help, post some pics here for critique. Dont use this forum to drive traffic to your blog.

Sorry I will go ahead and post some pictures

My advice would be to simply embed your image in the thread if you're asking for a critique...many of us don't have the time or inclination to pop over to an external link. You'll get more feedback this way...

Here are some pictures for you to view, sorry I wasnt trying to boost traffic to my blog just thought that was easier. So here are two pictures that I did this week

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argyle wrote in post #13814911
My advice would be to simply embed your image in the thread if you're asking for a critique...many of us don't have the time or inclination to pop over to an external link. You'll get more feedback this way...

Thank you I will do that!

kmvelesko wrote in post #13814989
Here are some pictures for you to view, sorry I wasnt trying to boost traffic to my blog just thought that was easier. So here are two pictures that I did this week

Obscene quantities of noise reduction are eating up all the detail.

I really have no critique of the first shot. Its a very nice shot. Good use of the rim light on his face. I'm not a big fan of the second shot, the flare doesnt really work for me and his facing away is not that interesting.

andrew_patterson wrote in post #13815007
Obscene quantities of noise reduction are eating up all the detail.

thank you, I think the second one I got a bit carried away in LR

gonzogolf wrote in post #13815169
I really have no critique of the first shot. Its a very nice shot. Good use of the rim light on his face. I'm not a big fan of the second shot, the flare doesnt really work for me and his facing away is not that interesting.

Thank you! I appriciate your feed back!

kmvelesko wrote in post #13815260
thank you, I think the second one I got a bit carried away in LR

As a newbie, you should focus on the ingredients that are required to create a compelling image...quality of light, interesting subject matter, and composition. Combine these qualities in an image, and your post-processing needs will be minimal.

Like the first image, not so much the second.