A few photos for class, advice/tips appreciated :)

Taking Photography in school and this was my first few pictures that I was fooling around with. I shot with a .. Nikon D90 with a 50mm 1.8. I shoot Canon film though! Let me know what are some tips and advice you guys have for me, thanks!

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First thing that jumps out to me is that her eyes/face are not in focus. I think that sort of works in the last shot, but only if you were doing some kind of product-shoot for the lens in the picture.

I think they are quite good, the pose in most of them looks quite natural apart from the last one which looks as though she is struggling to balance.
To my mind she is a little too far to the left in frames 2 & 3.

What stands out most is the spare lens, why is it included in the picture also it looks a very precarious place to leave it, one false move by the model and it ends up on the ground .... ouch.

I think the precarious lens is far to scary for us amateur photographers.

Martin Dixon wrote in post #15104115
I think the precarious lens is far to scary for us amateur photographers.

+1!!

That's actually a Nikon mug

Thanks for the tips guys

The lady sure does show a total lack of enthusiasm.

Once I saw the precarious lens it had all of my attention!

Questions on all of the photos in general:
What is the subject?
How do all of the other objects in the photo relate to the subject?
Does the photograph express the story to or evoke the feeling from the viewer you intend WITHOUT the background knowlege you have of the photo.

Let's look at the photos:

#1 Pretty girl sitting on cement thing in front of rocks. First thing to notice is that focus seems to be on the top knot of her hair. Is this what you want me to focus on? She is dead center in the photo which is generally not too exciting.

#2 What is the subject? I am torn between the girl, the lens and her watch. Stronger elements in a photo should be used to direct the eye tword the subject. Personal peeve (and something I am guilty of) her toe is touching the side of the picture, try for a bit more space around her foot.

#3 and 4 same discussion as 2 but her belt(?) is also distracting and hard to identify.

Remember that the eye is drawn toward brightness.

Let's figure out how to improve these shots:
look into the rule of thirds, leading lines and framing.

First pick your subject. Now you need to make all of the other items in the photo work to draw your viewers eye to the subject or to fill in the story you are trying to tell.

Let's say the subject is out pretty girl. Cool. Lets say we want to get the idea across that she is a photographer. Have her hold the lens, perhaps looking at it, or better yet have her hold a camera, perhaps pointing it toward you, while looking past it at you. Focus point should be on the they eyes if a person is your subject.

Hope this is what you were looking for.

Keep shooting and enjoy!
John

Comps are generally good.
Like the B&W but they all seems a bit flat to me.
#3 and 4 seems a bit soft.
There are some lost details in the blacks...especially in #2 and 3.
Not crazy about having a lens in #2, 3 and 4. What was your intent here?
The pose in #4 seems un-natural to me. She seems uncomfortable and it looks like she's holding that white PVC pipe.
She looks a bit uncomfortable in #2 as well.