some school shots C&C welcome

no one has anything to say? good, bad or otherwise?

I'm a noob, but I like them

They all appear to be OOF

oof and not very creative... very bland.

on the third i dont even know what to be looking at..

thanks for the input can anyone offer me some ideas on how to take dull and boring pictures and make them better?

i am having a hard time based on the restrictions on this assignment

we are shooting in late afternoon nearly dark, with very little cool stuff around the college to shot and stuck in auto.

i know those shouldnt be issues but i am finding myself semi stuck

You are forced to stay in auto? hmmm... and this is a class?

anyway... what are the restrictions? that will help out a lot.

Its not clear to me exactly what the assignment is. Can you lay it our for me?

basically this is the first week of photo class and the teacher has set it out that we are all are suppose to pick 5 subjects in nature and take 10 photos each of that subject the guide lines are

only shoot in auto
use just only the flash on the camera
and take pictures of things only around the college

as we progress into the class we will have more liberty to use the manual settings go other places and shoot at the time of day of our choosing and what not, just for this project i am having a really difficult time getting any decent pictures since the class starts at 5pm and we are usually out shooting between 6 and 7, clearly there just isnt much in the way of decent subjects to shoot (maybe more so operator error then anything as i am still learning and dont really know a lot outside of the basics and what i have read so far in understanding exposure)

i hope that is enough info to help you help me

Well it's a start. Try to watch other people's pictures and be critical about yours. You're discovering photography, I can see. Just keep taking pictures and post them.

You'll get some good advice!

Ok, here goes (I am far from an expert photographer, I might add):

Picture 1: Good idea of focusing on a single, brightly colored flower. However, the flower is out of focus, the background is kind of busy (too many distractions) and the leaf(?) sticking out from the bottom of the picture, pointing up and to the right is distracting. Also, try not to put your subject dead center of the frame, google for "rule of thirds".

Picture 2: same thing, don´t put the subject dead center. Avoid having lines criss-crossing across your subject (in fact, avoid having anything covering your subject). The window in the background steals attention. Perhaps framing the flower against the blue window only (red flower against blue window) would improve the picture.

Picture 3: The diagonal line going from the bottom to top left could be an interesting feature (it draws the eyes into the picture). However, there is not much to draw the eye into, I am lacking a clear subject.

Because you are forced to shoot in auto I would pick subjects that aren't so close to the camera. Maybe pick a building and use a tripod on a few of the shots if it calls for longer shutter speeds....wait....you said "nature". Hmmmm.....

This assignment sounds like a "welcome to photography" assignment and I think the teacher is just trying to get you used to your camera (many beginners aren't but you may be) and thinking critically about shots. Just keep shooting away and come back here often for good advice.

thanks for all the advice

On the third one....get low....eye level with the rock, that might be interesting.