first trip outside

[Ace Modder]

Hi guys.

Check out my first outdoors shots!

Any tips would be appreciated. Not happy with the last one myself, it seems under-exposed.

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[eyetrip]

Well, I hate to critique, as I am so near the beginning of the learning process myself, but they almost all feel a bit underexposed to me, but that is probably because of the bright sky.

What camera/lens out of curiosity?

 

[Ace Modder]

400D with the 18-55mm Kit lens.

 

[buzzlightweight]

Modder, everyone starts somewhere, I did, Im no expert (im not great either) but your images just don't have any substance!

We all start somewhere and with that beginning comes criticism.

I read you wanted to do macro and landscape, can i suggest you buy some macro rings or a macro lens and begin there, or take some landscapes at golden hours, 1 hr before and after dawn and dusk.

Get up early to tap in to the sun rise, 1) coz its an amazing thing to see, 2) coz you can portrait an amazing scene!


milky by Buzz_Lightweight, on Flickr

that was taken at 5:30am in the freezing ocean with no water proofs!

All i have seen are...... snaps!

Sorry if im coming across harsh but i would rather steer you in the right direction rather than lick your balls.

 

[Janesy B]

I don't even know what I am looking at...

 

[Nodiggidy123]

Really like that shot buzz. Beautiful. Did you use any filters?

 

[Ace Modder]

This is what I want... advice. I'm rubbish I know this. Tips are more than welcome.

Finding subjects is what I'm having difficulty with at the moment.

 

[perry081064]

i think this can give you an idea of what the others are getting at.
im new to this as well and this pic is nowhere near as good as some of the content ive seems by others on this forum.

it shows a pic of a field, nothing in itself stood out until i composed the shot a little better by crouching down and focusing on the grass close to me and created the bokeh in the distance.
although its not a great pic, it looks a lot better than just a shot of the field.

 

[Ginger-Menace]

Hey ace . buy this, you will not regret it. this book is the best £10 I ever spent http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understandi...247918&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+exposure

 

[D.P.]

This is what I want... advice. I'm rubbish I know this. Tips are more than welcome.

Finding subjects is what I'm having difficulty with at the moment.

Don't just a photo of any random thing you come across. You need to photograph a subject, give the photo a purpose. You then need to learn how to compose a photo, which can take a lifetime to master but there are lots of simple tips out there and some very good literature.

It is also just worth looking at different photos and paintings (paintings are especially good resource for understanding composition and design). Try to analyse famous photos and understand why he photo or painting is pleasurable to view, why does it makes you stare longer and deeper at he photo, what lines are being used to draw the view in, how is the sense of depth or movement being created, why does the picture look balanced and natural.

 

[SwishSpencor]

Just to add to peoples comments on thinking about your shot and composition.

Here are two photos shot from the same place with the same processing but with the first shot I feel that my eyes have no one spot to focus on but in the second my eyes are drawn to the red building.

Before taking a shot look at your subject and think, would I want to see this printed and framed on my wall? If the answer is no then look for a way to make it interesting.

By no means would I say I'm an experienced photographer, I still have a lot of learning to go myself.

 

[eyetrip]

And don't worry, you are not alone. I think framing and composition is still the thing I struggle with the most. Seeing something I like, but being able to make it look good in a photo.

Am glad to see you are taking what some could construe as harsh criticism for what it actually is - constructive.

It takes a while to get the hang of things, as I am learning. It's trial and error - but the great thing with digital is it's far less costly to learn form our mistakes

 

[Paul11]

don't over complicate it... to start just find something as a subject rather than just a space...


even if it is just a tree or a flower.. make something the central focus of the photo to give the viewer something to look at

 

[Nodiggidy123]

Hey ace . buy this, you will not regret it. this book is the best £10 I ever spent http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understandi...247918&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+exposure

+1

 

[buzzlightweight]

I don't even know what I am looking at...

My image..? your on your own with that one!

Really like that shot buzz. Beautiful. Did you use any filters?

Yes i used a variable ND filter set to max (ND800 i think)

Don't just a photo of any random thing you come across. You need to photograph a subject, give the photo a purpose. You then need to learn how to compose a photo, which can take a lifetime to master but there are lots of simple tips out there and some very good literature.

It is also just worth looking at different photos and paintings (paintings are especially good resource for understanding composition and design). Try to analyse famous photos and understand why he photo or painting is pleasurable to view, why does it makes you stare longer and deeper at he photo, what lines are being used to draw the view in, how is the sense of depth or movement being created, why does the picture look balanced and natural.

Sound advice, especially the

Don't just a photo of any random thing you come across. You need to photograph a subject, give the photo a purpose. You then need to learn how to compose a photo

And don't worry, you are not alone. I think framing and composition is still the thing I struggle with the most. Seeing something I like, but being able to make it look good in a photo.

Am glad to see you are taking what some could construe as harsh criticism for what it actually is - constructive.

It takes a while to get the hang of things, as I am learning. It's trial and error - but the great thing with digital is it's far less costly to learn form our mistakes

Eye mate we all start somewhere, im no where near still!!! lol

 

[Bri]

The 1st issue is that there's nothing interesting in the shots to look at. Getting out & taking shots is great, finding something that is interesting to look at to take shots of is better

If you were trying to use the wooden posts as a kind of 'leading line' into the shot, they need to lead your eye into something. Take more notice of what's in the background, here you a rusty unattractive gate in the 1st, some lampposts in the 2nd and 3rd etc. The signpoist in the 4th really detracts from the illusion of being a 'nature' shot.

Have you processed these at all? They look flat & have no pop to them at all. A run through lightroom would bring the colours out & bring some detail in the sky back, they won't make the subject any more interesting though

Keep trying, sometimes a step to the side changes a shot entirely, as does changing the angle & getting closer to the ground.

 

[ElDude]

The best thing you can do when you start is to start looking at things with framing a shot in mind, even if you don't have your camera with you. I found it helped a lot when I first started. It can be overwhelming with all the information about, and trying to remember everything.

The best thing I could advise would be to take things as they come. Don't expect to be knocking out awesome photos every time, or even really improve drastically quickly. When you get a duff photo try and figure out what you did wrong and if you can't you can always post the image on a forum like here to ask why things aren't as you expected.

A lot of the time when you first start off, the novelty factor is a bit intoxicating so you'll be tempted to start snapping away at everything. If you stop and think "is this really an interesting photo?" you'll soon get out of that habit. Another good thing to think about is that if a scene you're convinced has some merit as a photo isn't working, try different angles, like higher positions or get on the ground for a different perspective.

Oh and the LCD screen can lie. You can have a good looking photo on that screen even when zoomed in to check it, but when you get back home to process it you notice that the shutter speed wasn't fast enough and there's slight blurring. That annoys the hell out of me

 

[Genoma]

As a beginner here is what I found useful so far. I think there are two elements to master, the technical aspects and the artistic. Digital photography brings people, technology and art together which is probably the reason I'm enjoying it so much, ticks a few of my boxes

Here's my newbie tips:

The Technical:

1. Understand the basics of exposure - aperture, shutter speed and ISO
Some simple but very effective interactive guides from Canon here:
http://www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/play/
http://www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/learn/
and this one http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator/

Lots more on the web.

2. Read you camera's manual, if you don't find it appealing, read a small section a day, or even better look for a video guide for it. YouTube is full of them! Your camera should help you take photos not get in the way.

3. Shoot in RAW, not only it doesn't lose information due to compression like JPG, it allows you more flexibility for post processing and you can make lots of changes without losing quality.

4. Consider using post-processing software like Adobe Lightroom. It seems a bit clunky to start with but there are some great video guides on it on the Adobe site which make it make sense.
intro http://tv.adobe.com/show/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-4/
guides http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-lightroom-4/ and
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7NyBKOKI6vdFDHYzDHlteg

Not only it allows you to edit/post process the pictures with great results, it also helps you with the "workflow" for importing pictures from the camera, organising them, selecting the ones you want to keep and editing (developing) your pictures.

One of the pointers I learnt using Lightroom is to organise my photos in folders by year, month and then title of the photoshoot. This suits my OCD well

5. Think about backups! Hard drives fail eventually and/or things could get stolen. Photography is also about keeping your memories. Think about what would happen if you lost your pictures then come up with a plan that suits you.

I have local copies at home on both my desktop and laptop for convenience (I use MS synctoy to do this). I also backup my desktop to 2 external hard drives which I rotate. One stays at home and stays offsite then I swap them. If my house burns down or is broken into I'm safe.

From the artistic perspective.

Well this is the area I need to work on So I'm a bit lighter on this... What I've found so far:

Shoot often!

Share your best pictures, get feedback.

Socialize! One of the reasons photography is so enjoyable for me is Rachel enjoys it too, we love to be outdoors and we now have our own mini photo-shoot competitions.

Understand composition. Plenty of tips from the pro's around rule of thirds, the golden ratio, simplification, etc.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/ is a great source of information, and http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm under classic articles.

I'm also reading the lonely planet's guide to travel photography. It has some good technical background on photography but more importantly guides on how to shoot different things in different conditions and circumstances when travelling. Forget the travel bit and it's all applicable wherever you are.

Have fun!