....so i would appreciate some people having a look through at my pics and offering me some tips etc, i should start tagging my pics with critique really,i just keep forgetting, feel free to say they are rubbish just so long as you give me tips on how to improve them,it's the only way i will learn and improve
Hi
some of your photos are really good, don't be disheartened by a lack of comments, that says more about how much you're commenting and joining discussions etc, than about your pics.
I would say in critique - you do macro flowers and garden shots very well, and some of your pics of kids are really nice.
I would suggest always getting your subject in focus, some of your pics from April are out of focus.
Always take care of where the sun is when you take your shots, and move if it means you will make it over exposed.
And watch your flash, some of your pics seem to have reflected light, flash makes things a bit harsh if thats the reason for it.
Good luck.
@chewyteeth thank you,yes the flash is the bane of my life, it pops up very often when i feel there is no need and i have yet to work out how to stop that lol. i wonder if i took the april shots that are out of focus with my contacts in,i struggle with the manual focus sometimes when i do as my vision isn't as crisp as when i wear my specs(imperfect prescription) i will have to try and think back,if not i will try harder
I don't have time to look - I will try later. Going on what is already posted I would say slap it in auto focus if you can (I know some lenses you can't) and use your manual settings- this will eliminate the flash popping up. I use the TV (canon) shutter priority on my kids since they are fast and AV (aperture priority) on flowers and still objects...hope I helped a little.
@tnamari Speaking of TV shutter priority - I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong when I use it. Every shot I take in TV mode comes out massively overexposed and the shutter stays open for eternity. When I adjust it to a faster shutter speed, even in bright light, then it's super underexposed - what am I doing wrong?! (If you can help - awesome - I'm just throwing that out there.....
not real sure but I use 1/125 as a starting point .......do you adjust the ISO? Staying open for a long time means it (TV) is set too low (just talking from experience I am still learning myself). make sure the ISO is around 100-200. I played inside one night and had the ISO all the way up and the next day went outside and was clicking away at a friends one yr old and all I got was white-I was so mad at myself.
faster shutterspeed, bright light , underexposed....scratching my head... it is Sunday so I know it is slow around here today...put it in 1/125 and go play and see how it goes, I was given that advice about a yr ago and I really found it useful. Good luck Sally!
I'm going out to eat but I'll check this post later tonight to see the replies
I follow you, Sally, and look forward to seeing your pics. I don't always have time to add a comment to everyone every day so don't be discouraged by lack of comments. One problem is that some people post lots of pics at once if they have missed a few days and my home page is endless and I might miss yours amongst them.
Another very sad reason is the worry many people have about commenting on child photographs in this day and age of "political correctness"
Hi Sally
Check ur white balance
Then the side shots would have made them come out alot better, no harm no foul , we all have to learn, up yer ISO abit and then f-stop around 5.6 That should be a good starting point , Sunny days always use the f16 rule Check my site... and look at the settings http://ejwadddel.smugmug.com/Other/Macros/10819544_45RRa#1292114058_ZV4NgFW
Need any help dont hesitate to ask we are here to help you, believe me you have a good starting point.
Hi Sally, I have looked through your pictures and I would make five comments... I hope they are helpful.
= You have some nice ideas of things to photograph. Great. But you tend to photograph them from the same angle, height, perspective as your average snapper. Go beyond that - lie down, stand on a car, get a helicopter, look so close its hitting the lens; do it from underneath or round the back. Anything but stand there and take a shot.
= You have got some great ideas about photographing kids (I could learn from you on that!). They are obviously a passion. However, you often catch them in difficult light. This means that sections of the face are in shadow or there are blown highlights on the face. You do great shots of the kids, but you need to pay attention to the light. Keep the exposure even and soft with just enough shadow to soften the face without harsh lines. Then make sure that you don't catch them squinting. If you can put a catchlight in the eye - that always brings the shot alive. Learn how to turn down the power of your flash so that it is at low intensity in sunlight then it will act to 'fill-in' shadows with light, give you a catchlight in the eye and remove the harshness.
= Your shots sometimes suffer from the light being at harsh/very strong or your exposure being wrong. This is probably more a result of not paying attention to the settings on the camera, rather than poor photographs. You should make sure you do NOT use auto settings for ISO, F nos (apperture) or Shutter speed. These are the exposure triangle. Google that term and put into practice what you find and you will gradually get pics that come alive with the light rather than over or under expose. If your camera is on full auto expect to get poor exposures in difficult light. The camera is programmed to deal with the average snapper, not the more sophisticated photographer. Learning to use manual settings will get you past that. Learning to dodge bad light will help you too.
= I would not advocate slavishly following compostion rules. But we all benefit from looking into composition from time to time to refresh ourselves of the things that catch the eye and motivate the spirit in an image. Try googling 'photographic composition' or similar and trying out a few of the suggestions you find. Once you have got a good feel for the rules you can have fun completely disregarding them!
= While you obviously have a talent for photographing children you seem to go for the candid shot. Try a few posed shots and make sure you work at thier eye level. Posed shots give you time to work at the settings and pay attention to the light. Looking down on them means you lose the eye catchlight and you don't 'get into thier world'. If you see a good candid shot coming up, quickly get down to thier level to take the shot. It brings it really alive. You have captured some lovely moments. Now you will gain from capturing them in a unique way.
Over and above those things you should look at other peoples images all the time. Analyse them in the light of the things you do and read. Also try looking at a few dozen photogs taken by other people each day. That helps. It is also good to review and comment on some photos daily. If you comment on other peoples photos they will comment on yours. Oh! Don't forget to look over some pictures each day. The more images you view the more you will see what angles and aspects they are coming from and what rules they have applied or disregarded. Finally, did I mention that you should look at other peoples photogs a lot? Thats very very important. Have fun looking at images each day too. [OK... Grin. I push the point. But that is the way forward].
Finally, don't be disheartened. You are already well into skilled photography and you are asking the right questions. We are all doing that - because we want to improve ourselves. Do what you want to do and try to improve. That is all any of us are doing.
Have fun with your camera - it obviously likes you!
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some of your photos are really good, don't be disheartened by a lack of comments, that says more about how much you're commenting and joining discussions etc, than about your pics.
I would say in critique - you do macro flowers and garden shots very well, and some of your pics of kids are really nice.
I would suggest always getting your subject in focus, some of your pics from April are out of focus.
Always take care of where the sun is when you take your shots, and move if it means you will make it over exposed.
And watch your flash, some of your pics seem to have reflected light, flash makes things a bit harsh if thats the reason for it.
Good luck.
faster shutterspeed, bright light , underexposed....scratching my head... it is Sunday so I know it is slow around here today...put it in 1/125 and go play and see how it goes, I was given that advice about a yr ago and I really found it useful. Good luck Sally!
I'm going out to eat but I'll check this post later tonight to see the replies
Another very sad reason is the worry many people have about commenting on child photographs in this day and age of "political correctness"
Check ur white balance
Then the side shots would have made them come out alot better, no harm no foul , we all have to learn, up yer ISO abit and then f-stop around 5.6 That should be a good starting point , Sunny days always use the f16 rule Check my site... and look at the settings
http://ejwadddel.smugmug.com/Other/Macros/10819544_45RRa#1292114058_ZV4NgFW
Need any help dont hesitate to ask we are here to help you, believe me you have a good starting point.
= You have some nice ideas of things to photograph. Great. But you tend to photograph them from the same angle, height, perspective as your average snapper. Go beyond that - lie down, stand on a car, get a helicopter, look so close its hitting the lens; do it from underneath or round the back. Anything but stand there and take a shot.
= You have got some great ideas about photographing kids (I could learn from you on that!). They are obviously a passion. However, you often catch them in difficult light. This means that sections of the face are in shadow or there are blown highlights on the face. You do great shots of the kids, but you need to pay attention to the light. Keep the exposure even and soft with just enough shadow to soften the face without harsh lines. Then make sure that you don't catch them squinting. If you can put a catchlight in the eye - that always brings the shot alive. Learn how to turn down the power of your flash so that it is at low intensity in sunlight then it will act to 'fill-in' shadows with light, give you a catchlight in the eye and remove the harshness.
= Your shots sometimes suffer from the light being at harsh/very strong or your exposure being wrong. This is probably more a result of not paying attention to the settings on the camera, rather than poor photographs. You should make sure you do NOT use auto settings for ISO, F nos (apperture) or Shutter speed. These are the exposure triangle. Google that term and put into practice what you find and you will gradually get pics that come alive with the light rather than over or under expose. If your camera is on full auto expect to get poor exposures in difficult light. The camera is programmed to deal with the average snapper, not the more sophisticated photographer. Learning to use manual settings will get you past that. Learning to dodge bad light will help you too.
= I would not advocate slavishly following compostion rules. But we all benefit from looking into composition from time to time to refresh ourselves of the things that catch the eye and motivate the spirit in an image. Try googling 'photographic composition' or similar and trying out a few of the suggestions you find. Once you have got a good feel for the rules you can have fun completely disregarding them!
= While you obviously have a talent for photographing children you seem to go for the candid shot. Try a few posed shots and make sure you work at thier eye level. Posed shots give you time to work at the settings and pay attention to the light. Looking down on them means you lose the eye catchlight and you don't 'get into thier world'. If you see a good candid shot coming up, quickly get down to thier level to take the shot. It brings it really alive. You have captured some lovely moments. Now you will gain from capturing them in a unique way.
Over and above those things you should look at other peoples images all the time. Analyse them in the light of the things you do and read. Also try looking at a few dozen photogs taken by other people each day. That helps. It is also good to review and comment on some photos daily. If you comment on other peoples photos they will comment on yours. Oh! Don't forget to look over some pictures each day. The more images you view the more you will see what angles and aspects they are coming from and what rules they have applied or disregarded. Finally, did I mention that you should look at other peoples photogs a lot? Thats very very important. Have fun looking at images each day too. [OK... Grin. I push the point. But that is the way forward].
Finally, don't be disheartened. You are already well into skilled photography and you are asking the right questions. We are all doing that - because we want to improve ourselves. Do what you want to do and try to improve. That is all any of us are doing.
Have fun with your camera - it obviously likes you!