Time to take the plunge, and post here, I think...
This is my "jar of coffee beans" shot... I didn't post it that long ago, but I was rather pleased with it, and, so far, it hasn't had any comments...
Does this mean that it's actually not any good? Or that everyone who sees it is so blown away that they're struck dumb by the awesome quality, and are unable to type a comment? I doubt it's the latter, to be honest!
I'm know expert and hopefully I won't offend. But perhaps a Macro feature may of helped for such a close up shot. The picture just does'nt look that crisp that's all. Just my opinion :-) Good concept though
Well I like it... it shows what it is, coffee beans!! I dont like when people play about with photos too much, plain and simple is the way for me!
I dont worry if no one comments on my photos, for me its not about what others think. I do 365 project as a bit of fun, for making me pick up my camera daily, and to think about stuff a bit more.
I walk outside and I look at things differently, the way birds fly, the sun in the trees, even the cracks in the path make me think about things, think about life.
And well...a jar of coffee beans? makes me think its time for a cuppa!
Enjoy doing what your doing, and keep up the good work :o)
Nice composition, however, the beans are a little out of focus/lacking a crispness, so I agree with Aaron - maybe a macro lens would be good here. I'm guessing a flash was used too, or a lamp pointed at it? Either way, the light's a little too much and casting the distracting shadows. I hope this is the kind of feedback you were after!
I think getting no comments on a shot is really demotivating, especially when you really like it! Keep on with it though and keep commenting on other peoples pictures as the comments will come back to you :)
Thanks for the comments so far, everyone! Very helpful...
@aaron, @emma - I see what you mean, now, about the focus... Yeah, the beans are lacking a kinda "sharpness" - although I hadn't spotted that, until you both mentioned it! Unfortunately, I'm not cool enough to have an SLR camera - so I can't do any of this "switching lenses" business... But my compact camera is a reasonably good one, so I do have a Macro feature on it - perhaps I should try using it more? There wasn't any flash on the shot - but it was in my kitchen, where there are a lot of bright lights... I didn't really think about the lights - I just put the jar on the worktop and took the picture... Maybe I should consider what the lighting's like, before taking the shot, next time?
@judifff - thankyou!! Glad you liked it... :) I'm not cool enough to have any decent editing software, either, so I don't do playing around with the pictures much... Just upload them, as they were taken - very down-to-earth, and not very artistic... But there ya go!
I use "Picasa" to edit my pictures. It's free and I love it. There's one feature I use a lot which is under "Tuning" and then "Shadows". A lot of my "preprocessed", if you will, photos look a lot like this one. I find that just playing with that one option and darkening my pictures a bit makes everything look a bit more defined and seems to really bring out the colors.
With that being said, I really like this picture and think you did a good job!
You can always under expose it slightly if the light comes out too bright. Yes - do experiment with the macro feature more, you may need to use the manual settings to disable the flash as they tend to go off on macro shots on point and shoots (I think - it's a few years since I used one!).
If you're interested in doing some photo editing there is a free program called The Gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/) which comes in Linux, Mac and Windows versions. It will do pretty much everything Photoshop does and there are some really good tutorials etc on the homepage to get you started.
Kit, I agree with the others: i like your subject and i'm a big fan of shooting everyday simple subject without staging anything. But it does seems a little too "center" to me and the focus is not quite there. don't get me wrong, i have the same problem with "lack of focus" with my photos, hence the following question is for Sarah, one of my fav on this site:
Sarah, your comment is always very helpful. I think I have an "OK" eye to find the subject, but "lack of focus" is also sort of the problem of my photos. Do I simply blame the "point-and-shoot" camera i have or I can do something with it?
hey chimom, thanx for the compliment :)
i by no means know everything, far from it...
but i'm glad i can be helpful (sometimes)
please don't take my critiques harshly - we're all in this to learn and grow :)
as for focus and sharpness - unfortunately, a lot DOES have to do with which camera you're using
depending on what type of point and shoot camera you have (some are wayyyy sharper than others)... you're going to have that issue
that's a huge appeal of an slr camera - controllng the focal points & dof
it's sad that a lot of how "good" you are technically in photogrpahy depends on how much you are willing (or able :S) to spend on gear
keep it up though :)
sometimes if you're shooting close with a p&s, the macro setting will help immensely!
Thanks Sarah, I would love to hear more of your critiques. like you said, we're all in this to learn and grow, and i just love this idea of recording/memorizing our daily life by using our camera instead of keeping a journal. This is way cool and fun! As a full time working mom, I might not have time to write journal everyday but I guess i can squeeze a couple of minutes to take a photo :) I think I will eventually get a better camera! i will keep saving for it :)
Well i think you know to try to play with the macro setting on your camera...but another idea...try getting your subject right by a window...just out of frame...you can get some GREAT light that way...dont have other lights on though...heres an example
this is not my own photo btw...i just did a google search of window light point and shoot
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What does everyone else think?
I dont worry if no one comments on my photos, for me its not about what others think. I do 365 project as a bit of fun, for making me pick up my camera daily, and to think about stuff a bit more.
I walk outside and I look at things differently, the way birds fly, the sun in the trees, even the cracks in the path make me think about things, think about life.
And well...a jar of coffee beans? makes me think its time for a cuppa!
Enjoy doing what your doing, and keep up the good work :o)
Nice composition, however, the beans are a little out of focus/lacking a crispness, so I agree with Aaron - maybe a macro lens would be good here. I'm guessing a flash was used too, or a lamp pointed at it? Either way, the light's a little too much and casting the distracting shadows. I hope this is the kind of feedback you were after!
I think getting no comments on a shot is really demotivating, especially when you really like it! Keep on with it though and keep commenting on other peoples pictures as the comments will come back to you :)
@aaron, @emma - I see what you mean, now, about the focus... Yeah, the beans are lacking a kinda "sharpness" - although I hadn't spotted that, until you both mentioned it! Unfortunately, I'm not cool enough to have an SLR camera - so I can't do any of this "switching lenses" business... But my compact camera is a reasonably good one, so I do have a Macro feature on it - perhaps I should try using it more? There wasn't any flash on the shot - but it was in my kitchen, where there are a lot of bright lights... I didn't really think about the lights - I just put the jar on the worktop and took the picture... Maybe I should consider what the lighting's like, before taking the shot, next time?
@judifff - thankyou!! Glad you liked it... :) I'm not cool enough to have any decent editing software, either, so I don't do playing around with the pictures much... Just upload them, as they were taken - very down-to-earth, and not very artistic... But there ya go!
I use "Picasa" to edit my pictures. It's free and I love it. There's one feature I use a lot which is under "Tuning" and then "Shadows". A lot of my "preprocessed", if you will, photos look a lot like this one. I find that just playing with that one option and darkening my pictures a bit makes everything look a bit more defined and seems to really bring out the colors.
With that being said, I really like this picture and think you did a good job!
April
Have fun!
Em :)
If you're interested in doing some photo editing there is a free program called The Gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/) which comes in Linux, Mac and Windows versions. It will do pretty much everything Photoshop does and there are some really good tutorials etc on the homepage to get you started.
alright - some critique for this photo...
i like the subject
but it's not focused... :S
and
i really like your composition, the downward tilt
but you cut off the bottom of the jar :S
that's like a full body shot and cutting off the person's leg....
if you could get a light projecting from the left side too that would drastically descrease your shadow factor.
there's my 2 cents :p
keep on shooting!!!
the eye likes to fall to the bottom right corner...
or any off centered positioning would work
this would give you the right to use only part of the jar and cut off areas of it
which would oppose what i stated earlier :p
hope this helps..
Sarah, your comment is always very helpful. I think I have an "OK" eye to find the subject, but "lack of focus" is also sort of the problem of my photos. Do I simply blame the "point-and-shoot" camera i have or I can do something with it?
i by no means know everything, far from it...
but i'm glad i can be helpful (sometimes)
please don't take my critiques harshly - we're all in this to learn and grow :)
as for focus and sharpness - unfortunately, a lot DOES have to do with which camera you're using
depending on what type of point and shoot camera you have (some are wayyyy sharper than others)... you're going to have that issue
that's a huge appeal of an slr camera - controllng the focal points & dof
it's sad that a lot of how "good" you are technically in photogrpahy depends on how much you are willing (or able :S) to spend on gear
keep it up though :)
sometimes if you're shooting close with a p&s, the macro setting will help immensely!
this is not my own photo btw...i just did a google search of window light point and shoot