My first attempts, please crit :-)

kitschenalia

kitschenalia

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Edit My Images
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As I've just posted in my "hello I'm new thread" I'm fairly new to this - only got my Canon EOS 500D a few days ago (but did play around with an SLR some time ago, but didn't go far with it). So these are my first attempts, bearing in mind that I don't know the basic principles of photography and am starting from square one (and they haven't been at all processed as I wouldn't know where to begin). Am picking my favourites and hoping for some constructive feedback - thanks :)

The local woods:

29erarl.jpg


My little girl, late afternoon, dusk is coming:

20b08iu.jpg


Tyre swing in my garden:

2qtv5va.jpg


This is a sculpture that was given to us as a wedding present by a group of friends. I want to get rid of that "Pixie" (is there another term for it?) but one friend (who used to do a lot of film photography) said it was "artistically dishonest" - I think perhaps this doesn't apply to digital photography right? Or you'd never process? And another said it helped the eye as in line with the sunbeam:

2r4o6ir.jpg


This is a buddha candle - I was at a friend's party (I'm only just visible in the mirror, I like that):

2n9ytsn.jpg


A late morning walk in the woods with my little boy - a close up of his face (shame about the graze on his face):

11kwh9i.jpg
 
hi,just joined a few days ago as well after forking out some hard earned cash on my first dslr.your pics look great,looks like your kids are enjoying themselves.i think the main point is to experiment with your camera and get a feel for it.i dont think there is such a thing as a bad photo as its down to the enjoyment you get from taking pics and the enjoyment you get from looking at them.keep on clicking. Ron
 
Hi, great first shots, my best advice is to just keep it up and take loads more, you will soon learn what makes a great photo and what makes a mediocre one. :)
 
Hi there and welcome,
Some lovely and very varied pictures there. I too played and continue to play around a lot. However, the best things that I bought, other than camera & lenses is lighting stuff. Triggers for off-camera flash, soft boxes etc. I seem to like people and the lighting stuff really helps.
Well done
Raphael
 
Hi kitschenalia

Lovely set. Think you're well on the right track.
As has been said - enjoy playing around, do a little experimenting and do a little reading and I'm sure you'll be posting top shots before too long.
 
Welcome to the forum, its a great place to learn and ask questions, and I'm a relative newcomer as well, been here just over a month now. Although I've been doing photography for over 20 years now, but I'm still learning.

Enjoy your stay, and like the other posters have put, just keep taking pics, and don't be afraid to ask questions, we don't bite!

Ady
 
OK, 1st I'm just starting myself, so this is just what I see

1st pic I like but I have re-done, cropped it so there is less sky and the path is closer to the middle. Enhanced the colours especially the bush at the bottom to draw the eye into the picture.
29erarl.jpg


A couple of them are blury like the one of your little girl, also some even though they are good, don't really give you anything to look at.

Rope swing I love.

The problem with Sam on a swing is that your light metering was on the background rather than the subject. Not the best at editing but had a go.

nvz8ck.jpg
 
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I can only echo what most others have said, take your time and go and experiment. Try not to be too influenced by what others do/say. Before long you will find your own groove and will know what you think makes a good photograph.
Practice with manual mode, although modern cameras are astoundingly good at evaluating exposure they do not know what your creative goals are and light meters are not infallible.
For the love of all that is good, back up your photos, I lost 3 years worth when my HDD died, I will not make this mistake again. I would not want anyone else to learn this lesson the hard way.
Apart from that, just have fun.
 
Sorry Ki User, but that edit is not helping.
Difficult to edit other's personal family shots without being asked before hand, but I've added my own edit to this shot.



kitschenalia
Definately nowhere near an expert but...
I think the main problem has been caused by the flash - harsh shadows which have discoloured the skin tones.
I've had a look at the EXIF (shot info embedded on the image file) and see the camera has chosen ISO 400. This is too high when using flash up close. 100 or 200 would have been a lot better. The camera would have taken the dark B/G into the equation and overexposed for the face. The other setting look fine. That's why, eventually, mastering manual gets better shots.
 
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Hi there, thanks for the great feedback :D Raphael, I too think I'm going to want to do a lot of portait work - especially of my kids ;) although my daughter is SO hard to photograph - she just can't keep still :shrug: I'm already running into lighting issues - seems like with no extra flashes or lighting I need to catch the daylight - I live in the North of Scotland so you can imagine my window - on a nursery day there's no chance.... Summer will be great. I'll defo look into the things you suggested (y)

Petersmart, thanks for the feedback, glad you like the iced up puddle (y) I did imagine that some of these would be painful to the experienced eye ;) but then, I thought it would be a good idea to put a few up, to see which ones people preferred, and why. For example, the woods one - I love the photo largely because I love the scene and the colours but I appreciate that artistically it is probably poor. I'm attached to that place just as I am attached to my children which probably makes it hard for me to evaluate those photos objectively. I'll try in future to only put worthy pictures up but as I'm so new to it, I can't promise I'll know which ones are or not...

Rockshifter, Gumbo, Ady, joefish, thankyou :D Joefish I hear you - I'm nearing the end of my PhD and the stuff I've lost. I'm such a disorganised person so I'll heed your words.

ki-user, I likey the woods one, very surreal like that I think. The one of Sam - his face looks a funny colour, but I have a reeeally old PC screen here (am at work now) - could that be why? Thanks for messing around with them :D I have to be honest and say I don't even understand light metering - I took those swing shots with the AV setting, low F stop (hope I've said that right - we need a red faced smilie for my posts), I didn't alter anything else.... I have SO much to learn - daunting a LOT but exciting too :)
 
Rockshifter, that's really clever - he has his rosy cheeks back! I'm going to sound so terrible here but I didn't even realise the flash had fired (oops!) I just don't remember that, maybe because of all the trees it was a bit dark? I imagine that comment is making a few people cringe but I really am SO new to this....

And Rockshifter, Ki-user, don't worry about editing my stuff, I ticked that option on my profile so I don't mind even with family shots :)
 
I too have only just started out. Best advice I can give, shoot manual. You are forced to learn, you will mess up, and you get better quickly as a result. Main problem I found in the first couple of days was forgetting things. Got your you focus perfect, bet you forgot to meter. Metered perfect, bet your ISO is high and you get noise.

Oh, and see if you can hunt down "understanding exposure" in the local library or on amazon. Read it, and get a lot of learning done very quick.

I personally like the shot with the tree in the middle. It has potential anyway IMO.
 
ki_user said:
Rockshifter said:
Sorry Ki User, but that edit is not helping.
Difficult to edit other's personal family shots without being asked before hand, but I've added my own edit to this shot.



What method did you use to edit that photo, would be handy to know.
Click to expand...

Hi ki
Duplicate layer.
Pulled down the curve a little to fix exposure prob and pop a little.
Next correct harsh shadows / discoloured areas on face - soft clone brush.
Last - Soft eraser on top layer to bring up / blend tones in face.
... and finally, merge layer and very slight sharpen.
Probably could have benefitted from a little tweak on eyes.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
 
Squawk, that is great advice, thank you - I was wondering which book to start out with. But I struggle with all the technical stuff (have read it online and it doesn't sink in) so will defo get that book.

Chaz I like that edit too - it's so cool to see how it turns out differently for everyone :)

What software have you all used - Photoshop? Once upon a time we could get it free for home from my Uni, but I think they stopped that :-(
 
Rockshifter said:
ki_user said:
Hi ki
Duplicate layer.
Pulled down the curve a little to fix exposure prob and pop a little.
Next correct harsh shadows / discoloured areas on face - soft clone brush.
Last - Soft eraser on top layer to bring up / blend tones in face.
... and finally, merge layer and very slight sharpen.
Probably could have benefitted from a little tweak on eyes.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Cheers will give that a go.
Click to expand...
 
For processing software try using Digital Photo Professional (DPP) that came on the CD with the camera. Its a very simple but very capable piece of editing software. It is limited in that it does not do any layers or selective stuff which can produce much better results, eventaully, on some shots. But for now to get exposure and colour correction sorted, sharpening and basic cropping DPP will probably cover 99%+ of your needs.
The big advantage I find is by shooting in the manual controls area (M, Av or Tv) then I can set the camera to output as Raw files (.CR2). The Raw files give you a greater exposure range to play with on the PC (rescuing many otherwise useless shots) and when DPP edits the Raw files it does not overwrite the original data from the camera so you can try different processing and if you don't like you can reset all the edits to the original as shot and try again. When you like the result you "convert" which saves the edits to a new jpeg file that everybody can read.
 
Hi, I'm in a very similar position to you, an ex-SLR dabbler who's just got into DSLR - the same camera as you, so I hope I can offer you some encouragement.

The two shots that most caught my eye were the ice puddle for reasons I can't describe and the one immediately after, of the lichen. I don't know whether you did it deliberately but the depth of field is low enough for the distant branches to blur, making the fronds on the near branches stand out beautifully. Understanding aperture and depth of field ought to be near the top of your list (along with everything else, it probably feels!)

I concur with an earlier post about shooting in RAW. Even if you don't understand why, just do it to avoid having to kick yourself later when the truth dawns.

I also concur with using DPP. I found it quite overwhelming at first but I now think of it as the darkroom and it's indispensible to me. The main fear was the Tool Palette, even though I recognised some of it from other software, but I had never seen it all together. This, though, turned out to be the best thing about DPP as going from top to bottom provides a useful workflow. But mainly it got me to understand the histogram and, looking at some of your shots, I think they would benefit from some judicious tweaking here. To cut things short, dragging the left hand end towards the peaks will deepen the shadows without losing the brightness, giving you a full range of light and dark that the eye finds immensely more satisfying. Sometimes only a whisker is needed. Otherwise, it can be the visual equivalent of listening to music with the bass turned down. Go extreme with it and you will be amazed. And you can always not save it if you don't like it.

The other big thing I'm finding important is White Balance Adjustment, which is also on the Tool Palette. This deals with blue overcasts from the sky or yellow from indoor lighting. Playing about with the Colour Temperature slider (in the drop-down box) is very revealing and has rescued several shots from oblivion, especially those taken towards sunset.

By all means have a look at my gallery to give yourself an idea. They're all done with DPP

I hope you enjoy your new camera as much as I'm doing. There is a lot to learn on it but it can all wait until you're ready. If something goes over your head, let it, but don't be surprised if it suddenly pops up again of its own accord and usually just at the right moment. And I recommend skimming the manual for the same reason - just so you know what's there.

Right I really must stop hogging this thread now but these are the best two things I've learnt. I know it all sounds very technical but it's really only moving a slider about until things look right - the final arbiter is the eye and you can always undo it.

All the best,
Swatcher
 
Wookie thanks so much, I'm really glad you've said that, as at the party on Saturday I was merrily shooting away in RAW and a friend (who has a similar DSLR, the EOS 400, and has been doing photography for years) said "for goodness sake get it off RAW, the files will be huge, and that is just for professionals really" so I turned it back to a more basic setting. Those images I shot in RAW I had to convert in DPP to use them (upload them to Flickr etc.). Anyway, you think I should shoot everything in RAW then (y) However am slightly confused as I remember just setting it to RAW in the main menu and it was doing that for manual AND automatic shots.... which has reminded me of something else odd - turning off the flash seems to be in the automatic settings (on the wheel) so I can't have the flash turned off and change DoF etc.? Yet I remember doing that? Very confused now.

I will certainly explore DPP then - glad you all give it a thumb's up!

ki-user, likey your edit there :)

Swatcher, thanks so much for the advice :) Good to know I have a camera twin ;) With the lichen, I did do the DoF deliberately - blurry backgrounds was the only trick I mastered when I was using my SLR. I also did that with some of the other shots - snowberries I was going for that same sort of effect. In fact, I think I over use the blurry backgrounds :bonk: Wonderful lot of advice for the DPP - when I get to using it I'll refer back to your post. I'd love to check out your gallery - how do I find that? :)
 
Good first photos - I can only agree with the others in that taking lots and lots of photos will help you to understand how your camera processes what you see and also which ones you then like.

I'd always recommend that when you have time to study a potential shot (ie. with no kids in :LOL:) that you take the same/similar shot but varying the different metrics so take ones with different aperture settings (usin Av mode); change the ISO; with/without flash etc.

This is what I am doing on my own steep learning curve and it is starting to sink in!!

I think when it comes to taking pictures of your children that a big part is capturing the moment and being prepared to do a little post editing where the light isn't quite right etc.

PS The tyre swing and the sculpture are IMHO great pics - keep 'em coming!!
 
RAW files are bigger than jpegs, but data storage is cheap now and the difference in size is easily outweighed by the advantages of raw, especially for a beginner where exposure errors are more likely.

I've got an older 400D so your 500D may well allow raw in the auto modes

using flash adds another element of excitement, you'll have to read up in the manual for yours, on mine the way the popup flash works with the exposure metering depends on which control mode you are in, as you have not only the shutter/aperture/iso control of metering but also the flash power.

On mine in Av mode with the flash it meters the shutter speed for ambient then adds fill flash powered to suit the focus point. Yours may be different.
 
To kitschenalia Re: "I'd love to check out your gallery - how do I find that?"

I think you just click on the blue picture-like icon below below my details to the left. Failing that I think you can get through via the link on my user name.

It is only fair to invite your comments! Personally I don't think they're all up to snuff but that's part of the reason they're there - so that people can tell me why - but I am very pleased with some of them.

Cheers,
Swatcher
 
Sorry to shout but your hard disk will fail one day and I wouldn't like to be you if it does and no safe copy. I'll always remember Pete's face when it happened to him :puke: - he wasn't himself for weeks... :bang:

Once, I got very nervous about this, rushed out and bought a CD burner, backed up the lot and went away for the weekend. I never saw that data again - I switched on and it just died on me. I thanked my fairy godmother and have been religious about it ever since. And never mind the machine going down, it's only too easy to accidentally delete things yourself.

I have a double system. First, I download the RAWs to the PC, rename them (there is a bulk renamer in DPP), then burn the folder to two DVDs - backup A and B - double indemnity. Put these away and never touch them again. Always use a reliable brand of DVD, no bargain basement stuff, but buying them on a spindle will save you a bundle, they don't need to be individually cased.

At this point you could start deleting shots from the camera if you wanted.

Second, for the day to day edits, I use a second hard disk. Mine is internal but you can get external ones too. They are a bit pricier but have this advantage - if you get burgled they might get the PC but won't get the backup drive because you'll have put it where they won't think of looking. The same applies to your DVD backups. Treat them like you would your grandmother's wedding ring - or your old negatives, for that matter.

To speed things up on the day to day stuff, I create shortcuts from my RAW folder to my Backup RAW folder. I don't actually backup the RAWs themselves (should do though, probably, as it would save time when restoring) but I make sure I do save out Settings Files and make text files of crop coordinates and positions as DPP doesn't have a facility to do this. These are the files I backup several times a day, i.e. every time I've done something I don't want to do again.

This is only a suggestion and there are as many opinions about backup strategies as there are people out there.

But make sure you adopt one of them! :)

Blimey, is that the time?! Well good luck - I'm off to catch some zzzzzzzzzz

Swatcher
 
ki_user said:
Sorry to hijack your thread, but Rock shifter what do you think?

nvz8cka.jpg
Click to expand...

Better than your first edit, but cheeks look a little over saturated and grey tones on left forehead and around eye area are not working.
Obviously to correct / improve this shot would take time and having the original file would help.
Keep playing :nuts:
 
The below critique is very harsh. But I'm just trying to be blunt so you learn :) Welcome to TP.


1: The shot in the woods is not really of anything interesting if you get me. Not much more to say.
2: Shot of your "little girl in the afternoon" is out of focus or has camera shake. It's also lacking good framing there cutting off half of her body. It doesn't look right.
3: Tyre in the garden is ok. Again, not doing much for me though. Background blur would have helped make it pop a bit more. As it is everything else in focus is just a distraction.
4: Tombstone picture. Nice idea. Poorly executed. The trees at the top and left are distracting as well as the lens flare. More foreground detail is required and a better crop to maybe just have the sky in the background to make it stand out. I think it's just the levels are out a bit here.
5: Not getting the "just visible in the mirror" thing at all. I can't see what you mean.
6: Looks again slightly out of focus or that it has camera shake. Just looks a bit soft. Poor composition again.
7: Iced up puddle. Would have been better if you couldn't see all the grass/leaves/branches in it. i.e. on tarmac or something. Nice idea though.
8, 9, 10, 11 : Lack focal points. Nothing to draw you into a picture here. They are just branches to me.
12: Overexposed face. Would have been better if you framed it so you see both chains of the swing like below...
13: Much better. Nearly there with this. Trees in background still a little distracting. You might have been limited by your lens though with regard to bokeh? (i.e. background blur). A little more warmth to the face would help in post processing, or maybe some foreground flash when you took it?
 
had a play, picked a different one, I like the trees, I like the lens flare as it leads in nicely. I've cropped brutally so the tree frames it better to the top left, the sunburst is closer to a rule of thirds sort of thing, the flare points to it, the colours were washed out (probably because of the direct light) so been really brutal with the saturation, maybe overdone but I liked the golden colours it produced, and given it a bit of a sharpen, so this:
2r4o6ir-wookied001saved.jpg


and the DPP settings looked like this:
2r4o6ir-wookied001settings.jpg
 
Buck, thank you :) Great advice - will also help me get used to my camera. Want to take some pics tomorrow, so will try this approach. Re the kids, want to get some lovely shots of them tomorrow/mon/tues - have some ideas (e.g. their feet, details like that as well as face shots).

Swatcher, I love some of your pics - especially the moonscapes, wow! Thanks for the backup strategies - I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that, promise promise I will back up :)

clicktor - wonderful crit, thank you :) I was able to go from pic to pic reading what you've said - starting to get an eye for it all now and your comments really help. I had started to see that my girl was out of focus, but hadn't thought my close up shot of Sam was, but now you say it I see it too - slightly dizzying on the eyes... is the lens flare the thing I called a pixie, that purple and red thing? I would like to play with removing it if possible to see if the pic is nicer. I'm glad you like one of them though - that last one of Sam I do partic. like - makes my heart melt, I think I caught a lovely expression there. To be honest though, I am so new to it, don't even know HOW to properly frame a picture and soon as I have time I'll check out the tutorials and read a good book... these were really snaps (although I did think about them first - some more than others - e.g. the sculpture was an opportunistic thing).

Wookie, I REALLY like that - also love the golden tones - will have a play on DPP to see if I can do something similar (y)
 
Just a thought, if I attempt a crit on another picture I took (yesterday) can you tell me if I'm on the right track?

I took this on portrait setting in a dark restaurant at lunchtime with the highest ISO setting. On portrait setting (I think) - just playing about... I think the flash went off but only "fill in"? Does this mean that the higher you set the ISO in darker places, the less fill in flash will be used by the camera?

fcmjdd.jpg


OK so lower f stop to make sure woman in back wasn't so visible (but may be limited by low lighting?); a bit too much extra frame to our left; should have included more of his torso? I guess in terms of facial expression, it captures him quite well, always on the go, furiously thinking up plans even when "sitting still" - he was playing with that straw and making shapes with it - but perhaps if I'd taken loads more I could have got a happier expression? Skintone - bit flat? (not that I'd know how to alter that in taking pic itself). Let me know how my crit was :)
 
I dont know the controls on the 500D but normally in "portrait" mode you are handing the control of both shutter and aperture to the camera. Therefore its unlikely you'll be able to change the f-stop unless you go for Manual, Aperture Priority or Shutter priority.

using a higher ISO makes the camera more sensitive to light, so yes, the flash will use less power, but also the background will be brighter because the camera will be able to pick up more of the ambient light (because of the higher iso)

for close shots inside with the popup flash you dont need high iso, the flash will be fine upto probably 10ft range, using higher iso will increase the effective range of the flash.
Think about how you want the background to appear, high iso lets the background show brighter.
Downside of high iso is noise, the greater sensitivity of the sensor means that it gets noisey, a bit like grainy high iso film, often more noticeable in the darker areas.


for a starter on composition search the forum, google or wiki the "rule of thirds" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)#Rule_of_thirds). Its more guidelines than rules, and there are alternatives that work, and sometimes deliberately breaking the rules has effect too :)
 
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