My Personal 30 Day Newbie Challenge

RichardHarding

RichardHarding

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Name
Rich
Edit My Images
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I wanted to set a 30 day challenge to get myself taking more photos and to try learn my camera. I've had the d5000 for a few years now however, i've never used it past the level you would if taking a quick snap with your phone. My goal is by day 30 to be able to get experience taking a variety of photos, to get out of the house more and most importantly to have fun. I will try limit myself to 3 photos maximum.

Any critique or advice on how i could improve would be warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated.

[Note to mods: Please move this thread if it is in the wrong section.]

So to start...

Day 1:


Here i was testing the aperture and shutter speed settings. I noticed how the photos were appearing rather dark considering they were taken in a bright sunlit room, so i decided to experiment with a source of light, giving me the above photo. - (ISO 200 : 45mm : -2.3 EV : f/5.3 : 1/100)

Day 2:

So today i was struggling with selecting just one photo so i have included three.

Shot 1:

Here i wanted to try a simple photo to give focus on an object in the foreground. - (ISO 200 : 46mm : -2.3 EV : f/5.3 : 1/3)

Shot 2:

In this photo i wanted to capture the calm nature of the sleeping dog, i felt editing the photo to black and white helped me to achieve this. The upper part of the image was cropped to remove distractions of the steps and scenery above. I like how the foreground is soft giving focus to the main subject in this image. - (ISO 200 : 18mm : -2.3 EV : f/5.6 : 1/3)

Shot 3:

I was struggling for inspiration on what to take a picture of around the house and came across these pebbles and candle. After viewing the picture on the laptop i noticed there was a considerable amount of dust which i felt has let down the image of adding a distraction. - (ISO 200 : 55mm : 0 EV : f/5.6 : 1/2)
 
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Day 3:

Landscape... or lack of

Shot 1:



Started with this image however, i felt the clouds at the top of the picture were quite distracting and decided to try the crop tool. I personally preferred the crop version, i don't know if it is just me but i feel as if it gave the image a wider "landscape" look.


(ISO 200 : 55mm : 0 EV : f/20 : 1/80)

Shot 2:


(ISO 200 : 48mm : 0 EV : f/20 : 1/60)
 
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Just getting round to posting up Day 4 and Day 5. Busy long days at work meant i had little time this evening to get any photos but had a wave of inspiration however, the photos didn't turn out how i imagined them to look in my head. Inexperience showing here!

Day 4:

Shot 1:


(ISO 200 : 55mm : 0 EV : f/5.6 : 2.0)

Shot 2:

(ISO 2000 : 55mm : 0 EV : f5/6 : 1/10)

Day 5:

Some pretty uninspiring pictures here... Also due to being a logo of a brand, I'm not 100% sure where i stand posting these two images... if this violates forum policy i will happily remove ASAP.

Shot 1:


Extremely irritated how the logo is very slightly off-angle. Unfortunately no post processing software to correct this other than iPhoto which distorted the image when trying to straighten. - (ISO 200 : 55mm : 0 EV : f/14 : 1/2)

Shot 2:


I wanted to try a slightly longer exposure here to capture some light trailing. Disappointed with the lack of crispness in the still logo, if only i had kept hand steadier. - (ISO 200 : 55mm : 0 EV : f/32 : 5.0)
 
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An awful lot of images to comment on there. Overall I think your composition is almost there. Remember whatever you are trying to show in your shots the point of interest must hold the viewers attention. There should be no distracting elements in the background. Place this point of interest using the rule of thirds. Now this is not set in concrete but is just a guideline. Imagine when editing shots that a grid like a nought and crosses board is overlaying your shot. Now using the elements you wish your viewers attention to be captured by, crop the image to place this element either on one of these lines or where these lines intersect.

Taking the image of your piano keyboard, the one with the keys in focus. Day 4 shot 1. This has the focal point, the keys, on the top line of this imaginary grid.

A good set and great use of the depth of field. Keep posting.
 
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