Critique What can I do better?

JAC40

JAC40

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Hi. I'm new to dslr photography and don't get to practice as much as I'd like. I took this today, but I don't just want a photo of a cute duckling, I'd like a good photo. Could anyone advise me what I can do better please? I've done a bit of very basic editing in photoshop. The camera is a Nikon d3100, f/8, 1/4000 sec, exposure -0.7, focal length 300mm, iso1600. Auto WB. The problem is I don't understand all the camera's functions yet and it was a very bright day so I know I didn't get all the right settings. I had the camera in aperture priority. Any help would be really appreciated.
 
What do you think is wrong with it? It's perhaps a touch underexposed and the ISO is needlessly high at 1600, but it hasn't really wreaked havoc on the image. If you're getting an exposure of 1/4000 you can safely pull the ISO back significantly.

Other than that it's not a bad photograph. I like the central composition (many people have an automatic dislike for central compositions for some reason). The fact the ducks are looking in different directions lends itself to a central composition.

Maybe if you link to a photograph with the kind of style you're aiming for we may be able to offer more specific advice.

It's hard to tell you how to take a "good" photograph if we don't know what you think a good photograph looks like.
 
I think what I mean is that it looks a bit white in places i.e. on the edges if it's feathers. But it was so bright today. I don't know if I set the camera at ISO 1600 or if it did it! I've had a lesson on aperture priority and I've tried to learn a few things myself but I think I still have a lot to learn - and in photoshop!
 
JAC40 said:
I think what I mean is that it looks a bit white in places i.e. on the edges if it's feathers. But it was so bright today. I don't know if I set the camera at ISO 1600 or if it did it! I've had a lesson on aperture priority and I've tried to learn a few things myself but I think I still have a lot to learn - and in photoshop!
Click to expand...
If you shot in aperture priority then you probably set the ISO yourself.

I don't think the edges of the feathers are a big problem to be honest. It helps the subject to stand out from the background. There's a little bit of a blue cast, which is easily fixed in photoshop.
 
Fluffy young animals are always good subjects aren't they.

I wonder whether the shot could be done from a lower angle to give more of a duck's eye view.

The pebbles on the bed are quite clear so I wondered if you used a polarising filter. I have one but always forget about it until I look at the pictures later and kick myself for not using it.

As another beginner I'm interested to understand why the exposure was set at -0.7. Since I'm never too sure what I'm doing, I always think long and hard before touching the exposure but I think in this case I may have been inclined to increase the exposure not reduce it. Can an expert give some help please.

On my Canon I can set it to automatically take three shots at different exposure settings which increases the probability that one of them will be acceptable. I'm not familiar with Nikon kit so don't know if it can be done in your case.

Graham
 
Hi Graham. The reason I set the exposure to -0.7 was because I had a beginner's dslr lesson and was told to reduce the exposure if it's really sunny.....not sure if that's the right thing to do though! I don't have any filters so I definitely didn't use one...I don't even know what they are!

I don't know if I can set my nikon to take three different exposure shots automatically but if I could that would be great! I'll look at the manual!
 
I generally find that the camera knows best so leave it to set the exposure automatically. The only time i would think of changing it is if there is a big difference in brightness of the subject compared with the general brightness of the image, but I always struggle to work out which way to change it.

The polarising filter is normally used to produce more dramatic images of clouds but also helps reduce reflections off the surface of water.

You may find the multi-shot technique under Bracketing in the manual.

Graham.
 
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