First of all let me start of by saying that I wouldn't call myself a super experienced photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but still maybe thought I might give some input.
I will try not to be too harsh, but please remember that I am trying to not criticize you, but help you along.
Before the improvements, first the good things:
- Great pictures, I especially like the last one. The color editing on most is nice, just the first one might be slightly overdone, but you can also call it style.
- You have a very clear subject in all your pictures, which is a good thing
- Focus seems to be spot on in all pictures, which is not always an easy thing to do.
- Looking at the EXIF data your shooting settings are good too if these shots are hand held.
Some improvements:
- What stood out to me most is something I did a lot in the beginning as well. Use the shallow DOF to create 'professional' pictures. However, you have to realize that it might become a 'one-trick-pony' kind of deal. You should always consider what DOF does to your picture, does it 'add' something? For example, is the background very distracting from the main subject? Then blur it. However, sometimes you don't want the background blurred out to the maximum degree since it might give context to your picture. For example I would have loved to see a picture of a mushroom low to the ground, with a slightly blurred forest in the background. That way the viewer gets an idea of the space and a feeling of being in the forest there with you.
- (I am often guilty of this one too, and actively try to break it a lot of times) Try out some different compositions. rule of thirds and straight on centered shots work a lot of times, but don't let it become a fixed rule. Try something different, after all, photography is art and there are no real rules. Maybe even try some different compositions of the same subject and see how they compare, and what feeling they invoke.
- Try out some more challenging subjects. Of course isolated mushrooms are beautiful, but relatively easy to take a picture of. Next time in a forest try to find a tree that looks interesting to you, and try to get that in a frame such that you show off why you think it is nice. To me, this is a very hard thing to do, especially in a chaotic forest.
All in all, kudos. I do think forest photography is a lot harder than city photography because of the sheer amount of chaos. It is hard to find order, order makes for easier compositions and order is what the human eye finds pleasing.
But most important I want to ask a question. Did you enjoy yourself? I think this is the most important thing you should always ask yourself. Of course getting good images is nice, but even if your pictures didn't turn out great, if you enjoyed yourself that is the most important thing.
97BD2012-3A01-4AF3-A353-0E92B24E1DB7 by R Jamieson, on Flickr
2EA9F87D-B9B3-4EFF-8B9D-791D20BCFD9E by R Jamieson, on Flickr
B424AD6D-1CF1-4A79-A2DB-F7656E54C1A7 by R Jamieson, on Flickr
0FCB4ABE-8E52-4524-A036-5E9B5BDE5DFF by R Jamieson, on Flickr
0883B2A0-DC77-4493-83DA-DD38C50E5F29 by R Jamieson, on Flickr
