Noobie Pics - Critique pls!

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nickjc_uk

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Edit My Images
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Hi everybody. I'm Nick, a complete amateur that 3 days ago purchased a Canon EOS 1D MKIII with a Canon 70-200mm lens, a 580EX II flash and have been annoying my family ever since taking pics of them

Please take a look at the pics I have managed to take so far. What do you guys and gals think..

1.
eloise.jpg


2.
eloise_crop.jpg


3.
eloise_mum_2_bw.jpg


4.
alex_sofa.jpg


5.
alex_sofa_laying.jpg


6.
alex_angel.jpg


7.
angel_1.jpg


I've smoothed the skin in most (mainly to get rid of the dried food I forgot to clean off the kids after their dinner!)
 
nice selection, one or two look to be suffering a bit of shake through too low a shutter speed but good efforts for a first try, nice kit to start with too :D

They're a bit big though, any chance of resizing to 800 along the longest edge or I'll have to make them into links ;)

Edit: looking again, #3 is definitely a bit soft but I don't think it really matters, it's a lovely pic of your wife/partner/significant other and daughter.

Oh, and welcome to the forum :)
 
Hello

A newbie buys a top of the range, sounds like you know what to do already.

Nice pics and it just convinced me to buy a 580exII

Dried food gets in the way all the time for candid shots of the family in our house too.

Just had a play with pic 7 (hope you do not mind) and highlighted the eyes and sharpened them a little to make them stand out, eyes are so important in facial portraits.
 
dod said:
nice selection, one or two look to be suffering a bit of shake through too low a shutter speed but good efforts for a first try, nice kit to start with too :D

They're a bit big though, any chance of resizing to 800 along the longest edge or I'll have to make them into links ;)

Edit: looking again, #3 is definitely a bit soft but I don't think it really matters, it's a lovely pic of your wife/partner/significant other and daughter.

Oh, and welcome to the forum :)
Click to expand...

Resized as requested! yes, tbh at that time I did wonder why some were a bit blurry. I'm practising lots and im learning all the time which is good. thanks for the comments!
 
tiler65 said:
Hello

A newbie buys a top of the range, sounds like you know what to do already.

Nice pics and it just convinced me to buy a 580exII

Dried food gets in the way all the time for candid shots of the family in our house too.

Just had a play with pic 7 (hope you do not mind) and highlighted the eyes and sharpened them a little to make them stand out, eyes are so important in facial portraits.
Click to expand...

Hi Tiler... You're welcome to post the processed image :)
 
No 2 Try saying no to them eyes at Christmas. Nice shots
 
Here was quick edit about 2 mins, oh and I blurred a little of everything apart from face and hair at the front of shot. Not a masterpiece but see how the eyes have changed.

angel_1copy.jpg
 
tiler65 said:
Here was quick edit about 2 mins, oh and I blurred a little of everything apart from face and hair at the front of shot. Not a masterpiece but see how the eyes have changed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, looks pretty good, but a 'bit' too much i think... I need to make sure I get the focus correct in the camera next time (y)
 
Well as you know you are suffering from Camera shake but I really loved #1 and thought a bit more could be done to bring out the eyes. Here's my edit. If you dont' like I'll remove immediately. I also took out the second catchlight.

eloise.jpg
 
welcome :wave:
you've certainly started in top gear
great set of pics
and some great models for future instalments by the look of it!
 
h.r.ford said:
Well as you know you are suffering from Camera shake but I really loved #1 and thought a bit more could be done to bring out the eyes. Here's my edit. If you dont' like I'll remove immediately. I also took out the second catchlight.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, much appreciated. I do like it, but do feel its a little too sharp? kinda distracts from the overall softness i was trying to achieve in photoshop with that particular pic. But hey, what do I know :)
 
Shot one with a little editing is a belter Nick..:)

Get that sharpened up in Photoshop and printed, What a stunner..;)
 
You know whats happening with these shot's. Shutter speed etc etc.
We probably don't need to tell you this now.
There is alot to think about when your trying to capture 'that moment'
For me, capturing that moment is a rare occasion but when you do, It's wonderful.
Keep taking pictures, It's not hard to work out what you are doing wrong once you know the basics, and with digital these days you can tell in seconds.
Next weeks lesson will be in apeture.
These are cracking personal photographs that I would be extreemly pleased with if I were you.
It would have taken me a week to work out how to turn the buggering thing on and set the date, let alone takeing a photograph with it.
Great work.
 
busterboy said:
Shot one with a little editing is a belter Nick..:)

Get that sharpened up in Photoshop and printed, What a stunner..;)
Click to expand...

haha.. yeah I actually sent this pic to my mum and she has printed it out and give it to the whole family, she loves it :)
 
J40ADF said:
You know whats happening with these shot's. Shutter speed etc etc.
Click to expand...

Hi mate, thanks for the comments.. Yes, the very first pics I took were set at way too slow shutter speed, thats why most of the pics blurry of course. The latest pics I took (on another thread) I used a shutter speed of 1/100 and 1/125 and that seemed to help keep the image clean and sharp :)

What is the optimal shutter speed I should be looking to keep at for hand held shots?
 
The rule of thumb is that the shutter speed should be 1/length of lens. So if you are shooting at 70mm, then faster than 1/70 sec, at 200mm at least 1/200 sec.

Lovely photos by the way...
 
SW4peter said:
The rule of thumb is that the shutter speed should be 1/length of lens. So if you are shooting at 70mm, then faster than 1/70 sec, at 200mm at least 1/200 sec.

Lovely photos by the way...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Peter... So I guess that if i'm shooting between a range of these lengths (70mm to 200mm) on a particular subject a shutter speed somewhere in the middle (perhaps 1/125) is appropriate?
 
nickjc_uk said:
Thanks for the reply Peter... So I guess that if i'm shooting between a range of these lengths (70mm to 200mm) on a particular subject a shutter speed somewhere in the middle (perhaps 1/125) is appropriate?
Click to expand...

NO! Something to bear in mind when you're using a zoom lens is that the minimum safe hand holding speed will vary as you zoom. 1/200th would be the minimum safe speed at 200mm.

Image stabilisation changes the situation a bit if you have it, but it's always desirable to maintain the rule of thumb standard if you can.
 
Unless you've got very steady hands, you would need to change the shutter speed for the longer shots. at 70mm 1/125 sec would be fine, but shooting at 200mm you should up the shutter speed to avoid camera shake.

CT beat me to it... :)
 
CT said:
NO! Something to bear in mind when you're using a zoom lens is that the minimum safe hand holding speed will vary as you zoom. 1/200th would be the minimum safe speed at 200mm.

Image stabilisation changes the situation a bit if you have it, but it's always desirable to maintain the rule of thumb standard if you can.
Click to expand...

SW4peter said:
Unless you've got very steady hands, you would need to change the shutter speed for the longer shots. at 70mm 1/125 sec would be fine, but shooting at 200mm you should up the shutter speed to avoid camera shake.

CT beat me to it... :)
Click to expand...

Thanks guys.. I do actually have the IS model lens, how much help would that be?
 
I done a few searches and found this information from : here

"Canon's excellent Image Stabilization (IS) allows the 70-200 IS to be handheld in 3 f-stops lower light level than the non-IS Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L USM Lens. I can handhold this lens at 200mm with a shutter speed as low as 1/30 and maintain a decent hit-rate whereas the non-IS lens would require a shutter speed of at least 1/200 to yield similar results"
 
nick thats some great kit you are using there mate .
but you are using it well imo at the moment just remember that tha camera is only part of what your doing ..
some nice shots there mate keep up the good work....





md(y)
 
Hi Nick, well for a camera that canon claims can't be used straight out the boxm your doing pretty damn good.
Have you done any extra processing on the colour shots. I particularly like the skin tone/texture in pics 1, 2 and 4, what if any processing have you done.
Cheers
 
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