lovemesideways Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 So I'm really looking at how I can help move my photography forward and improve. I know a lot of it is practice, did a short course so I firmly understand all the basics, but what else can I do? I cannot afford another course at the moment or else I would look into something like that, hopefully it will be on the table in the future I see photos by some people on here and pretty much salivate with envy! What steps can I take to moving forward and improving so I don't suck so much Below are some of my most recent photos, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I can't help you. But WOW I think those photos above are really really nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 1 - identify what you aren't happy with in your photos 2 - identify what you want to see in your photos Without those two key pieces, moving forward is tough as there are too many variables to offer much useful advice. is it composition? is it something technical like bokeh or sharpness or focus or exposure? is it editing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redangel Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Practice and more practice...take photos of all kinds of subjects, even things that dont interest you. The more you handle your camera the more you develop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCresties Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Looks like you're doing pretty ok so far Faces are nicely lit and good focus on the eyes, love the tiger one I'll leave it to the experienced guys to offer 'improvement' advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I really like the one of the black lab with the green blurry backgound. I am a little distracted by the bright collar - which I like but I suspect isn't the main focus of the photo. As balance goes I like to break the photo up into thirds ie nine boxes and aim to get what you want the viewer to be drawn to on the third lines and not so much in the middle or on the half way lines. I think you've done this fairly well with this green photo. And the tiger photo. I love that one. I like the shape of it and the contrast that draws you to the tiger's eyes and I like how well defined the whole face is. The lab with the funny hat photos. I like the funny hat. Not sure if the lab likes it or would rather eat it. I like the self control that this shows. In both photos, I think I'd like the face to be more defined... Or maybe a creative horizontal crop on the first one. That just has the toy along the top third, and the eyes along the bottom third, at least that's the part of the photo that grabs my attention the most. It might look better on a Mac ie the nose and jaw might stand out better from the dog's chest, PCs can be annoying like that. I like the shape / composition and colours of the GSD pic but his nose seems blurry and I think I'd like it better if the eyes and nose were both in focus. I dunno how you fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemesideways Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 I can't help you. But WOW I think those photos above are really really nice :happydance: Thankyou 1 - identify what you aren't happy with in your photos2 - identify what you want to see in your photos Without those two key pieces, moving forward is tough as there are too many variables to offer much useful advice. is it composition? is it something technical like bokeh or sharpness or focus or exposure? is it editing? That is a great idea! Looking at it that way, I think the main problem I have is composition. I always seem to have crappy distracting backgrounds or the subject is in the wrong spot. Not sure how to go about improving this though. I really like the one of the black lab with the green blurry backgound. I am a little distracted by the bright collar - which I like but I suspect isn't the main focus of the photo. As balance goes I like to break the photo up into thirds ie nine boxes and aim to get what you want the viewer to be drawn to on the third lines and not so much in the middle or on the half way lines. I think you've done this fairly well with this green photo. And the tiger photo. I love that one. I like the shape of it and the contrast that draws you to the tiger's eyes and I like how well defined the whole face is. The lab with the funny hat photos. I like the funny hat. Not sure if the lab likes it or would rather eat it. I like the self control that this shows. In both photos, I think I'd like the face to be more defined... Or maybe a creative horizontal crop on the first one. That just has the toy along the top third, and the eyes along the bottom third, at least that's the part of the photo that grabs my attention the most. It might look better on a Mac ie the nose and jaw might stand out better from the dog's chest, PCs can be annoying like that. I like the shape / composition and colours of the GSD pic but his nose seems blurry and I think I'd like it better if the eyes and nose were both in focus. I dunno how you fix that. Thanks for this, gives a interesting perspective Just to add, its actually 2 different labs with the bowtie on, not the same dog. And they where just happy to get the bit of treat I was holding! Practice and more practice...take photos of all kinds of subjects, even things that dont interest you. The more you handle your camera the more you develop. Thats a good point also, Im very happy to just stick to the things I know and love like dogs, will have to broaden my horizons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) OK, composition is "easy" to practice. Not so easy to get right sometimes, but easy to experiment with. Try some/all of these - I'd pick one, practice it for a bit and then add another bit: - always look at your background. If it's cluttered, do NOT pull the trigger but MOVE so that subject is in front of a clear background. Harder than it seems some days LOL - imagine your tic-tac-toe grid (or turn it on if your camera has the feature) and practice putting every subject for a shoot/day/week/month etc on each of the four cross points. This is your rule of thirds. Shoot a lot of frames and make sure to shoot the same subject with the various points - move your camera. This exercise is extremely helpful (imvho) to getting your eye in. - get down on your belly, or up on a chair, and do the above two things again. Changing your perspective now and again is always a good thing and again, doing this with the same subject and applying the other two points will really help you get in the groove of what feels right to you. And then, of course, critique your images - look at what you think works and write down what you think doesn't. Try to redo the frame or at least do something similar and re-critique. When you get a few images that you think are nearly there, how you want them to be, toss them up here for input. Either put your list of "what went right, what went wrong" up with each image or keep it to yourself until you see how others are viewing your images - depends on how you learn which works best (I'm usually the second way, but not always - probably 90%/10%). Being honest and tough (but not too tough, there is no perfection) with yourself is a fabulous learning tool that doesn't cost anything And my take on this one: but his nose seems blurry and I think I'd like it better if the eyes and nose were both in focus. The OOF of the nose draws the viewer to the very strong eye(s) which are really the core subject of this frame, imo. If the nose was all in focus, too, the impact would be lost (and more of the background/distracting elements would also be in focus and competing for attention). Edited March 30, 2011 by kja Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemesideways Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) Tried to focus a little more on composition and took some more photos today, heres some of the finished products Edited March 30, 2011 by lovemesideways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharna3 Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Tried to focus a little more on composition and took some more photos today,heres some of the finished products LOVE these, particularly the lab on the couch - beautiful colours and what an expression! gees if I was as 'bad' as you, I'd be pretty happy :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMAK Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Tried to focus a little more on composition and took some more photos today,heres some of the finished products LOVE these, particularly the lab on the couch - beautiful colours and what an expression! gees if I was as 'bad' as you, I'd be pretty happy :-) i was just about to say i agree, if it makes you feel any better check out my terrible dog shots haha big confidence boost right there hahaha i am horrible with moving animals, that tiger is stunning, great pic!! flowers are more my at my level, you have lovely photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda K Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 nice use of catchlights (which in animals is important, as there is nothing worse than a big dark hole - the catchlights help give that spark and draw us in to look at their face. The main thing I notice in no 1 that distracts is that chair in the background - the 2nd lab shot which is a tighter crop but does not have the same distractions looks much better as a result. I think the first one too might be a bit too colour staurated, (JMHO). Love the tiger, very nice use of the negative space there. You also have a great grasp on leaving that space where it needs to be (like the dog looking off to the side, with a great area for him to look into, and some great bokeh going on there. Not a lot to comment on, other than keep it up, try other angles, and don't be afraid to experiment, but these are a great bunch I think you could be very happy with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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