Test shots - comments please?

[pincher]

Afternoon gents - went out this morning to have a bit of a play with my D70 and 18-70mm lens. It's the first time I've been out since I bought it off one of my colleagues at work and I'm still very much on a learning curve with it. I really think I need to find a practical workshop to go to as I took about 70 pics but only about a dozen were any good (IMO)! Maybe that's normal when you start out though? I tried most shots on various different settings, sometimes with comedic results

If you would be so kind, could you post up what you think? I'm more than aware that I have an awful lot to learn about settings and composition but everyone has to start somewhere don't they? I'm also prepared for the 'they are all crap, give up now' comments!

Although I used PS to covert from Raw, they haven't been fiddled with in any way. Any suggestions on how I could improve them using PS would be more than welcome.

Edited by pincher on Saturday 25th October 14:15

[DIW35]

Looks like you have a lot of dirt on your sensor. Really evident in the top photo, but can also be seen in others.

[andy-xr]

What Photoshop are you using? I have Elements, and after cropping all I generally do is play around with Shadows/Highlights

I could probably do more but I'm trying to learn more about composition than processing for now

[pincher]

DIW35 said:

Looks like you have a lot of dirt on your sensor. Really evident in the top photo, but can also be seen in others.

Yep - noticed that when I uploaded them! It'll be getting a good clean before the next outing

I should be able to sort that out with PS though.

[pincher]

andy-xr said:

What Photoshop are you using? I have Elements, and after cropping all I generally do is play around with Shadows/Highlights

I could probably do more but I'm trying to learn more about composition than processing for now

CS3 Extended on a free trial copy.

[Andy47]

pincher said:

...If you would be so kind, could you post up what you think?...

Sure, I'll add a few comments:


There's not too much subject in this picture so its hard to comment. However, it looks like it is tilted anticlockwise slightly, so make sure when you process them you line up the horizons and the buildings with the horizontal and vertical, etc.


Seeing as you are experimenting still, why not try black and white in a photo like this?



In these two I would suggest getting closer to the subject, either in zoom or in person. It gives the eye a bit more to look at. Possibly look at taking photos from different angles to get more variety in the background.

Just my thoughts.

[pincher]

Andy47 said:

...it looks like it is tilted anticlockwise slightly, so make sure when you process them you line up the horizons and the buildings with the horizontal and vertical, etc.

Looking back at it, I would tend to agree with you, although in my defence that set of steps is very, very old and undulates all over the place but I take on board what you say about lining up the verticals of the buildings. I guess a tripod would have been useful here?

Andy47 said:

Seeing as you are experimenting still, why not try black and white in a photo like this?

Like this?

Andy47 said:

...I would suggest getting closer to the subject, either in zoom or in person. It gives the eye a bit more to look at. Possibly look at taking photos from different angles to get more variety in the background.

Fair do's, although as I said in my original post they are as taken, so there hasn't been any cropping.

Andy47 said:

Just my thoughts.

And many thanks for your feedback

Just out of interest, what did you think of the one of the church, as I was quite pleased with it.

[Andy M]

My favourite is number 7, but if I'm honest they don't do a huge amount for me in that they don't evoke any real emotion.

I'd hazard a guess that you stumbled upon the photos, rather than having an exact idea of what you wanted pre-shoot. 99.9% of my photos are exactly the same, and I'm beginning to try to force myself into *thinking* before I even pack my bag ready to go for a shoot.

[pincher]

Andy M said:

My favourite is number 7, but if I'm honest they don't do a huge amount for me in that they don't evoke any real emotion.

I'd hazard a guess that you stumbled upon the photos, rather than having an exact idea of what you wanted pre-shoot. 99.9% of my photos are exactly the same, and I'm beginning to try to force myself into *thinking* before I even pack my bag ready to go for a shoot.

And you would be 100% correct in your assumption

I think I understand what you mean regarding the emotion - when I first downloaded them from the camera I was quite pleased with them but now, each time I view them again, I think that they don't really say much. (although I still like No.8!!!)

I guess that the actual taking of the photo is only half the battle! Oh well, that's something else to add to the list of things to think about.

Edited by pincher on Saturday 25th October 21:19

[Andy47]

No worries about the feedback, feel free to take it or ignore it - whatever you feel! I posted my personal opinions and I'm sure other people on here will disagree with them or have their own.

pincher said:

Andy47 said:

Looking back at it, I would tend to agree with you, although in my defence that set of steps is very, very old and undulates all over the place but I take on board what you say about lining up the verticals of the buildings. I guess a tripod would have been useful here?

Looking back at it myself I think I'm being over picky! I'm also on a small screen atm which is not helping! I just noticed it in the first picture more than the second. A tripod may be of assistance, but as you are using PS try using the measurement tool. Draw a line with it on the part you want to be horizontal/vertical and then using the rotate canvas feature you can hopefully align it better.

pincher said:

Andy47 said:

Seeing as you are experimenting still, why not try black and white in a photo like this?

Like this?

Well, I think it's more interesting and atmospheric. But what do you think?

pincher said:

Just out of interest, what did you think of the one of the church, as I was quite pleased with it.

It's very good, you've captured the light falling on the stonework well, there's a lot of texture there. I only picked out the ones I did as the improvements I mentioned were the first that came to mind for me. Searching for an improvement in the picture, my suggestion would be to try and get the gravestones in full profile. Perhaps try getting lower to the ground, don't be afraid to lie down (despite the setting) and try experimenting that way. At the end of the day if you are happy with it then that's the most important thing. Very good shots for the first time using the D70, I should have said that in my first post!

[CivicMan]

Pincher, resize the images before you upload them - took a long time to load, and probably an eternity on dial up.
Image- resize- image size- make sure the 3 boxes are ticked - enter 750 in one pixel dimensions box - ok

Edited by CivicMan on Sunday 26th October 10:02

[pincher]

CivicMan said:

Pincher, resize the images before you upload them

Duly noted sir.