C & C please, first use of my DSLR "in anger"
Discussion
Hi all, I'd welcome any comments and criticisms on these and others in my photobucket account. This is a (very) small selection of the photos taken on our honeymoon a couple of weeks ago and was the first real time the camera was used properly. I'm still learning the basics, but hope to improve so any advice would be great too.
The shots are straight from the camera with no editing,oh and almost forgot they were all taken on a Nikon D3000 and mainly with a Nikkor 70-300mm VRII lens.
The shots are straight from the camera with no editing,oh and almost forgot they were all taken on a Nikon D3000 and mainly with a Nikkor 70-300mm VRII lens.
Edited by JM-S2K on Thursday 20th May 19:25
Really nice bunch of shots for a first proper attempt. Composition looks good, just the colours are slightly washy on a few of them. I would advise learning your processing software, some very subtle tweaks can correct the washy-ness.
Slight adjustment of levels, and tiny increase in saturation to bring out the colour will get you something like this. This was a rush job, in the middle of cooking dinner, but will give you an idea
Keep at it though!
Slight adjustment of levels, and tiny increase in saturation to bring out the colour will get you something like this. This was a rush job, in the middle of cooking dinner, but will give you an idea
Keep at it though!
Good work ! I am also a beginner so I can imagine the steep learning curve you are on and there are some really good captures there The skies are over exposed in some of them but this is an inherently tricky thing to get right (as I have found out after numerous failures!) if you don't have the appropriate filters to stick on your lens and probably nothing to worry too much about unless you're going to get into doing landscapes.
I would definitely try and get yourself Photoshop Elements as a next step - it's amazing what you can do even with a small amount of skill.
Keep it up and let's see some more !
As the above really, I'm liking your composition, especially the first two.
I'd say maybe a little over exposed in some, only a smidge though. You are doing very well for a "first shoot".
If you shot RAW I'd spend a bit of time figuring out post processing and see what you can do with some edits. As with all of this pp is something to learn but I think it can make a good shot into a great shot, just subtle changes - you dont have to go mad with HDR and big dramatic changes.
Favourite is #2, I think thats a really strong image.
I'd say maybe a little over exposed in some, only a smidge though. You are doing very well for a "first shoot".
If you shot RAW I'd spend a bit of time figuring out post processing and see what you can do with some edits. As with all of this pp is something to learn but I think it can make a good shot into a great shot, just subtle changes - you dont have to go mad with HDR and big dramatic changes.
Favourite is #2, I think thats a really strong image.
Those are really very good images considering you were throwing yourself right in at the deep end going out on safari with a brand new and probably pretty unfamiliar camera!
I've also had a quick play with this one:
All I've done is clone out the fly above the head, quick play with curves and a touch more saturation. I've also cropped it slightly to get rid of the empty space on the right.
Before going out and buying Photoshop, I'd advise you to download the GIMP from here and just play with that for a while. It has almost everything Elements does but it won't cost you a thing. Plus there's plenty of tutorials and videos online showing you how to do pretty much everything in it.
Anyway, if I were you I'd be pretty happy with those as a first lot of results, you obviously have some idea of what you're doing!
I've also had a quick play with this one:
All I've done is clone out the fly above the head, quick play with curves and a touch more saturation. I've also cropped it slightly to get rid of the empty space on the right.
Before going out and buying Photoshop, I'd advise you to download the GIMP from here and just play with that for a while. It has almost everything Elements does but it won't cost you a thing. Plus there's plenty of tutorials and videos online showing you how to do pretty much everything in it.
Anyway, if I were you I'd be pretty happy with those as a first lot of results, you obviously have some idea of what you're doing!
_dobbo_ said:
Missed focus on a couple of these, but on the whole an excellent effort.
You did so much better than we did on our safari - so close to some of the animals! Hope you enjoyed it, I know we did!
Take loads of photos and you'll get a few gems which surpass your own expectations. You'll also get some that are total pants. Everyone does.You did so much better than we did on our safari - so close to some of the animals! Hope you enjoyed it, I know we did!
My wife wants to do a Safari and I think it's high on our `places to go` list.
I took about 2000 photos but got none that surpassed my expectations - which were set very high! I did get a few I was reasonably happy with though:
Personally I'd say Safari was one of the best experiences of my life. There are several things I'd do differently, mainly that I'd do a private safari so I could call the shots about where we went and when.
Personally I'd say Safari was one of the best experiences of my life. There are several things I'd do differently, mainly that I'd do a private safari so I could call the shots about where we went and when.
Thanks for all the comments guys, I'm really happy you liked them.
I (well the mrs helped with about 10%) took about 1800 photos over the 5 days, there was obviously some dross but to be honest I'm very happy with some of them. The mrs can take some really well focused shots of grass with a blurry animal behind
but thankfully all the ones I included (plus the ones on the photobucket acc) are my work.
I'll definately be getting myself a copy of photoshop elements, as from the little plays with some of the shots you lot have done it definately shows that it is worth spending a little extra time!
I can echo what a couple of you have said about the safari, it really was amazing and we couldn't believe how close we got to the animals. We will definately go again, albeit with a bit of saving first! We stayed in a lodge in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve area of South Africa which borders the Kruger national park, apparently this area is renowned for the quality of game sightings. I cant compare it to anywhere else, but there were times when the lens was too long at 70mm and the point & shoot compact came out!
Thank you once again for all your comments, hopefully I'll be able to take in the advice and make my photography better
I (well the mrs helped with about 10%) took about 1800 photos over the 5 days, there was obviously some dross but to be honest I'm very happy with some of them. The mrs can take some really well focused shots of grass with a blurry animal behind
but thankfully all the ones I included (plus the ones on the photobucket acc) are my work. I'll definately be getting myself a copy of photoshop elements, as from the little plays with some of the shots you lot have done it definately shows that it is worth spending a little extra time!
I can echo what a couple of you have said about the safari, it really was amazing and we couldn't believe how close we got to the animals. We will definately go again, albeit with a bit of saving first! We stayed in a lodge in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve area of South Africa which borders the Kruger national park, apparently this area is renowned for the quality of game sightings. I cant compare it to anywhere else, but there were times when the lens was too long at 70mm and the point & shoot compact came out!
Thank you once again for all your comments, hopefully I'll be able to take in the advice and make my photography better
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