Vigilanceby
JamesKWComment: Ok, I'm gonna throw a lot at ya here, but, you asked for it :-)
I actually looked through your whole port, but I'm going to kind of blanket it all here on this comment though. More on that in a moment.
As for this particular shot, I think the dogs are a great choice for subject. They definitely are black and white, and they look like they have a lot of character and interest. For this challenge though, I believe there is just too much color in the shot. Maybe if you could of isolated them against a more monochrome background, it would of worked better. Don't worry, as you go along, I'm sure you'll start getting a better feel for what the specific challenges are going for. I think most of your comments here are pretty good assessments. I'll go over some things here, may sound nitpicky, but I think they are factors that can cause some low votes. There does seem to be a sharpness issue, I'll approach this more in a moment. Also as some pointed out, the lower dog, and the ear of the top are cut off in the frame. This just gives a kind of 'haphazard'appearance of a not well thought out and composed shot. Your sky looks pretty much washed out. (although, for this challenge, you probably don't need any more color). Composition wise, there is not very strong dynamics here. Pretty much just a straight on centered shot of the dogs. I also notice that the pic is not as large as is allowed. You really should always try and use as much of the 640 pix allowed, to show as much detail as possible. If you are having trouble getting a high quality and full size when uploading, there is a good tutorial on the site (under the 'learn' section on the menu bar), or ask in the forums for some pointers.
Now, let's talk about some general thoughts that come to mind while browsing through your port. First off, sharpness. There could be several factors here. For one thing, do you use a tripod? It can help immensely, especially if you are prone to camera shake. If hand held, keep your shutter speed up and really concentrate on being solid and steady. Again, the size and quality of your upload will affect the look of the image greatly. Also, you can check the sharpness setting on your camera. Generally with dslr's though, a lot of shooters prefer the camera to not sharpen at all, and do it with control in post processing. Dslr's also just by design, normally give softer images. I am not familiar with your software, and what it has. Usm (unsharp mask) is the standard that most folks use for sharpening, and newer software has smart sharpen that some like. (there is also a tutorial on sharpening) There are free downloadable software available, such as Gimp, that some folks like.
Compositionally, I notice an awful lot of your shots are pretty much straight on and centered. Try learning about composition techniques. Things like the rule of thirds, leading lines, triangulation, off center, etc, etc. And don't be timid about moving around. Try out different points of view. Shoot from down low, up high, different angles, etc. Try and present subjects in perspectives that the viewer wouldn't normally see. Make the shots dynamic, and exciting, draw in the viewer.
Lighting. Most of your shots look like they are outdoors, using natural light, this is good, but watch your times of day. Learn about natural light and how to use it to your advantage. Try and avoid mid day, normally mornings, and late afternoons have better light, it is not as bright and harsh.
Don't be discouraged, if you truly desire to learn photography, dpc is definitely the right place! The forums are a great source, and there are some great tutorials. And there are a lot of very experienced and very talented photogs on the site that are always willing to share their knowledge and help people to develope. You've got a very good eye for subjects, looks like a lot of interesting stuff going on in your photos. You're definitely on the right track. Keep checking out the site, read the forums, study the many, many awesome images here, and shoot, shoot, shoot! You can get on a really steep, really fast learning curve here. I'm sure you'll be getting higher scores real soon.
Happy shooting,
taterbug :-)
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