Can I get some opinions on these?

02/02/2005 08:49:24 AM · #1

Can I get some opinions on these? I'm very much a beginner but trying to learn how to take better pictures. I took these three pics at Christmas when I first got my new Panasonic dig. camera. (so I'm also still learning how to use this particular camera) The flower one is of artificial flowers (didn't have any real ones at the time). I haven't done anything to them; they're "as is". The angel one was taken at night. I was trying to go for a more candle light effect. What suggestions do you have to make them better or are they ok as they are? What main things do I need to look for in pictures? I wanted to know if I was at least on the right track. Thanks! (sorry, having problems with the sizes)

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Message edited by author 2005-02-04 16:37:22.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/02/2005 08:49:56 AM · #2

Third one:

peecee

Canon EOS-5D

02/02/2005 08:57:24 AM · #3

Hi Glenda,
The coloured balls one is the best, great colour rendition,not bad composition,don't know about the straw things but a good effort.
The flowers need a little work, chopping out the white halfway is not good,maybe concentrate on one flower at a time.A little more saturation on the colours would help this along too.
The angel one is not too good, badly lit, showing the tree lights coming through has thrown out the exposure a little, maybe some diffused front light could help.
Just browse the galleries of things you like to photograph and get some composition ideas.
Good start, keep shooting,
Paul.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/02/2005 10:08:27 AM · #4

Paul, this first one was a different one of the angel that I took during the day. The second one is the original one that I posted before but I played around with the colors, & lightened it, etc. and cropped it. Do you like one of these better than the original one? With the original one, I was trying for a nightime candle light look. Can that be done (but correctly?) Thanks!

Message edited by author 2005-02-02 22:07:52.

peecee

Canon EOS-5D

02/03/2005 04:21:13 AM · #5

Hi Glenda,
The white balance is the key here, this one is much better.
Get the camera on a tripod or some firm surface and experiment with different lighting settings. Can you set the wb manually on your cam ?
Its all just a case of experimenting with aperatures, shutter speeds etc. til you get what you like.
Keep shooting,
Regards,
Paul.
Maybe someone can elaborate a little better for Glenda ?

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

02/04/2005 08:27:31 AM · #6

Yes, I can set the WB manually on my camera. There's a lot of things like that that I can do manually instead of just doing things on "auto" with my camera but it will take a while for me to learn how to do it and when to do it, etc. Like I said, I'm a novice but really enjoy photography & am trying to learn how to take better pictures and do things more "correctly". I probably need to take some courses or something too. Thanks so much for your help!

SDW

Canon EOS-60D

02/04/2005 08:37:17 AM · #7

Originally posted by pianomom:

Third one:

I like this one the best it just needs some work to bring out the colors and contrast. I would however consider a better crop, not cutting of the white flower on the right. Hope you didn't mind but I did a quick edit to see if I could bring out the contrast and color a little. Hope you like.

cghubbell

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

02/04/2005 08:40:53 AM · #8

It looks to me like all of them have extremely soft focus... It would appear that they were either taken using < min focus distance for the lens, or hand held at low shutter speed. It's also possible that they weren't sharpened after reducing for on-line posting size.

I'd suggest checking the min focus distance for your optics, and using a tripod...

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/04/2005 04:36:15 PM · #9

SDW65, I just realized that I had previously put your Autumn Reflections in my favorites! :) I like what you did with the flowers. They look much better. I had not done anything to the pictures at all until I lightened up the angel one & cropped it. The flowers and Christmas ornaments were still "as is".

cghubbell, I had just gotten the camera & was having problems with a lot of the pictures being blurry. (my camera has an image stabilizer) I recently took it to a camera shop near where I live and found out that one of my settings was wrong. It's doing much better now. That may be why the focus seems soft.

I'm just starting out and wanted to know if I at least had the right idea and want to learn how to take better pictures. I've been reading the board and looking at hundreds of pictures on here.

On the angel one, does it still look bad even after I lightened it and cropped it? I know the top one that was taken during the day is easier to see, but like I was saying earlier, I was trying to go for a more candle light effect. (just trying to figure out how to get that effect but do it right) Thanks so much for your help!

peecee

Canon EOS-5D

02/04/2005 04:48:36 PM · #10

Originally posted by pianomom:

SDW65,

but like I was saying earlier, I was trying to go for a more candle light effect. (just trying to figure out how to get that effect but do it right) Thanks so much for your help!

Hi Glenda,
Just read this page, it may help you a little with the angel type shots.
holiday lights

Paul.

Message edited by author 2005-02-04 17:23:28.