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10/13/2007 01:53:28 AM · #1 |
I am still learning so much about photography but I try to take as many photos as I can on a daily basis.
I want to enter a local photography contest that centers around the city parks. I took a few night pics (they are my favorite) of one of our downtown parks and was wondering if I could get feed back on them?
I took the original images from the camera and did minor color manipulation in PS CS3.
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10/13/2007 02:34:54 AM · #2 |
| Nice snap shots, but not contest material. |
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10/13/2007 03:27:54 AM · #3 |
| I like the last one best. I would have to agree about them not being contest material. I also think that portrait orientation would have been better for the statue photo. I think that most people expect to see a park in the daytime and so night shots are maybe a bit risky. Then again, sometimes risks are the ones that actually end up working. If you can enter several then use both day and night shots and see how they go. All the best. |
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10/13/2007 04:53:55 AM · #4 |
| well looks like you just joined up, welcome to DPC :) |
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10/13/2007 05:16:21 AM · #5 |
| Welcome Erica. I have written comments on your photos for you. |
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10/13/2007 05:40:15 AM · #6 |
Welcome to DPC - it's a good idea to get some critiques before you dip your foot in the contest water!
I see you were trying some night photos - always a challenge but fun to attempt! I noticed a couple of things about these photos - I would recommend thinking about what cropping and angle of the shot works best for the subject before shooting. For example, the statue is swallowed up by the very busy background. In the future, don't just look at the subject ahead of you - think about what is behind it as well. Since photography converts everything to a two dimensional space, objects in the background really tend to get amplified if they are near the main subject.
Again, welcome to DPC and keep shooting! |
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10/13/2007 05:55:42 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by gwe21:
I am still learning so much about photography but I try to take as many photos as I can on a daily basis.
I want to enter a local photography contest that centers around the city parks. I took a few night pics (they are my favorite) of one of our downtown parks and was wondering if I could get feed back on them?
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I'm not going to offer an opinion, but a couple of suggestions....
First.....don't enter anything that you have to ask about. You'll know when you have something really good.
Second.....you're shooting digital now, go ahead and take hundreds of pictures at a time, that way you'll have lots to choose from before you even begin to process. I shot about 200 images last weekend for a friend of mine's daughter's homecoming dance. I am still playing around with them a week later, and yesterday, with some review and cropping, I found a beautiful portrait of her daughter semi-hidden in a larger image.
Third.....have fun.I cannot believe how much more I enjoy photography now that the possibilities are so much more open with the techniques available through Photoshop. Try all kinds of different things. I've had my CS2 almost a year and it seems that I discover some new tweak on a regular basis that I didn'i know about.
Good luck!
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10/13/2007 10:51:22 AM · #8 |
I do appreciate all the comments and suggestions. I do have the tendency to 'forget' that I am shooting with a digital and can take hundreds of pictures at a time now, so I tend to only do a few shots of each subject.
I will get there one day.... ;)
I am going to reshoot some of the pictures today as well. |
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10/13/2007 11:03:20 AM · #9 |
| Taking hundreds of the same thing isn't so good. Try to read the light, get an idea what your after. Take a few shots in different prespectives. Learn to be a photographer. Most all my of shots that go on here are done with just a few clicks. I'm not a big ribbon winner, but most of my stuff isn't to bad. (exception when I'm shooting sports). Just my opinion. |
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10/13/2007 02:35:11 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by ace flyman:
Taking hundreds of the same thing isn't so good. |
Try it some time......you'll find that unless you have an immobile object, and a tripod, that just the slightest variation makes a difference.
That's the beauty of digital.....you can screen 'em up then and the minor differences are right there to see.
Why not take a half dozen different shots of the same thing? You can always delete them.
Experiment with different apertures and shutter speeds.....learn to be a photographer!
Originally posted by ace flyman:
Try to read the light, get an idea what your after. Take a few shots in different prespectives. Learn to be a photographer. |
Take many shots in different perspectives.....see how much variation on the same theme can create differnet views of the same subject.
Why limit yourself?
I discovered, in my own learning curve, that it's easy to take a bunch of shots once I realized that I didn't have to pay for developing and printing.
I spent about half an hour yesterday evening reworking three shots that I took a few seconds apart, yet they were different enough that the expression and body language of the young lady came out differently on all three.
I'm glad that I took them all.
Another sequence I took, I didn't like any of them.....I dumped all five of them and it didn't cost me a nickel!
My point is.....there really is no reason to budget yourself on number of images, ESPECIALLY when/if you're learning how you and your camera interact. I've had mine for about15 months and I still take way too many shots 'cause I still learn every day.
Originally posted by ace flyman:
Most all my of shots that go on here are done with just a few clicks. I'm not a big ribbon winner, but most of my stuff isn't to bad. (exception when I'm shooting sports). Just my opinion. |
Most of all.....try different things; step out of your comfort zone and learn different techniques.....I highly recommend the side challenges as a learning tool. You spend 30 days concentrating on one aspect of subject/style/technique, and you'll be doing it along with a wide variety of photographers from stone newbies to seasoned pros.
And you get to share your images, get praise and suggestions, and you'll develop your style while you participate.
I've learned a lot about the people here and the way to shoot various genres, all as part of the community.
You can pretty much join in whenever you like, and if you want help or a critique, all you have to do is ask!
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10/13/2007 03:00:59 PM · #11 |
| To each there own,,,,I personaly don't like spending hours on the computer looking for the "right" lucky shot. Some of my highest scoring shots are done with less than a dozen clicks and those are just test shots. Your comment was taking hundreds not half dozen. I guess it also where your at in the learning curve. Believe or not whats done here isn't necessarily going to work in the real life/work. When I'm getting paid I'll shot extra, but those are sports/events. Portrait work, a few test shots in the studio and go for the poses. I try to communicate with my images, which takes forthought and planning, not go out and get lucky. Sure you can delete, I do as I go, not on the computer. Again to each there own. |
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10/13/2007 08:09:43 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by ace flyman:
To each there own,,,,I personaly don't like spending hours on the computer looking for the "right" lucky shot. Some of my highest scoring shots are done with less than a dozen clicks and those are just test shots. Your comment was taking hundreds not half dozen. I guess it also where your at in the learning curve. Believe or not whats done here isn't necessarily going to work in the real life/work. When I'm getting paid I'll shot extra, but those are sports/events. Portrait work, a few test shots in the studio and go for the poses. I try to communicate with my images, which takes forthought and planning, not go out and get lucky. Sure you can delete, I do as I go, not on the computer. Again to each there own. |
Wow, dude......relax!
What I do, and the way I do it is different, not wrong, and just because you may not like my style doesn't mean it may not work for someone else.
I absolutely love what I do with my camera and post-processing, so do a lot of my friends, and considering that I've been published, purchased, asked to do charity work, and my works hang in various businesses, homes, and hearts, that's "real life/real world" enough for me.
I just sold a disc yesterday of area scenery to an advertising executive for stock photos in the area, and my calendar is filling up with portrait work for the holidays. The main reason for that is that I do more natural setting, than posed, portrait work.......one of those things that banging away on the shutter seems to produce some lovely surprise shots that weren't necessarily intentional. It's paid work, and the spontaneity of it is a distinct part of the draw in most cases.
Case in point:[thumb]599592[/thumb]
This was NOT a planned shot! I like it as well as any of the posed portraits, and nobody's getting any big smiles and chuckles out of any posed shot as they are out of this silly candid.
Yes, the parents are pleased with the "proper" portraits, but they all have also gotten something a little unplanned here and there during the session that made them smile. Those are the shots that people remember, not the duly recorded portraits.
Maybe you should look at some of my work and see the wide and varied range of life that I enjoy capturing with my camera, and look at some of the joy I've captured as well, and maybe you'll get some kind of a clue as to where I'm coming from....as to spending hours on the computer, yes I do, but I spend an awful lot more out and about taking pictures, and I don't necessarily spend hours looking for the "right" lucky shot.......that kind of thing just seems to happen when I'm actually looking for something else.
You make it sound so much like a chore and a hopeless quest as opposed to delightedly looking through some old folders at shots to see what I may have or need to discard.
I sort my shots regularly, yet I still have about 10,000 files on hand that I check to see if their usefulness or potential is gone. It's an ongoing selection process, and I keep my eyes, and my mind, open to different possibilities.
Haven't you ever gone back and looked at an old favorite only to see that in the original file there's a crop, or a B&W conversion that might look interesting.....and then done it and found to your delight that it lent a whole different perspective to the image?
That's why I save original files and why I won't generally delete files 'til I've looked at them a half dozen times or so.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this art more than it sounds like you do.....there are no rules, but I highly recommend enjoying it, otherwise it would be a chore.....I hope it never gets like that for me. I had another chapter in my life where for over a dozen years I got to live my dream and get paid for it, and I am having another go at it again, so I know what I'm doing, and it works marvelously for me.
Take care, relax, and enjoy life!
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10/13/2007 08:57:34 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
What I do, and the way I do it is different, not wrong, and just because you may not like my style doesn't mean it may not work for someone else. |
Statistically speaking, trip the shutter enough and eventually you'll get a keeper. Not sure if that qualifies as a style or not, but you are right it's an easy/free approach with digital. |
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10/13/2007 09:02:15 PM · #14 |
| DUDE.....NO....all is good. some times I come accross wrong...There is no right way.....lol.....love peace and good beer! |
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10/13/2007 10:29:28 PM · #15 |
Well I do believe that the best way to learn is to practice... practice.... practice....
I JUST got my Nikon a few days ago, before that I had a Kodak DX7590 (point and shoot) so I really never paid any attention to settings on the camera.
I never even knew what aperture meant....
Today we went to a corn maze, then the state fair, I shot over 300 pictures today, and so far only a handful really even stand out to me.
and I also shot the same shot several times and the lighting variations really can make or break the shot!
I think that my favorite thing is candid people shots. I love catching expressions and poses when people dont actually know they are being photographed.
But I have a lot of fun with it and some day will become "good" I guess. ;) |
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10/14/2007 10:33:27 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by ace flyman:
DUDE.....NO....all is good. some times I come accross wrong...There is no right way.....lol.....love peace and good beer! |
Cool!
I try to develop what I have with what I learn here and by doing, and that entails trying all kinds of different ideas, but I am eternally grateful that I have been blessed with an "eye" and that I can translate it through my camera.
I love this stuff so much and have such a good time!
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10/14/2007 11:12:15 AM · #17 |
Originally posted by gwe21:
Well I do believe that the best way to learn is to practice... practice.... practice.... |
Have you heard the one about the young tourist in New York City?
He was lost, and stopped a man on the street....he asked,"How do I get to Carnegie Hall?", to which the New Yorker replied:"Practice, son, practice!"......8>)
Originally posted by gwe21:
I JUST got my Nikon a few days ago, before that I had a Kodak DX7590 (point and shoot) so I really never paid any attention to settings on the camera.
I never even knew what aperture meant..... |
Aperture is the newest offering from Toyota.....it comes in two different V-6s, and offers either an automatic or a five speed!.....8>)
Seriously, the first six months or so that I had my D70s, I shot completely on automatic. This is not necessarily a bad thing 'til you familiarize yourself with the camera. I found that what worked for me was to try one thing at a time, such as to change the aperture, and let the camera select the shutter, or vice versa to see what the difference is in how the images come out.
It's much more effective on the learning curve in this digital age because you can go right back to your computer, or even on the spot if you carry a laptop, and examine the half dozen or so shots that you took to see what the settings brought.
Your camera can also be programmed to do the bracketing itself......I think.....8>)
Wear out that owner's manual. I have mine with me all the time.
Originally posted by gwe21:
Today we went to a corn maze, then the state fair, I shot over 300 pictures today, and so far only a handful really even stand out to me. |
That's great! I shot a dozen or so shots that I was trying for something as an entry for Macro.....dumped 'em all, 'cause they SUCKED!!!! Move on and try something else.
If you got a handful that you like, that's terrific!
I figure that the more I take, just by sheer numbers, I should get something I like......that isn't always true, but when you do get a couple you like, it justifies that little extra effort that it is to sift the wheat from the chaff.
Originally posted by gwe21:
and I also shot the same shot several times and the lighting variations really can make or break the shot! |
If that helped you understand what you can do, that is an incredibly invaluable lesson! Terrific!
I intentionally over- and under-expose shots that I really want so that I have a couple variations to choose from if they all come out.
Originally posted by gwe21:
I think that my favorite thing is candid people shots. I love catching expressions and poses when people dont actually know they are being photographed. |
That's an art form all its own. I have been blessed the past couple of years that this seems to be something I have a real knack for doing. It's really awesome, and not everyone can do it. That's a combination of having a real eye for the shot, and sheer luck. It's often that these shots are the ones at a portrait shoot are the ones that the subjects like best because they're unscripted and more real.
They also have a tendency to be more fun. This is the president of the camera club I belong to and he's a great guy with a terrific sense of humor. He loved this, as did the rest of us. The expression on Laurel's face is just something you cannot stage.....
Definitely a candid:[thumb]599884[/thumb]
Originally posted by gwe21:
But I have a lot of fun with it and some day will become "good" I guess. ;) |
Dude! You already are good!
If you weren't, you wouldn't spend the time and money to develop the skills that you have. From now on, you're taking that little extra bit of preparation that it takes to be "good". You look at the background, you critique your own work to see if it meets your expectations for proper exposure, color, and composition......these are the things that the average person couldn't care less about and just takes a snapshot.
You'll always be your own harshest critic, so what you have to remember is to pace yourself, do this in a way that it's always enjoyable, give yourself a break on criticism, and keep on practicing.
I recently got into some self-abuse about my own journey and had decided that I had peaked, burned out, risen to my own level of incompetence, whatever......then I started to look at some of my own stats relative to where I was six months ago, a year ago.....I have come a *long* way, and in a pretty short time, especially considering that theoretically I've been doing this for about 30 years. Just in the last six months, my average vote has probably climbed a full .5, and for the most part, even though I've been more elective about the challenges, and the fact that it takes much better scoring to raise your average the more challenges that you enter, my average is still going up.
And trust me......it's because of the help and support that I get here at DPC. That makes all the difference in the world. There are so many really terrific people here.
What's important to remember is that ultimately you're shooting for yourself, for fun, education, and personal satisfaction. Sometimes you may even get blessed enough that people will ask you for images, and/or pay for them. There's nothing like that feeling for me!
Message edited by author 2007-10-14 11:37:51.
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10/14/2007 02:00:06 PM · #18 |
Back to the shots at hand...I left ya a comment on the second one.
One of the secrets of a lot of "night" photography is that it usually isn't really taken at night. Many of the best nighttime city scenes are taken somewhere between sunset and 30 minutes after sunset. During that time, you can shoot without flash, and have a good chance of balancing the lights on your subject and the small amount of light left in the sky. On shots like these I would take about 20-30 minutes after sunset, and use a 10-30 second exposure, without flash. I'd use a tripod and frame the shot during the last of the daylight, then shoot about a shot a minute for 20 minutes or so, checking the exposure on each shot, until it's pretty dark, then find the best one after I upload at home. |
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