Please check out my photos - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

10/21/2004 08:20:49 PM · #1

//kimber-lee.smugmug.com/gallery/258914

I took these last year. Please be gentle, I am a novice. What could I have done to make these nice shots?

Thanks

midnightride2

Canon EOS-10D

10/21/2004 08:26:35 PM · #2

Originally posted by Karalew:

//kimber-lee.smugmug.com/gallery/258914

I took these last year. Please be gentle, I am a novice. What could I have done to make these nice shots?

Thanks

fixed the link for you.

PhilipDyer

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

10/21/2004 09:39:20 PM · #3

Hi Kim. Those are pretty nice pictures. You picked an interesting subject to shoot, which is the first half of the battle. Now on to the gentle feedback. :-)

The first picture is exposed well, but you can see how the second one is kind of dark and the third one is pretty bright. I generally find that pictures, expecially ones in as dark a setting as this one, come out much better if you use a tripod and avoid using the on-board flash in favor of controlling the light a bit more. But this is is a snapshot and not some huge production, so you can just try your best to stabilize the camera, maybe by bracing it against a post, or even putting it down on the ground or on top of a box or trash can or something, maybe with a bean bag or something underneath for stabilization.

As for the lights, you can try setting your flash to Off to let any natural ambient light illuminate the photo. That's probably going to leave the shutter open for several seconds in that low light, so you'll need to make extra sure that your camera doesn't move. You can also add a light of your own, such as a flashlight to shine on just what you want to focus on in the photo.

You might also focus in tighter to take a picture of a smaller area of the frozen plant that you find the most interesting. Also, make sure that your background is as simple as possible, which in the case of your photos probably means taking them straight on against the wall. You could also look for an unusual angle, such as pointing up into the icicles, for instance.

But that's a lot of stuff to think about and it takes quite a bit of practice to get to the point where you think about all of these things when taking a photo. I'm still not there yet either. Try just doing one or two of them next time, such as turning off the flash and using a tripod or other brace. You can add other techniques later once you become more comfortable.

Thanks for sharing your photos. Good luck!

10/21/2004 11:53:01 PM · #4

Thank you :-)

Originally posted by midnightride2:

Originally posted by Karalew:
//kimber-lee.smugmug.com/gallery/258914

I took these last year. Please be gentle, I am a novice. What could I have done to make these nice shots?

Thanks

fixed the link for you.

10/22/2004 09:49:34 AM · #5

- Thank you for all your comments! More comments please :-)
I need all the comments I can get. I love this :-)

Nusbaum

Fujifilm X-T1

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

10/22/2004 10:39:05 AM · #6

I'll just focus on the first images since it has the best exposure. As PhilipDyer said, it is an interesting subject, but with low light you are going to want to use a tripod so focus in crisp. As for the composition, I really like the round shape of the top left clumb of leaves and the way the ice hangs from it. I might have tried turning the camera on it side to highlight the length of the ice and positioning the cark green clump of leaves fully in the top left portion of the frame. If may, or may not, have worked a little better for you. Keep experimenting because that is the only way to learn.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

10/22/2004 10:43:29 AM · #7

Thank you Nusbaum! Great Ideas. I can't wait to get my Tripod!
I don't think I have a good eye, what is it that you see in my picture or any picture that lets you know, no tripod was used?

Nusbaum

Fujifilm X-T1

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

10/22/2004 10:53:23 AM · #8

Originally posted by Karalew:

Thank you Nusbaum! Great Ideas. I can't wait to get my Tripod!
I don't think I have a good eye, what is it that you see in my picture or any picture that lets you know, no tripod was used?

I don't think you can ever tell if a tripod was or wasn't used, but you can tell when the camera wasn't steady by how the image is blured. Out of focus has a certain look and camera shake has a slightly different look. Camera shake was a good guess here because it was clear you were shooting in low light and that camera has a hug depth of field which helps to keep things in focus.

PhilipDyer

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

10/23/2004 06:16:35 AM · #9

I really don't like lugging a lot of equipment around, but it has become so clear to me lately how much having a tripod on hand helps with my pictures. So I just picked up a tripod that weighs only 3 pounds, has fairly good extension and can easily support my camera. It has a quick release head so I leave that attached to my camera all the time and just slip it onto the tripod any time I want. It's made a big difference being able to carry a tripod with me any time I want now. Happy shooting!

beastoftheeast

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

10/24/2004 07:26:46 PM · #10

i like the one of the ppl, its quality. the other ones, could be nice, the flash kinda screwed it up, not a big prob, just move around, cha kno im a novice too so i kno wats happenin

Message edited by author 2004-10-24 19:27:18.