Newbie Photo!

LensCap

Hello All! Been lurking for a week or two and have learned a ton on dgrin, Thanks!!! I'm as new as they come in photography but I am taking a class so hopefully I'll progress quickly! Anyway let's see if I'm smart enough to post a picture of an old Road Grader, please let me know what you think.

LensCap

Well I messed up already!
Let's try this one, it appears to be sharper but my eyes have had it, I'm going to bed

Skippy

lenscap wrote:

Let's try this one, it appears to be sharper but my eyes have had it, I'm going to bed

Hi there Lenscap, I guess you've already gone to bed hu ?

Your in for some exciting times, being new to photography,
there is no where to go but FORWARD from here on in .

Care to tell us a little about what camera your using,
and how you took this shot.

Looks like you were quite some distance from the Grader,
and you got it smack bang in the middle... now who else do I know that used to center every shot ... oh yeah... me :skippy

Hope you enjoy the forum Lenscap, you came to the right place to learn.
Sleep Well ... Skippy
.

summerz

I like the B&W here. And clever username btw.:D

LensCap

The second (clearer) shot was a d70, 1/500, f/4.0 at 55mm. Sun was setting to the left of the frame and it was real overcast. Here's another one at 1/500, f/5.6, at 190 mm



And another at 1/40, f/5.6, 200 mm. Sun is behind me.



Many thanks for looking and the comments, I haven't had this much fun learning something new in 20 years . Wish I'd capitalized the L and C in lenscap though :cry. Ok I'm done with the smileys.

Buildit

Skippy wrote:

Looks like you were quite some distance from the Grader,
and you got it smack bang in the middle... now who else do I know that used to center every shot ... oh yeah... me :skippy .

I'm so new I still exist in the origional packing, but is centering a shot a "bad" thing? From a perspective level I looked at the first shots and thought old equipment, abandonded, obviously forgotten because there's nothing in front and nothing behind. Not the biggest fan of B&W but it seems to work here.

DonRicklin

lenscap wrote:

The second (clearer) shot was a d70, 1/500, f/4.0 at 55mm. Sun was setting to the left of the frame and it was real overcast. Here's another one at 1/500, f/5.6, at 190 mm



And another at 1/40, f/5.6, 200 mm. Sun is behind me.



Many thanks for looking and the comments, I haven't had this much fun learning something new in 20 years . Wish I'd capitalized the L and C in lenscap though :cry. Ok I'm done with the smileys.

I like the first one, Dawn or dusk silhouette.

But the second one seems too flat, monotone. Needs some white, or whiter points. Has a muddy look from narrow black to white 'Color Depth'. Lacking the correct term at the moment.

One normally advocates a true black and white point in a picture for more contrast. That's what it is lacking! Contrast.

Nice image, though.

Don

david-low

Welcome,

You have a lovely dog. Is it some kind of terrier?

LensCap

Composition for Dummies?

Buildit wrote:

I'm so new I still exist in the origional packing, but is centering a shot a "bad" thing? From a perspective level I looked at the first shots and thought old equipment, abandonded, obviously forgotten because there's nothing in front and nothing behind. Not the biggest fan of B&W but it seems to work here.

Well I'm way to new to this to try to explain anything (especially something I'm not real good at), but that's never stopped me before so here goes...first take a look at the "Rule of Thirds", here is one site

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/rule-of-thirds/

Also be sure to look at the technique thread on this forum!!!

It's ALL about composition, leading the viewers eyes to the subject, having lines and curves (trees, roads, whatevers) either acting as a frame or just leading your eyes to them. Horizon lines should be straight and not in the center (like the first series in this thread, they're "wrong"). When I first had an idea about composition I spent days simply cropping photos and was amazed at what I was able to do. There are lots of different "rules and techniques" that we all need to learn, and a lot of them will immediately improve your photography immensely. However, I feel that the difference between someone like myself and all of the "real" photographers you see around here is this...They have a such a good knowledge of all the "rules and techniques" that they know when to break the rules to achieve some of the stunning photos you see on this site. Hopefully someone who knows a whole lot more than me can jump in here and try to unconfuse you now

Don,
Thanks for the "flat/contrast" remark...I knew there was something wrong but you nailed it, I have SUCH a hard time with that!!!

Buildit

Thanks, having someone who is still at a non-pro level explain it helps.

CarnalSigh

The watermark right smack dab in the middle of each shot ruins it for me. That's a bit much. I recommend toning it down and moving it to a corner....some place where it doesn't take away from the composition of the shots. If you were like some really well known and sought after artist and you were selling the shot for $100 prints, I could understand, but here, IMO, it takes away from your work.

LensCap

Boy are you right!!!

CarnalSigh wrote:

The watermark right smack dab in the middle of each shot ruins it for me. That's a bit much. I recommend toning it down and moving it to a corner....some place where it doesn't take away from the composition of the shots. If you were like some really well known and sought after artist and you were selling the shot for $100 prints, I could understand, but here, IMO, it takes away from your work.

You are 110% correct, they look awful!! I was trying to learn how to use the watermarking stuff yesterday and got carried away, thank you for pointing it out!

CarnalSigh

I would in no way characterize your work as awful. Hopefully my post didn't convey that. I love the shots....but I hate the watermark lol. In my gallery where of course I am selling prints, I use a watermark that goes across the middle of the shot. However, so they can at least get a good look at their photos I use a fairly small dark font. When posting in forums tho, I never link to the originals. Instead I upload a 20% resized, lower quality version without a watermark. That allows others to get an unobstructed view of my photos so they can insult, rip it apart, criticize and turns their snoots up at it effectively. Don't ever feel like you are alone. My photos always seem to get a ho hum reception. Then, I see a photo of some homeless guy and it has 8 pages of comments and discussion about it. I learned a long time ago that artistic effort rarely goes very far here, since I guess most peeps prefer to try and nudge you into photographic perfection of light and symmetry in every shot. I post my stuff because I like it, not because I think it would win some award of excellence. I guess what I'm trying to say is...make your photos the way you want, in a way that pleases you. Don't stress about what others think of it. Different is good.

Buildit

CarnalSigh wrote:

In my gallery where of course I am selling prints, I use a watermark that goes across the middle of the shot. However, so they can at least get a good look at their photos I use a fairly small dark font. When posting in forums tho, I never link to the originals. Instead I upload a 20% resized, lower quality version without a watermark. That allows others to get an unobstructed view of my photos so they can insult, rip it apart, criticize and turns their snoots up at it effectively.

My Mom worked it retain imaging for years and would post images online in reduced size. I remember her mentioning how some retailers were still printing and using the reduced quality images. Can't stop them all I guess.

LensCap

Thanks Carnal!

CarnalSigh wrote:

I would in no way characterize your work as awful. Hopefully my post didn't convey that. I love the shots....but I hate the watermark lol. In my gallery where of course I am selling prints, I use a watermark that goes across the middle of the shot. However, so they can at least get a good look at their photos I use a fairly small dark font. When posting in forums tho, I never link to the originals. Instead I upload a 20% resized, lower quality version without a watermark. That allows others to get an unobstructed view of my photos so they can insult, rip it apart, criticize and turns their snoots up at it effectively. Don't ever feel like you are alone. My photos always seem to get a ho hum reception. Then, I see a photo of some homeless guy and it has 8 pages of comments and discussion about it. I learned a long time ago that artistic effort rarely goes very far here, since I guess most peeps prefer to try and nudge you into photographic perfection of light and symmetry in every shot. I post my stuff because I like it, not because I think it would win some award of excellence. I guess what I'm trying to say is...make your photos the way you want, in a way that pleases you. Don't stress about what others think of it. Different is good.

Well yeah I meant the watermark was awful . Great info about linking to another version and I really appreciate what you are saying about doing this in a way that pleases me, haven't really thought of it the way you are describing before. Many thanks for the tips, advice, and "way of thinking".