First Attempts

Tomd

Hi!

I've only had my EOS 400D for a couple of weeks so I'm still trying to get to grips with it. I'm still waiting on photoshop so these are straight from the camera. All shot using the kit lens.

Here's a few of my first attempts from a weekend away last week, C&C welcome but go easy as I'm a complete beginner when it comes to photography.









Yep, I know its not level :giggle






Got a few filters on the way and a copy of PS to play with so I'll be able to do a bit of 'tweaking' etc to get them looking a bit better.

Thanks for looking, I've been reading a lot of usefull info on here which I'm sure will help me 'get my eye in' sooner or later!.

T

summerz

Welcome
Very nice, I like the shadows effects. And the use of light.

schmoo

Hi Tom, welcome to Dgrin!

This is a great set, especially if you say you're a raw beginner? Great sharpness and I think you have a good eye. I think it is obvious that you have the hang of your camera, which is the most important thing.

Really the only thing that I would nitpick about over these shots is how centered everything is. You clearly know how to make the images appealing to the eye in terms of lines and shapes, but putting the subject plunk in the center of the frame makes it much less powerful/interesting to the viewer.

A wonderful start! Good luck learning on PS and of course if you have questions and need feedback feel free to chime in on the forum!

Tomd

Thanks for the comments. My ND filter turned up this morning so I decided to give it a go. Light was a bit flat but I'm pretty happy with this one..



And this one



I couldnt quite get the angle I wanted due to the river being really high following all the rain we've had lately....I didnt want to get wet!


Thanks

Tom

coscorrosa

You're getting better photos than I did a few weeks after I got my DSLR! (Granted, it was my first camera, but still!)

As for the composition stuff that shmoo referenced, in general, I agree, center compositions don't usually work, but that doesn't mean they should always be avoided (what an awful sentence, too many negatives, but you hopefully get my point).

In the first photo, I think it does work, and I also think it would work in the third photo if it was cropped to a vertical orientation. For shots that have reflections, I often prefer the horizon to be centered as it gives the photo more balance, and I also like some centered compositions for architectural shots in which the subjects are largely symmetrical.

The rule of thirds should be named the idea of thirds, it's often a good starting point, but don't feel obligated to follow it all the time. The one case where it would have made the most impact is the sunset photo, had you moved to the left a little bit the dock would have been angled pointing to the setting sun.

Anyway, keep at it, 95% of it is just going out and shooting, and you're doing a good job of that!