beginner photographer

qsjewl

ok...well, I'm really nervous about posting any of my pictures here because I'm far from being a pro. I'm just a regular gal that loves photography and right now I just take regular everyday pics of family and friends.

But...a recent friend of mine has convinced me to post some pictures. Please don't be too harsh on the critique!! Let me just tell you that I don't know anything about lighting, currently don't do post editing (photoshop). These are straight from the camera to the computer (sorry!!).

I like taking pictures that make people smile and want to be in the scene because it just looks fun. Anyway, that was my explaination, now here are some pics (9)!

1. summer's 'back'


2. I summon the waves!


3. smile!


4. girls having fun at park


5. hanging out at park


6. having fun at the spray park


7. being chased!


8. super power


9. ballerina girl

gluwater

These are great! And don't be too worried about what others think about your photography. Even the "Pros" started off somewhere. These have good composition and I'm sure they make the people in them smile. What else can you ask for? That's what I try to do when I take pictures of people. Keep up the good work and hopefully we'll see much more from you in the future.

Cosmopolitan

I like them.
I posted some here and I was told I did not follow the "rules" I don't even understand that.. I am in the same boat as you.

I have NO clue what to do with photoshop.. I just chase my kids around with a camera

JavaLover

Welcome!

You've got some great shots.

The people here are very helpful and will give you as much C&C as you want. I'm chicken too, but have posted a few. It does get easier.

heatherfeather

Your post made me smile because it took me fully 3 months of looking at other's threads before I ever had the braveness to post something... Way to go with the only a couple of weeks thing...

My favorite of your set is the one of the little girl with the spray in the background. Fully sweet and nice lighting. Looks like you have some cute little girls running around near you so keep on taking advantage of the great subjects for your photos.

joshhuntnm

Welcome to DGrin. I love it here. The people are encouaging and helpful.

Good shots. Keep posting.

Scott_Quier

with Josh - Welcome and I think you'll love it here as much as I do! I sure hope so. And, like gluwater said, the only person who has to be happpy with your photos is you. I wish my first shots I posted here were as nice as some of these.

I'm really liking "Summon the waves!" It does a nice job of saying "Summer's finally here!"

#3 Smile is just cute - brought a smile to my face!

#6 is nice - the way you've serperated her from the background. A little post processing (when you get to that point), just improving contrast a touch, will really improve it.

There, I hope all these positive comments (all true, BTW) have done something to reduce the stress of making your first post!:D

Richard

Hi there, and welcome to Dgrin. No reason to be shy...lots of people have started as newbies and become really good photographers thanks to the help and feedback of other Dgrinners. And you're off to a great start. You have a good eye and some delightful "models." Keep at it and keep posting.

Cheers,

DI-Joe

I'm really glad to see that you decided to post up some pics. I think #6 and #9 are fantastic. You really should give yourself more credit. And remember.. the camera does not make the photographer, so don't let your gear change your attitude about photography.

As Ansel Adams said,

"the most important part of the camera is the 12 inches behind it."

joshhuntnm

One of the first commands I learned to ove in PS is levels. Generally, you want to pull the outside two sliders to where the information starts. then just a bit of sharpening (100%, 1 px). this is the first pic with 30 sec of Photoshop--in this case Photoshop Elements--80% of Photoshop at 20% of the cost.

qsjewl

Thanks!
thank you everyone for your kind words. This makes it less daunting to post pictures! hopefully I will continue to post and get better with time.

like I said earlier, I don't know anything about lighting or post processing etc. but I plan on taking some classes and buying some software and getting some books to help me out.

Having said that, what books to you recommend? what software should I get? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

~Michele

Scott_Quier

Software - there's lots of options.

You can get "the gimp" for free (it's a free download) as it's an open source product. It has some issues, but it's pretty good.

I think you can get something called Picasa (a google product, I think) for free. Of course, being a free and commercial product, it does have it's limitations.

There's Photoshop Elements. Like Josh said, much less expensive than Photoshop.

There's Lightroom from Adobe as well. It can be had, retail, for about $280 (maybe less at other places). You can also download a 30-day trial of this directly from Adobe - nice to be able to "try before you buy".

The standard by which others are measured is, of course, Photoshop CS3. If you have education credentials (student, teacher, associated with city education department, or have a child with same) you can get it for about $300. Otherwise, it's quite expensive.

I'm sure there are others and someone is bound to indicate what those are, but this is, at least, a starting point for your research.

evoryware

qsjewl wrote:

ok...well, I'm really nervous about posting any of my pictures here because I'm far from being a pro. I'm just a regular gal that loves photography and right now I just take regular everyday pics of family and friends.

But...a recent friend of mine has convinced me to post some pictures. Please don't be too harsh on the critique!! Let me just tell you that I don't know anything about lighting, currently don't do post editing (photoshop). These are straight from the camera to the computer (sorry!!).

I like taking pictures that make people smile and want to be in the scene because it just looks fun. Anyway, that was my explaination, now here are some pics (9)!


2. I summon the waves!


8. super power

Hahah they are all so nice but these two made me laugh!

Seneca

Listen the only way to get better is to take lots of pictures and know your camera. Know WB, ISO, Apeture, Shutter...etc. Take one step at a time and learn WB one week...and play with that...then the next week ISO, and play with that. We all started out learning just like you are right now. I think your images are good.

As for lighting...wow..that's anothe monster...I literally think lighting is a science that I am still trying to learn.

Take care...& Happy Shooting.

Elaine

Welcome and good for you for sharing some pics and getting started! I would recommend reading Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. You can kind of give yourself a little class by reading through it and practicing the different aspects that Seneca mentioned...aperture, shutter speed, depth of focus, white balance, ISO... Digital is so great because of the immediate feedback which can help you learn quickly. Happy clicking!

BriShay

#6 is my fave, just excellent!

qsjewl

thank you all for the recommendations on software and books to read. I can't wait to look into some of these and 'get my feet wet'!!

thanks again.

lisap

Great pictures My favs are 2, 3, 6 and I like the pose of the little ballerina.

It took me months to get up the courage to post anything on here and I just did for the first time this week too Everyone here is so helpful and has really great advice. You've got nothing to be worried about.

Thanks for sharing!!

-- Lisa P.