New to the forums...

[Data_Dog]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forums and have only been shooting for the last three months or so. I'm looking for some real critique on my pictures. The best way for me to improve is to read your comments and digest them.

Please, don't hold back....

[donoreo]

The goat looks....dangerous I really like the portrait of the girl.

[chris-p]

Having seen your other thread (and not this one) I've come to have a look...

Firstly, I like all 3 pictures. In the first one, of the goat, my main criticism is the depth of field is too shallow. The nose and shoulders of the goat are out of focus and I think it would look a lot better of there was greater DoF. I like the off centre position of the goats head and I think it might be improved even more with a slight crop on the right and the bottom. If the ear and chin were the same distance from the frame edge as the horn at the top it would look tighter, bigger and you'd loose some of the wood at the bottom.

Number 2... lovely portrait. It looks good in black and white, it's nicely lit and here the DoF is spot on - the eyes are nice and sharp but the subjects shoulder is out of the plane of focus. The only changes I would make to this shot are in post processing where I'd give it a little more contrast using a curves adjustment as it's slightly flat (which is often the case with mono conversions - it depends how you do it?) and I'd try out adding a vignette to the shot to see if it added anything.

Number 3... I really like the pose in this shot, and you've done a good job keeping the background clear. This shot sort of lacks a point of interest for me. It's difficult to read. The animal (I've drawn a blank and can't remember the name of it!) is positioned too far over to the right considering it's looking out the frame in the same direction. So when you look at the shot, you're eye goes straight to the animals head and then straight out the frame. What it needs is more space on the right and less on the left. Otherwise it's a good shot, it's head is sharp and I quite like the shallow DoF in this one.

[Data_Dog]

Hi Chris. This is EXACTLY the kind of information I was after. Thanks for taking the time to analyse each pic and give such insightful information!

In the shot of the goat, I did consider a tighter crop but when I viewed it, there was still just a little bit of the wood on the bridge displayed. There wasn't really enough showing to see exactly what it was and I thought it was a bit distracting. So - position myself better for the shot and increase the DoF by stopping down? Roger that.

The second shot - This was one of my first shots with a DSLR. My daughter was more than willing to throw some poses for me in her bedroom, looking out the window. I didn't (and still don't) have any lighting gear or even a reflector so I really need to purchase some more accessories! Points noted on the contrast/vignette too.

Number three - The meerkat. This was an opportunistic shot just as it appeared out of a burrow. I fully understand your points on the lack of a point of interest and the positioning within the frame. I don't actually know myself what the little critter was looking at but it would have been nice to include that I suppose. Once again it's framing my shot and DoF.

I really need to think more about the DoF and understand the camera controls better to adjust accordingly. If I'm honest I don't fully understand how to adjust that (in terms of the affect on backgrounds etc) at the moment but I'll make it my mission to investigate further!

Once again, thanks for your input and for giving me something to work with. If anyone else has any thoughts, please do take the time to comment. I really appreciate the feedback.

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by Data_Dog

Hi Chris. This is EXACTLY the kind of information I was after. Thanks for taking the time to analyse each pic and give such insightful information!

In the shot of the goat, I did consider a tighter crop but when I viewed it, there was still just a little bit of the wood on the bridge displayed. There wasn't really enough showing to see exactly what it was and I thought it was a bit distracting. So - position myself better for the shot and increase the DoF by stopping down? Roger that.

Absolutely. One thing I've learned is that you don't really look through the viewfinder. The number of times you get home from a shoot, or your looking at your shots on the LCD, and you think "I never noticed that was there". Best piece of advice I was given was to really look through the viewfinder and, if you have the luxury of time, think before you press the shutter release.

Originally Posted by Data_Dog

The second shot - This was one of my first shots with a DSLR. My daughter was more than willing to throw some poses for me in her bedroom, looking out the window. I didn't (and still don't) have any lighting gear or even a reflector so I really need to purchase some more accessories! Points noted on the contrast/vignette too.

I don't have any lighting gear either and I don't think it's necessary most of the time. Window light is some of the most flattering light to shoot portraits by. With black & white conversions, contrast really is everything as it adds depth. How much contrast is a personal thing - others may really like this shot because its got relatively little contrast. Personally I like more but it varies to suit the type of shot. On a delicate portrait like this you don't want to go for the full on, punchy contrast as it'll look a bit OTT.

Originally Posted by Data_Dog

Number three - The meerkat. This was an opportunistic shot just as it appeared out of a burrow. I fully understand your points on the lack of a point of interest and the positioning within the frame. I don't actually know myself what the little critter was looking at but it would have been nice to include that I suppose. Once again it's framing my shot and DoF.

Meerkat! Yes! How stupid of me! Anyway... Some of the best wildlife shots are opportunistic. Unless you can spend weeks with an animal so you can predict it's movement, the best shots are usually luck.

Originally Posted by Data_Dog

I really need to think more about the DoF and understand the camera controls better to adjust accordingly. If I'm honest I don't fully understand how to adjust that (in terms of the affect on backgrounds etc) at the moment but I'll make it my mission to investigate further!

Composition and framing are, for me at least, the skill of photography. With the current crop of DSLRs it's pretty easy to get a decent quality shot and learning the technical aspects of photography I didn't find particularly difficult (but then I'm a scientist, PhD student and all round nerd so it's not really a surprise). However, I'm not a natural artist so I find I have to concentrate more on balance in the frame, leading lines and other compositional points more and it's what I look at in other peoples shots that I like to try to learn from.

Perhaps the other way of looking at it is that technical stuff can be taught but the artistic component can't be taught, but it still has to be learned...

[chris-p]

Oh, I almost forgot... If you do want some information on the technical aspects, I've written a few online tutorials as I found the information relatively hard to find on the net when I was learning it. You can find them here

[Data_Dog]

Thanks again Chris. I've had a look at your website galleries already and your work is tremendous. I'm off for a perusal at your tutorials now.

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by Data_Dog

Thanks again Chris. I've had a look at your website galleries already and your work is tremendous. I'm off for a perusal at your tutorials now.

Thanks very much.

One other thing I should mention is that C&C on your images is always helpful but not always right! Ultimately you must be the arbiter of your work - even if only you like it, thats what matters (unless you're selling it of course!)