First Photos

niamh86

Hey

Got my first DSLR yesterday (Nikon D3000). I dont really know what im doing yet so im using the camera in guide mode, hopefully ill understand the settings better as i go along.

Took a few photos this morning. Would appreciate any feedback you have, i want to use the camera to its full potential.

http://www.tinyurl.ie/dm

Thanks

milos

good shots simple. keep at it and remember enjoy

baby and crumble

yeah, good shots. Watch out for flare when shooting into the sun... you can avoid it or at least minimise it with a lens hood.

I really like the last shot in that set, with the silhouettes, thats a cracker.

Keep at it! You'd be surprised how quickly you'll pick stuff up!!



Zo

Fenster

You have wide open seascapes with nothing interesting for us to focus on. Hmm, try and pick something - a tree, a hut or a person - a the focus on the photograph.

niamh86

Thanks for the feedback and the tips guys.

Was just trying a few simple ones to start off, to get a hang of the camera and its settings. Hopefully they will get better as i go.

Niamh

alexlyons

Fenster wrote: »

You have wide open seascapes with nothing interesting for us to focus on. Hmm, try and pick something - a tree, a hut or a person - a the focus on the photograph.

I'd agree with this to a point. The one of the reeds is a cracker, probably my favourite tbh. Its got good fore, middle, and background. You can get so seriously good shots of reeds like that with a slow shutter speed (you'll need to adjust for the extra light coming in) because it will introduce a bit of blur on the reeds as they move. There will need to be a bit of wind and you'll definitely need a tripod. Sun behind you always helps for those shots.

The one of Ireland's Eye could use a slight white balance adjustment IMO. It does have a slightly odd look to it, in a good sense, but looking at the rest of them I don't think this is what you were going for. Its a little bit to blue. Check out the clouds

niamh86

Haha yeah that photo is a tad blue alright. :rolleyes:

I think they're all pretty great photographs actually. I'm a complete beginner myself, but I must admit, I really do like them.

Good work

Micilin Muc

They are nice photographs. Don't restrict yourself to taking shots while standing. No. 52 with the reeds is a good example of a photograph taken at a different height from standing height. I like to take photos from an angle that the viewer will not usually have.

LeoB

Good luck with the new Camera. Some nice shots there. Especially like the silhouettes. Best advice is to keep taking shots and log in here regularly for some great tips and advice.

batman1

Forgive me for being forward, but I would appreciate any expert comments on my own first photos.

http://pix.ie/colin79ie

I see some users with the pix.ie signature. How many posts do I need to have before I can do the same?

baby and crumble

Hey Batman (what an awesome thing to be able to write!)

If you want a pix.ie sig you can go into your pix account, go to setting and click "Get signature widget". It guides you through the rest of the way, just copy the html code when it tells you and put it into your 'signature' box in boards settings page.

Hope this helps!

niamh86

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions guys, much appreciated.

Bought myself a second hand macro lens today so im looking forward to more photo fun

DotOrg

niamh86 wrote: »

Hey
Would appreciate any feedback you have, i want to use the camera to its full potential.

http://www.tinyurl.ie/dm

Thanks

some feedback to start you off. many of your shots, it looks like the subject you were intending to be the main point of interest is at the very centre of the image. that may be a choice you deliberately made or it may be because when you are focusing you are using the centre of the cameras viewfinder to focus and then immediately take the shot.

what you should also try, is focus on the subject and then keep the button half pressed, move the camera a little so the subject is no longer in the centre and then fully press the button. it can make for far more interesting compositions

alexlyons

DotOrg wrote: »

what you should also try, is focus on the subject, then hold down the buton halfway, move the camera a little so the subject is no longer in the centre and then fully press the button. it can make for far more interesting compositions

Holding the shutter release button down half way (which it seems you're implying here) will actually focus the subject. if its in manual mode then you wouldn't need to lock the focus.

Any way, the correct way thing to do is to press the shutter button down half way while pointing at your subject, therefore focusing on the subject (be careful about what focus mode it's in, as it may choose to focus off centre if it's not in centre focus point mode, I can't remember all the different names) then once you've held the shutter button down to focus, keep it down and press and hold the AE/AF lock button to the left of the command dial and the right of the view finder. This will lock the focus so you are free to move the camera. You may be able to let go of the shutter button at this stage, but I don't see the need as I'm just about to take the photo any way.

The reason you need to use the AE/AF lock button is that the camera will keep refocusing as you move it, if it only has the shutter button down half way.

The manual also explains more about AE/AF lock etc. and has pictures etc.

The actual method Dot Org suggested is The Rule of Thirds and is very useful and makes for much more interesting and creative photos.

alexlyons

alexlyons wrote: »

The reason you need to use the AE/AF lock button is that the camera will keep refocusing as you move it, if it only has the shutter button down half way.

I think that only happens if you have continuous auto focus (C-AF) turned on? In single auto focus mode (S-AF) i think the above strategy will work just fine.

(S-AF and C-AF are used on my Olympus, not sure if other brands have a different term/name)

alexlyons

Deleted User wrote: »

I think that only happens if you have continuous auto focus (C-AF) turned on? In single auto focus mode (S-AF) i think the above strategy will work just fine.

(S-AF and C-AF are used on my Olympus, not sure if other brands have a different term/name)

sorry yes very true, my mistake, however I would strongly recommend, as I always do, that C-AF should be selected as it is much easier to lock the focus than it is to continuously focus manually. The main reason for this is that the need for sudden continuos focus is generally sudden and unexpected, for example a fox running in front of you (happens a few times when you're doing landscapes, got a few good shots of them and other animals that I wouldn't have got without C-AF on) whereas the need for locking the shutter is often slow and expected, as you are purposely framing the subject and therefore can take an extra few seconds to lock the shutter, although it won't take you half a second when you get used to it

Niamh, this is what happens with these threads (in a good way!). People suggest ideas, others give their opinion and you can learn a wealth of knowledge from a few simple posts! I'm still learning and always will be! Best thing you can do is keep posting new images as often as you can so you keep getting new feedback and suggestions!

DotOrg

alexlyons wrote: »

shutter release button
manual mode
focus mode centre if it's not in centre focus point mode,
AE/AF lock
button command dial



The actual method Dot Org suggested is The Rule of Thirds and is very useful and makes for much more interesting and creative photos.

i've corrected the wording of my post and i was deliberately trying to avoid use of terms like above as for beginners throwing loads of things like that about gets very confusing, very fast.

what i meant to say was:


some feedback to start you off. many of your shots, it looks like the subject you were intending to be the main point of interest is at the very centre of the image. that may be a choice you deliberately made or it may be because when you are focusing you are using the centre of the cameras viewfinder to focus and then immediately take the shot.

what you should also try, is focus on the subject whilst keeping the button half pressed, move the camera a little so the subject is no longer in the centre and then fully press the button. it can make for far more interesting compositions

alexlyons

DotOrg wrote: »

i've corrected the wording of my post and i was deliberately trying to avoid use of terms like above as for beginners throwing loads of things like that about gets very confusing, very fast.

the first thing anyone should do when they get a new camera, especially a DSLR, is read the manual. All the terms I used are very well explained in Nikons manual. I don't agree that "shutter release" is a complex term or one that an owner of a DSLR wouldn't know, even if they are a beginer. I could have gone into much more detail but I kept it simple while still getting the points across as I know Niamh is a beginer. If a beginer hasn't read the manual and doesn't understand the terms then they really should sit down with the manual and camera and read it. The AE/AF lock is probably the most complicated term used but it is still fairly simple once explained, which I did. I purposely didn't explain what AE/AF lock stands for, as it's not major and it's in the manual as I said. However I'll mention now, just to be clear, that it stands for "Auto Exposure/Auto Focus Lock" which basically locks the focus and/or the exposure when pressed, depending on what mode it is set to.

You took a fair few of my terms completely out of context, one being "button command dial" which should simply be "command dial". "focus mode centre if it's not in centre focus point mode" that is a major one as it makes no sense as the first few words are missing, thus meaning nothing. Mistakes like these can be far more confusing than the terms I used, which as I said are all explained in the manual, and Reading that should be one of the first things a beginer does.

SubLuminal

Look for shapes and patterns rather than 'subjects'... Photography is learning to see.

DotOrg

alexlyons wrote: »

the first thing anyone should do when they get a new camera, especially a DSLR, is read the manual. .

i've worked in both camera and computer retail and taught beginners photography courses and the first thing the vast majority of people do is throw the manual to one side and then start asking questions to people who can help as they start encountering the issues

i wish everybody would read the manual first but as someone who has taught beginners to dSLRs, I found from experience that avoiding all the technical names for things makes it easier and more fun to start learning

i wasn't saying anything was wrong with your advice, i just thing some things should be explained in non photographic jargon

kerryphoto

Some lovely shots

Thecageyone

I only started last summer, and I've yet to buy a Dslr. I bought a bridge cam/super zoom with manual controls, just to get to grips with that much before stepping up. I just haven't had the funds since.

I like the shots, nice and clear, and for a beginner there's not much to fault about them. On the silhouette one, I'd probably have preferred more sky in the backdrop than sand in the foreground. Lowering that horizon a little, but that' a personal preference, still a nice shot that one. Nicely composed.

read up on the rule of thirds, keep your horizons straight and about one third the way from bottom or top of your picture. As someone mentioned, try not to have people or animals dead central, keep them to the left or right, and look up some simple tips on exposure and aperture, and learn to use them in manual mode on your camera

They're the first things I beat into my head, and they will become second nature. I actually understand aperture now, before I bought the cam I had no clue, I would always be stuck in auto-modes on P&s camera.

I use pix.ie too, I haven't much on there, more to be added.

http://pix.ie/cagey75

feel free to add me.

niamh86

Thanks all for the additional advice. You have said some things i hadnt really thought of when taking photos but ill know to keep them in mind for the next photos.

I did read the manual before i started, all the technical terms are still sinking in but im getting there, slowly, really slowly . I got 2 dvd's in the pack with the camera & i've watched both of them. They had some useful tips.

Thanks for the continued advice, its much appreciated.