Critique My Photos!

[Kdeboer]

Hi! I just picked up a Pentax DLSR *Ist DL2 camera with 18-55mm & 50-200mm lenses, for $200. This is my first DLSR, and I'd like to get some criticism of my shots!

1.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll72/Feijedeboer21/Pentx/IMGP5883.jpg
2.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll72/Feijedeboer21/Pentx/IMGP5780.jpg
3.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll72/Feijedeboer21/Pentx/IMGP5519.jpg
4.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll72/Feijedeboer21/Pentx/IMGP5766.jpg

[Kdeboer]

5.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll72/Feijedeboer21/Pentx/IMGP4820.jpg
6.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll72/Feijedeboer21/Pentx/IMGP4768.jpg

[Marko]

Hi Kdeboer and welcome :)

Just as an FYI, you'll find the best critiques will likely come when you only post 1 or 2 pics per thread. Many members, myself included like to write a few phrases per image. With 6 images in this thread, that's a lot to write..

Here are some general things to consider that may help;
- Think about why you are taking the shot. Although most of these shots are well exposed, why did you take them? One of the keys is a story or a suggested story or some type of impact.
Let's say Image 2 of the Volkwagen or #4 of the shoe - what makes those shots interesting?

- Distractions and reducing/eliminating them is a BIG part of good photography. So image 5 for instance has really colourful and interesting flowers, but there are distractions are all over that shot.

Those are just a few tips.

In terms of what you posted imo, the strongest image by far is the first shot. It's funny, tells a story and doesn't have too many distractions.

Hope that helps,
Marko

[jjeling]

I like the shot of the meat and the shoe the best. The area where the rugs ends is a bit of a distraction. You have an eye for what would make a good image. Marko said it, think about what you are trying to "say" in your picture. After you hone your compositional skills a little more, you will be running in absolutely no time. Dont be afraid to ask questions here. We are all friendly and willing to learn and teach each other as much as possible. Marko's podcasts are also a great thing to listen to.

[Michaelaw]

I like the dog in the car shot. It would be a better shot if you'd gotten closer to the subject IMO....Even better if the dog had his paws on the wheel but you can't have everything eh:) I think if the car had filled up most of the frame with the dog looking the way he does It would have been way better.

[mindforge]

Use the Rule of Thirds every time... unless you have a reason and that reason is sure in your head to break the rule. If you need to know more about the Rule of Thirds, just Google it.

Another thing. Think about composition every time you take a picture. Look at your placement of the subject. Can you put something in the foreground to make the picture look better and have some reference for size, three dimensions or a story? What is behind the picture? A simple photo can really turn into something great.

Move your point of view to a position not seen very often -- off the ground, on a ladder... doing the electric slide.

[mindforge]

BTW... the dog is a great shot... get him in the driver seat next time... you can crop that shot too. Make it just the car. Cropping an image can make or break an image. When cropping or taking your shot, straighten the horizon.

[Mad Aussie]

Hi there Kd :)

As others have said ... lots of photos ... probably best to only put a couple in if you want serious Critique.

But I'll have a go ... < deeeeeep breath >

Shot 1 - Has some great elements but it looks like you simply stepped out onto the road, stood bolt upright, and pushed the button.
There is so many ways this average snapshot could be a beaut.
Firstly, the dog and car combination is the obvious attraction here but they compete for attention with all the background. Either use a lower f-stop or zoom in so that you get much less depth of field so the car and dog is isolated much more. We'd still see the snow and trees etc.
2ndly the compostion is quite average also. Zooming in or moving forward and choosing an angle that cuts out any unnecessary elements would help tremendously. For instance, that sign and guide-wire in the top left is just a distraction. Even the houses aren't really needed in order to tell the story of dog in car.
Some of the snow is blown out but frankly, with the high dynamic range you had there it's not surprizing and I think you did well with the exposure.

Shot 2 - Again the main subject (the car) competes with other stuff when it could be the 'star of the show.'
Distractions such as those guide-wires again and also a yellow pole sticking out of the roof should be avoided.
This shot is about the car and perhaps the road and snow. I'd frame this much closer in so all you'd see is the car, some road, some snow, and maybe if necessary some of the trees. Rather than shoot standing up ... let your feet take a photo :) What I mean there is get down lower and shoot up perhaps ... get up on the bank and shoot down ... whatever except standing upright and shooting in this case. It's dead boring.

Shot 3 - Nice slab of meat there. To be honest I don't have much to say on this one as it's fine as is. Not sure I see the appeal but it's a nice shot. I'd probably have cropped the sock out though. I think it's a nice example of how the subject is centered and not on one the Rule of Thirds lines yet still works. Perhaps having the person diagonally in the shot as it is helps with this.

Shot 4 - We have shoe! A centered shoe, on a mat. Not the greatest of subjects to excite so if you are going to shoot such things you need to look for exciting ways to photograph it. There's a distraction again here and that's that big white patch in the lower right of frame. Don't get 'lost' in your subject so much that you forget to look around at your foreground and background. They make or break a photo quite often.
Focus looks a tad off on the shoe. As I can pick where the focus hit I'm guessing it's a tad of movement as you took the photo. A bit of sharpening would have helped.
Again I think doing something like moving the shoe further into the mat (or to a nicer location altogether) and perhaps getting down and letting your foot take the photo might have been a better option here.

Shot 5 - Colourful little shot you got going there. Again though I see distractions where you've focused on your subject and gone blind to the surroundings. Half eaten food and empty glasses doesn't do a thing to improve the shot. All they do is create a chaos of mess around what is a lovely bouquet. Clear that table, put a nice table coth down perhaps, remove the chairs, grab the camera ... and look through the viewfinder and walk around the bouquet checking every angle. What the background to see what walls blur into the nicest background to accentuate those flowers. There's a great shot just waiting for you to get here I'm certain!!
If you have White balance settings (and I'm sure you do) then try a few of those as well. From what I see here, you may have tungsten lighting that has made the whole photo come out with slight yellow hue. The right WB settings will fix that.

Shot 6 - One to go! We have ducks!! :) Another good shot waiting to happen here with these fellas. Can they be moved away from that window a little?? It would be good to have them more into that darkness so we don't get distracted by all that bright left side of the photo.
Your f4 aperture setting has created a short DOF that has made the eyes of the duck in focus (VERY Important!!) but not allowed the beak to remain in focus. To get this a bit deeper, try a bigger f-stop if you can and also maybe choose an angle that allows you to shot the side of the duck just a little bit more. Not so much that you are no longer shooting Donald from the front but enough to put the beak a bit more closer to the same distance from your lens as Donalds eyes. The higher F-stop would also allow Daffy back in Blursville to be a fraction sharper too which I think might be nice.

Ok ... feeling feint now ... hope that helps.

<Mad Aussie crashes to the floor ... one breath was NOT enough!>

[Kdeboer]

Thanks for the critiques! Like I said, I'm new, but I'm ready to learn!

[Mad Aussie]

Thanks for the critiques! Like I said, I'm new, but I'm ready to learn!
You'll find you'll learn quickly here. Don't take anyone's opinion to heart ... they are all just doing as you ask and offering their ideas as to what will improve your shots.