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  • 1 month later...

Hey, I took a brief peek at your website, nice layout, some of the links are dead, but I'm sure it's all a work in progress still.

 

As for the pictures you put up, I have a few comments about them if you don't mind some creative criticism.

 

First off, the first photo, I feel like it's a great start, but I guess it isn't doing anything for me. I feel like it lacks color that pops really. I feel like if this was taken during the Golden Hour (the first and last hour of daylight), it might have had a different effect. The background has some pretty satisfying bokeh, but to be honest, what gets to me is that branch. I don't feel like it should even be there, because it takes away from the divide that exists. It also is a bit distracting from the focus where you intended things to be (which is that one piece of grass in the middle I suppose.

 

The second picture is an odd one, as fire is a very complicated thing to photograph. Some of my friends have always liked taking pictures of it, but it never really comes out, and to be honest, it's tough. I don't feel like there's any real definite exposure for fire. Not like daylight at F8, 1/800 at ISO800. Fire is very inconsistent, and the lighting change change instantly, so it's hard to expose something where the light is changing it's source so quickly. I find that a common exposure is F5.6, 1/15 and ISO400, but that's approaching photography in too much of a mathematically way really, which is no really the case here. If you're taking pictures of fire, try to avoid a background that is lit by something else, because the camera itself will adjust the exposure to level out the entire picture, rather than what you're looking for. I just feel like the flames aren't pronounced well enough to jump at me. That's not to say it's bad, but I feel like the background is a bit distracting.

 

Finally, this last picture, I do like, and I like it a lot. I would either crop it, or tilt the camera down more, so that the grass is the only thing in the shot, and I'd also just try to get some really good, soft, yellow sunlight to brighten up the shot, and make it pop. I noticed your website mentioned the use of Photoshop, and there are many many tutorials for tweaking this shot to look amazing. It's an absolutely great start, and you should not be discouraged by anything I've said, give it a shot and see what you can do with it.

 

Overall these are definitely shots that give you a good start, be patient with things, and remember that you're shooting in digital. Take pictures with multiple exposures, and get familiar with manual modes on cameras, because they'll give you the greatest flexibility to really get the shot you want. Experiment with color filters, and post processing, and even more importantly, how to use them together to enhance, and not just modify your pictures.

 

-bonestonne

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  • 2 months later...

Wow, thanks for the advice. Some good tips there. (and I know I need them) I've just recently upgraded to a much better camera, I used to be using the NEX-5 but have upgraded to a DSLR now. Because of this I've started to play around with exposure, ISO etc. much more, you can see the difference in quality easily.

 

As for the website, take a look now, completely different design, photos are up and running, and no broken links.

 

'and remember that you're shooting digital.' Ive really started to realise this with the new cameras, I take about 10-20 shots of the same thing now, all different exposures etc. just to get the one that looks nice.

 

Again thanks for the tips! I love to receive criticism as most of what I get is from my friends, and friends tend to be quite nice with what they say!

 

Tim

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