First post.. help me learn :)

[rubysue]

I'm very new at this.. just got my first DSLR and really have no knowledge of or training in photography (hopefully it's not too obvious I don't know what I'm doing )

Anyways, I just discovered this website and I know I can learn a lot here so anything you can suggest for better exposure, composition, etc. is appreciated as I feel like most of what I get looks like boring snapshots instead of interesting photographs. I feel like I can't decide how to crop anything to make it look better! This is a shot I took of my dog asleep on the couch. I think she's pretty cute Thanks for your help!



Oops, forgot info..

Canon Rebel T1i
Lens: 18-55mm 3.5-5.5
Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: 4.5
ISO: 1600
Flash: off

[natek313]

Hi, Ruby, and welcome to DPS. I'm sure you'll find a lot of useful information on this site - through blog articles and forum threads - to learn from. I know I have.

You have a nice start to your photo here. The exposure looks good. It looks just a little soft (i.e., not as sharp as it could be), and I am going to assume that is because your shutter speed was 1/10 second. That's quite slow, and there's a good chance there is some camera movement that you captured. For shutter speeds that slow, you'll want to use a tripod and remote shutter release or use something to rest your camera on and use the self-timer.

As far as the composition, I would have framed her head on the left side of the frame to follow the Rule of Thirds. If you're unfamiliar with the Rule of Thirds, definitely look it up. It will give you a good starting point for composing your photographs.

Keep at it, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

[rubysue]

Originally Posted by natek313

Hi, Ruby, and welcome to DPS. I'm sure you'll find a lot of useful information on this site - through blog articles and forum threads - to learn from. I know I have.

You have a nice start to your photo here. The exposure looks good. It looks just a little soft (i.e., not as sharp as it could be), and I am going to assume that is because your shutter speed was 1/10 second. That's quite slow, and there's a good chance there is some camera movement that you captured. For shutter speeds that slow, you'll want to use a tripod and remote shutter release or use something to rest your camera on and use the self-timer.

As far as the composition, I would have framed her head on the left side of the frame to follow the Rule of Thirds. If you're unfamiliar with the Rule of Thirds, definitely look it up. It will give you a good starting point for composing your photographs.

Keep at it, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Thanks for the reply!

I have read about the rule of thirds, and I definitely agree that I shouldn't have placed her right in the middle of the frame. I have been looking into tripods, there are so many to choose from I don't know where to start.

I see that the image could be sharper, any tips on focusing? I often feel like I can't tell if the image is properly focused until it's already taken. Thanks again!

[natek313]

Are you using auto-focus or are you focusing manually?

[rubysue]

Originally Posted by natek313

Are you using auto-focus or are you focusing manually?

Manually. I feel like I go back and forth a million times before I think I'm in focus, only to see after the shot was taken that it's off.

[natek313]

Well, unfortunately, the only thing that's really going to help you with manual focusing is practice. Also, you may want to check into doing some lens testing to make sure lens is focusing accurately and not back-focusing, for instance.

[rubysue]

Originally Posted by natek313

Well, unfortunately, the only thing that's really going to help you with manual focusing is practice. Also, you may want to check into doing some lens testing to make sure lens is focusing accurately and not back-focusing, for instance.

That's what I figured. Thanks again for your feedback, hopefully i can improve with practice!