Cat portrait

[iVintage87]

Took this with my D40 and speedlight SB-800.
Wondering if the colors are good and the crop...also how important do you find crop to be

p.s. his right eye is actually really black and cloudy like that.

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 1/60 sec
Aperture: 5
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200

[ajsuk]

Well I'm a newbie but I quite like it. =)

The focus is sharp on the face and the background is clean. You've fully caught the expression of a displeased pussy looking straight down the barrel!

[windrider86]

Get in closer and bring even more attention to the face and that unsual eye. Crop out the dead spaces on either side!

[leviathan]

Seems like it's a bit underexposed and could also use some saturation/contrast boosts as well. The background is kind of dull, so I agree with windrider that a tighter shot would look better. Good luck!

[mdavern]

Get away from using the flash if you don't need to. Pure coindence that I took a very similar shot with a very similar looking cat last night!!! Just posted it to my Flickr account so you can compare. Push up the ISO, maybe to 1000 or so. You won't be able to tell on a web post. Normally, you don't want to hand hold at less than 1/60th, but I got lucky (also the name of the cat, as it turns out), that he held steady. I should have even pushed the ISO even higher. Lastly, get away from using the kit telephoto. Get the 50mm Nikon f1.8 (very inexpensive) or go for the gold with the 50mm f1.2. That will also you to shoot more without the flash.

LuckyPortrait (1 of 1) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!




Took this with my D40 and speedlight SB-800.
Wondering if the colors are good and the crop...also how important do you find crop to be

p.s. his right eye is actually really black and cloudy like that.

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 1/60 sec
Aperture: 5
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200[/QUOTE]

[iVintage87]

Yea I need to save up for a better lens but as far as taking pictures with the one I have even with my ISO pushed up to 1000 pictures are almost black if taken without the flash. It's really dark in my house. theres no ceiling lighting so the only light I have is a torchiere in the corner. Also, even if I do turn up the ISO and lower the fstop without the flash in the day my pictures still come out blurry..do I just need to work on staying still?

[mdavern]

Well, you don't have to save very much for a 50mm 1.8. I don't know where you are located but B and H in New York City has them priced just over $100. The 50mm 1.4 is a bit pricey at just under $300 but you will really like that lens. Both have autofocus. So, with your indoor situation you might want to use a bounce flash off of a white card as you don't have a good ceiling. Hard to catch animals since they don't like to pose for long. Still, with or without flash, if I am indoors my first thought is to grab the 50mm and pump up the ISO. Might have fun seeing how much you can push the ISO in your best lighting situaiton to see how far you can go. I've done shots at 2000 ISO without noticing grain for webposts. Not going to blow those shots up for large prints anyway.



Yea I need to save up for a better lens but as far as taking pictures with the one I have even with my ISO pushed up to 1000 pictures are almost black if taken without the flash. It's really dark in my house. theres no ceiling lighting so the only light I have is a torchiere in the corner. Also, even if I do turn up the ISO and lower the fstop without the flash in the day my pictures still come out blurry..do I just need to work on staying still?[/QUOTE]

[EMansfield]

Your pet cat looks cute and it seems she cooperated well for the photo. I agree with the suggestion to crop out the background on either side. I would also love to see her ears.

Cheers!

Eric Mansfield