Pubescent Flower

[whatupdc]

Shot with Nikon D90
Focal Length: 55mm
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/200s
ISO: 200

[jiminyClickit]

Hi, whatupdc, Welcome to DPS

If you look through the other Critique posts here, you'll find the people who ask good questions, and maybe describe in a few words how they got the image they posted, get the best Critique. It's not just a good idea, it's a requirement of the Critique section. Please, tell us more . . .

[whatupdc]

I only started taking pictures a year or so ago. this picture i took during one of my first sallys out into the world. I was at a "botanical garden" sort of place. I remember it being cloudy and it had been raining sporadically that day. aside from that, i just leaned in close with, what little bright sunlight there was at my back, and fired away. At the time i didn't know, separate from music and notebooks, what composition was or anything about aperture or tone etc.
i would like to know what you all think of this one. maybe i stumbled on a good one early. they say the sun shines even on a dog's backside from time to time.

[jiminyClickit]

whatupdc,

That description is what makes your photo an experience, not just an image on a monitor. Botanical gardens are great learning/starting places, and it's likely that the lighting of the day gave your camera those settings. What I notice is "I just leaned in close..." which may have been a little past your camera's minimum range. If it has a symbol in the viewfinder for "out of focus" or something like that, it pays to back up until the subject is indicated to be "OK" and focussed. Sorry if that seems simplistic, but it's hard to know how much you already know, and what may help you next time.

The composition can be helped by your viewing professional photographs (online sites, books, magazines, here), and read as many articles about it all as possible, and posting here in Critique. Hope this is a beginning to your enjoying more photography, and less dog's backside (I gotta write that one down!).

Stumbling on a good one does happen. Rather than good or bad, let's say your photo could be a little sharper in focus, composed in a way to better include all the bloom and its bud, and with an exposure compensation of -1 or -2 to better define (contrast) the reds in the bloom. This will require you to go manual on your camera, or at least set the aperture to perhaps f11 in that situation. A little less light on the bloom will add some contrast. But this all requires experimenting with your camera. My Fuji is different and simpler.

Experimenting and Critique are about learning. Whether your photo is good or bad doesn't matter. It's how it might be improved that we are concerned with. So relax and enjoy the time behind your camera, and soon you'll know when your work has improved.

[whatupdc]

thanks for the feedback. this all seems a little reminiscent of my first road trip a few years ago. When i first left, as with every other time i was driving, my focus was getting to where i was going. it took me a while to embrace what turned out to be the best quality of the road trip idea, and that was the experience. not driving to get anywhere, but instead to enjoy what was between where i started and where i would end. seems to me with photography i should focus more on shooting and capturing the experience than on necessarily trying to take a great picture or avoid taking bad ones. i'm sure i'll learn things along the way and it will maintain my interest, which will make it more likely that i'll actively pursue improved skill sets.
i do need to read up again on what "exposure compensation" is. i read the description in the manual and thought i understood. i'll keep experimenting and trying new things.

[jiminyClickit]

Couldn't have said it better myself. For some, that's the key. Try stuff, see what changes in the results, try something else, etc. Information will always help shorten those steps, and make the experience a little less frustrating.

For the exposure compensation, I think of it as fine-tuning the image. If the standard settings don't give you what you want, you can make the image darker with negative (-1. -2) compensation, or lighter with plus (+1, +2). It can save some post production time to get it as you want in-camera.