I'm new!!!!! Help Me!!!

[erin2898]

Im new to photography and new to this site! But I want to learn!!! I bought a Canon Rebel
T1i and I'm having fun with it, this picture was taken outside on a sunny day with a polarizing filter. Feedback please

[Stryker]

Good job for a newbie, I must say! Looking forward to more from you. If you are asking for critique, please make sure you include the EXIF information so that we know what settings you used to take the shot.

In shots like these, you should either pull back a bit and get the entire bloom in the frame or get in closer and frame only the centre. Have you cropped this? The missing bits on the top and bottom take something out of the image.

[erin2898]

awesome! Ok...I think this is correct

I used the Macro setting on my Camera
ISO 1600
1/60
F5.0

to be honest I dont know what all of this means....should I just stick with the settings my camera has or try to change them?

Also the image is not cropped. I was probably a few inches away when taking this

I was using the 18-55 kits lens that came with my camera....


Here is a question...what is better...for me to get close to the flower and take the shot or to stay a little farther back and manualy use the lens to zoom in? Also is the polarizing filter good to use or should i stick with a uv filter? or both?

[Stryker]

OK, since you haven't got much knowledge about the settings, leave it to the camera to change it as the scene demands. It seems to be doing a good job of it anyway, at least until you learn what is what and start fiddling with those little buttons and settings. I would suggest dropping the ISO to around 400 for better images, though it depends on the lighting.

If you have the flower readily available, why not try both the options you mentioned and select the one you think looks best? After all, that's the one way to learn, right? I am not sure the polarizing filter is a good idea in these type of shots, although I have never used them. I always leave the UV filter on my lens, it is all purpose and doesn't change the image in any way.

[NgaiHill]

First of all, welcome to DPS! You have a nice shot here, not too much wrong with it.

I get the impression you are new to all the technical jargon that comes with the camera, such as the EXIF data etc. Best way to learn is to read your manual and practice with your camera. I found googling stuff and reading all about it very useful and I then kept a notebook of stuff that I learnt - helped to reinforce it! Also, don't try to learn it all at once, start with one feature on your camera eg Aperture, learn all about it and try it out. Only when you are happy that you understand it move on to the next thing. This will help things look not so overwhelming too.

And finally, keep visiting the forums here and especially the critique section, I've learnt more from other photographers here in the last six months than I have in the last three years of owning an SLR.